Cloudpano

Cloudpano: It’s the best virtual tour software available. 

This Cloudpano review is a targeted look at the software. Cloudpano is a broad application software for virtual tours. You can use it to make captivating virtual tours of anything from homes to cars. Basically, any industry. We’re going to be examining several impacts this swiss army knife software has on the virtual tour industry. We’re also going to review how it is a viable and effective counter offer to Matterport. Further on we’ll discuss hosting as an income strategy. Lastly, we’ll talk about landing national clients with Cloudpano.

Cloudpano is, at its core, a hosting platform. Cloudpano allows you to connect images and videos. Particularly, 360 images and video. It can also host images and other text, but we’ll leave that aside. Now, it’s important to review these two assets. 360, or equirectangular images, are the main asset. There are a variety of ways to produce them.

I covered several in my video review of Cloudpano. Some of the most popular ways are with cellphone, 360 camera, D/SLR, 3D Camera, and of course- drone. Before we touch base on these platforms, it is important to nod to the fact that with so many different systems being able to produce equirectangular images, Cloudpano is an easy choice for someone looking to get into the industry.

Systems To Build A Cloudpano Tour.

Smartphones are ubiquitous. It is then fortunate that Google has released a free app that allows you to generate equirectangular images for free. Not only that, it will stitch them as well. It does a respectable 6/10 job as well. Now typically you wouldn’t want panoramic images of that quality in a tour.

However, post production is our friend. They can easily be exported and cleaned up, giving a viable entry point into the industry with as little as a smartphone with service, both for taking pictures and selling, internet, and a Cloupano subscription. Other advantages of using the Google Street smartphone app, is its ability to help you rank as a Google Street photographer. You will be a trusted affiliate, and can further still help your client achieve internet exposure and indeed more profits.

360 cameras have gained in popularity. Outsiders like GoPro have entered the space, and long time second tier manufacturers like Ricoh Theta have turned out flagship models in this class. The Ricoh Theta Z1. This is likely one of the most popular on the platform. While it has a commanding price of just over $1,000- it is worth it. Other entry points in the stand alone 360 camera vertical are more appealing, with lesser models going for less than half the price.

What needs to be considered when shopping for an asset to make virtual tours- is 360 video. And at the time you need a 360 camera to make that happen. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is an equirectangular image worth? Or an equirectangular video? In the hands of the right application, it can be invaluable.

Regular, full frame cameras are a great option. Building tours in Cloudpano is easy in time. So using a full frame camera can add a layer of unmatched quality. While you will want a zero-nadir panoramic tripod head, for sure. It is hard to beat the quality of bracketing images. The tricky part here is in the post production. You will need to utilize a desktop or tablet to do some post production. And even further still, stitching time can take a while. (Hint: build that into the price).

3D Cameras are perfect for Cloudpano. It’s true! If you’re looking at your Matterport Pro2 and thinking “I can’t make this work”, let me tell you, you are wrong. Matterport is expensive, it supplies way more than what is often needed, and is an overall bad platform. However, the upside is that you can extract 360 panoramas from any existing Matterport tour, and turn them into cloudpano tours. This means you can easily convert your existing inventory of tours, and finally escape Matterport.

Lastly, a top favorite is drones. Adding drone work to a virtual tour is a super quick way to make $500. And it hits on any vertical Cloudpano does. It is really amazing to see how well and how quickly you can upsell quality drone applications in Cloudpano. Not that you need to make a halo around a property- but hey, you totally could. Drones are expensive and flashy but they are eye-catching. You need your Part 107 licenses to fly them.

A massive upside here is that most modern drones will make the panoramic themselves. You just fly to a point in space you want them captured. Press just one button, and let the drone do the rest- stitching included.

Cloudpano Is Adaptable.

Cloudpano is a highly adaptable virtual tour software. You can use it across many niches. We have found that if it is an industry where a virtual tour is applicable, that Cloudpano is equally applicable 98% of the time. And considering the cost and customization, that 2% is very, very hard to miss.

Cloudpano tours can be found in anything from car dealerships to resorts. Schools, event spaces, the list goes on. One (bad) criticism against Cloudpano is the lack of a dollhouse. Luckily, in Early 2022, they launched the ability to have a dollhouse rendered. This further closed the gap between Matterport and Cloudpano.

