Free Photo Sharing - That Pays!

The first thing you need to do is open an account. If you haven't already done so click on the graphic above and get registered, then come back here!

OK, now you've joined, we can get started.

You need to upload your pictures to "Galleries" on Shareapic. These galleries can be shared with others, or you can share specific pictures from any gallery. The best approach is to group all your pictures in gallery names relevant to the theme of the pictures. If you took lots of pictures at a friends party, then create a gallery called FriendsParty and upload all the relevant files. You can get Shareapic to generate a link for the FriendsParty that you can email to all your friends. They can view the photos online, download them or print them, as required.

The first place you need to use for promoting your pictures is right here! Yes, create a Squidoo Lens as a showcase for your photography skills.

When you have uploaded some of your pictures to a Shareapic Gallery, you can generate the HTML code required to access them. Just post the code into a Text/Write module like this one and your pictures will magically appear.

As an example I have added some pictures of fruit to this module, just to demonstrate the workings. If you click on any of the pictures a window will open with access to the original image, which can then be copied or printed by the viewer.

A word of caution here - if your pictures do not appear, it is probably because they have not been approved yet, the process can take up to 24 hours. Shareapic is a "family friendly" site, so no porn or other offensive material will be accepted.

Do you sell on eBay? If the answer is no, then you should! This is a great way to get your pictures viewed. Those of you that already sell on ebay will know that you can show 1 item picture free of charge in your auction listing. If you use Shareapic you can show as many as you like. Take photographs of your item for sale from all different angles, upload them to Shareapic and include the link codes in the HTML section of your auction listing. Add a note saying something like "click on the picture for a full view of this item" and away you go. You will not make a fortune from it, but at least it will contribute to the eBay fees!

Of course you can use scanned images instead of digital photos, if you prefer. Here are some images I have used in recent auctions. Click on a picture for the full size view!

Post your pictures to your Blog. If you don't have one already get a free one from Blogger.com, it is very simple to set up and get started. You can post picture link codes into your blog postings, set up an RSS feed for your galleries or just create text links for your galleries. The possibilities are endless. If you use Blogger don't forget to sign up for Google Adsense - it will give you another useful income stream. You can also add advertising code to your Shareapic account and potentially generate revenue from adverts on your picture pages.

Once your blog is set up and you have posted to it a few times you need to promote it. Make sure you utilise the Social Bookmarking sites such as Stumbleupon, Digg, Del.icio.us, and Furl It. There are some great lenses on Squidoo that list dozens of Social Bookmarking sites and advise you how to make best use of them. As well as your Blog, Squidoo lenses can be promoted in this way too.

You should also take the RSS Feed from your Blog or Squidoo Lens and post it to RSS Directory sites and Aggregators. For further information on this traffic generating technique have a look at Seven of the Best Uses for RSS Feeds.

Post a link to your pictures on Facebook, MySpace or whichever is your preferred Social Networking site. Join a Facebook group relevant to the theme of your pictures and post a link to them - lots of people will be curious and will click to see the pictures. Shareapic make it easy for you to post to lots of sites by utilizing the widget provided on the Link Codes page. Feel free to use any of my pictures if you like them.

Once you have uploaded your photos, Shareapic provides the option of generating code to use in your forum signature file. Provided your photos relate in some way to the forum topic, other members will be pleased to see them and they will get lots of views. Once again, it's all about finding a niche relative to your photography subjects.