KISS: The world's simplest book company. Premium Wedding Albums and books for professional photographers - by Kevin Swan and Shaun Austin » Info & Updates

SWAT Account Plans

Great KISSer — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:44:27 +0000

KISS brings you SWAT

The world’s only integrated album system.

Albums are hell.

Many photographers don’t offer albums—despite their significant profit potential. The mess of apps needed to design, share, approve, export, upload, and order is overwhelming. The old system is badly broken.

Join the revolution.

There is a new, modern way to be rescued from disconnected, option-laden apps or expensive, inefficient outsourcing. Thousands of photographers, tired of wasting time and money, have already left the old world behind—you can, too. Use SWAT, the world’s first integrated album system.

Join the free. Join the profitable. Join the SWAT Army.

SWAT: The only integraded system. SWAT takes the tangled confusion of processes, people, and programs required for albums and unifies them into a single, simple solution. One place to design, share, and order–without having to export, import, and upload over and over again. SWAT requires no software to purchase, install, or maintain as it is entirely cloud-based, allowing photographers to access their designs anyplace, anytime.

Designing in SWAT is intuitive and fast. It can instantly design a draft of your album that you only had to review and tweak. A simple click of a button turns your design into a slideshow for your client’s review. SWAT collects your client’s comments right on the slideshow, where you can see—and even respond—without any confusion. When you are ready to order, no exporting or uploading is required; another click and technically perfect files are delivered immediately to KISS for production.

SWAT can deliver better results than desktop applications in 7% of the time. Designing in Photoshop can take an average of 40 hours per design (after a single round of edits); the same design in SWAT can take less than 2 hours. But, saving photographers time isn’t the only thing making SWAT unique—SWAT can also be used for free.

Be recruited for FREE.

The Recruit Plan allows you to have up to 3 active designs at any one time and an infinite number of archived designs. Active designs can be edited, archived designs are locked down—but you can still order them as albums, use the slideshows, or export the high-res JPEGs.

Enlist—we make it worth your while.

The Enlisted Plan is $99/year and allows you to have up to 15 active designs at any one time and an infinite number of archived designs. More importantly, every order you place to KISS using SWAT, you get a 2% credit that you can use on your next order. If you order around 20 books a year, SWAT pays for itself. Order more than that, and it’s like you’re being paid to use SWAT.

What about my existing account?

As of now, everyone is in the free Recruit Plan. SWAT will allow you to have more than 3 active designs and edit them (just like it always has) until Nov 14th If you are one of the 80% of our users who have 3 or fewer active designs, nothing will change. SWAT will continue to work like it always has. If you want to design a fourth album, you’ll have to archive or delete one, or upgrade to the Enlisted Plan.

If you have more than 3 designs, you will get a warning in the system, letting you know you have 1 week to continue to edit your designs before the system will freeze them. If you archive or delete enough to where you have 3 or less, everything will continue to work in SWAT as before. If you want to continue to edit more than 3 active designs at once, you simply pay for the Enlisted Plan upgrade, which gives you 15 active slots.

Remember, archived designs can still be ordered through KISS, have the high-res JPEGs exported, and all the slideshows will still work on your blog or Facebook. That’s why we recommend you never delete real designs—just archive them.

What do I do now?

If you are getting this email, you already have access to SWAT, you just need to go log in: http://SWATdesigner.com/go. You can review and change your account status in your Profile page. Questions? No problem, check out support.SWATdesigner.com or email support@SWATdesigner.com.

60 W Pine • Zionsville IN 46077 • http://goKISS.co • 862 GET KISS

KISS Get Simple – Mike Larson

Great KISSer — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:50:35 +0000

Click to Play

Mike Larson at the Vegas “Get Simple”

KISS Get Simple – Nathan Holritz

Great KISSer — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:50:13 +0000

Click to Play

Nathan Holritz, of Photographer’s Edit, does a Lightroom Walkthrough

KISS Get Simple – Kevin Swan

Great KISSer — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:50:10 +0000

Click to Play

Discussions on “Branding Nightmares” by Kevin Swan

SWAT Alpha Preview!

Great KISSer — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:26:45 +0000

Here’s a quick walkthrough of what SWAT is looking like today:

The Youngrens are Great KISSers.

Great KISSer — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:31:30 +0000

Jeff and Erin Youngren are not only wickedly talented, they’re also PUG leaders, fun-loving, good-looking, smart business folk, and some of the nicest people you’ll meet.

Most importantly, they’re Great KISSers! Here’s what they have to say about it:

When it comes to our business, we only choose to work with companies that make our jobs simpler, because simplicity in our business means freedom in our personal lives. By using KISS, we have freed up our time -and- provided a better experience for our high-end couples, who adore the no-gimmick, clean, high-quality books.

