My stock image store stockImages.glennspecht.com is now open.
I have images located in several Stock Stores such as Shutter Stock and iStock. I have decided to open my own site as well. Â The main reason for this is I would like to put more funds in my pocket. Â The same image you download on Shutter Stock nets me much more if it is bought direct from me.
The problem is not many people know about my site, and now I have to do the part of any business I am not good at…. Marketing.
Let’s see what are the reasons for someone to go to the site.
- Great images
- decent layout
- ability to purchase direct from the artist ( Me) via paypal.
There is one major disadvantage to my site. I only have about 600 images available for purchase, an extremely small amount in the world of stock. I am adding images weekly and I think they may be the best images ever produced by a photographer anywhere anytime on the planet ….( not really ). I know my images will not fill the needs of most people who want or need to buy images.
With such a small selection and such a niche market ( mostly Ecuador Travel Images) will I be pissing potential buyers off when they come to my site and they don’t find what they need? Â No… because I have access to over 25,000 images to offer to any potential buyer.
I still want people to visit my site even though I know I don’t have the images they need for one reason…. My site is part of the Symbiostock Network.
The Symbiostock network is a very interesting Word Press theme that allows image searches to be conducted on the sites of many extremely talented independent photographers and illustrators.
If you are looking for a image of gemstone… I don’t have it on my site, but the search facility will pull up other options from with-in the network, in this case mostly from the niche site http://photominingstock.com/
Do I make money from the search, and the sale from another member of the network… no. The concept is that the network feeds all users, so gemstone will go somewhere else. In return a search for Ecuador will show images from my site.
As of now ( 06-06-2013) there are 25,898 images on the network… still very small in relation to the big players, but the network is growing every day.
If you are a seller of Stock images you owe it to yourself to check out Symbiostock Network. Even if it isn’t right for you, the knowledge that it exists may be needed in the future
If you are a buyer of images, even though you may not be interested in Ecuador Travel Images, you should still go to stockimages.glennspecht.com. Â I likely won’t have the images you want, but I know the person who does and all you have to do is use the search to find them.
Great post Glenn, The Symbiostock Network is definitely growing daily as we all add images to it, many of which will not be found anywhere else, because there is a lot more incentive to shoot and create more great pictures when the original Artist will be benefiting than when someone else benefits..
I have lots of dogs and other animals (as well as a variety of other subjects) at stockimages.kerioak.com
Christine I think the Network will also have images that will be more creative. I know I have put up images on my site that I know would not get passed the review process on other sites. These images have a more artistic look and feel to them.
your stockimages.kerioak.com site is great as well.
Good idea, Glenn.
Such initiatives make symbiostock Community stronger !
http://lifeispix.com
Chris, My stock image store is about one purpose…. a way I can continue to make images. I think a strong Symbiostock community will help me achieve this… even if I sell on the fringes I am still producing income.
Love it, Glenn!
This is just the beginning. Every photographer/illustrator being serious about selling his/her images should give Symbiostock a try for at least a year or two. Shared hosting is cheap and with the help of this great community, a little dedication, effort and time everyone can set up a SY site. The Symbiostock Network is growing daily at a surprisingly fast pace. Thanks to Leo and others involved in coding the software gets more refined and sophisticated very quickly. If all this continues Symbiostock will soon, in a matter of months, grow into something images buyers simply can’t ignore. Hopefully, their experience with the Symbiostock Network will become so exciting and pleasant that they get hooked and come back for all their image needs. That, nothing less, should be our goal. Together we can achieve it!
Now returning to uploading photos to http://www.imagoborealis.com
Yes I agree that if we make get purchasers as excited about the network as the photographers and illustrators are then we can create something truly amazing.