Tag: Photography

ART, DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photography, Scrapbooking

Give the Gift of FOREVER

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: SHARE THE LOVE

Start Something with FOREVER

Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! What if a gift you give this Christmas could tell generations you’ll never meet how much you care. That’s what the gift of FOREVER can do.

A Permanent Digital Home

Perhaps the perfect gift for your someone is FOREVER’s permanent online storage they own rather than rent. Phones, tablets and other devices are lost, corrupted and destroyed every minute of every day and yet, they contain some of our most valuable possessions – our memories. With FOREVER Storage, those memories can be automatically delivered to safe, permanent storage and you never have to worry about losing them again. Because you own rather than rent FOREVER storage, you’re not signing up for someone to make monthly or annual payments into perpetuity. You buy it, they have it – FOREVER. Not only do they have it, but their kids have it and their grandkids have it and their great grandkids have it and – well you get the picture.

What’s more, those images are not going to be mined for advertising, compressed, sold or shared, because your giftee will own it. They’re in control of who has access and that access is guaranteed by the FOREVER Guarantee Fund. And FOREVER storage is more affordable this month than it ever will be again, because January 1, 2024 the price goes up!

FOREVER Digitization Boxes

Somebody in your family is the Family Historian. Everyone knows who they are. They were the ones who agreed to store all of the photos/slides/videos left behind by your mother/father/grandmother/grandfather/aunt/uncle. That means in some closet, under some bed or on some shelf all of your family’s history is sitting around and no one has access to those images. Give that historian a gift that all the family will enjoy. Get them a digitization box and begin the journey of turning a mess into shareable memories. Just for fun, FOREVER has a special Holiday Edition Box that will look great under the tree.

Genealogy Genius

Perhaps the Family Historian, with the Media Mess, is also the Keeper of the Family Tree. Perhaps someone else is constantly researching the Family Connections. Perhaps family members belong to the DAR, DRT and/ or ODC. If someone is researching genealogy, then it is inevitable for them to hit a brick wall. Did you know FOREVER has a team of Professional Genealogists with connections all over the world to help amateur sleuths climb over those brick walls? There are a number of plans from 1 hour consultations to months long research projects. Brick walls melt before these seasoned pros and your favorite genealogist will love you for gifting them some help.

Click & Play

Who’s the videographer in your family? They’ve got their phone out all the time and they’re taking videos rather than photos. So then, what happens next? They might put it on social media, but with all the hacking going on, they’re account might or might not be there next week. The videos can disappear into their phone or perhaps be loaded on another device, but then you have to download it to play it. There are sites like YouTube or Vimeo, but the bottom line is that they own the videos, not you. So, your videographer will love FOREVER’s Personal Video Streaming. Buy it once, own it forever. Share videos without the recipient having to download to watch.

A Community of Crafters

Crafters love other crafters. Crafters will pack up all their stuff and travel many miles to hang out with other crafters. What if they could just sign in, instead? Pixels 2 Pages is an online community of digital crafters who use Artisan 6 software as their vehicle of creativity. Gift your favorite crafter Artisan 6 and a month long trial membership in Pixels 2 Pages or if they’re already using Artisan 6, how about a membership in P2P? Or perhaps they’d like to be part of an online crop. FOREVER has one in January and another in April. Whatever you choose, your crafter will love you.

These are just a few of the gifting ideas with FOREVER and there’s always a gift certificate, which allows them to decide how to invest in their memory keeping. FOREVER is the gift which truly keeps on giving. They can’t eat it all or out grow it. They can’t lose it. It won’t ever be out of style. What’s even better is that long after you or your giftee are around, your thoughtful gift will still be enjoyed by family and friends for years to come.

Just call me at 972-971-5263 and let’s talk about who you’d like to gift with FOREVER and decide on the perfect gift or if you already know what to get, just follow this link https://www.forever.com/ambassador/jane-sadek and order it now. And just in case you come up short Christmas morning, remember FOREVER will be there for your order!

TRAVEL

Let Me Sort It Out – or Not

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: DON’T LET THE MESS GET IN THE WAY

Are you looking for Photo Organizing or Memory Keeping?

Where is your mess? Is it in a box, on a shelf, in a closet, under the bed, in a crate or is it actually in all of those places. For many people, that mess is the main reason they don’t want to talk (or think) about memory keeping. They think they need to go through it first, but that’s like cleaning the house for the maid to come!

