Author Topic: Selling images direct, technical and practical suggestions (Read 9528 times)

gameover · « **on:** June 12, 2021, 08:38 »

For anyone interested, from my blog: How to sell digital goods - Why did I migrate from Easy Digital Downloads to WooCommerce ? (https://luisafumi.com/blog/2021/06/12/how-to-sell-digital-goods-in-a-reliable-and-affordable-way-why-did-i-migrate-from-easy-digital-downloads-to-woocommerce/)
It is possible to sell with WordPress and WooCommerce on a reliable and robust E-platform using only FREE plugins, substantially paying only for a hosting place.

a Stock Image · « **Reply #1 on:** June 15, 2021, 11:17 »

Love your work.

Are you using wooCommerce photography extension?

cascoly · « **Reply #2 on:** June 15, 2021, 16:56 »

Quote from: gameover on June 12, 2021, 08:38

For anyone interested, from my blog: How to sell digital goods -

does this link really tell us HOW to make sales? how many sales do you have? promoting yet another way to spend time without much hope of a payoff is useless

a Stock Image · « **Reply #3 on:** June 15, 2021, 21:24 »

Quote from: cascoly on June 15, 2021, 16:56

does this link really tell us HOW to make sales? how many sales do you have? promoting yet another way to spend time without much hope of a payoff is useless

While the article could use a better title like "switching from X to Y for Z reason"; the actual store how is set-up can actually generate sales with the right marketing.
So it is interesting to see what others are doing and how they are doing it.

I have sold the weirdest products and services online in my career, photography is no exception.

What I am noticing is the successful people selling stock on their website have a niche, they have something defined, and the ones who struggled went for a more generic service.
I am still researching the topic, so to me it was helpful in someone way.

EDIT:
Found this example website - prostarpics (dot) com

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #4 on:** June 16, 2021, 09:15 »

Quote from: gameover on June 12, 2021, 08:38

For anyone interested, from my blog: How to sell digital goods - Why did I migrate from Easy Digital Downloads to WooCommerce ? (https://luisafumi.com/blog/2021/06/12/how-to-sell-digital-goods-in-a-reliable-and-affordable-way-why-did-i-migrate-from-easy-digital-downloads-to-woocommerce/)
It is possible to sell with WordPress and WooCommerce on a reliable and robust E-platform using only FREE plugins, substantially paying only for a hosting place.

Thanks for the tips. Does the checkout work, without someone doing a re-write. That would be the final step for me actually trying to run one of these again.

Quote from: cascoly on June 15, 2021, 16:56

does this link really tell us HOW to make sales? how many sales do you have? promoting yet another way to spend time without much hope of a payoff is useless

That's the second part? First I need to have a working website and I've never had that happen, even with Symbiostock. When I have a simple, rock solid, sales platform, with a gallery and basic search, that takes payments and charges appropriate taxes = then I can wonder about sales.

I understand your point, after many people have created sites, for many years, not many have found success with making any sales. For me, it's just the idea that I can have my own sales platform, not the expectation that I'll make sale or money from it.

cascoly · « **Reply #5 on:** June 16, 2021, 16:58 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on June 16, 2021, 09:15

Quote from: cascoly on June 15, 2021, 16:56
does this link really tell us HOW to make sales? how many sales do you have? promoting yet another way to spend time without much hope of a payoff is useless

That's the second part? First I need to have a working website and I've never had that happen, even with Symbiostock. When I have a simple, rock solid, sales platform, with a gallery and basic search, that takes payments and charges appropriate taxes = then I can wonder about sales.

I understand your point, after many people have created sites, for many years, not many have found success with making any sales. For me, it's just the idea that I can have my own sales platform, not the expectation that I'll make sale or money from it.

yes - i already had a working website for my online games and travel businesses, so adding photography could build on that and it was a main reason I looked to symbiostock to be, well, symbiotic. in the good ol' days my site rec'd about 100k visitors / day, but that eroded sharply as larger website businesses dominated thru ads.

your approach is rational, but i wouldnt recommend a selfhosted site for someone interested predominately i n sales w/o having a solution to the traffic/sales problem - no one has solved thatproblem yet.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #6 on:** June 19, 2021, 09:45 »

Quote from: cascoly on June 16, 2021, 16:58

Quote from: Uncle Pete on June 16, 2021, 09:15

Quote from: cascoly on June 15, 2021, 16:56
does this link really tell us HOW to make sales? how many sales do you have? promoting yet another way to spend time without much hope of a payoff is useless

That's the second part? First I need to have a working website and I've never had that happen, even with Symbiostock. When I have a simple, rock solid, sales platform, with a gallery and basic search, that takes payments and charges appropriate taxes = then I can wonder about sales.

