If you are a photographer, then stock photography is a good photography niche to explore. Here, you would take different types of photos and sell them as stock photos to others. You can create your own stock photo website where you sell the stock images to others. With content creation being a popular profession, people are on the lookout for such photos.
If you have a good collection of top-quality stock photos on your website, you can sell them and make good money. If you are thinking of creating a stock photography website, then you can follow the guidelines given here.
Creating a stock photo website
1. Create the website
First thing is to finish the technical aspects involved. You need to create the website and keep it ready, so you can upload your stock photos onto them. You need a website address. Choose the website address such that it clearly lets people know you are offering stock photos. The name should be different and easy to remember.
You can book the domain or the website address. To host the website, you need to book server space. Since you are running a business, you should avoid going in for free websites. You can buy server space depending on your data use. This can always be expanded. Once your website is booked, you need to design a website attractively. The website should be organized in such a way people find the photography they need.
2. Allow for online purchase
Since you are selling your stock photos online, you must enable online purchases. You need to have an e-commerce website where visitors can buy the photos of their choice. They should have the option to choose the photos they like and add them to the shopping cart. It should be possible to make online payments using a payment gateway. Once the order is received you can sell the photos online.
Here, there are technical considerations to keep in mind. You need to ensure customers cannot download photos for free. They should be able to download only on payment. You can consider offering a few photos for free as a promotional offer. Ensure the photos are branded with your company or your name and logo. This will ensure no one downloads and uses it without paying.
3. Start taking photos for the website
You need photos for your website. It is time to start taking photos. You could start with your existing collection and then keep adding photos as and when you take them. Remember that stock images are available from various websites. So, why would someone buy from you? The answer is that they should find something special on your website.
You need to have top-quality photos that are different from what is found on other websites. The photos need to be of topics or themes of which there are not many good photos available online. Research other photo websites and also do keyword research. This will help you understand what types of photos are in demand. This is a good starting point to take photos. You need to have all the equipment needed (camera, tripod, filters, etc.) and editing software to create the photos.
4. Choose a niche area
Trying to post photos from every single category will be difficult initially. So, start with a niche area where there is demand for photos and not sufficient photos are available. For example, you could sell travel photos, landscape photos, or food photos. This kind of specialization will allow you to stand out from the competition. It would help you establish yourself in the competitive market.
5. Start marketing your website
Once your website is ready, you need to find customers to buy your photos. For this, marketing is essential. There are different ways of marketing your website.
- You can promote your website through email marketing. You can get emails by offering something for free on your website in exchange for the email.
- Social media marketing is the best way to get customers. While you can use different social media platforms, focus more on photo platforms like Instagram. Create an account and share samples of your work. You can also offer a few free photos for download. This will help gain popularity. The idea should be to get people to visit your website.
- When people search for ‘stock photos’ they need to find your website. For this to happen, you need to follow SEO techniques. This will help you rank your website higher to get more traffic.
- You can also consider placing paid online ads to get visitors to your website.
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