I do this all the time, you don’t. I know the cues to look for. I’m not slowed down by emotions. This is my job. I’m going to get your photos sorted faster and that’s better than never. I don’t know all the details, but that’s the beauty of it and my ultimate goal is focused on providing completed projects which allow you to SHARE your photos. Curating the photos is just the first step in that process.

Perhaps you’ve heard of professional organizers and the the huge fees they charge for organizing photos. That’s not me. I’m a Memory Keeper. My primary product is not a downloadable file. Getting the photos organized is just step one. Saving and sharing your photos with future generations is my focus.

I embrace both traditional and digital solutions to Memory Keeping. I partner with FOREVER and Creative Memories, because they already have easy-to-use, affordable products, that will do a better job for you than anyone, including me, can do.

If what you want is a traditional scrapbook, then I am a scrapbooking artist. I’ve been doing it since I was nine years old and the results are beautiful. I can make them as simple or as ornate as you like. If you need your photos organized before I can start on the album, then I can do that. too.

If you prefer digital, then I have the best solutions in the industry. You need digitization? That’s what FOREVER does at the newest, largest and most state-of-the-art facility in the world. If you need your images to be organized before or after you digitize, well I do that, too, but as with the traditional albums, organizing is just a part of the job.

I don’t want you to just have organized images, I want those images to be on safe, permanent, online storage you own rather than rent. Believe me, that’s not iCloud or Google Photos or Facebook or Dropbox or Amazon or any of the other companies which force you to sign terms & agreements which limit their liability and put your memories at risk. And it’s certainly not your phone, computer or laptop. I want you to put them on FOREVER, where you you can access them from any device and you’re guaranteed your photos will be there for your lifetime, plus100 years and you rather than than some anonymous executive decide what will happen to them in the future.

I don’t want to give you a disc or a drive that can be corrupted, lost or destroyed. I don’t isolate your memories on your laptop or computer where no one but you will ever see them. I want your digital images on FOREVER, so they can be shared now and in the future without incurring monthly or annual charges for whoever comes after you.

So, I don’t tag myself as a Professional Photo Organizer. I am a Memory Keeper. I’ll do your Memory Keeping tasks for you or I’m happy to share all my secrets with you and help you enjoy being a Memory Keeper, too.

Let’s talk about your mess. Let’s figure out your budget – both time and money. Let’s talk about your audience and what will be good for future generations. Then let’s decide how we’re going to get it done – by you, by me or by both of us working together. My number is 972-971-5263. Let’s get started today.

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

Get Ready for January

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: ADD MEMORIES TO EVERY DAY OF 2024

Calendar, Planner, Notebook or Journal

So, how do you keep your life organized? A large monthly calendar on the wall? Or is it a chunky planner you carry everywhere you go? Or are you the more free flowing type who keeps a notebook with all your pertinent information and to do lists? Or perhaps you’re the reflective type that settles down at the end of the day to write down what was important.

Just about every store you’ll walk in for the next month or so will have zillions of calendars, planners and blank books on fixtures throughout the store – especially in those impulse buying areas. They want you to think “Oh yeah, I need a ___________________________(fill in the blank: calendar, a planner, a journal)!

Ooooh those exciting travel places! Look at those cat and puppy faces! That one has motivational sayings! What’s your hot button? How about, instead of that canned theme and stock pictures, you design a calendar or planner that instead focuses on your travels, your pets, your goals, your friends and your family?

Well, with FOREVER Create & Print you can use photos of your own memories, motivational sayings and Bible verses you choose, or even download images from the internet of things you want to do – it’s up to you. Just click on Create & Print on the FOREVER website and start designing your calendar, planner or notebook with their great templates. Or use Artisan 6 to add even more more exciting choices, like a personal event list.

The Wall Calendar

No matter what other calendars and planning tools you have in your life, most of us have a wall calendar hanging somewhere – on the refrigerator, next to our desk wherever we need to be reminded of what the year looks like. Every insurance agent, real estate agent and most financial advisors are quick to offer you a free calendar, but do you really want to look at their advertising all year long?

There are many great designs for wall calendars in Design & Print. You can have one large glorious image on each month or multiple images with a variety of themes. While the basic calendar design is great, with Artisan 6 you can change up the format, putting the month and days where you want them, the way you want them, in the font you want them.

Oh, and if you do choose Artisan 6 to design your calendar, then you have even more options when you design from a blank page. Perhaps the best part is that there’s a customizable event list which will offer both sets of holidays like Christian and Jewish or American and Canadian, OR you can create your own personal event list with birthdays, anniversaries and milestones! (Oh, and with Artisan you also have the choice of making desk calendars!)

