Let me start by saying that it has never been more true for me that "you don't know what you don't know." When I began to dream and plan to promote my photography and paintings online, it sounded so easy. Naively, I thought all that was needed was to build a website and download the products and they would somehow just sell themselves.
I took a one-week class and built the website, then spent another six weeks getting it to look and feel right. But, I still did not have the photos and paintings in the store. Then came another surprise....my website would not accommodate the volume of storage needed for the files. Thus began my search for online resources for the photos and paintings.
The search was for a site to share my photos and paintings that would also market, reproduce, ship, and collect payment for the items. Yet another learning experience....there are so many sites hosting photos and paintings that it boggles the mind. I have spent much of the past three weeks looking at hosting websites. Many of them are just storage for your works, others include selling, some include marketing and/or licensing (their commission split varies greatly). Some sites included hosting, selling, production, and shipping (which is what I am looking for). Some of the hosting websites are free, others charge by the year, others still charge by the year and a commission on sales, and yet others simply on a commission basis. There are even websites that do only one thing; such as printing photographs to canvas so they look like a painting. That's a great idea but again, not what I am looking for at this time. I am certain that I have not covered all of the possibilities and combination here as I am still researching.
This is the point in the learning curve where I decided I'd better choose either to focus on the photography or the painting for now....the photography won. I still allow myself to paint every day, but only after I have finished with the rest of my list of "things to do today."
Another discovery that could save hours in the search is to have checked the Alexa Rating (Alexa.com) of the site before I spent hours learning all I could about a given site; a lesson I just learned TODAY! I discovered that at least half of the hosting websites I have researched have a rating of somewhere in the millions while the others have more desired ratings of from two thousand to five thousand. This is something I will check before I research a site from now on. It is sure to save me hours and assist me in finding a hosting site that will actually show up in a search by keywords.
While previewing submission requirements, I discovered that the requirements for photo specs also vary greatly by site. Some don't appear to have any requirements at all, while other require "RAW" or "fine" files. Most of the websites that require "RAW" or "Fine" photo files are also the most desired websites for their marketing, licensing and selling contacts and abilities (i.e., for advertising uses by other businesses).
Yet another learning experience for this artist and self-taught photographer is that this study brought me to the realization that the Nikon D40 I have used to learn on is not the camera I need to use to produce the highest quality (RAW) photo files needed to command the best prices and to meet the requirements of the best marketing and licensing sites. This search may be covered at a later date.
This is where I found myself today and it has been fun sharing my experience and discovery frustration and discovery with others. I will keep you posted as my search nears fruition as to which sites I choose and why as it may amuse you as well as save you valuable time in your own research. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment