Ecommerce for Photography

Hey everyone!

I attended a photo seminar over the weekend, and upon talking to some other amateur photographers like myself, I realized that perhaps there are a lot of photographers out there who are unfamiliar with the idea of having an online presence for their photography. Since my day job in web design means I am constantly interacting with and learning about the web, I often forget that there are still plenty of folks out there to whom this whole online way of doing things is quite foreign.


I am currently beginning to set up my own online presence for my photography. This will eventually include a professional website, email marketing, online selling via a variety of online art marketplaces, etc. (key word here is EVENTUALLY.. its just too overwhelming to try and do in a week or a month for me!)

So as I start getting my feet wet in this, I thought it would be helpful to share my experiences, tips, resources and lessons learned in the event that it might help others out there who are feeling lost and/or totally intimidated by it. Believe me, even a web savvy person such as myself doesn't know it all, and yes, I'm intimidated by the idea of launching my personal work out into the world wide web just as much as the next person!


In closing, I'll share a bit about listening to your gut when it comes to moving forward:
Remember to have fun with it first! Often times, I will push myself too hard to get something done and make it more stressful than it needs to be. Over time, that can really suck the life out something you are passionate about. Before long, it becomes a chore. I feel that by taking quicker and smaller forward steps and listening to my gut, I'm able to make the tedious and technical things more enjoyable and have more energy left over at the end of it. This of course may not apply to those who are professional photographers and have hard deadlines, etc, but for those of us who do this as a hobby or want to slowly easy into it professionally someday... I think this method works well.

All I did last month was get myself signed up on an online marketplace, which took about 10 minutes. I didn't even get the darn photos uploaded to sell until a month later! But that's okay. I choose to get into action when I am feeling motivated to do it. If I'm not motivated to sit at the computer and learn about online sales, then I go out to a movie instead! We go at the speed we need to, in order to allow ourselves to enjoy life! =)

Check back with me soon, I'll be posting about Professional pages on Facebook versus Personal Profiles (and if you didn't even KNOW there was such a thing as professional pages on Facebook, no worries, I just found out last week!)

Cheers,
Sarah

Forwardifying via Online Marketplaces!

You know, I love writing and I journal daily, so I thought I'd begin to post some personal entries on here about my own process of moving from amateur to professional photographer. I greatly enjoy and am inspired by others who share their own process and experiences along the way, so I figured "what the hell! why not share mine?" =)

Just so you're aware, I'm a big fan of making up my own fun words for things - hence this post's title. It gets me fired up and keeps things fun, creative and approachable! Approachability is definitely key in making progress.

As I attempt to keep my focus on the creative projects I have going on at work - the usual happens when the workload isn't QUITE busy enough to keep a fire under my butt: I get lost in photo land...

This is a real problem for me. I'm deciding that I'm okay with that. This morning it was people's individual photo blogs... several of which I loved and plan to write up some Friday Features on soon. This afternoon I've moved on to the world of online marketplaces! Oh my!

At this point in my non-career in photography, I've not yet previously entered the world of the online marketplace. I'm sure in part because I doubt that my work will really sell. I have a way that this all plays out in my head... After the initial excitement of creating numerous accounts and uploading dozens of images and entering all the information about myself and my work - I will sit back with pride and watch... what? no purchases? Not a single ONE? NO ONE wants my work?!? And then the excitement will crumble away as the reality of my invisibility in the vast online world takes hold. I'm sure this happens to a lot of people. Right? (being hopeful here! don't leave me hangin!)

Ok, so even though I am not wanting to face that inevitable invisible place - I do still believe! I believe in my heart of hearts that this CAN happen for me - no matter how long it takes! I figure if i've got that on my side, then its worth taking the plunge! 

So today I've signed up on a few online marketplaces. Its daunting the amount of info you have to enter, although its somehow exciting too. Just knowing that forward motion is happening is so refreshing! Even in small small steps.

I'm also discovering just how magical online commerce really is when you aren't used to it! You upload photos, set prices for your work, and BOOM they print and mail and the whole shebang! For someone who works full time, hasn't bought a book of stamps in 5 years and only goes to the post office at Christmas, this is AWESOME. And even better, you can link your professional FB account (next on my list!) to your online marketplace so that whenever you put new photos up for sale is shows on you FB wall. Maybe i've been living under a rock for years - but i'm sure there are others out there just like me, who are discovering these magical online tools and just sitting there in front of your screen in wonder. =]

So.... I don't actually HAVE any photos up for sale yet, as i'm still at work and all my full size files are at home. But the account is there! The bio is written, the profile pic is up, and the link to this blog is listed!

All in all, a successful day at Forwardification! 

Thanks for reading! =)

*s

P.S. For those curious to spread their wings into the online world, here's a few of the sites I've just signed up with: (all free!)

Fine Art America

Society6

Etsy