Let me introduce Yahoo Answers to you with this quote…

“When your focus shifts from getting rich, selling more ebooks, and banking more cash to a mindset of adding value to more people’s lives, helping them get richer, healthier, happier, more successful… a paradigm shifts in your success level.”

The above quote by my friend Dr.Mani does a lot to explain ultimately what is at the heart of all successful businesses… whether that’s in Internet marketing, digital photography or any online niche. It’s all about giving. It really does pay to give your knowledge away.

And one great way to give is by using Yahoo Answers. Basically this is where you can go to ASK any questions you have, or answer other people’s questions. (To answer other people’s questions, just search for questions on your preferred topic, and post with an answer. Make sure to drop in a link to your website too!)

I love Yahoo Answers because you get some really, terrifically HONEST questions being asked. And to be able to help these people out is very rewarding. There’s a photography section too, and so you constantly get people looking for photography tips, printing photo questions, selling photos, website help etc.

IF you are knowledgeable in a particular area, it’s worth contributing, and posting your perspective. I try to get in there every week and give it a blast. If your answer is chosen as the best answer, you can end up (down the track) with some good search engine rankings. Yahoo comes with a LOT of link power!

Answers.Yahoo.com – remember to add to Yahoo Answers with quality input.

Yahoo! Answers allows you to make someone’s day each time you reply, give value to people no matter where they live in the world, and share your intelligence (and depth of knowledge) for a good cause.

Download Article Marketing Strategies Here

“I used to work hard. The 18-hour days. The 7-day weeks. But I didn’t start making big money until I did less – a lot less. For example, this ad took me about 2 hours to write. With a little luck it should earn me 50, maybe a hundred thousand dollars.”

That’s not my quote but you get the idea… The idea is that as a photographer, you want to be utilizing your talents and knowledge and inbuilt genius in the best ways possible. One of these ways is with photography.

You go out and you create art, or beauty, or amazing digital landscapes, or abstract photography, whatever it may be, and you form it into an image. Your genius goes into this image, and then the image travels the globe, end up on magazine stands, posters, postcards, websites, exhibits, t-shirts and a thousand surprisingly different avenues of expression.

For many of you, this is your big mission in life. But having said that, there’s still something missing. You are also capable of expressing your creative talents in words. And if you struggle with this and blurt out “but this is why I take photos, so I don’t have to write!” Then let me assure you that there are an abundance of passionate photographers out there who you can interview at the drop of a hat. In fact, right now, they’re waiting for you to call them!

But make no mistake. Content does rule the Internet, friend.

Cast your mind over the millions of people this very minute with fingers poised, quietly brainstorming within for the right keywords to use to find what they want online. Will they find you? Do you want them to?

But back to the story…

Yes, it’s cool if you’ve got 200 stunning nature pictures on your photo blog or website. But even cooler is if you’ve got articles, reviews and over-deliver with great content on your website, as well as those compelling nature pics.

Because we want to read all about it! We do want to know what makes you tick, what pulls YOU up in the morning, what makes you chase thunderstorms, get up at 5AM to snap the misty start of a new day. All that and more!

And so, after all this… How do you increase website traffic (attract more visitors) then?

Well, one way is by writing articles. (Or do the interview thing I mentioned above). Simple stuff. 500 words or so. Just like you were talking passionately to a close friend. Just talk about what you know best. You can, right? And then you submit these articles to specific websites. Boom.

With a link that points back to YOUR website in the resource box (you’ll put that at the end of your article), your good articles will be picked up by other websites. And all across the web they’ll swim… far and wide. With little friendly links all pointing back towards your website… and LOTS of people reading your article and finding out what makes you tick…

You getting the big picture here? I hope so… Because if I could give you any digital photography tips whatsoever then this one would be HIGHEST on the list.

And now you have no excuse not to take ACTION. Because ‘Article Marketing Strategies‘ (with 51 very revealing pages) is yours to download. All you need to do is click the link above. Or below:

Download Article Marketing Strategies Here

And then go forth and create your digital photography empire!

Image via Wikipedia

Looking out your back door… what do you see?

Where I live I see planes, trucks and automobiles.

Ok not that many planes…

But lots of motorcycles and vehicles and stuff that NEEDS to be insured.

And all those vehicles need a ‘record of documentation’ for insurance purposes. In other words, the ‘insurance people’ need photos of your new Toyota Camry, Mac truck, or Ducati 996 Superbike…

Hmm… So who’s going to gather the photos and REQUIRED info to document the transactions that need to take place?

How about YOU?

In terms of photography careers, this little opportunity TAKES the cake.

The Insurance companies are not going to have their own photographer waiting around in every town, are they? (I’ll just have my 48th Cafe Latte while I wait for the next call…)

It certainly wouldn’t be COST effective…

Now think about ALL the people in your local area right this minute going online for loans, leases or purchasing insurance… (Do people actually visit their ‘local’ insurance, mortgage or loan company anymore?) Would you? After all, it’s much quicker to get it all done and quoted on with a click of a mouse, right…?