The Planner

I’m a planner girl. Confession, I also have a wall calendar and desk calendar, because I am a little obsessive, but I love my planner best. FOREVER Planners became available in the summer, so mine starts in August. That’s one of the beauties of of creating your own calendar, you can start it whenever makes sense for you, whether it’s tied to an event or just when you decide you want a new planner or calendar.

One of my favorite features of the FOREVER planners is the three templates available. I’m a month/week girl, but you may identify most with a weekly or daily view of your life. Along with three different page styles, you can choose between hardbound and spiral-bound. I’m using spiral bound right now and I love it.

Notebooks/Journals/Blank Books

FOREVER calls them notebooks, but you might call them journals or blank books. Whatever you call them, there are a million ways to use them and the choices we offer make it easy to create your own perfect place to jot notes, ideas, memories, dates, goals – anything.

First, you choose what you want on the cover. Will it be a motivational statement, your Bible verse for the year, photos of your goals, photos of the ones you love or photos of the places you love.

Then you can have hardbound or spiral bound – whichever best fits your taste and usage. How people resist having a few of each is beyond me!

Best of all, you get to choose exactly which style of pages best suit your needs. (See why it’s hard to resist having a stack of them?) Do you think best on lined pages? Are you using the notebook to journal your way through your year? Do you think in images? Then you’ll definitely enjoy the bullet pages. If your method depends on your mood, then perhaps the graph/lined combo will attract your attention.

Create Your Planning Tool Today

While we’re talking about planning tools, I wanted to let you know you can use our Table Top Panels to make great dry erase boards. That’s not the same thing, but it’s in the planning family.

Whatever planning tool you’d prefer, give it a go with FOREVER – and while you’re at it, I will remind you, they also make great holiday gifts. Design & Print your calendar today.

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

Who Has the Best Media Digitization?

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: DEFINE BEST

Searching the Web

The internet is a funny thing. We depend on it heavily and yet it has very limited capabilities – in part, because it depends mostly on numbers. Were you to ask it who offers the best media digitization available, you could get a lot of different answers, but chances are, you wouldn’t know what those results meant, because what is best? Is it the company that’s been around the longest? Is it the one with the most reviews? Is it the one with the highest rating?

One of the oldest companies offering media digitization is by far the best known, but they don’t make any of the best lists. Some rating companies point to bad reviews. Others talk about it being expensive. I hate it when people ask me if we’re like XXXXXXXXXXXX, the company they know from the ubiquitous advertising campaigns. Yes, we’re both in the same business, but what we offer is light years ahead of this company, which was once on the leading edge of this industry.

One of our competitors is making great strides, in part because they’ve convinced the rating companies that they do everything – only they don’t. Two words – Scrapbook Pages. They don’t. And their photo restoration is handled by AI, not photo restoration artists. I don’t know about you, but those things matter to me. I think they’ve done a great job of marketing, but I know they actually can’t compare to us.

In fact, when you really start to dig into it, the more you learn the crazier it gets. Bright new start-ups, mobile digitization services, the guy in a garage with an ancient scanner. In fact, the internet hides more than it reveals. If they have a shiny new website with good SEO, chances are the internet is going to love them, regardless of what they do or do not offer.

So What Does FOREVER Offer and Why Should I Use Them?

Well, for one thing, we just moved into the newest, largest, most state-of-the-art media digitization facility in the world. We’re very excited about the “newest” thing, because we literally just built it and moved in, but it’s not the most important thing on the list.

That we built it is rather relevant, because we’ve been digitizing for a while now and we’ve been in some of those older facilities like our friendly competitors. These days we’re not making do with a remodeled strip center retrofitted to meet our needs. We built our facility from the ground up with only one thing in mind – media digitization. From weatherproofed docks which allows Fed Ex to unload their trucks inside to the clean room for processing media, no stone was left unturned which would allow us to do our job better.

Largest is quite significant, because one of the reasons for our size is the number of pieces of equipment we have for digitization. That’s why when we say we digitize everything, unlike our competition who try to say the same thing, we actually do. We’ve invested in a lot of equipment, just so we can digitized anything. We’ve actually developed our own equipment for handling materials that other companies don’t touch (like scrapbook pages, newspapers, 3D items etc.)

Most state-of-the-art is a little of both of these. Our warehouse is innovative, but our clean room is amazing. Our people are pretty remarkable, too. Our hiring process is not about finding warm bodies to shove photos through a machine. We hire and train media specialist with a focus on customer satisfaction. Our mind set is not faster processing, it’s more accurate, better quality processing. And yes, we hire real live artists to handle our photo restoration projects.

