Traditional way of selling your photographs online was only through microstock websites. However, many microstock websites eat 70% of every sale. Photographers just get 30% cut but today they get to keep 100% profits from each sale.
There are several photography websites that allow photographers to display and sell their work online at affordable yearly rates. It allows the photographer to set their own rates and create a photography business niche with ease.
Importance of photography website
- Photographers can advertise their services
- Display their portfolio
- Harness social media power for online marketing
- Sell digital prints and images directly from the website
- Sell licenses for commercial images
- Online photo selling makes up for the website creating cost and become more lucrative in due course
Stock photography
Self publishing through e-books and blogs is getting more and more popular. So, stock photography demand is on a rise. Many microstock websites are offering affordable images to authors, bloggers, business owners, and designers with options. They get to select from different licenses. Learn more about stock photography on Zippy Passive Income.
Stock images are applicable in –
- Blog articles
- Website designs
- Flyers
- Posters
- Company reports
- Book jackets
- Newsletter
- And more
Due to escalation in demand for affordable, good quality photos, photographer with huge portfolio of stock photography can generate good side income.
Photographers can build a collection of images, which can be profitable to be sold as stock photographs. Check the most images getting downloaded from microstock websites to get an idea of the kind in high demand.
Simple symbolic photographs illustrating concepts and emotions are always in demand. You can either have a personal website created or get registered with reliable and affordable 3rd party microstock website.
Selling photos via stock agency
- Selling photographs is easy and quick
- All marketing is done by them
- Their websites obtain thousands of image searches daily.
However, you will need to consider the way they set stock image prices, varying fees [royalties] and license offering constraints.
Selling stock photographs on your independently hosted website
Selling photos from your own website is extremely profitable as soon as you create a large collection. You can easily create your own website using WordPress without involving professional and expensive web designers. You can accept online payments, use watermark and password to protect your photographs and even sell them with different license options.
However, pricing images can be tricky. It is crucial to stay competitive with established stock photography websites. Even if you price your images low, you will be getting 100% on all the sales instead of half. Create ways to promote more sales.
For example, selling images in collection-based theme or bundle can help to maximize your profits. Make some photos available for free on free stock image website with links directing towards your website. It helps to increase traffic on your website and helps to increase brand awareness.
If you specialize in some artistic style photography or landscaping then selling photo prints is also a good way to add to your earnings. Blogs will also help to display your own photographs in an appealing way.