All About Selling Photos Online & Having Fun Taking Photos

Here's a great page (photo blog) that before anything, should be your first stop.

It's packed with motivating, solid, creative ideas that you can use to monetize your photography...

Think outside the square with this... Actually that page will warm you up to some enticing 'photo business' ideas...

What could you ADD your photos to?

There's thousands of different images on everything we see in front of us every time we leave the house... or inside our home too...

Curtains, fabrics, cups, bags, clothing, surfboards, skateboards, screen savers, desktop pads, pencil cases, camping gear, snowboards, even cameras, motorbikes and handguns!

Hey, why not? I guarantee it will happen sooner than later!

I read in UAE (United Arab Emirates) they were forking over millions for number plates... (the lowest numbers being the more desirable).

Think outside the square... Offer to 'license' your images or image to a gun manufacturer who creates a limited edition, high priced Glock 9mm for a specialist market...

I know, outrageous eh?

But take the same idea and use it for ANY product...

OK how about this for an idea. Instead of selling 10 custom photo prints on your website for $20 each, what about offering the TOP end market (think UAE customers) 5 original 5 x 6 meter photo prints for USD$10,000 each.

Outrageous... BUT very do-able.

Great photo ideas

Go look and then post a comment on this site OK...

Think back for a minute when you were a child, gazing up into the clouds, and seeing all these great creatures up there, swirling around, metamorphosing into dragons and giraffes and witches on broomsticks every few seconds.

Fascinating eh?

This highly creative, 'imagination zone' is something that I have an abundance of. This is how I see life... and nature... You could say I have a child-like curiosity. And I'm not 7 years old... but I'm no less truly amazed.

You know, I live in Southern Thailand, and if you've ever traveled to this country you'd know how magical the tropical storms can be. It's an amazing experience to watch as heavy cloud formations brew up and move with lightening speed across the sky.

Call it storm chasing, or cloud watching... I'm staring up at the heavens so often... people wonder what I'm looking at, and they look up to try to find 'whatever it is' too.

It's pretty funny.

I also happen to be an artist (photographer) who is highly imaginative. I can't really explain why that is, but what I do know is that some clouds just really impress me. Nature really amazes me with its magnificence, beauty and intelligence. You've got to admit, life sure is pretty special.

Anyhow despite my burning passion and love of the heavens above, I was still insanely frustrated from having to work a normal job to bring in the bacon. Maybe I'm allergic to normality... mix this with my ambitious nature and you start getting the picture of me.

If you've ever talked to an artist you might see the burning creativity in their eyes and see how badly they want to 'make and create art' and how much they don't want to have to work a 'normal' job to be able to 'create' constantly...

If you've seen that you'd know how I feel. Or maybe you know this feeling...

So... this lens is for all those artists and photographers that strive to be creative 24/7. Maybe it's time to be a little 'entrepreneurial' about what you do... To go further, to 'create a storm'... stand out from 'average' photography, and make great eye candy... is a nice ideal.

Let's do it together shall we...

Photo Preneur Photography Tips

ATTENTION Photographers... Skip McGraph ( eBay Info Newsletter) took the initiative and told his list of subscribers last night about my eBay CafePress Unique Photo Technique Guide.'

Do YOU want to do the same?

I woke up this morning with 30+ sales in my account and it's way over 60+ now.

In fact, I'll be turning off 'payment notification' because otherwise my email inbox will be an absolute mess!

So what's GREAT about this?

Well Skip pockets 100% of every sale he makes PLUS a % of the One Time Offer. (So he'd be a pretty happy camper at this point I'm sure).

AND the BEST thing?

YOU can do it too. You get 100% of the sale price of my 'eBay And CafePress Guide!'

So you know other photographers, right?

I'm sure you know a few photo clubs, photo forums, photo websites, right?

Then get my guide and start recommending it. You only need a link to do this... You don't need the 'actual' eBook!

All the details are explained below:

eBay CafePress Photography Techniques

http://www.howtosellphotosonline.com/affiliates.php

This is today's friendly Photo Preneur Photography Tips CALL OUT. In other words, a great opportunity for you to make some dollars in the photo niche.