Albums used to be the most complicated piece of our workflow, but KISS has streamlined our process in a way that no other company could.

Thank you KISS, for making our lives better!

Jeff & Erin

Thanks, guys!

KISS

Amber Holritz is a Great KISSer

Great KISSer — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:54:22 +0000

Here’s what Amber, an extraordinarily successful lifestyle baby photographer, had to say about KISS:

I’m a serious procrastinator when it comes to complicated busy work. I used to dread ordering albums. I would get a design finalized, and then it would sit on my to do list for an embarrassingly long time, because I couldn’t stand the complicated ordering process and the resulting disappointment that would occur when the albums arrived and I had to proof them for issues. Then KISS came on the scene, and ordering albums became the easiest part. My clients get their albums much sooner, because I no longer procrastinate.

In addition to the ease of ordering, it’s also nice to no longer feel stressed about proofing the album for issues. Actually, with KISS, I feel so confident that there will be no issues that I often drop ship to my clients. Kevin and Shaun and their team are amazing. They inspire confidence… both in their product, and in their photographers.

It’s wonderful to have a partner who not only provides a spectacular product in a simple way, but also makes the process enjoyable. I’m quite a happy KISSer

Cruise! Christmas! 2011 Pricing! SWAT!

Great KISSer — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:28:25 +0000

Let’s Cruise!

Click HERE to find out more or sign up! It’s only $1500 for an all-inclusive, 7-day cruise with workshops, shoots, and fun! (You can save $500 by signing up with another photog before tomorrow!) The first Photog Retreat was an awesome time. With an emphasis on networking, informative workshops, exotic photo shoots, and so much more. This is a great way to have an awesome vacation and get a write-off all at the same time! Here’s a video from last year’s retreat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrj_DjS9mnY&NR=1 and one from the Bui Brothers: Snorkling! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5GxXEn_HEU&feature=related

The speakers on this cruise are top-notch. Shaun and I know them all personally, and they are the real-deal. You will learn far more from these intimate gatherings than you would at something like WPPI.

Mike Larson (KISS photog)
Zach & Jody Gray (KISS photogs)
The Youngrens (KISS photogs)
Shaun Austin (KISS!)
Kevin Swan (KISS!)
The Bui Brothers (KISS photogs)

Also joining us, Stephen Knuth has a heart for building community, encouraging photographers to pursue their passion and has specialized in harnessing the power of social media. Lydia Shannon will share her experience of growth and organization through building strong relationships and living by the “pay it forward” philosophy that helped her raise over $20,000 for the fight against Breast Cancer.

EVERY registration will SAVE 5 lives through a very special donation to Thirst Relief.

We are going to have a blast on this trip, and there will be some solid teaching going on as well. Everyone who signs up gets a $200 credit with KISS, and there are lots of other prizes — including someone getting 6 months of ShootQ for free!

Click HERE to find out more or sign up!

Christmas Update

You can still order until the 11th and have your book ship by Dec 21st. Orders will automatically be upgraded to RUSH and have overnight shipping if you click the “I need it by Christmas.” Otherwise, all other orders will begin their 2-week production cycle Jan 3rd. KISS has all hands on deck getting the Christmas orders out until the 21st., then we take a break to spend time with family until the 3rd. Details at http://www.KISSweddingBooks.com/christmas

Pricing changes for 2011

KISS hasn’t raised prices since 2008! We’re doing a roughly 5% increase on the Leather KISSes and a slight decrease on the Linen KISSes! We’re also giving you an additional 10% discount on any sample orders, making it a total of 30% off. You can see the details on pricing in the store. This goes into effect Jan 1st.

SWAT Designer is Inbound

One of the biggest frustrations photographers have with albums is the design. If you do them yourself, you can spend 40 hours easily, with poor results and technically incorrect files. If you hire them out, you can spend as much as $600 or more. KISS is coming to the rescue!

SWAT will be a FREE, automated, web-based tool that will make album design simple and enjoyable. Once your design is ready, you can easily share it with your clients for their feedback and approval. After approval, a single click will drop it into the KISS Books ordering system. SWAT will revolutionize how albums are done.

We will be in beta-testing this month and January, with a launch in Feb. Go to http://facebook.com/SWATdesigner for updates. You can also leave your feature requests in the “feedback” tab! We’ll have some fun announcemnts there, soon, and some screen shots to whet your appetite.

SWAT: Designing albums doesn’t have to hurt any more.

We hope you all have a great Christmas!

KISS

Free Lightroom Presets

Great KISSer — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:01:59 +0000

Several people have asked about Kevin’s LR presets mentioned in the Lightroom training videos on our http://www.KISSweddingBooks.com/questions page.

Click HERE to download them for free!

November Surprises: Lots of updates!

Great KISSer — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 22:51:01 +0000

Matte Linen KISS Books now shipping!

