Virtual Agency
A Virtual Agency ("VA") makes it possible for a group of independent photographers to link their archives together and take advantage of group marketing efforts.
Because the VA is simply the grouping of multiple PhotoShelter Personal Archives together into one searchable pool, all of the photographers maintain total control of their images, and any sales are conducted directly between photographer and buyer; earnings are not shared with any other photographers. The VA was designed to give the individual photographer the marketing power of a true collective without sacrificing business independence.
The Details:
Cost. It is completely free for any PhotoShelter photographer to join a Virtual Agency. It is also free to create a VA, provided you have a Basic, Standard, or Pro PhotoShelter account.
Setup. All VA creation, homepage settings, gallery management, member settings, and incoming and outgoing invitations are managed through the Virtual Agency (/mem/va/va_int) section of your PhotoShelter account. Each user may create a maximum of three Virtual Agencies.
Members & Permissions. A VA is invitation-only; the only way to join a VA is through an invitation from either the VA creator or a designated admin member. There is no minimum or maximum number of members that any single VA may have. Each member has 3 settings that only the VA creator may add/edit:
- Listed publicly. If this box is checked, the member's name will appear on the VA homepage in the list. This setting has no bearing on the searchability of the member's images.
- Make full archive searchable. Enabling this will include the member's full searchable archive as part of the VA search index. If unchecked, only images in the user's public VA galleries will be included in the VA search index.
- Admin. An admin member of a VA has additional managerial privileges: the ability to invite new members, designate/remove featured & sub-featured galleries, add contact info for the VA, and change visibility of VA galleries or remove them entirely.
Galleries. The content of a VA is made up of galleries that are submitted by its members. A gallery may be submitted from the Gallery List (/mem/gallery/gallery-list) by clicking "Send to VA" or by clicking "Virtual Agency" from the "Send Gallery To" left-hand menu in the thumbnail view of a gallery. After a gallery has been submitted, it is designated as private until the VA owner or an admin makes it public. Unlike a standard gallery, which may be password-protected or invite-only, the VA Gallery may only be public or private.
Search Guidelines. A Virtual Agency's search index Ð the images that are combed when a visitor executes a search through the VA Ð automatically includes all images that are contained in a public gallery in that VA. Additionally, for any member whose full archive searchability is set to "yes," any images not included in the VA but that are marked as "publicly searchable" will also be included in the VA search index.
Public Visibility. In order to promote your VA through our VA directory (http://pa.photoshelter.com/va-list), the "Agency Visibility" setting your VA's "Main Info" section must be set to Public. Then, whenever you add a new Featured Gallery to your VA homepage, your collective will appear in the VA directory's "Recently Updated" list. (See the below FAQ if you need help setting up a Featured Gallery.)
Forums. One cool perk of the VA is that you are automatically outfitted with a members-only forum. Only approved members of the VA may read and post messages therein. While you must be a paid PhotoShelter subscriber in order to post to the main forums, if you are a free Starter account holder and also a Virtual Agency member, you are more than welcome to post in this private arena without a paid account.
FAQ
Is this a "real" agency?
The Virtual Agency is very different than an actual real-world photo agency. One big difference between the two is that a typical photo agency has a staff of sales people working full-time to sell your images, and the Virtual Agency does not. However, a typical real-world agency takes a percentage of all sales to pay for the expense of having a staff of sales people Ð and a Virtual Agency takes no percentage of sales (although the standard 10% transaction fee imposed by PhotoShelter still applies). The transaction is conducted directly between the buyer and the photographer, which cuts out the middleman.
I have a Starter account. Can I still be in a VA?
Yes, you may join a VA, but you may not create your own.
How do I create a Featured Gallery for my VA?
To add a "Featured Gallery" to your VA, click "Community" -> "Virtual Agency" from within your account, then select the desired VA. Then, click the "Featured Galleries" link to choose from among the galleries that have been submitted to the VA.
How do I join a VA?
To join a virtual agency you must be invited by its owner.
How do I modify the content on my VA web page?
This works in exactly the same way you would modify your personal PhotoShelter page, except that you're doing it from the "Virtual Agency" area of your account. To modify the content of a Virtual Agency, click "Community" -> "Virtual Agency" from within your account, and select the desired VA. You should then click the "Featured Galleries" link to choose from among the galleries that have been submitted to the agency.
How can I customize the look of my VA?
At the moment, the VA does not have access to the full set of website customization features. You do, however, have the option to display a custom logo or marquee image through the "Logo URL" field. You may add this image link in the VA -> General Info -> Main Info section of your account.
How do I add people to my Virtual Agency?
To invite a person to join a Virtual Agency, click "Community" -> "Virtual Agency" from within your account, and select the desired VA. Then click "Members", which will bring up a list of your current members, as well as invitees (those members with outstanding invitations). Click the "Invite more" link and follow the prompt's instructions to send more invitations. Please note that any invitee must first be a PhotoShelter subscriber (Starter, Basic, Standard, or Pro) before he or she may receive an invitation. Once you've sent the invitation, your invitee will receive an email with a link to accept your invitation.
I was sent an invitation to join, but didn't get it! Now what?
All invitations you've received that have not yet been accepted are listed in your "My Invitations" section, which you may access via "Community" -> "Virtual Agency" from within your account, then click "My Invitations".
How can I assign others to be co-administrators of my Virtual Agency?
To give admin privileges to another member of one of your Virtual Agencies, click "Community" -> "Virtual Agency" from within your account, and select the desired VA. You should then click the "Members" link. A list of current members will be displayed. If the person is not currently already an admin, simply click the "No" associated with their name in the "Admin" column. A window will pop up that will allow you to change the preferences for this user. Check the box next to "Admin" and click "Submit". If you wish to remove admin abilities for a person, you would use the same process but would instead uncheck the box next to "Admin".
If I leave the Virtual Agency, what happens to my images?
Since you are in total control of your images, if you decide to leave a Virtual Agency, all of your images are removed from the Virtual Agency automatically and instantly. This will not affect the gallery as it appears in your personal account.