Our white glove service isn’t restricted to the clean room. The entire circle of service, from the moment a box comes to our facility until the moment we load the media we’re returning to the customer for delivery (yes, we return your media back to you after it is digitized) we understand what we’re handling. Throughout the entire process, from the moment you order your box, we’re going to keep you updated with exactly where your media is in our process. It’s not media to us – it’s memories.

Beyond Our New Building and Our Boxes

The fact that we deal in memories, rather than media is what really matters. Media Digitization is the beginning of what we do. We also offer the best online solutions for storing and sharing your memories. Those other guys will allow you to download from their site, offer you equipment to store your images or try and rent storage to you.

You can download from our online box center and you can buy equipment like thumb drives and DVD’s if you want to, but that’s not what we want you to do. We know you need a permanent place to store your memories, one that is safe and will be there for generations to come, without having to pay monthly/annual fees. That’s why we have online storage you own rather than rent, protected by an ironclad guarantee you can read for yourself.

We also offer a free app for synching your phone’s photo storage with FOREVER; a computer-based program for sorting, editing and sharing photos that also has facial recognition, scanning and album planning; file migration software developed for professional photo organizers and cherished by memory keepers everywhere; the world’s most advanced and comprehensive software for designing digital scrapbooks, photo gifts and more, as well as a huge selection of digital art; private video streaming; frequent free training events for our customers, as well as an extensive library of free training videos; family research professionals for discovering your genealogy; a very active online community of digital scrapbookers with virtual crops, free giveaways and more training than you can imagine; and that’s still not all we do.

We offer an extensive line of projects you can create and print, on your own. No need to go to the local office supply store, the big box store, the pharmacy’s photo department or one of those online places that offer photobooks and gifts, but has made you sign an agreement saying they can delete, compress or mine your photos. We have Autobooks and Photobooks in a wide variety of sizes, styles and bindings. Our Photo Gifts include tabletop panels, ornaments, coasters, magnets, puzzles, blankets, drinkware and wall décor. Our stationary choices include greeting cards, notebooks, planners and calendars. And if that’s not enough, get Artisan and design anything you want. Oh, and if you want prints, from standard sized photos, to page prints to posters, yes we do that, too.

A Stream-lined One-Stop Shop for All Your Digital Memory-Keeping Needs

There’s just not anything else like FOREVER. There might not be a keyword or phrase you can plug into your search engine that will say we are the best, but after reading through this blog post, I hope you realize FOREVER is the best for you. Call or text me and let’s talk about it!

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

Monthly Deals: Your Ticket to Savings

Jane Sadek

Memory Keeping 101: Always Save Money with FOREVER Deals

There’s Always a Deal at FOREVER

It’s November, so FOREVER has Black Friday deals happening all month long, but FOREVER has deals every month. Here’s how to find out what they are!

If you’re a FOREVER customer then chances are you’ve noticed the daily emails you get from them. (You can shut them off if you want. Just go to preferences in your account.) Someone in the marketing department has run their algorithms and decided which deal will entice the most people to make a trip over to their website. That’s the first place a deal might get your attention, but if you’re like me I get so much stuff in my inbox that sometimes I don’t see these love notes until a week or two later. Besides, this is just a teaser and doesn’t cover the whole spectrum of what’s being offered at a discount.

If you follow my business pages on social media, then perhaps you’ll see my daily posts about current deals. Or then again, maybe you won’t, because social media has algorithms and while they seem as if they read your mind, they also keep you from seeing a lot of things you really might be interested in. If you’re really looking for a certain item to go on sale, then don’t count on social media to deliver the post to you.

The best way to see what’s on sale at FOREVER every day is FOREVER’s Deal Page. To begin with, FOREVER has a Deal of the Day every day. Their target is digital scrapbookers who are always hungry for new digital art. Some Pixies I know (Pixies are members of the Pixels 2 Pages Online Community of Digital Scrapbookers) start their morning ordering the Deal of the Day every day. You may not be a Digital Scrapbooker, but it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on the daily deal, because sometimes it’s free. I love free, even when it’s not really something I want!

But that’s only the beginning of what’s offered. The day I wrote this blog there were 27 deals on the page, from a free coupon for new CLUB Memberships to 50% off Print Orders to Gift Ideas, Events and even FOREVER logo-wear. From the deals page, you can click directly to what you want to buy.