Now think about all the companies that need basic and specialized photography work – from leasing to insurance companies and many more.

YOU guessed it… they need photos taken to detail all the essential information they need.

Can you see the potential for your own easy-to-run digital photography business here?

It’d be a GREAT part time occupation or a cosy and FLEXIBLE photography career for the ‘enthusiastic’ photographer who likes to work his or her own hours…

You’d need to have your PC or Mac, a digital camera with reasonable resolution, cell phone, transportation, and the WILL to make this photography career WORK for you…

Need I say more?

Go here to see: http://hurleypix.com/wow

Image via Wikipedia

But for some of you, you’ll really get into how the camera works, depth of field, the best new lens, etc, etc…

I, on the other hand, ‘trained’ myself to look for situations that were suitable to shoot. I looked for the right times of the day, locations, objects and materials that were noticeable enough to take note of.

So this means I’m unable to give out photo tips…

But I CAN go for hours on how you can expand your ‘brand-of-one,’ super-charge your website or blog, create multiple information products from what YOU do…

And now, after inserting a huge and overwhelming dosage of Internet marketing into my blood, and carefully mixing that with the vision of a ‘portable’ digital photography business, it has come to be.

Well, almost anyway.

Anyways, no matters what I think, the whole point of all this is about you. Let me help you build up your portable empire, your passive income photo business, so that you are free to do what you darn well want to do, everyday…

The best way to start is by firing your questions at me…

Look for the little ‘comments’ link and click that… and ask away.

Whether you want to sell photos online, sell photos to Alaskans, get your own funky and terrific photo blog, do screen savers or slideshows, create podcasts, or whatever… It’s all DO-able…

Technorati Tags:
learn photography, digital photography business, picsearch, photo tips, sell photos online

“What is stock photography? Stock photography is a set of ready-to-use images for subscribers who have purchased the rights to use them. With digital stock photography, you get to see the final image even before you are granted the rights to use them and these images can be licensed immediately. The cost for stock photography, especially royalty-free images, are much lower compared to assignment photography.”

1. Crestock – Free to join, and they strive to make uploading your images SIMPLE, with the “stock industry’s best and fastest upload system… (includes bulk uploads).” Soon as you sign up you can submit your images… when you hit 100 sales you earn a hefty 30% commission…

Check our the Crestock blog for photo tips, digital stock photography tutorials and a superb photo blog layout. Notice the use of small thumbnails images next to each post…

2. iStockPhoto – iStockPhoto is one of the bigger names out there today. They accept high quality jpg photos, Flash, vector illustrations, and video with a royalty structure of 20%. If you’re eligible for exclusivity, you can make up to 40%.

To apply to become a photographer on iStockphoto, you’ll need to read through their online training manual and then upload a piece of government issued identification in the form of a JPEG. (I scanned in my passport for them). Then you’ll be asked to submit 3 sample images which will be reviewed by our inspection team.

Popular site and sure to be worthwhile being a photographer with them. Yes you have to step through hoops to get ‘inside’ but the long term value could be priceless.

3. Fotolia – Nice community of creative people who enjoy sharing and learning. Solid forums for any questions you might have. You’ll receive commission from each photo sold and revenue from advertising on the free section. The commission amount depends on the exclusivity given to Fotolia for selling the image and it depends on your ranking. This commission is between 33% and 80% of the sell price.

Photographers define the price of their images within their rank and exclusivity to Fotolia. If you choose to sell your images only on Fotolia, you can increase your price faster and your commissions will be higher (from 50% to 80% of the sell price).

By the way, the more you sell images on Fotolia, the more you will increase your ranking, and the more you will have the ability to increase your prices. Fotolia challenges the traditional closed agency model by offering to everyone hobbyist or professional the opportunity to monetize their talents, whatever their fame, status, or size of portfolio. High cool factor…

4. Shutterstock – Great, simple, easy to navigate microstock site and possibly the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world. Shutterstock will pay you 25 cents every time one of your images is downloaded. Once you reach $500 in earnings, your commission goes up to 30 cents per download. The subscription model encourages buyers to download a greater volume of images than they would at most other agencies.

Their current payout is $0.25 (US) per download. (That means that at just 2000 downloads/month, you can earn $500 (US) per month!) NB: Photo buyers subscribe on a monthly basis and can download up to 750 images over the course of 30 days. Which seems to be a nice idea for contributing photographers… you might find more of your images getting downloaded (and make more $).

5. Bigstockphoto – Clever, well detailed stock photo site with among the highest paying commissions out there (33%-50%). Photographer get from 50 cents to $3.00 per image download. Special licensing deals can increase your payout.

Also unique in that photo buyers can use images from BigStockPhoto for web site templates, and also re-sell that web site template design. This encourages web template designers to use images from BigStockPhoto… which is good news for contributing photographers!