Is Cloudpano Passive Income?

The short answer- yes. When you make a captivating virtual tour- you are completely within your rights to charge hosting. After all, the cost of Cloudpano is basically two parts in one. Access to building/GSV, and hosting the tours. You are allowed to pass that cost down- and make a handsome profit while doing so.

Let us say, for example, you had a private school that got the tour. A private school might charge $15,000 a year to teach a child. So if they have 10 spots open, they are missing out on $150,000! You are able to come in, and help with their exposure. You can easily charge three figures to keep the tour active.

So, in 2-3 years time, you’ll really look back and be thankful you implemented this model with cloudpano. It is a phenomenal path to financial freedom.

But how do you go about actually securing these arrangements?

The basic sales line that has the best conversions goes like some version of this. “In order to keep the tour online and active, and with unlimited distribution and no advertisements, we must charge a small monthly fee”. And no, advertisements are not an option anyway.

A lot of people who try this will run into push back. So plan for it. Start with a $10/month or $100/year offering. You can auto generate and send invoices with workflow setups in a lot of payment platforms.

Adverse reactions can be dealt with. “I understand the hosting could be a deal breaker for you. Can we work out a deal, where if you are satisfied you can pledge to give an honest review (don’t trade for fake five star, that comes off as dishonest and can sour a deal fast) on Google?”

Another good counter, “I understand the hosting could be a deal breaker for you. Can we work out a deal, where if you are satisfied you can pledge to make introductions via email to three other peers in other institutions in this industry?”.

Setting up a consistent hosting requirement- and being able to be flexible, will go for your business.

There are other considerations when charging for hosting. You really won’t get away with it in real estate. Houses really sell too fast right now. Businesses like auto dealerships and stores will pay $10/month. Private schools and larger institutions will readily pay even more.

There will be a small degree of maintenance needed to help deliver the value and help drive the sale of hosting. Utilize the amazing feature of cloudpano to slip in analytics tracking- and include those reports in the hosting fee. Again, this is something you can automate. This is a very important step and application. Cloudpano will help and be useful.

National Clients And Cloudpano.

There are a lot of great discussions on Cloudpano. Getting started is important. But the next level involves bigger clients. This can often mean national chains. So how do you nail down a national franchise- even as a regional photographer? Partnerships. Network with other virtual tour providers to fill in gaps that you can’t take on yourself. You can even keep a percentage (“sales commission”) for yourself. Once you have a network, you can move on the bigger fish.

To get started, do your homework. If you want to sell to Home Depot, you need to figure out who is on the marketing team. Who do you know on LinkedIn, or even your own life? What if you set your eyes on sub-national targets? Think of regional organizations. Once you figure that out, it’s time to start making some calls.

I hate cold calls, most people hate cold calls. But there is an important difference. When you are putting the work in, understand this is for a large sum. For a bigger carrot, think of the hosting. This isn’t a one off school or car dealership. This could be for four figures of locations selling for a six figure sum. So with that in mind, bite the bullet. But how exactly does Cloudpano come in here?

Obviously as the virtual tour platform. But some won’t want or see utility in just a virtual tour. It is what it is, you can’t win them all. However, most people recognize Google’s presence. And an ability to add to Google Street View from cloudpano could be a handy backup. This should be an on the table feature. There are no large concessions in price. You can’t make a case for hosting here, it’s all on Google when it’s published.

A parting note on large clients- see who might be headquartered near you. I cannot underemphasize the cold walk in. You will get far with a big smile, deep knowledge of the client, and a tablet with a tour loaded up. This could be far and away the easiest conversion method. Like cold calling, don’t be discouraged to keep going back. The Cloudpano software sells itself.

A Conclusion On Cloudpano Software.

Cloudpano is the best virtual tour software. Not only is it adaptable, it’s cost effective. This is an important consideration. Anyone in the industry or looking to get in should consider Cloudpano software. It’s important to remember all the different types of media that Cloudpano can hold. From 360 images, still images, 360 video, drone panoramic, and of course the ability to embed assets. With Cloudpano, you can approach any industry, and scale accordingly. Cloudpano will grow with you, from your first client to your first national client. It’s important that you need something that fits you. Cloudpano is so customizable, it’s the right fit for anyone.