If you bypass the Deals page and just go to the merchandise you’re interested in, you don’t have to worry that you’ll miss a deal, because each item will be marked with both the retail price and the current deal. Just be sure that when you order you check to see that the deal has made it to your cart. It usually will, but it is the internet and things happen or don’t happen at the whim of a byte.

And Then There’s Me

Let’s face the facts! It really doesn’t matter how many places the deals are posted, most of us are too busy to go track deals down and because of that, there’s a chance you will miss the one you really want. And that’s why you have me!

While it’s not your job to keep up with what’s on sale at FOREVER, it is mine. I keep a list of what my clients want and when I know it’s going to be on sale, I let them know. How do I know what’s going to be on sale? Well, I’m an Ambassador, so on the first day of each month I get a spreadsheet that lays out everything that will be on sale for the month. The first thing I do with it is match it up with the deals up with my clients’ wish lists and let them know the window for getting that deal.

Even though I am an Ambassador, I am not privy to the specific deals of each month until they are announced, but I do know the rhythm of our business. I know there will be special offerings for Black Friday in both November and May. I know we have Christmas in June every year. I know the seasons when greeting cards are most affordable and when there will be a deal on calendars. So when you and I sit down and map out your Memory Keeping priorities and agenda, then I can help you base your schedule on when the best deals will be coming around.

Let’s Do Lunch or Coffee or Drinks or…

So, when you look at your Media Mess, remember you do not have to tackle it alone. I am happy to be your ally in the war against lost memories. Even if you don’t have time right now to tackle the job, let’s get together and talk about it. Learn your options, set your budget and let me help you get it done. I not only have access to the monthly deals as soon as they come out, I also know which tools will help you with your projects and how to use the CLUB to get the best deals.

Whether you’d like to chat memories over margaritas or you only have time for a quick Zoom, the first step in any project is to get started! Give me a call or at 972-971-5263 and let’s get started.

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

Voila! The Group Box

Jane Sadek

Memory Keeping 101: Togetherness for Digitization Value

Welcome to Group Box Digitization

Group Box Digitization is a great way to try out FOREVER’s Digitization Process, with less expense and risk than ordering your own FOREVER Box. Though our Digitization Process is quite easy and safe, some people are intimidated. Joining FOREVER, verifying an email address, choosing a type of box, choosing a size of box and then ordering a box. It sounds like a lot to some people and for the budget-minded or skeptical, it might seem like too much of an expense or risk. Then there’s packing the box and sending it back to FOREVER. We do it every day, but if you never have, you might feel some hesitation.

See there are all those urban legends about digitization companies, most of which may have actually happened, but have nothing in the world to do with FOREVER. We don’t do any of the awful things to your media the other guys do. Turn-around time is quick, everything gets the white glove treatment, nothing is lost, nothing is destroyed by equipment etc. etc. etc., but if all you’ve heard are horror stories from customers of other media digitization companies, sending your treasures off to strangers is scary.

With a Group Box, you don’t pay a penny until your media arrives at FOREVER. I order the box and I pay for most of the shipping. A Group Box is actually a big box with four small individual boxes inside. Your individual box is smaller than a standard FOREVER box, so you don’t feel the pressure to load up the box to get your money’s worth. Send one thing and see what happens. Or load it up and enjoy the reduced shipping fees. It’s up to you.

All you have to do with a Group Box is get signed up for FOREVER and give me your stuff. When I receive the big box, I’ll pack your media and send it back. When the Group Box containing your media arrives at FOREVER, they’ll let you know. Only then will you be invoiced for the digitization and return shipping. Then sooner than you can imagine, you’ll receive notification that your digitized media is online. You can download it or even better, you can invest in FOREVER storage and have those memories ready to share for generations to come – even generations you’ll never know.

Try It! You’ll Like It!

My first Group Box was delivered to my house just the other day. I want to return it to FOREVER before Thanksgiving, so your digitization order will earn an entry in my Crazy Turkey Day Drawing for a $50 Gift Certificate and you can share your digitized memories around the Christmas tree!

For some clients, Group Boxes become a way of life. As soon as I send off their media in one Group Box, they start gathering what they want to send in the next one. For others, sampling Digitization with a Group Box was all the encouragement they needed to order their own Box and ship into high Memory Keeping gear. Maybe, the Group box is just big enough to hold the two or three items you wanted to get done and that’s all you’ll ever need.

Whatever your situation, the Group Box might be just the thing you need next for your Memory Keeping projects. Give me a call at 972-971-5263 and let’s get sgtarted!