:)

A. Have a selection of good photos! (Get feedback from others if you don't know what's good!) If you want to sell photos, you do need to create images that are 'sellable.' A quick way to check what that means is by looking at the 'image needed' section of many large stock photo websites.

But back to your own images... practice, produce a body of work, and try different styles. The key is to keep shooting and learning.

B. USE different methods to bring income in. For example you might want to put some of your photos into stock and picture agencies. You could use micro stock agencies or rights managed agencies. You'll need to research some of the benefits to both.

You could produce or create a digital product, such as a simple ebook, MP3 recording, or online videos. You can also use affiliate products or Google Adsense or other means to help monetize your photography business. Basically you want to have many streams of income that flow into one big river, or happy bank account.

That will allow you the freedom to go and take photos whenever and wherever you please...

See below for some selling photos online ideas you could turn into your own photo products at some stage.

Do you know that CafePress allows you to print your photos on a whole range of materials too, such as some mentioned above? You can actually sell these as products... Just take a photograph, put it on one of these products and sell it on eBay or your own website...

CafePress will send the finished product to the buyer. In essence, you buy your own product, and you get the profit from 'managing' the whole process.

And it's actually quite simple too. However there is a special technique involved if you want to do this effectively.

I reveal this technique in my 'How to sell your photos using CafePress and eBay' guide. This is a fully illustrated, step by step eBook. It shows you how to do this in a way that allows CafePress to do all the work for you! Just go to Digital photography business using CafePress and eBay

This guide is very LOW priced. What's better is that you can even promote this eBay/cafePress book to people you know, photo forums or groups, to your own list, and anywhere where 'enthusiastic' photographers hang out - and earn 100% on every sale! (Paid immediately into your PayPal account).

So, if you were looking for a way to make some extra money through the photo niche, maybe try this. Stay tuned for more details... I'm finalizing everything right now...

You're not about to get 10 of the coolest Microstock photography sites to sell (your) stock photos with here.

Instead I'll reveal something even better.

But first, if you do want to see the TOP 10 then pop over to my Selling Photography Tips blog and you'll see the post.

Take note of the Lucky Oliver stock site. Man what a great, fresh and uniquely original approach. Brilliant!

OK, now let's GO to work with helping you cash in with your (potential) stock photos...

My approach is simple. Go look at these microstock sites and READ what they are looking for. It'll be there somewhere...

There will be a section where they say "we want people, lifestyle images, business, travel..."

And they'll no doubt expand on those themes.

And they'll also say "What we DON'T want is snapshots, unplanned pics, etc..."

What you want to do is read through what they want. Then ask yourself if you can tap into that. In other words you're providing the solution to their needs.

Of course you'll bring your individual unique 'perspective' with everything you do too. (That's what makes you special).

This is a good exercise to do. It forces you to make a specific plan about what you're going to shoot. If they say we want 'real life people in a working environment' and you can shoot a series of shots like this - easily - then try it out.

Submit a few. If they like them, you're on a winner. Then keep at it and work on growing that passive 'photo income' until it supports you fully.

If they don't like them, tweak, improve or change your style a little until they do. Or try another Microstock agency...

OK go and DO it and SEE you soon :)

Think about this. You have friends right? You probably know their birthdays... and their phone numbers, right? And you certainly know their names...

Right on! You do have a list of friends... people who you keep in touch with... This is what you need to be doing if you are serious about your photography business! You need to 'grow' a list of people who are interested in what you do!

I know, this may feel strange at first. I too hesitated building my list for years. Until I 'wised up' and realized that my list was actually going to fund my creative adventures!

And while we're on this important subject, why not sign up to my (free) "dudezine" newsletter? Just go to http://martinhurley.com/ezine.html, fill in your name and email, and make sure you confirm your email address!

Now, just imagine this...

How would you like to have a list of 10,000 people you could email every week, suggest new products, talk about your new projects, rant about a new digital camera, do a review on a new ebook that explores selling photos online... or whatever you feel like talking about?

Of all the people coming to your website/blog every day... just imagine... if you were to start "collecting" a customer list, and you were to collect just the name and emails from a few of these visitors, you would have yourself a very substantial email list in no time at all...

