Mail Clients a DVD or Digital Download?

I'm considering not sending my clients a DVD-- rather sending them a link to download their album. Does anyone have any advice; pro/cons, etc?

I've done both. Really depends on the preference of the client. You might want to charge a small fee for shipping and handling if you're mailing the disc.

Personally, I'm switching to USB flash drives with my business logo and contact info. You might want to check if there's such an option for you where you live. It looks way more professional than a disc scribbled on with a sharpie.

Alveric wrote in post #17233053
I've done both. Really depends on the preference of the client. You might want to charge a small fee for shipping and handling if you're mailing the disc.

Personally, I'm switching to USB flash drives with my business logo and contact info. You might want to check if there's such an option for you where you live. It looks way more professional than a disc scribbled on with a sharpie.

I like the idea of a USB thumbdrive- but they seem far too expensive. For DVDs, I print directly onto the disc for nice presentation. I guess the question is.. is a DVD the best thing for my client?

A paper USB business card would be really cool:
http://techcrunch.com/​2014/08/08/swivelcard/

SashaPrincePhotography wrote in post #17233095
I like the idea of a USB thumbdrive- but they seem far too expensive. For DVDs, I print directly onto the disc for nice presentation. I guess the question is.. is a DVD the best thing for my client?

Only your client can tell you that. Why not ask him?

Alveric wrote in post #17233117
Only your client can tell you that. Why not ask him?

I suppose I'm looking for a "one size fits all" solution.

If you are stuck with one size fits all then it should be some form of media, dvd or flash drive. As many people transition from home computers to mobile devices, phones or tablets, downloading may be complicated or impossible. If you are including printing rights then the media solution is more critical .

I normally do digital download via email and offer links to my photobox pro gallery for easy print ordering.

SashaPrincePhotography wrote in post #17233131
I suppose I'm looking for a "one size fits all" solution.

There is no 'one size fits all' solution. Every client is different.

I purchased 50 custom flash drives with packaging thru here: http://www.usbmemorydi​rect.com/products/swm.​htm

For 8gb flash drives w/padded container, I paid around $7 for each one.

In the future, I'd get faster drives and fancier containers.

SashaPrincePhotography wrote in post #17233131
I suppose I'm looking for a "one size fits all" solution.

Lots of computers don't even come with disk drives anymore. My Macs don't have drives and lots of notebooks are coming out that don't have drives either.

SashaPrincePhotography wrote in post #17233131
I suppose I'm looking for a "one size fits all" solution.

There is no one size fits all. Some people don't have a good Internet connection... some do. Some people don't have a CD/DVD drive... so do.

The "one size fits all" is delivering on a medium your client can use... which may very from client to client.

the flying moose wrote in post #17233319
Lots of computers don't even come with disk drives anymore. My Macs don't have drives and lots of notebooks are coming out that don't have drives either.

A point I was going to make too, plus those who solely use an iPad can't read a USB flash drive, the world is moving from a physical to a download model.

Music via iTunes, film with Neflix, books on a Kindle, I suggest most clients would expect some form of digital download nowadays.

As said above there are reasons against all electronic methods, but there is a one size fits all, it called paper i.e. prints, but that will most likely not fit your business model.

whiteflyer wrote in post #17233567
As said above there are reasons against all electronic methods, but there is a one size fits all, it called paper i.e. prints, but that will most likely not fit your business model.

It isn't a one size fits all if you don't sell prints. I don't sell prints, never have, never will... I sell data.

Interesting conversation. In the U.S. I suppose the region makes a difference as well, along with the age of the client.

I teach full time and shoot part time. I've been getting far more requests than I can handle and, at some point, I'll really get myself organized to possibly shift into full time work. The opportunities in my area are great.

That said, now that I think about it, every client I've had is a middle-aged mom wanting photos of kids or family. And they all want a CD. They don't like the idea of an online folder for download. They don't mind the online folder for browsing, but they all want a disc.

This is a topic we've been discussing for a while.

For 10 years we've been offering our event images on CD/DVD. The disc gets a nice label from our inkjet printer, a paper envelope with clear plastic window, cardboard mailer & stamp. We've charged $5 for that service from day one, pretty much a break-even price for us.

Last year or two we've been exploring other options, including USB thumb drives. Price wise, they're getting close. We're interested in custom printed drives, 4GB in size. The only major issue is mailing costs & we like the $5 price point we currently use for disks.

Our event clients seem to prefer CD/DVD, rather than download. There is the occasional exception.

That said, most of our commercial clients have switched over to FTP, Dropbox or something similar. Faster for them, more economical for us.

At this point, we'll continue to offer both disk & downloads, depending on the market. If thumb drives hit the correct price point, we may head that direction.