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

Farewell to The Pricing Roulette Game

Jane Sadek
Photo by Naim Benjelloun on Pexels.com

MEMORY KEEPING 101: SIMPLE & SURE PRICING

No More Buy It Now or Else

In my career as a FOREVER Ambassador, there was one thing I really hated and it was the way their prices were moving targets. The decision to invest in Memory Keeping is an important one and when someone decides to do it, they shouldn’t have to hurry up or wait to make their basic purchases, but the way FOREVER handled some of their pricing made me crazy.

Nobody loves a bargain better than me, so I love FOREVER print deals. I’ve always got a project on my mind and yes, I save them for the 50% off deals and Club Weekends free shipping. That just makes sense. However, some deals just didn’t.

To me, the pricing for much of the FOREVER services were counterproductive to my efforts. When I first started with FOREVER (almost 3 years ago!) the pricing for storage would fluctuate wildly. I get it – they were trying to match what the competition was doing and the competition, those fishes, flies and boxes, use slashed prices to lure in customers, but we had things the competitors didn’t, so why were we slashing those prices?

Obviously, I wasn’t alone. I was a mere newbie, what did I know? But behind the scenes the Executive Ambassadors were saying the same thing I was.

Few people buy permanent online storage or private video streaming on a whim. Most people don’t even realize it exists. They think you have to pay for storage month by month for the rest of their lives. They think their personal videos have to be posted to some social media giant to be shared. FOREVER isn’t a household name, yet.

So, Ambassadors go around letting people know they have a choice, but figuring out what that means usually takes some getting used to and some serious consideration about budget. When the price changed for those unique services week by week and day by day, trying to offer your customers the best value for their dollar was a game of chance.

It Got Better

I am not privy to everything that went on behind the scenes, but at the first of this year, they made a change to the pricing on storage. They set a price that was the price, but they weren’t quite to where I wanted to be, because the price was consistently marked down the same percentage. It wasn’t what I wanted, but at least I wouldn’t be faced with telling anyone the 50% off storage was last week and now they had to pay full price.

In recent months, they tried something with a few of our other premiere products which, like our storage and video streaming, you can’t get anywhere else. When Valet, the file migration software beloved of the professional photo organizers, was introduced, they didn’t kick it off with bargains. They said here’s this unique software and you can try it free for a month, but then this is the price. Nobody waited for a deal, because there wasn’t going to be one. They just purchased it with glee.

That went so well, FOREVER made a change with our other unique software programs, Artisan and Historian. Instead of juggling the price with deals from month to month, they announced the price was the price and that was it. Guess what, sales continued at the same rate they had before. People weren’t buying because of the deals. They were buying because they understood the value and uniqueness of what we offer.

It’s Going to Get Even Better

So, come January, the same thing is going to happen with storage and streaming. The price is going to be the price. The “deals” which have been going on all year are going away, because when something is permanently 25% off, that isn’t much of a deal. I’ve got to tell you there will be a slight (very slight) rise in the price of storage and streaming from the net price you’d pay today, but it will be the price and I am so happy.

So, if you have storage you need to buy or have been considering streaming, the price you can get it for, through the end of December, is the cheapest you are ever going to see it. Come January 1, 2024, the new prices will be announced and that’s going to be the price. The only deal you can get is the 5% off you get with The Club or the $20 off with Welcome and Referral Coupons. That’s it! My job will be easier and I believe our clients will be less confused.

While We’re on the Subject of Deals, Let’s Talk About Our Print Deals

While I think FOREVER has been a little frustrating with some of their deals, I have always been very impressed with their print deals. Just like you, I used to think my only options for photo printing were the fish and the fly. While I was always a traditional scrapbooking fan and didn’t delve into the world of digital photo books (or digitization with the box for that matter), I did go their for Holiday Cards and photo printing. I’d be all excited about a deal and then when I’d made all of my selections, I’d be aghast at the final price. It would seem awfully high.

Well, let me tell you about those slashed prices at the fish, the fly and the box. Their bargains are offered on a particular portion of the sale and then they get you on everything else. If you were buying Christmas cards, for instance, you’d get the reduced price on the basics, but if you did anything beyond that, like a different finish or shape, fees would be added which were not marked down. If you were creating a photobook, the standard number of pages would be discounted, but every page after that had a hefty per page price. And those other digitization people? Who cares if they were going to give you 60% off on the initial items, because they’d always charge you full price on the rest of them.

When FOREVER has a deal, the deal applies to the whole product. If your digitization box is 40% off, then your extra items are going to be 40% off. If your photo book is 50% off, then the extra pages, matte finishes and anything else added to that book will be 50% off. And of course, the same applies with your holiday cards. Now that’s what I call a deal.

