One of the most popular ways people make money online is through photography. Granted, this is not an easy route. But, it is still possible. Stock photography is probably one of the most common ways people do this on the web.

Anyway, the video below by professional photographer Anthony Maddaloni shares some really useful tips on how to start a photography business. While he may be talking about business in general, you can adapt his tips in to online businesses for photographers.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

How To Start a Photography Business

Last week, I shared the service, Photrade for photographers who wish to make money online. I had 3 invites to give away. And, thanks to Krista (VP of Marketing from Photrade), I received an extra 3. So, congratulations to the following folks who received invites:

• Luis Cruz (shoots with a Canon 350D)
• Julian (shoots with a Nikon D300)
• Marjorie (shoots with a Nikon D70)
• Thursday Bram (shoots with a Canon Rebel)

Ooohh.. 2 Canon users and 2 Nikon users! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy testing Photrade out. And, I’d welcome your feedback on the service!

And, since I have 2 more invites to give away, just let me know if you want one by leaving a comment here (sharing what kind of camera you shoot with).

Thanks also to Jennifer Gniadecki who shared this feedback about the service: “Photrade has been great for me. Mostly because it’s the easiest one to upload pictures to. I don’t know what I’m doing with it and would love to see a few posts on how to effectively rock out with Photrade.” Hopefully, we’ll learn more in the future!

Krista also mentioned this: “All of our photos are printed on high quality Kodak paper and fulfilled through EZ prints, a trusted supplier of professional photographers.” So, that’s good to know.

Will keep you posted for more updates.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Photrade Account Giveaway Update

Today, I learned about Photrade, a new photography marketplace that’s still in beta. The basic idea is that you upload your photos in the service, then you can sell products based on your photos. These products include: photo prints, apparel, and gift items, as well as digital downloads (stock photo). You can set your own price and they’ll take care of delivering the products to the customer. It also seems like they plan to offer an affiliate programme in the future.

In any case, payments may be: 1) collected in the system and used to buy stuff from the site; 2) donated to your chosen charity; and/or b) sent to you via Paypal (with US$15 minimum payment threshold).

Since it’s still in beta, there are a couple of issues: a) You can only try out the service if you get an invitation; and b) There’s still a few kinks in the system. Plus, I’m not sure yet of its track record when it comes to quality of products, payment systems to photographers, etc.

In any case, I still think it’s a service worth watching. And right now, I have 3 invites available to give away. If you’re interested, leave a comment here answering the question: What kind of camera do you own?

If there are more than 3 folks interested, I’ll raffle off the invites.

NOTE: Thanks to Janette Toral for sending me an invite and telling me about Photrade.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Photrade: Make Money Online with Your Photos

If you love making and designing greeting cards, then Greeting Card Universe might just be the online business you’re looking for. This is especially great if you love photography, illustration, or painting, and you’re keen to turn your artworks in to greeting cards.

The Basics:

Greeting Card Universe is pretty much a “free” service. At the moment, there’s no charge to sign up for an account and start an online greeting card store.

When you sign up, you’re able to customise your online shop (choose name, upload logo, create a personal profile, etc). You can then upload as many card designs as you like (provided they approve your designs) and sell them in your store.

Cards sell for US$1.99 each. Designers/sellers are given 50 cents for each sale. As a designer/store owner, you are able to purchase your own cards at a discount (US$1.49 each). So, you can easily buy these cards and sell them for a higher price elsewhere.

Payments are sent to designers/sellers once they reach the minimum payment threshold (US$25). You can increase your minimum, if you wish. They send cheques or Paypal payments.

They provide some basic statistics of visits and sales on your account dashboard. There are also some information showing how visitors/buyers find your cards.

Also, there’s an option to make your designs available as free ecards. When these ecards are sent, there’s an ad that will say something like “This free ecard is also available as a print greeting card.” – pointing to where they can buy it online.

General Review:

Although I’ve signed up for the service to get a feel for the process, I haven’t really tried selling any cards yet on the site. If I do give it a go, I’ll give you an update.

Basically, from what I’ve seen, it seems like a pretty straightforward service. It’s easy to sign up and create the online store. Although customisations are limited, I don’t see this as a barrier. Also, there are widgets available so that you can promote your online store in your own blog or website.

