Make Money Selling Stock Photos

Time to get to work. Use the leads database you have created along with your marketing vehicle of choice (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, personal email, printed mailer, etc) and begin working down your list. Every time you send information out or contact someone, note how you did it along with the date in one of the columns of your spread sheet.

I usually keep track of my marketing efforts by first trying one avenue (such as personal email), naming one column for this piece such as Email #20, than placing a date next to each entry in the database for when I sent it out. In that way you keep a history of your marketing venues and hopefully never send the same email or Tweet out to the same contact.

This might seem a tedious chore, but once you get the hang of it, the challenge of connecting with someone who wants to buy your stock images is exciting!

It comes down to finding the right person, at the right time, and having the right photograph ready to sell them when they need it. Yes, it might somewhat feel like chance - but there's no reason why you can't enhance your odds a little bit in your favor.

If you enjoyed this series, drop me a comment to let me know.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Labels: micro stock, niche market, selling stock photography

I apologize for being away for so long. Much going on in my personal life, ended up putting my photography on hold for the past year. But now I'm back and hope to move forward with what I really love to do!

This is Part 5 of an 8-part series. If you have gotten this far, you should now have several collections of images compiled, have identified the niche markets who would be the most likely people to purchase each collection, and considered the various categories within this niche that you can market to.

In my previous blog, I determined that the best people to buy my Southwestern stock images would be travel agencies, regional publications, tourist-centered businesses, regional business and web designers - all of who concentrate or have a tie to New Mexico. Now where do we go from here?

It's research time! Begin a spreadsheet (such as Excel or Google Docs) with each page containing a list of possible leads within your niche market. For example, I would have one page for Travel Agencies that book Southwest trips, another for Regional Southwest Publications, a third for Southest Businesses Located in New Mexico, and a fourth page for Regional Web Designers.

You'll need to create columns on your spreadsheet for Company Name, Contact Person, Address, Phone Number, Email and Website. Then add colunmns that will help you keep track of your marketing efforts to reach each company, such as "1st Email", "2nd Follow-up", and Comments.

Now you can get started by filling in your leads and contact info. The easiest way to find leads is a Google search or Google maps. I could begin by searching for "Travel Agencies booking trips to Santa Fe". Or "New Mexico publications". Or "New Mexico tourism". Now you start visiting the websites that came up under your search and build your leads list with contact information found on each website. This should get you off to a pretty good start with many possible leads.

As you work on possible searches, take a few side trips to explore other possibilities you may not have considered. While working on my list of Web Designers, I thought about New Mexico bloggers. Yep, that's a good idea considering that bloggers are always looking for new content and images to populate their posts. New Mexico Bloggers became a new category on my spreadsheet.

You get the idea - search and find as many leads with contact info as possible that fits with your photographic niche.

In Part 6, we'll discuss what to do with your leads after you have compiled your list.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

microstock photography

Labels: micro stock, niche market, selling stock photography

This is Part 4 of an 8-part series. OK – so now you have created themed collections of your photos and the keywords that describe them. Here comes the fun part – trying to figure out what kind of people will buy your photos based on your descriptions.

For example, let’s take my photographic collection based on the Southwest with an emphasis on New Mexico. My niche market for this body of work would be people who use photos of New Mexico and the Southwest on websites, advertisements, publications and blogs. Now let’s think of markets that fit this category:
- travel agencies that cater to Southwest travel
- regional publications such as New Mexico Magazine
- tourist centered businesses such as hotels, tours, restaurants (tourism is New Mexico’s second largest market)
- regional businesses, such as food, wine, and other products made locally
- web designers who design sites for regional businesses

I’ve come up with 5 distinct niche markets for this collection. To see View of the Southwest, go to http://www.dreamstime.com/view-of-the-southwest-by-laroach-rcollection6069-resi265856

Now do the same for each of your collections. If you can identify 3 to 5 markets for each group of photographs, you’re on your way.

