Monday, October 19, 2009

Zazzle

While reading www.microstockgroup.com, I noticed that a number of photographers were also submitting their images to websites such as Zazzle, CafePress, etc. and have had some success with selling their products. So, I decided to head over to Zazzle and check it out.

Essentially, Zazzle sells t-shirts, coffee mugs, aprons, photo prints, etc. As a contributor, I can go in and customize different products for Zazzle to sell. If my products sell, I will receive a commission (just like microstock). However, the commission potential is a lot higher on Zazzle. For example, if I sell an image through a microstock company, I may only make $.20 - $.30 for each sale. On Zazzle, if I sell one of my products, I can make $2.00.

I have a feeling that it will be a lot easier to sell images through microstock than Zazzle, but I decided to try it out (after all, isn't this all just a big experiment?).

I took one of my pictures of boiling eggs and created an apron to sell. Supposedly it takes a few hours for it to appear on my store website, but here is the link:

http://www.zazzle.com/bjsites*

I understand that I will have to create a lot of products in order to see any sale activity, so I'll periodically add more. Then, I will just sit back and watch what happens. Stay tuned!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

BJS...I am so glad you are posting your " journey" into the stock photo business . I have been wanting to do this for months , but was waiting to see a post just like yours . I especially like the way you posted your photo stats/status , I will keep track the same way . I am already retired and just looking to make a little extra money to buy better equipment . I do have a question ..I see that most sites want 40 to 50 mb. pictures . Even though I have DSL , when one is uploading 30 or 40 pictures doesn't that take a long time ? . I really enjoy your posts , let me know how you are advancing your craft . Thanks !
Ed Jones Jr.
sargon1@windstream.net

BJS said...

Hi Ed! Yes, uploading can take some time. Especially if you're uploading to multiple sites at the same time. However, if you are running DSL, it shouldn't be too bad. At the beginning, I was uploading photos as I was taking them (one day, I might have 5-6, another day, I might only have 1 or 2). But now I think I'm going to wait and only upload once a week.

If you are going to be uploading in bulk, a lot of people use FTP to upload. I'm not overly experienced with this, but I know that you can read more about it directly on the microstock websites.

What does take a lot of time for me is entering the correct categories, descriptions, etc for each photo. On my spreadsheet, I put in my keywords after I take the picture so that all I have to do is copy and paste into the web applications. It saves me quite a bit of time.

Good luck! I know a lot of people that are very successful with stock photography, but those people also have significant profiles (1000+ photos). I'm certainly not anywhere close to that, but as long as I enjoy what I'm doing, I don't mind working towards that goal. I'd love to see your portfolios after you get set up!

P.S. You mentioned that most sites want 40-50 MB pictures. Each of my pictures ranges from 3-5 MB. I looked on Fotolia very quickly and their guidelines say that each photo needs to be less than 30 MB.

Anonymous said...

BJS..I went to several sites as well and you are correct but I could have sworn I saw that higher figure somewhere , maybe on another blog or maybe I just read it wrong . In any event , thanks for the reply and keep on letting us know how you are doing . Take Care , Ed Jones

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