I know Memory Keeping is a big investment, however, the returns on your investment are immeasurable. How can you put a price on creating and sharing a heritage which will reach generations you will never even know? I don’t think you can, but with FOREVER and their new pricing policies, you won’t be playing a game of roulette. The price will be the price for the basics and you’ll enjoy true savings on the rest. Call me today at 972-971-5263 to talk about your memory mess.

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography

Curating Individual Images in FOREVER Part II

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: EVERY IMAGE MATTERS

Telling Every Picture’s Story

So, a couple of weeks ago, I went over the editing capabilities in the lightbox for every photo in FOREVER. It was a lot, I know, but it will always be here for you. Now I want to talk about the amazing curating tools available.

First up? Is this a favorite photo of yours, then click the heart right under “Info” and it will go red. When you are in the library (or any album), you can sort by favorites and they will all come up for you.

Next click Edit Info. This is where you get to tell the image’s story. This particular photo is brand new in my Library, so I will show you how I do it.

Before and after curating info

As you can see, I put the names of the people in the photo and the place in the title. That’s what works for me. I don’t need the date, because that was already picked up from the metadata. I can change it if I need to. However, I waxed eloquent in the description. I gave our full names, where we were and explained why we were there. I talked about what was going on around us and mentioned the location was close to our home.

You can go on for as long as you need to for the description. If there are 100 people in the photo – name them all, if you like. Tell what the occasion was, why it was special and whatever other info you think might be of interest to future generations. Naming things like cars, shops, articles of clothing and other items may have important historical information in the future. Having the description of a ceremony or family tradition might thrill someone a few generations from now.

Now, get ready for this. If you are in your app on your phone, you can use the microphone to tell the story, instead of typing it. Voice to Text technology can be a lot of fun. Imagine showing an old family photo to your grandmother, pressing the microphone and saying, “Grandma, tell me who this is and what is going on?” You’ll capture the past in your grandmother’s words. Can’t get much better than that.

I’ve talked about tagging before, so I won’t take up more of your time here. If you’d like to learn more, click this link.

Also in the lightbox, you can add the image to any album. When you click Add to Album a space will open and you can start typing. FOREVER will begin to find albums which match what you type. Your image will always reside in the library, but you can add it to as many albums as you want without it taking up more space in your storage.

And there we are! I edited the photo to keep the focus on Bill and me. I used a filter to make us look extra pretty. I chose the image as a favorite chose a name for the photo and described it, added some tags and put us in the 2023 Album. I’m done! I can click the arrow on the right side and move to the next photo.

If you need some help with any of this, you can call me, or use any of the great videos in FOREVER’s Getting Started section. Where’s that? Right on the front page of the site.

This link is always available to you right under the first image on FOREVER’s home page. When you click Get Answers, this is what you see! Enjoy!

DFW Metroplex, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

VALET Your Way to Done

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: EASY FILE MIGRATION

FOREVER for Memories

When it comes to file storage, you’ve got a lot of choices, but if those files are memories, in the form of images or audio, then you need FOREVER, because that’s where your photos will be safe now and for generations to come.

Safe, because you own it. Safe, because it’s technologically secure. Safe, because it’s guaranteed for your life plus 100 years. Safe because it’s triple backed up in a variety of geographical locations. Safe, because it’s not mined for advertising. Safe, because it won’t be deleted, compressed or transferred.

Most people have their memories spread out over three types of media. They have some things in hard copy – photos, videos, slides, movies, audio etc. The most recent memories are on their phone. And squeezed in between these two are all the places you may have digital photos other than your phone – your pc, your laptop, hard drives, thumb drives, floppy discs, CD’s, DVD’s, even camera cards.

FOREVER – a Place for Everything!

FOREVER is ready for all your memories. We have the very best digitization – bar none- in the industry (and in a few weeks will have the largest, most extensive facility) for all that hard copy media. Then every FOREVER storage account comes with it’s own free app, which will upload all your photos from your phone and continue to synch them as you take them should you desire.

All the rest can be uploaded from your devices, but in the past that could have been an obstacle for potential users. If your images were spread all over your digital life with no type of organization, then a move to FOREVER storage would protect your mess, but it would still be a mess. If your images were neatly organized in one or two places, then a move to FOREVER storage would have, once again, protected your images, but unless you took the time to carefully move them, folder by folder, you’d just have a safe mess. In either case, interested parties might hesitate to make the jump.