Next in Part 5 we'll talk about how to find specific buyers within your markets.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

microstock photography

Labels: micro stock, niche market, selling stock photography

After you have grouped your photographs into themed-related collections, it’s time to describe each group in detail. This process is much like putting together a list of keywords for an image that you plan to upload. The difference with describing a collection as opposed to describing a single photograph is that you need to take the group as a whole into consideration when choosing keywords.

Use descriptive keywords, but also include keywords with a broader interpretation that may appeal to specific types of buyers. An example of this is my collection of Southwest images. I live in New Mexico, which is known as “The Land of Enchantment” and a scenic travel destination. And so I emphasized keywords that might appeal to someone in the tourist trade.

Here are my keywords for the collection entitled "View of the Southwest":
adobe, architecture, atmosphere, beautiful, brush, building, charactor, chile, chili, desert, desolate, destination, enchantment, food, gate, home, isolated, land, landscapes, newmexico, old, peppers, plants, prairie, quaint, rugged, sage, santa, santafe, scenic, scrub, serene, sky, southwest, southwestern, stark, style, tourism, tourist, town, travel, views, visit, vistas, warm, warmth, west, western, wild

To see my “View of the Southwest” collection, visit:
http://www.dreamstime.com/view-of-the-southwest-by-laroach-rcollection6069-resi265856

After you have assembled your keywords and entered them with your collection of images (assuming you are using a microstock agency that allows you to create collections, such as Dreamstime), you are now ready to begin the next step of finding your niche market and specific buyers for your photography.

To be continued in Part 4

Part 1
Part 2

microstock photography

Labels: micro stock, microstock agency, microstock photography, selling stock photography

There’s a saying in marketing circles that goes like this:
“If you market to everyone, you are marketing to no one.”

How does this relate to marketing your photos?

It means you need to narrow your marketing focus to 2 or 3 tightly themed niches rather than throwing out thousands of unrelated photographs into the world, hoping someone bites.

The first step in finding your niches is to group your photographs into themed collections. You probably already know what themes resonate throughout your portfolio. Themes can be based on subject matter, location or even on a color. My microstock agency (Dreamstime) makes it easy to create themed collections under its Designer’s section. Other agencies may not have this option. In that case you'll need to find a way to group your photos in order to market them to buyers.

Here are two of my collections:
Diesels - based on long-haul semi trucks
View of the Southwest - based on Southwest regional images

It’s a good idea to have at least ten related images in a collection in order to offer a selection to buyers. As you upload new images to your agency directory, remember to add accepted photographs to the collections you have created.

To learn more about Dreamstime collections visit: http://www.dreamstime.com/collections_list

See:
Part 1

Labels: micro stock, niche market, selling stock photography, stock photo submission

Labels: micro stock, microstock photography

Have you ever thought that people from other countries might be using your microstock agency to search for images? It's true. Someone in Spain or the UK might be searching for just the right photo to complete their website. Why not make it easier for them to search for your image by including alternative spellings and translations of your photo keywords.

You're probably thinking - DA! I was too when I came across several photo keyword lists that included the British spelling of english words. That got me thinking - why not do a little more research and include alternative variations and foreign translations of main keywords for my own microstock submissions.

Here's an example. I could use the following keywords to describe the pear photo in this posting:

- color
- flavor
- pear

Now let's add "colour" and "flavour" which are the British version of these two keywords. And also include "pera" and "poire" which are Spanish and French for pear. That expanded my keyword list of 3 to 7 keywords - and opened up a much broader audience.

Want to know where to find British word spellings and foreign translations? Here are a few links to help you out:
XPDNC - American and British Spelling Variations
WordReference.com - English translations into Spanish, French and Italian

And remember to stop by Dreamstime to start making money by uploading your own photographs!

microstock photography

Labels: micro stock, microstock photography, photo keywords, photographic keywords

One of the best ways to advance your microstock offerings is to find a specialty - such as a theme or object that you enjoy photographing. Once you discover this interest, it's time to build a portfolio or collection of images using your speciality as the central focal point.

