Selling photos online, any money to be made?

[Bill Clark]

Here are a couple of ideas that may help sell some prints.

Go to various offices and offer to hang prints up on their walls and provide business cards in a holder to those who may be interested purchasing. You could make some nice cards with pricing and contact info. for each print. Offer to change them out every 3 to 4 months so as people who frequent see different items. You could pay the office or owner a commission on your sales. Drs. offices, dentist, stock brocker offices, auto dealers, libraries are some that come to mind. When I was in sales full time, a "no" meant to me a future "yes" because I was determined to figure out a way to achieve my goal.

Another idea is to get a business owner to sign a letter that gives you kudos on your photography. Some businesses mail out monthly statements; you could create something to put in as a stuffer. You have two chances to get sales, one from your stuffer material and the other from the person who is willing to say, "I endorse this persons work."

Hope this helps some of you.

 

[.... _]

IMO Kuzano is correct but I would add that if your work is in a local gallery then the price point has to be at the price point of the clientelle visiting that gallery. The particular town where my friend who recounted the story lives, could be described as having an above average level of affluence. i.e. people there have money to spend on the niceties of life. Another less affluent town and the price point would be lower.

As for the web, only the very affluent might risk spending a large sum on an unseen piece of work but mostly not and mostly the average punter will risk very little on unseen work. i.e. the price point on the web is much less than in a gallery. But in a gallery you have to pay the gallery too. Assuming thats 50% then charge 50% less and then some for online sales.

 

[paradoxbox]

IMO selling photography online is a losing game

money can be made but it's much easier to make money locally.

sell your photos online if you have some kind of barrier that prevents you from selling locally i.e. language barrier or cultural difference, or if your photos are of a stock-photo nature.

these days microstock is a huge business but i think it's better suited to housewives with too much free time than real pros trying to make cash - there's a lot of competition and very low payout. but for a housewife with a camera and tons of free time to be creative it can be a good way to make extra cash.

 

[dannybear]

I wonder if the OP has slit his wrists yet? He's been very quiet since posting.

nope, still here, surprised how far the thread has gone though!

 

[.... _]

nope, still here, surprised how far the thread has gone though!

Not surprising because I think a lot of people would like to be selling work online but haven't sussed that its a lot of work which isn't what they were planning on. There's no such thing as a free lunch....