We’ve been waiting a loooong time to tell you this, but we’re finally shipping the matte Linen KISS Books! The material is in, and as of yesterday, all books that haven’t been covered are now being shipped with the new matte material. Thanks for your feedback, letting us know what you wanted; and thanks for your patience as we had to special order about 10-years worth of material!

New Simple Design Process!

Previously, when you ordered our FREE Simple Design, you would upload photos, and a book would come back to you. You didn’t get to preview anything. Now, our KISSup! system will show you the images you have uploaded, allow you to rearrange them, allows you to pick a black or white background, and preview the final book for you! It’s all still FREE! This will speed up your turn-around time, too. We have been working on this for many weeks with the team at AlbumExposure.com to make it a slick, simple process for you. We hope you love it!

New Custom Design Upload!

You can now use KISSup! to upload your images for your custom design. In the process, you’ll be able to leave notes for your designer as well. Trying to bring everythign into the KISSup! tool so there aren’t any problems/confusions with uploading. Enjoy!

New Packaging!

We’ve loved our clamshel design that we’ve used for a few years, but with some of the heavier books, we were getting a few damaged in shipping. We’ve done some research and come up with an excellent improvement! The books are shipping in the new materials now, and we expect the new system to all but eliminate shipping damage. Yeah!

Modified Sales-Tax Policy

The following information applies to all books shipped to California and Indiana.
Previously, customers in Indiana and California could not order from KISS without providing the tax exempt form from those states. We’ve learned that the location of the photographer’s business is not the determining factor in sales tax collection, but the destination of the book. So, we are now going to be collecting sales tax from any order that is shipped into Indiana or California–regardless of the photographer’s state of origin. The good news is, even if you don’t have a certificate, you can place orders and just pay the sales tax.

Photographers that have previously turned in their reseller forms will not be charged sales tax for books they’re shipping into their own state. If you are shiping into IN or CA and do not have a reseller’s certificate for those staes, you’ll be charged sales tax.

Examples:

Photog from CA has a CA certificate. Ships to CA: Tax WILL NOT be charged. (The certificate exempts him from tax in that state.)
Photog from CA has no CA certificate. Ships to CA: Tax WILL be charged. (Without the certificate, sales tax is required on his purchase.)
Phgotog from CA has a CA certificate. Ships to IN: Tax WILL be charged. (The CA certificate does not exempt him from Indiana sales tax.)
Photog from CA has a CA certificate. Ships to KY: Sales tax WILL NOT be charged. (KISS has no locations in KY.)
Photog from WA has a WA certificate. Shipps to CA. Sales tax WILL be charged. (The exemption certificate in Washington does not apply to the California destination)

If you ship a lot of books into California or Indiana, but do not have a certificate for that state, you could have the books shipped to you and you can re-ship them. It’s recommended for all CA and IN photographers to have a certificate to comply with state laws.

We can exempt anyone with a reseller’s permit from sales tax for books shipped to the state where they’re licensed. Just fill out the form below, sign it, photograph or scan it, and return it via email here. Once you’ve submitted your form, the sales tax will no longer show up on your purchases.

California: http://www.KissWeddingBooks.com/helpfiles/resller-cal.pdf
Indiana: http://www.KissWeddingBooks.com/helpfiles/resller-ind.pdf

Need to file for a reseller’s certificate? No problem! Click the link to your state. It’s cheap and it will make your business legal:

Indiana:https://secure.in.gov/apps/dor/bt1/
California:http://www.boe.ca.gov/info/reg.htm

PayPal Discontiuation

We want to keep our prices low, especially with the current economy, so we’re looking for creative ways to cut our expenses. For those of you using PayPal for your checkout option, we’ve decided to discontinue this service. PayPal charges us more than double the transaction fees as our credit card processor. It wasn’t as big of a deal when we were doing 100 books a month, but at our current volume, it’s costing us significant amounts of casholah! Having one form of payment (credit cards) is also simpler, and we love simple!

Christmas Deadline Reminder

Here’s how KISS stacks up for Christmas 2010:

Company	2010 Deadline	Notes
KISS	December 11th (RUSHED)	Dec 1st for non-rush orders!
Leather Craftsmen	November 17th	For print/bind
Finao	November 22nd	For the “ONE” book.
Queensberry	November 1st	(last year’s date, they haven’t determined this year’s yet.)
Graphi Studios	November 8th	(last year’s date, they haven’t determined this year’s yet.)

Surprises…

Lastly… We have some exciting things coming down the line. We will be announcing a very special project in Feb, at WPPI. It is an awesome solution to all your album design struggles. It will be beautiful. It will be simple. It will be free. Hang tight, S.W.A.T is on the way.

We love you all and appreciate every order.

THANKS FOR KISSING!

Rachel, Shaun, Kev, Mark