That's right... a list of people who are interested in what you do... people who found your website people who YOU can contact over and over again...

Are you starting to get an idea of the power of this?

Yes, this is the secret to building a photography business. A "portable photo business..." The key is building relationships with other people... once they get to know you, like you, and finally trust you... you'll have it made.

And guess what? Successful people do the stuff that unsuccessful people don't like to do. Few photographers will build a list. But if you do this, you'll be able to create money on demand. You'll be the photographer who is in 'complete harmony' with the digital age!

I'm not kidding! What I've just told you is what I do every day. (I work on building my list of subscribers!) And if you want to learn more about how you can automate your list building then have a look at Aweber. This is what I use. I hope you'll join me!

Probably one of the most important things when you are involved in a 'photo business' or photo niche, or just want to sell more photos, is having the opportunity to ASK questions...

If you're anything at all like me, you've probably had HUNDREDS (thousands?) of questions about stuff BUT finding an answer was difficult, and perhaps frustrating.

Of course, there's forums... and they're pretty good. But they can EAT up a LOT of time quickly. And sometimes, you don't get the answer you were looking for.

But... GOOD news. I've found a solution that will give you the answers you need. How do I know? Well... I'm using it! And I bought their 'Insider Secrets' course too...

What is it?

It's a 30 days unlimited access, $2.95 trial of the Internet Entrepreneur's Club, where YOU get advice from a personal team of Internet wealth experts.

Go here to Learn More: Internet Entrepreneur's Club Trial

I recommend you get in there and ask every question under the sun, and you might even see me in there too...

C. Know what's happening online (visit forums and sign up to relevant ezines or photo news newsletters, such as Photo District News. Keep practicing 'your thing.' Read as much as you can. Check out photo blogs that update regularly with innovative and helpful news bulletins. Bottom line - keep learning.

D. Emulate the successful photographers. Observe what they do, and how they do it. What makes their work stand out? What's great about their site? Do they use a blog or sell their own books or monetize their website in any way? (Sign up to their newsletter to learn more).

Do they sell their photos online, or further their business with calendars, or books etc? Here's a few super professional sites. Observe how they go about their photo business:

http://www.yannarthusbertrand.com
http://www.editorialphoto.com/
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/
http://www.photo.net/

E. Set up a good, 'viewer-benefits' website or blog. A site or blog can be your own online diary or place to make notes and observations about your photography, thoughts or projects. On the Mac I use a text editor called 'TextEdit' and I keep lots of notes and relevant scribbles in it.

But instead of writing in a text editor on your computer, put your notes into a blog. WordPress is a good free version for blogging. If you want to do the designing yourself or see the options available to you, have a look at: Selling Photos Online Web Site Resources

You could use the blog for your main content and host your images elsewhere if you have hundreds (of images). You could try PhotoBox for this or check out other images hosting sites.

Another follow by the guide, step by step 'professional' option to web designing is by using Design Dashboard. This may save you lots of time, especially if you don't want to buy PhotoShop CS and you DO want to create a mini site or custom website graphics, etc.

F. "Don't worry about making the wrong choice. We live in a universe with millions of choices, and any of them can take you down a different path. Being too paralyzed by fear to choose, is making the decision to make no changes." Focus on your project, and good luck with your selling photos online projects. Go create some 'remarkable' work!

Run Your Own Business

This is a recent ebook I discovered. I've emailed the dude (John Carroll) to get a basic interview or some feedback on his product but no dice YET.

I'll let John explain in his own words:

"I am about to introduce you to a genuine home based photographic opportunity that's virtually unknown to most people. I discovered this industry by accident several years ago when I was selling a motor home. Until then, I had no idea that this type of industry even existed, much less how necessary and in-demand these simple, but specialized "services" really are!"

He goes on to say...

"The NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE of individuals to perform these simple photographic 'services' is HUGE! If you are dependable, can follow simple instructions, possess basic photographic computer skills, and want to earn a real income with your camera, I currently have over 100 NATIONWIDE COMPANIES that would LOVE to hear from you IMMEDIATELY!"

OK So I guess it depends where you live to how well this would work. BUT in general it seems as if it makes a lot of sense. After all, there's a LOT of 'everyday' images that are needed in this world every single day, right?