Six Reasons Why You Should Have a Specialty
1. By uploading 15 or more images in one particular category, you appear to be an expert on that subject matter.
2. By consistently having your name appear when a search for your speciality is performed, "brands" you with that type of image.
3. If a buyer purchases one of your speciality images, there is a higher likelihood that they will come back and purchase more images from you in order to stay with the same theme and/or style.
4. Having more images than other photographers in a particular niche raises your odds of being purchased over others who only have one or two photos in that category.
5. Creating a portfolio of images based on a single theme, allows you to explore and build upon variations of this theme. This deepens your perspective and awareness of your speciality, creating a depth to the theme.
6. At some microstock agencies, such as Dreamstime, you can build a "collection" of images for designers to browse. Although Dreamstime collections must include work by several photographers, you can certainly put together a collection based on your speciality portfolio and drop in just a few photos by others to round out the collection. This is another interesting way for web designers and graphic artists to discover your photography.

As you can probably guess from the image above, my specialty happens to be semi-trucks. There's a very good reason for this. I work for a manufacturer who ships products throughout the country via long-haul trucks . Many times I am asked to photograph shipments for insurance reasons. It occurred to me one day this was a great opportunity to create a speciality.

While I was waiting around for the shipments to be loaded, I took a few photos of the trucks themselves. Many were actually beautiful in a big, brawny kind of way! With their bright paint jobs and flashy chrome, the semi's had a real presence about them. Each truck had its own personality, something I found to be an exciting challenge to photograph. Plus my job presented a unique opportunity to photograph a variety of trucks while they were stationary, allowing for optimal vantage points that would be impossible with a moving vehicle. And thus - my lucrative speciality was born!

To see the collection I built at Dreamstime called "Big Rigs" stop by: http://www.dreamstime.com/big-rigs-rcollection5392-resi265856

Labels: micro stock, microstock agency, microstock photography

Labels: back-up hard drive, micro stock, microstock photography

Should you select one agency or several to represent your images? The answer is really up to you and how much time you have to spend uploading work.

If you stick with just one agency, you only need to upload once. Plus if the agency offers an exclusivity option for each image, you'll make more money with each download. Exclusivity means that you promise to upload that specific image only to one agency and no other. (See chart on Dreamstime: http://www.dreamstime.com/sellimages). Some agencies also offer the photographer more money if they sign-on as an exclusive photographer for that agency, meaning you upload images ONLY to that one agency and no other. So you can have an exclusive image, as well as be an exclusive photographer. Dreamstime offers this type of tier structure. So by picking just one agency you save time and have the opportunity to make extra money per photo.

But here's the downside - not all buyers shop around to different agencies looking for just the right image. Most buyers have one or two favorite agencies they like to work with and they never look any further. So if your photos are listed with only one agency, you may be missing those buyers who shop with a different agency and the opportunity to sell to a wider audience.

Here's my take on it: do what's best for you. I did all of the work to get into two different agencies, only to find that I sell well at one and not so well on the other. And because some of my images are listed on both agency directories, I loose the ability to make a larger commission by using the "exclusive option".

The mailbox photo above is a good example. At Dreamstime it's a consistent seller, but at my other agency it has yet to sell even once! If I had uploaded just to Dreamstime and opted for exclusivity, I would have been making a higher commission each time the image sells.

The other factor is time. I have a full-time job (as most microstock photographers do) and not much extra time for photography. Rather than spending all my evenings and weekends uploading images to various agencies, I have come to the conclusion that working with one agency and having more time to enjoy my photography is best for me. If I did microstock full-time, I would most likely choose to upload to 4 or 5 agencies.

Consider your own situation and whether you have the time and ambition to deal with multiple agencies. If you decide to stick to one agency, you can always add another in the future when you're ready to branch out.

