Author Topic: Selling with FREE stuff (Read 6599 times)

WarrenPrice · « **on:** April 27, 2009, 16:31 »

While at a vintage race several weeks ago, I took several images of vintage motorcycles with the intention of offering them as FREE screensavers. My problem now is ... how best to get these online so that they draw interest to my other offerings.

Anyone else using FREE as an attraction? How do you use it?

donding · « **Reply #1 on:** April 27, 2009, 16:51 »

i've never done it but when your talking about vintage motorcycles you may have a problem unless you took them at angles where you can't tell what make they are otherwise you'd have to have a property release from the manufacture of the motorcycle. You might be able to sneak them on a few sites but most of the main ones would reject them. Now as far as them being free I don't know if the same would apply. You might want to check that out before you go through all the uploading.

tan510jomast · « **Reply #2 on:** April 27, 2009, 17:08 »

This may not be directly related, but it is in the sense of "free images".
When I found out about Dreamstime "free section", I wrote Carmen about it, asking why should I want to do this. The reason they gave me was that sometimes you might get someone who likes your free images, and while there in your portfolio they could find some other images and could end up buying those too.
Sounds reasonable, I guess, although I haven't given away anything free just yet !

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #3 on:** April 27, 2009, 17:09 »

Other than the legal issues, donding, how is the best way for using the offer of FREE screensavers?

I think the legalities have been worked out. If not, I'll try some other kind of FREEbies.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #4 on:** April 27, 2009, 17:12 »

Quote from: tan510jomast on April 27, 2009, 17:08

This may not be directly related, but it is in the sense of "free images".
When I found out about Dreamstime "free section", I wrote Carmen about it, asking why should I want to do this. The reason they gave me was that sometimes you might get someone who likes your free images, and while there in your portfolio they could find some other images and could end up buying those too.
Sounds reasonable, I guess, although I haven't given away anything free just yet !

I've avoided that one too, tan. I want the customer to look at MY images, not every free image that DT has to offer.

donding · « **Reply #5 on:** April 27, 2009, 20:57 »

Quote from: WarrenPrice on April 27, 2009, 17:09

Other than the legal issues, donding, how is the best way for using the offer of FREE screensavers?

I think the legalities have been worked out. If not, I'll try some other kind of FREEbies.

I really don't know since I've never tryed it. Maybe someone else on here will be able to answer that better than I.

Xalanx · « **Reply #6 on:** April 28, 2009, 05:03 »

I made this experiment too, recently - donated 3 photos to Dreamstime. In 24 hours one of them already was downloaded over 100 times, the other followed close. No real benefit during this time. I disabled the images after 2 days.

Jack Schiffer · « **Reply #7 on:** April 28, 2009, 05:41 »

In my opinion free doesn't sell
what sells on dreamstime ?

1 Keeping acceptance ratio: up
2 Start a collection of photos
3 Keep uploading photos in time you will be noticed
4 A sign I work for my photo equipment

gostwyck · « **Reply #8 on:** April 28, 2009, 05:43 »

The title itself is contradictory. You don't sell anything by giving it away for free __ you just undermine your product and the greater market for you and everyone else.

Giving images away for free is an act of desperation IMHO. If you think your work is worth nothing then why bother doing it at all? You'd be better off turning your hand to something of value rather than working for free.

Clivia · « **Reply #9 on:** April 28, 2009, 05:53 »

I sell on a greeting card site, and in their forum today they are talking about getting free images from the stock sites and recycling them as greetings cards. It gave me a very sour taste in my mouth!
They have not a clue about usage rights, they just see the word FREE.

astrocady · « **Reply #10 on:** April 28, 2009, 08:03 »

Warren,
That concept is used quite a bit on the internet. I was recently searching for a free web template, and Google sent me to several sites that had one or two offered as free, and a whole bunch that they sell.

Having a separate page with a META title and description of FREE screensavers, and also using the work FREE (with or without caps) in the page text, will allow you page to be show on the search engines when some searches for free screensavers. Then you simply have a few thumbnails of "premium" screansavers on that page and links to "view more images here".

With a nich market like vintage motorcycles, I would also search Google for any vintage motorcycle forums and make a post about your free stuff there (in their appropriate category, of course ;-))

Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

loop · « **Reply #11 on:** April 28, 2009, 11:18 »

I once saw a free image of the week from a micro-site in an ad published in a magazine of a big real state agency. Insertion of the ad in this magazine costs thousands and, OMG, that was the same real state agency that asked me for about 20.000 dollars commission to sell my house.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #12 on:** April 28, 2009, 14:39 »

Quote from: astrocady on April 28, 2009, 08:03

Warren,
That concept is used quite a bit on the internet. I was recently searching for a free web template, and Google sent me to several sites that had one or two offered as free, and a whole bunch that they sell.

Having a separate page with a META title and description of FREE screensavers, and also using the work FREE (with or without caps) in the page text, will allow you page to be show on the search engines when some searches for free screensavers. Then you simply have a few thumbnails of "premium" screansavers on that page and links to "view more images here".

With a nich market like vintage motorcycles, I would also search Google for any vintage motorcycle forums and make a post about your free stuff there (in their appropriate category, of course ;-))

Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

Thanks. Good to see that someone understood what I was getting at. Guess I'm not very clear at expressing myself.

I was NOTtalking about adding to the free section of microstock sites. Buyers are already there. I am thinking that Twitter may be a good vehicle for pointing potential buyers to a set of free images, which will point to my portfolio. Question is ... where do I place the free screensavers. My SEO guy suggested charging a shipping fee to mail them on a CD. I don't like that. Maybe set up a page on my website for the free screensavers. Watermark them with a link to my portfolio? Or, just link to the portfolio from the FREE page?

Maybe just forget the whole thing?

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Author Topic: Selling with FREE stuff (Read 6599 times)

WarrenPrice

donding

tan510jomast

WarrenPrice

WarrenPrice

donding

Xalanx

Jack Schiffer

gostwyck

Clivia

astrocady

loop

WarrenPrice

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