I understand your point, after many people have created sites, for many years, not many have found success with making any sales. For me, it's just the idea that I can have my own sales platform, not the expectation that I'll make sale or money from it.

yes - i already had a working website for my online games and travel businesses, so adding photography could build on that and it was a main reason I looked to symbiostock to be, well, symbiotic. in the good ol' days my site rec'd about 100k visitors / day, but that eroded sharply as larger website businesses dominated thru ads.

your approach is rational, but i wouldnt recommend a selfhosted site for someone interested predominately i n sales w/o having a solution to the traffic/sales problem - no one has solved thatproblem yet.

Exceptional traffic numbers for back then. 100k a day should have found some buyers?

Very specific site for a very specific kind of buyer, looking for very limited selection based on the field of entertainment involved. I wouldn't try to make a broad stock site. 100k views from people who don't buy anything won't be interesting to me. I'd rater have 10 people a day who actually need the images I make.

marthamarks · « **Reply #7 on:** June 19, 2021, 09:54 »

Quote from: cascoly on June 15, 2021, 16:56

promoting yet another way to spend time without much hope of a payoff is useless

Exactly. We old timers remember Symbiostock too well to want to venture down another rabbit hole at this point.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #8 on:** June 19, 2021, 10:15 »

Quote from: marthamarks on June 19, 2021, 09:54

Quote from: cascoly on June 15, 2021, 16:56
promoting yet another way to spend time without much hope of a payoff is useless

Exactly. We old timers remember Symbiostock too well to want to venture down another rabbit hole at this point.

I'd agree about 1000% on that lesson. But it was the "next big thing..." LOL A game changer, a disruption to the system and all those other catchy cliches.

farbled · « **Reply #9 on:** June 19, 2021, 11:08 »

Aww, I liked Symbiostock, it had real potential to give us another alternative to using agencies. But as always, working with creatives was like herding cats. Leo actually came out with an even better solution later that I just loved. But sadly it hasn't been updated and is no longer working.

I still play with my own site at farbled dot com. I'm currently using WP Photo Seller, which allows bulk uploading and reads metadata, which is something I can't seem to figure out in the free version of Woocommerce.

Next steps for me are to add a crypto checkout, and then my own crypto token (the $FARB) someday for discounts and rewards. But that's a ways away.

marthamarks · « **Reply #10 on:** June 21, 2021, 08:09 »

Quote from: farbled on June 19, 2021, 11:08

Aww, I liked Symbiostock, it had real potential to give us another alternative to using agencies.

I liked it too! Liked it well enough to spend over a year building my spiffy new site, writing a ton of copy to make Yoast love me, and investing in add-ons to improve its look and function.

And then, without warning, the whole system crashed and burned.

I finally pulled the plug on all that work, made the site — bestnaturestock.com — a simple landing-page with links to my traditional stock sites, and let it go at that.

Sad.

farbled · « **Reply #11 on:** June 21, 2021, 10:27 »

Quote from: marthamarks on June 21, 2021, 08:09

I liked it too! Liked it well enough to spend over a year building my spiffy new site, writing a ton of copy to make Yoast love me, and investing in add-ons to improve its look and function.

And then, without warning, the whole system crashed and burned.

I finally pulled the plug on all that work, made the site — bestnaturestock.com — a simple landing-page with links to my traditional stock sites, and let it go at that.

Sad.

It was, I remember the poor guy'd wake up to so many emails asking for tech support or complaints, and it was just him. I'm a little surprised it lasted as long as it did. Then there was a block of users who wanted to control everything (price, quality, etc) and that killed the whole idea for me.

farbled · « **Reply #12 on:** June 21, 2021, 11:28 »

My absolute favorite was Ktools. It was dead simple to use and add other artists with their own accounts, withdraws, etc. I had some issues making video work, but nothing that couldn't be figured out with some effort. Sadly, also no longer works/obsolete.

It would have been wonderful right about now for a half dozen or dozen artists with the same quality levels and complimentary subjects to form a small niche library.

marthamarks · « **Reply #13 on:** June 21, 2021, 14:05 »

Quote from: farbled on June 21, 2021, 11:28

It would have been wonderful right about now for a half dozen or dozen artists with the same quality levels and complimentary subjects to form a small niche library.

I would go for that too, but it seems somebody has to "be in charge" for something like that to work. Otherwise, just more chaos.

Looks like we're stuck with the system we've got… such as it is.

Again, it's sad.

shutterview · « **Reply #14 on:** June 22, 2021, 11:18 »

Great idea!

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Author Topic: Selling images direct, technical and practical suggestions (Read 9528 times)

gameover

a Stock Image

cascoly

a Stock Image

Uncle Pete

cascoly

Uncle Pete

marthamarks

Uncle Pete

farbled

marthamarks

farbled

farbled

marthamarks

shutterview

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