Labels: micro stock, microstock agency

How do you come up with good keywords to describe your photos? No doubt about it, writing keywords is a tedious chore. But it's an essential skill for selling microstock photos. The best way to do it is to come up with a method. There's no need to reinvent the wheel everytime you have to write a list of keywords. Develop a winning formula, then stick with it. This makes the task go quickly and smoothly each time.

I want to share my own technique with you. Once you get the hang of it, you'll think "Dude, this is easy!"

Labels: micro stock, photography keywords, stock photos, submission to stock agency

Rejection! Nobody wants to receive a "no thanks" email from their stock agency. But it happens to everyone. And it's quite common during the first submission process.

The best thing to do is view rejection as a learning experience. Many times the person critiquing your submission will offer suggestions on how to improve your photograph in the rejection email. Depending on the agency, you may get a standard, "stock" reply. Other agencies actually respond with a personal note.

Your first submission is an opportunity to grasp the style, quality and details that an agency is looking for when they accept photography. And always remember - the process is totally subjective! There's a real person looking at your pics, trying to make a decision based on the agency's pre-set standards AND on their own personal judgement whether or not the image is sellable. Unless your photo breaks a basic rule (like no model release for a recognizable face) and is automatically tossed, it's really up to the person judging your image if it makes it through to the directory.

An example of how subjective the submission process really is can be seen by submitting the same photo to two different agencies. (You can do this if you don't sign exclusive rights over to one agency). The concept image seen above, called "Three Bulbs and a Fluorescent." It was submitted to both of my stock agencies. It was accepted by Dreamstime and rejected by BigStockPhoto. So far, it has been a steady seller on Dreamstime.

Rejection is all part of the process. Don't get discouraged. And don't let it become an ego thing - you can always learn something new and exciting from another person's perspective.

microstock photos

Labels: micro stock, microstock agency, photography, stock photos

selling photography online

Labels: making money with stock photos, micro stock, microstock agency, stock photos

What is a microstock agency and how does it differ from a traditional stock agency? Microstock is a sign of the digital times. It's a catalogued directory of digitized images which can easily be purchased and directly downloaded for a minimal fee per image. Buyers pay as low as 50 cents an image and sometimes up to a few hundred dollars for a download depending on the size of the image and the rights purchased. Usually a low-resolution, royalty free image (can be used as often and for any purpose within agreed upon terms) purchased for online use, will cost the buyer about one or two dollars depending on the agency. Of this amount, the seller/photographer will receive a commission (usually around 50 percent). Each microstock agency has their own rate of commission and method to increase a photographer's commission scale.

Labels: micro stock, online photo agency, stock photos

Welcome! This is the beginning of "Make Money Selling Stock Photos". Each post will present a new tip to help you sell photographs through online micro stock agencies. You don't need to be a professional photographer, you don't even need a ton of expensive equipment. All you need is a little photo know-how, some creativity and a lot of stick-to-itness. So let's get started.

Tip #1:Anyone can upload photos to an online agency.
That's right - anyone! The digital revolution has made it easier than ever to take sharp, interesting photos with minimum equipment. Plus there are ca-billions of websites in need of inexpensive images to dress-up websites and blogs. AND there are quite a few stock agencies willing to take on newcomers who take the time and energy to learn the submission process.

If you have hundreds of vacation photos stored on your computer or you happen to make a living as a wedding photographer with a secret passion for travel photos, start looking through your personal collection of photography. Most likely you already have ten or twenty great images to get started with.

Like the photo at the beginning of this entry? It's just happens to be a composite of two quick photos quickly grabbed while on a walk. Using Photoshop to combine the images and a little graphic magic, presto - we have an interesting fantasy photo. See the original image titled "Taking Another Path" at Big Shot Photo - and yes, you can buy it for use on your own website!

selling photography online

Labels: micro stock, online photo agency, stock photos