Photographers are always looking for ways on how to make money selling photos online. There has been few successes in this field. One of the most successful microstock photographer is Yuri Arcurs who is dubbed to be the "world's best microstock photographer". You can try to emulate the methods he used to make money selling photos online. You can also sell your images on Getty Images, Corbis Images or Istockphoto. It was quite easier back then to make money selling photos online but when Web 2.0 came in, things have changed. Let me show some tips on How to Make Money Selling Photos Online Using Facebook and Twitter.
Before we begin, Let me ask you some questions. "Will you sell photos online to make it as your primary or secondary income?" "Will you sell photos online to help your photography business?". If you answer is yes to both questions, make a list of your available resources to make it happen. If you have not listed Facebook and Twitter then you are already missing out on the potential to sell your photos online to about 500 million users of Facebook and Twitter.
If you already have a Facebook account, create a Facebook Page or a Fan Page. Name your Fan Page the same as the name you use for your photography business. Why is it important to have a Facebook Page? Your current Facebook account limits you to 5,000 "Facebook Friends" while a Fan Page will give you unlimited number of "Fans". If you do not have a Twitter account, create one and get a Twitter username that is relevant to your photography business as well. If you are asking how Facebook and Twitter will help you make money selling photos online, then you have to read on.
Now that you have a Facebook Page and a Twitter account. Let me show you a tip on how to make a Facebook Page that will help you make money selling photos online. There are few Facebook apps that you can use to make an awesome Facebook Page one of them is static FBML. There is a new Facebook app that is so much easier to use and that is the Tigerlily App. You can find it by going to search and type Tigerlily. What it does is that it gives you two tabs which are more than enough to put information about your photography business and will help you make money selling photos online. The most important widgets to add on your Tigerlily app are the picture widget which when clicked will redirect the viewer to your website and the Twitter tab which will post your Twitter feed.
If you don't have a website, you should create one now. The cost of having a website has gone down. You start with registering a domain name think of something that is relevant to your photography business. Find a webhosting company and there are some you can pay for as cheap as a dollar a month. The most important thing to find out about your webhosting company if they install WordPress. It is the easiest blogging platform and with WordPress you will be able to install a plug-in which is the most important tool that will help you make money selling photos online.
Now that you have your WordPress enabled website running, install a WordPress plug-in called Fotomoto. The plug in will allow you to connect to Fotomoto a company that helps you to sell photos online. Go to their website and create an account. It will take you less than five minutes and learn a few things about their services. The most important thing to know is your site key which you need to place under the Fotomoto settings on your WordPress website.
So far you have created a Facebook Page, your Twitter account and your WordPress website which is Fotomoto enabled. What you need to do is gather all the photos you think will sell online. A quick visit to some micro stock agencies like Istockphoto and Fotolia will more or less tell you which photos sell online and also read Yuri Arcurs blog and get some tips on how he made millions selling his photos online.
Add all your images on your WordPress website and you will see on each photo there is a Fotomoto toolbar which will say "Buy Print", "Buy Card", "Download", "Share" and "E-card". All these you can customize on your Fotomoto account. The best thing about Fotomoto is their feature that allows you to name your own price. Yes, your own price. They also take care of shipping if it is a print order. Everything is done for you and all you need is to sell. They get a percentage on each transaction too but by naming your price you will get more than what you can get from commissions if you sell it in a microstock photo agency just like Yuri Arcurs. This is far too better way of selling your photos online to make money than using microstock agencies.
Maybe you are asking now, "Why did I need to create a Facebook Page and Twitter and How it will help me make money selling photos online?". As any other business if you don't advertise, you don't sell. Why would you miss the opportunity to sell to over 500 million users of Facebook and Twitter? The best thing about it is that its free. You can post on your Facebook Page about your photography business which includes selling photos online. You can redirect potential buyers to your website. You can tweet every time you posted a photo to sell online. Another tip is that every time you tweet add any of these hashtags #stockphoto, #stockphotoforsale, #microstock. That will help you get found by people looking for stock photos online. By adding the Twitter tab on your Tigerlily app enabled Facebook Page or Fan Page people will see your tweets about the photos you sell on your website and if they are interested they could purchase it. It also brings traffic to your photography business which will help you make money by getting more people interested in your photography services. Never underestimate the power of social networking. It only takes one to "Facebook like" or "Retweet" to bring millions of people to your website.
How much money you can make selling photos online? As any other business it will depend on other factors such as the quality of your photography work and the amount of time you devote on your website. If you follow the steps above it will help you make money selling photos online using the money making on Facebook and Twitter tips.
Happy Fotopalooza Shooting!
Barbra Winterbourne - About the Author:
Explore more of Nap Beltran powerful Internet Marketing Tips on Photography. Be sure to visit his blog and Facebook Fan Page for more tips on how to help your business succeed online. Visit Fotopalooza.me/photography for specific "how-to's", along with more all-free lessons, advice and, photographer's forum, contributor's gallery and much more. It's a MUST-VISIT for photo enthusiasts!Nap Beltran is an Online Media and PR Consultant who has traveled the world and loves photography. He has attended photo workshops and seminars in Manila. He loves everything about social networking and is on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-ideas-articles/how-to-make-money-selling-photos-online-using-how-to-make-money-on-facebook-and-twitter-tips-3305041.html
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