If selling greeting cards is an area that you’d like to explore, I think Greeting Card Universe is an option that’s worth looking in to.

If you’re using this, or you end up trying it out, I hope you’ll share with us some of your thoughts on it.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Greeting Cards Universe: Make Money Selling Cards Online

I love Flickr. It’s not perfect. In fact, I have a long wish list when it comes to this service – including better protection for photographers and artists. But, in spite of its shortcomings, I’ve been a loyal customer since 2004 – long before it was acquired by Yahoo (and paying for a Pro account every year since ’06).

And, while there are no direct ways to make money online with Flickr, there are ways you can use the site to help you in your business/career. Here are some ideas:

1) Take a photo of a product and put a link to your affiliate link via notes function. To see a sample of this idea in action, click on the photo of books on the right hand side. You will then be taken to the image’s Flickr page. Once you’re there, put your cursor over the books and you’ll see notes with affiliate links to Amazon.

2) Make your picture available as stock photo and put a link to your sales or downloads page. If you use a service like Tradebit, for example, you can mention in your photo description that a higher resolution/non-watermarked version of your photo is available for download.

3) If you sell on eBay, Etsy, or your own shop, you can take a photo of your product and put a link to your store front. Many Flickr crafters tend to use this approach. Flickr then helps to introduce your products to people. One example is artist and designer Elsie Flannagan: when she has a new piece available for sale, she uploads an image like this and mentions that it’s available as a print or original in her Etsy shop. Another example is Mahar Dry Goods, run by Robert Mahar who tend to upload new product photos on Flickr, and his profile reflects the fact that he is the owner of craft gift shop for kids (with a link to shop front).

4) Build your portfolio and market your service/business. Even if you don’t have products to sell, but you have a service to offer, you can use Flickr as one of your online portfolios. This especially useful for artists, photographers, illustrators and designers. Many folks have claimed to have gained new clients based on their Flickr account. One such person is author/illustrator Debbie Ohi. You can see that her profile reflects the nature of her work and that she accepts commissions.

5) When you use a photo on your blog that you uploaded on Flickr, add a link to your blog post or portfolio site. If your blog runs ads, product sales and/or affiliates, then you might get new customers too.

6) Sell them as prints. You can either use a third party service for creating high quality prints, or you can do the printing yourself if you have the equipment and knowledge to do so. Mention that your photos are available as prints in the description and/or your profile.

7) Create products off your photography. Flickr, for example, has a partnership with Qoop, where various products like mugs, keychains and photobooks may be created based on your Flickr photos. You can create them there and resell those products. Another option is making your own image-based products available on Cafepress. Again, you can mention the availability of these products in the description and/or your profile.

Some Bonus Tips:

1. Make sure you upload a good quality image. Otherwise, it will not encourage people to buy your products or use your services.

2. Adding good titles and descriptions are always helpful.

3. Don’t forget to add tags! Tagging helps to get your images to show in relevant searches.

4. Never ever oversell. Flickr users will know if you’re just using the service to peddle your products/services. Don’t plaster “for sale” signs.

5. Join groups and participate in them. Send some of your good images to these groups (within the group rules). Communities help!

6. Add friends and leave comments. Being an active participant is a good thing.

7. Promote your Flickr photos on your blog, your email signature, and anywhere else you can think of.

8. There are 2 versions of Flickr – a Free and Pro version. With the Free one, you have limited number of uploads in a month, plus a few other restrictions. But, it’s still worth using. The Pro version has unlimited uploads and a few other perks – like getting your photos organised in several sets and collections.

So, do you use Flickr at all? And, do you have any other money-generating ideas with the use of Flickr?

Image credit: Shai Coggins

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

7 Ways to Make Money on Flickr (+ Bonus Tips)

Digital cameras aren’t just for fun and pleasure. They’re almost an essential part of every business. And, if you’re trying to make money online, a digital camera is something that you can definitely use in your work.

And, if you’re looking at more ways to maximise the use of your digital camera when it comes to making money, Camera Fortune has 4 ideas for you. And, stock photography is just one of them.

Oh, and if you do use your digital camera in your business, make sure you keep all related receipts and consult your tax specialist regarding using it as a tax write-off. If you want to know more about taxes and business, do check out TaxGirl.com.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Making Money with Your Digital Camera