VALET Solves Both Problems

VALET is an app for high speed uploading and downloading, but it does more than that.

If your images are spread all over the place in a wide variety of media with no rhyme or reason, then you’ll love VALET. It will sort your images into dated albums by year and by month, as you upload them into FOREVER, and it will do it so quickly you’ll be amazed. When it’s done, all your memories will be safe and organized.

If your photos are neatly organized on your device(s), then you’ll love VALET even more. It will upload your photos into nested albums, based on the organization you have on your device and it will do it so fast you’ll barely believe it. When it’s done, all your photos will be safe and organized.

Here’s the best part! You can try out VALET for free for 30 days, even though you could probably move all your pictures in a matter of minutes or hours. Because it is a trial, it does not have the download feature available, but when moving to FOREVER, it’s all about the upload.

However, if you’re someone who moves a lot of images around or you’ve got so many photos, so many places you can’t get them all uploaded in 30 days, then VALET is only $60 a year. It was developed for use by photo professionals and professional organizers, so there is a pro level of the app which costs more, but for most of us, the standard VALET will do everything we’ll ever need it to do.

If you’re like some folks who just couldn’t face the trials and tribulations of moving your photos into FOREVER then I have to tell you, that excuse no longer holds water. If you’re still unsure about it, call me. I can either walk you through it in a ZOOM meeting or if necessary, come to your house, sit at your and do it for you!

DFW Metroplex, Memory Keeping, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Scrapbooking

Win, Win, Win

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING 101: FOREVER REFERRALS PAY OFF THREE WAYS

An Easy Win for You

Most of us would love to refer our friends to our friends, but it can get complicated. With FOREVER it’s easy. In fact, it’s so easy, some people do it without even realizing it.

From the App

Every FOREVER storage owner gets a free app which makes their photos accessible on their phones. If you’ show someone a photo from your collection and they say, “Oh I love it, can you share it?” You can say, “Sure!” and use the handy-dandy share symbol, but you can also be a hero.

You can also say, “I’d love to share it! Can I send you an invitation to join FOREVER? It’s free and it will make it really easy to share not only this photo, but anything else I want to share with you now and later.” If they say yes, and why wouldn’t they, then you’ve kicked off a great opportunity – for you, for your friend and for me!

Once your friend accepts your invitation, sharing photos and albums is very easy – not just that photo, but you’ve got an easy connection for sharing other items whenever you want. In addition, your friend immediately starts to enjoy some of the benefits of FOREVER and they will get a very special gift – but more about that later.

From Your Online Storage

Let’s say you’ve just uploaded all your vacation photos from your recent trip to Disney. Your kids are so cute and you know someone who would love to see them, but how are you going to send them? We’ve all been there. There’s too many to text, your email will convert it to some file you’re friend or kin may or may not be able to open or any other of the various things which can happen digitally. You just wish you could let them see them right there in your account. Well, you can.

You can hit the share button or your can be a hero! With the share button, they’ll get photos they can look at and download, but when you’re a hero, you give them their own access to FOREVER.

Just go to the person icon on the top right of your account, click on refer a friend and choose the way you want to share. In your invitation say, “I want to share some photos with you and FOREVER is an easy way to do it. Just sign up for free with this link.” when they connect with you, sharing will be easy.

So, How Do You Win, They Win and I Win?

When you send them the link and they verify their free membership, they get a $20 Off Welcome Coupon they can use any time in the next 60 days. That gives them time to see the photos you shared with them and they’ll get 2 GB of free storage to play with. When they make their first purchase, whether that’s storage, a digitation box or a print item, you’ll automatically get a $20 Off Coupon to use. That’s how you win and they win.

The more you refer, the more you win! Every time you refer someone who becomes a FOREVER customer, you get a $20 coupon with their first order. Want to buy something a little out of your budget? You can stack up to 3 coupons on any purchase, on top of any FOREVER deal and a FOREVER Club discount.

I will confess though, I am the biggest winner. First of all, I get a new client and that’s the best thing I can think of. What makes it better is that both you and your friend have been rewarded by FOREVER. Those $20 off coupons don’t come out of my pocket. That’s a present from FOREVER. But you know what? I always get a reward from FOREVER, whenever I get a new paying client from a referral link, whether the link came from one of my clients or from me.

So, when you refer a friend to me, who becomes my new paying client, you win, they win and I win in more ways than one. And let me tell you something! Those clients who send me referrals are my favorite clients and rest assured, I find ways to reward you. Please be a hero and refer a friend today!!