# Photo Backdrops



## 402drvr (Nov 10, 2010)

Hi Folks, New to the forum here and looking to get some opinions on a new business venture. I travel all pver the country and have begun selling panoramic photos for use as railroad backdrops. The inventory is not real big right now but seems to grow weekly. So, I have a few quiestions for those willing to take a look. 

First, what do you think? ABout the site, the photos, the pricing etc.

Second, how do you feel these might do at a model train show? I am trying to get the site out there and a show seems to be a good way to go. But, it would require investing in a godd sized inventory.

Third, if you have any suggestions how to get the word out I'd appreciate any ideas.

Thanks a lot.

The link Below should take you t


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Photos look nice, but I don't see any pricing information for the backdrops on your website.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

your website is to mixed to my taste. you have backdrops AND just some galleries of pictures (that are not bad at all i might add). not even to mention MRR blog. seems to be lacking focus. Scott's experience showcases less then ideal site layout. 
just my 2 cents, feel free to disregard.

as for product, i don't know, i'm not in market for backdrop. if i need one i would probably be looking for places to print my own picture. as for your pricing structure, i have no idea either, i'm not familiar with printing services pricing.

with that, didn't you already post this in "for sale" forum? multiple threads are really not necessary


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Sorry *tankist*, I suggested he's be better served here, since he's really offering commercial services.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

its not a biggie either way


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

*Boston&Maine* was asking everyone in the sale forum to post prices, so I figured something like this made more sense here.

I'll try not to muddy the waters as much.


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## 402drvr (Nov 10, 2010)

Thanks for the info guys. I was surprised to hear the prices were hard to find. The PayPal buttons should show them all. I will see how I can correct that. 

The site is a bit multi-faceted I guess. It was originally started to market our regular photography. The backdrop area came later. I am considering a separate website for just the backdrops.

Thanks again


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I don't want to have to start to check-out to see pricing.

You should just list pricing under each print.

FYI....I went back in and looked and found the pricing. I figured each height backdrop would have a specific price. Didn't realize some were 3,4,5,6,7 panels. (i.e. different lengths.) I was looking at it while at work, so I was just quickly glancing at them.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

402drvr said:


> Thanks for the info guys. I was surprised to hear the prices were hard to find. The PayPal buttons should show them all. I will see how I can correct that.
> 
> The site is a bit multi-faceted I guess. It was originally started to market our regular photography. The backdrop area came later. I am considering a separate website for just the backdrops.
> 
> Thanks again


A friend from another site has your White Mt on his N layout.
It looks quite nice.:thumbsup:


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## 402drvr (Nov 10, 2010)

*New Site*

Hi Folks,

Just posted the new site. It is dedicated solely to the backdrops and should be a lot easier to use. Coming soon are more backdrops, N Scale, and later O Scale.

Let me know what you think


Thanks

Dave


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## novice (Feb 2, 2011)

Not having seen the last layout, this new one is ok. I like your pictures, very clear and crisp.

I do SEO (search engine optimization) web promotion for a living, so if you don't mind some critique:
*
For ease of reading:*

If it were me, I would break the sentences up a bit more. Your paragraphs have multiple thoughts running together. 1 - 2 sentences per paragraph are the norm. 

It allows the visitors who like to read get the whole content uniformly and allows the visitors that prefer not to read to skim the paragraphs quickly.
*
Optimize your content:*

Your content is Model Railroad backdrops - if I do a search for that your competition is pretty stiff. 

You mention you are budget conscious and by taking some time to research your keywords and apply them, you can outrank your competitors and get some traffic - you can do this yourself for free or hire someone.

Here are a few SEO suggestions...
*
Title tags:*

Your images need title tags to help you rank. A title tag is text added to the html when you insert an image - it looks like this ( in red)

```
<img src="yourimagelocation" title="Model Railroad Backdrops">
```
 use alt tags as well just sal "alt=" in addition to "title=".

This will help quite a bit.

*Your call to action:*

If I were you I would either replace your email address with a "Contact me" call to action with a link to a contact form or encode for safety. If you keep your email visible in a website, the potential exists to receive an incredible amount of spam from spambots.
*
Inexpensive advertising:*

Get yourself a small budget and use google adwords to advertise your site. You can do this for as little as $1.00 per day. This will help generate some business while you work on getting your site found in the search engines.

There are lot more things you can do, but that should help you get started. 

Best of luck with your photos - I really like Glenveagh II


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## 402drvr (Nov 10, 2010)

Thanks for the info especially the spam bot part. I just went through and got rid of the email address in favor of a hyperlink as suggested. Hate having to think of those things.

SEO has always been something I found difficult to master. I do need to go through and work on it. If you're in the market for a backdrop perhaps we could work out a barter deal. LOL

Thanks again for the input.


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## novice (Feb 2, 2011)

Welcome - best of luck to you.


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