How to use Studio Strategy

Studio Strategy asks you a short set of questions about your studio, then writes a pricing and marketing plan built on your numbers. This guide walks through setup, the four steps, the report, and how to keep, share and export your work.

Before you start

The tool writes your report with Claude, Anthropic's AI model, so it needs an Anthropic API key. You only need to do this once.

Create or sign in to an account at console.anthropic.com.
Create an API key there and copy it.
In the tool, open Settings, paste the key under Anthropic API Key, and press Save Key.

The key stays in this browser on this computer. It is sent only to Anthropic, never to Don Giannatti or any other server.

Reports cost a small amount per run to your Anthropic account, billed by Anthropic. The tool itself is free to use.

Settings

Open Settings from the top right of any page. It has these sections:

Section	What it does
Anthropic API Key	Save or remove your key. The last four characters show so you can confirm which key is saved.
Model	Choose which Claude model writes your report. The list comes straight from Anthropic. Press Refresh List to update it when new models arrive.
Report Settings	The output budget sets how much room the model has to write. Standard (8,000 tokens) is quick. Thorough (16,000) is the default and suits most studios. Maximum (32,000) gives the fullest reports but takes longest. Report language changes the language of the written report. Labels and buttons stay in English.
Logo for Reports & PDF	Upload a PNG, GIF or JPG under 400 KB. It appears at the top of each report and on the PDF cover.
Export Folder	Choose a folder on your computer for project files. Turn on automatic saving to write every new report to that folder.
Saved Profile	Shows your saved studio profile. Clear it here if you want a fresh start.

The four steps

Step 1: Studio

Enter your name, studio name, specialty, years in business, city size, income source and whether you have a portfolio website. Press Save Profile to keep these details. They load automatically the next time you visit, and you can edit and re-save them at any time.

Step 2: Pricing

Enter your current hourly rate, how busy you are, who you want to work with, and whether you offer packages. Two optional fields unlock the Rate & Package Math section:

Hours you can sell per month, the billable hours you could realistically book.
Monthly income goal, what you want to earn from photography each month.

If a number looks unusual (for example a rate under $25/hr), the tool shows a note. Press Continue again to move on anyway.

Step 3: Marketing

Describe what you do now to bring in clients, how often you market, and your biggest frustration. Be specific. The report can only address what you tell it.

Step 4: Goals

Describe where you want the business to be in twelve months. Then choose the AI model and press Generate My Strategy.

While the report is writing you will see a live character count, the elapsed time, and a Cancel button. Cancelling keeps your answers so you can try again.

Reading your report

Each report opens with a few quick actions and then runs through the sections below.

Client-Ready Summary. About 150 words in your own voice, ready to paste into an email or bio. Use Copy Summary to take it.
Rate & Package Math. Worked out on your numbers. It shows your estimated income at your current rate, the rate you need at your current booking level and if fully booked, and a price guide for Entry, Core and Premium packages. Editing time is estimated at 1.5 hours per shooting hour, so adjust to your own workflow.
Assessment, Pricing Strategy, Package Recommendations, Marketing Recommendations. The written advice, specific to your answers.
Next Steps. A numbered list ordered by impact. Tick each step off as you go. Your progress is saved with the project.

Below the report you can:

Button	What it does
Save as PDF	Opens the print dialog. See Saving a PDF.
Copy Results	Copies the full report as plain text.
Edit Inputs	Returns to Step 1 with your answers filled in, so you can change them and generate again.
Run Again	Writes the same report with the model you pick in the dropdown. Both versions are kept, so you can compare them.
Start Over	Clears the form and returns to Step 1 (your saved profile reloads).
Back to the Tool	Appears at the top and bottom. Returns you to the start page.

Recent Projects

Every report you generate is kept in Recent Projects on the start page. The tool keeps the last five, and the oldest drops off when a sixth is added. For each project you can:

Open the saved report.
Edit Inputs to change the answers and generate a new report.
Export JSON to save the project as a file.
Delete to remove it from this browser. Files you exported are not affected.

Comparing two projects

Tick the checkbox beside two projects, then press Compare Selected. The two reports appear side by side. Use this to see how a rate change or a different model changed the advice.

Import and export

Projects travel as JSON files, so you can keep an archive, move work to another computer, or revisit an old plan.

Exporting

Press Export JSON on any project. In Chrome or Edge the tool saves the file to the export folder you chose in Settings. Other browsers download it to your usual Downloads folder.

Importing

Press Import JSON on the start page and choose a project file. The answers load into the form so you can tweak them, and the saved report is available to open. Files from earlier versions of the tool import as well.

Saving a PDF

Press Save as PDF on a report. The browser's print dialog opens.

Under Destination, choose Save as PDF.
Under More settings, untick Headers and footers so the browser does not add the page address and date to the margins.
Press Save.

The PDF opens with your logo and details on the cover, followed by the report on a white background.

Add your logo once in Settings, under Logo for Reports & PDF, and it appears on every PDF.

Try the sample first

Not ready to enter your own details? Press View Sample Report on the start page. It shows a finished report for a fictional studio, so you can see every section before you start. Nothing in the sample is saved to your projects. Press Back to the Tool to return.

You can also press Try an Example in Step 1 to fill the form with the same fictional studio, then change the details to your own.

Your data and privacy

Your key and your projects stay in this browser. They are stored on this computer, not on a server.
Your answers go to Anthropic only, when you generate a report, to write it.
Clearing your browser's site data removes saved projects, your profile, your key and your logo. Export anything you want to keep first.
On a shared computer, remove your API key in Settings when you finish.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
"Add your Anthropic API key" when you generate	Open Settings and save your key. Check it was copied in full.
"API error 401"	The key is wrong or was revoked. Create a new key at console.anthropic.com and save it in Settings.
"The report ran out of room"	Raise the output budget in Settings to Thorough or Maximum, then generate again.
The model list shows only a few names	Save your key, then press Refresh List in Settings.
Folder option is missing or says downloads instead	Folder picking works in Chrome and Edge. Other browsers download files instead.
The PDF has the address and date in the margins	In the print dialog, untick Headers and footers.
A saved profile or project disappeared	Browser site data may have been cleared. Keep exported JSON files as your backup.

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