In summary (they say): The more photos you upload the higher chance of making more money with BigStockPhoto. The subject matter and quality of the photos also plays a key role. We have a list of “Photos We Need” here and supplying photos from this list may increase your likelihood of making $$ as well.

Lastly, the creativity and judgement used in your photographs will be a big factor in how often your photos are downloaded – the more creative and attractive and striking your work is the more downloaded it will probably be.

6. Dreamstime – Beautifully simple laid out stock photo site community. Sell your stock images and get 50-80% from each sale you make (depending on size and licensing factors).

For each transaction, the photographer receives a 50 percent fee. Exclusive images receive a 60 percent fee, while exclusive photographers enjoy an additional bonus of $0.20 for each approved submission. Considering all bonuses that are awarded to the buyer, the actual royalties can reach up to 80% or more. According to a recent study of PDN Magazine, Dreamstime awards the highest royalties in the industry.

7. 123rf.com – Nice funky, colorful microstock site with 24 hour support and a wealth of information to absorb. Your photos are submitted on a royalty-free basis (not exclusive) and you may submit and continue to sell your photos to other websites and stock photo agencies too.To apply you need to upload your ID and then a minimum of 10 photos of your work for initial review.

123rf pays by check, PayPal and Moneybookers. Here’s an idea of how much you’d receive if a photo buyer downloads an ultra high resolution version ($3) of your photo. You’d pocket = $3 × 50% = $1.50 from that sale. They will also (if you enable it) email you if your images have been approved or rejected.

8. Stockxpert – Stockxpert is a popular royalty free stock photography community with the goal to provide customers with affordable stock imagery while offering a powerful tool to photographers and digital artists who would like to sell their work.

As a contributing photographer you’ll receive 50% from each download you generate. Also, you can view your earnings in real time at your account and manage your images with a powerful, easy to use interface! Uploading your images is an easy process. They also have a community forum which includes categories such as picture critiques and newbie corner. Nice little stock photo site.

9. CanStockPhoto – Simple and popular microstock site which has been around since 2004). What they say: “Although you do not have to be a professional photographer, you should have professional quality images. This does not necessarily mean that you must have National Geographic quality images, but it does mean that your images should be up the current commercial standards. This includes composition, content, and image quality.”

CanStockPhoto also have a good discussion forum too, so that’s helpful if you’re just starting out. Payments for contributing photographers are 50% commission for guest & member purchases, and a flat $0.25 for subscription sales. Photographers are free to submit as many photos as they like, and will never be charged a cent.

You always retain ownership of your images, and are free to edit and remove them whenever you want. Once you earn $50, you can request a PayPal cash-out, or $100 for a mailed check.

They say: “Submitting your images to CanStock is a breeze! We are proud to have one of the fastest submission systems available anywhere. By using our dynamic uploader, you can drag files from your desktop right to our servers. We also increase your productivity by saving model releases for future submissions…”

10. Photostockplus – Not a microstock site as such in comparison to the others listed here. Rather Photostockplus offer you an e-commerce enabled website type setup that allows you to upload and sell your photos online, and set your own prices.

They say: “Using our site is an easy and reliable way to showcase and sell your work while we handle all of the shipping and backend hassles, giving you more time to do what you do best – take pictures! We actively promote the stock database and our photographers to a wide variety of buyers guaranteeing you worldwide exposure. We provide you with the tools and client base to be successful; you keep 85% of the profits…

Images are sold on a royalty free basis; this means there is a one time purchase fee for the unlimited use of an image per buyer. You are free to sell your images over and over again and raise or lower prices as you see fit. You maintain all rights to the photos.

As a pro member, we provide you with your very own e-commerce enabled website modeled after your username (www.username.photostockplus.com) where in minutes, you can put together online showcases for your events with the help of our site templates. Customize your site with your own logo and contact details, and have clients email you directly through an online form and more…”

Now that I know what your needs and wants are, I can better help you out.

I’ve decided to put Seth Godin’s ‘Everyone’s An Expert’ (About Something) in your hot little hands for taking the time to do my survey. Why? Because, well… not only is it a fantastic read (as you’ll find out) but he (Seth) was the mastermind behind the Squidoo.com phenomena.

YOU see, by using a Squidoo lens, you really can become an expert at what you do. In fact, you can become an expert of your own domain (or, in this case, Lens). And they cost the cool price of free too.

Seth explains it best…

“THIS BOOK is for anyone who wants more online traffic, more revenue, more followers, more attention, more interest, more donations or more influence.”

Everyone Is An Expert

Note that it comes zipped in a .PDF file. (It’s about 1.5 MB)
All you need to do is use Winzip to unzip it which you can find here:
http://www.winzip.com/index.htm (Use the trial version)

And Adobe Reader to read it which you can find here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

My own Squidoo Lens is located right here:
http://www.squidoo.com/sellingphotosonline

Please go make a comment or click on the stars at the top of the page to give it a ranking. Thanks.