Someone has to take them. That 'someone' could be you. I like the idea of it though... just imagine working for yourself, on your own schedule, with your own customer base, and your own 1 or 2 person business (have laptop will travel).

Click here to Learn More

:)

Are you one of the many creatively inclined individuals out there who doesn't want to spend the time and energy trying to learn how to be a web site designer or how to design a website?

YES. Me too. Choosing the 'website design route' can indeed open a world of challenges for us who are not comfortable with the technical side. Yet, having a website is almost essential, and especially so for artists, designers and photographers...

BUT options do exist! In fact, you can create a website without the need to learn html, keyword optimization, designing for different web browsers, ftp, meta tags... and other stuff that coders love!

A good example is Squidoo. OK, I hear you saying, Squidoo is not exactly a photo gallery... But it can talk about your photographic passion, and link to photography sites that you like (or even your own unique digital photography gallery)...

And with Squidoo you don't need to be "tech-savvy" either... (What you do need to know about is 'your passion,' and how to get those words down on e-paper!)

You can also try many of the free blogging tools out there such as Blogger or Wordpress, (great place to start) or try the step by step route with a create by numbers guide such as Marlon Sander's Design Dashboard.

Or for the more advanced and ambitious among you, there's XSitePro. This is a great option if you DO see yourself designing websites (without needing to know the html stuff). Usually the people who buy XSitePro enjoy the challenge of designing websites that are often quite profitable! :)

Personally, I think that there is distinct advantages to learning the ins and outs to web design and basics such as how to get your images online and optimizing images for the web. Yes, a wee bit of knowledge in these areas is actually good for you (and your photo business!)

Go to it!

Let's look at a few simple ways you can expand your online photo business...

Firstly ask yourself this. Is there anyway you could take what you do and turn it into a digital product?

Simple information or digital products such as e-books, MP3 audio or online videos are powerful methods to expand your business... and online reach.

Just think about the 'how to' market for a minute. Ideas such as 'how to take a black and white photo, how to use Photoshop with your images, how to use a digital SLR camera' are solid examples... we all want to learn how to do things...

Could you create website tutorials or an info product that attracts the people who are hungry to learn the unique skills and talents that you possess?

Because there sure is an abundance of income boosting photo product ideas out there...

Here's some good ones... create screen savers, put your photographs on t-shirts, in fine art galleries, on canvas prints, on eBay listings, on curtains and household goods, surf wear and clothing, furniture, web sites, and that's only the tip of the iceberg...

The possibilities are exciting... photos, and photo products that you can set up and sell from your website, all digital, all on autopilot and all happening while you sleep, travel, go on more unforgettable photo adventures...

And have you ever wondered how some photographers seem to achieve so much success? It seems to me that they make good use of time proven internet marketing methods mixed with their own photo talents.

Can you see how you could take a leaf out of any successful info-preneurs, or internet marketer's book?

Just by embracing only a few internet marketing methods, you could see a huge differences in your online success. A quick example: you can set up a simple, automated email newsletter, and suddenly find you have a 'fan base' who love to receive your newsletters and recommendations...

You can see how I have done this at my sell photographs online site.

You can also use simple web 2.0 sites such as this one (Squidoo) to promote your work! It does take ongoing commitment to make this happen. But, the results can last for a LONG time.

If you focus on providing valuable information about your unique talents, you will not only continue to profit and learn, but you'll be able to continue funding your own photography lifestyle.

A true win-win for all photographers concerned, new and experienced alike.

Before you know it your selling photographs online adventure will be rocketing along at breakneck speed, on auto pilot too. And the little marketing tweaks you adopted in to your site and approach will be doing your bank account wonders. :)

Cloud Angels, cloud formations, and that what you see. (South Thailand)

Chaotic cloud formations and Gods talking. (South Thailand)

Angels breath whispers. (South Thailand)

Bird In cloud, or Cloud In Bird. (Australia)

Dude pondering life cloud. Possibly with cigar. (South Thailand)

Angel breath cloud new version. (South Thailand)

Man resting cloud. Can you see? (South Thailand)

God talking and profile. (South Thailand)

I witnessed the Wicked cloud bat attack. (Thailand)