Your web portfolio can serve as a catalog from which a wide array of products can be created on demand. High quality images are all you need to start selling prints, postcards, mouse pads, refrigerator magnets, greeting cards, coffee mugs, calendars, posters, tea shirts, bumper stickers, and so on.
The rapid turn-around on digital prints and related products eliminates the need for maintaining a vast inventory; you simply order as needed. Here are three ways you can begin to generate income from your portfolio:
1) Sell small, inexpensive, framed prints.
The most cost-efficient print and frame combination, at least in my experience, is a 4"x6" photo in a plastic, one-piece frame with a pop-out glass front. These smaller, one-piece plastic frames don't flex, twist, or bend, which makes them ideal for mailing.
The 4"x6" frame is the largest size light enough to ship Parcel Post. The next size up, a 5"x7" framed print, will cost more per print and will fall into the Priority Mail category, adding another two or three dollars to the shipping price.
A 4"x6" frame costs $1.00, the print costs $0.06, and the bubble mailer costs an additional $0.50. Add $3.00 for shipping to this, and for under $5.00 you can choose any image from your portfolio and have it printed, framed, and shipped anywhere in the U.S.A., and for only a couple dollars more, internationally.
I don't bother shipping larger photo frames because, even with bubble wrap and "handle with care" stickers, an 8"x10" glass fronted frame cannot withstand the rigors of the shipping process. Even a slight twist or bend will break the glass.
2) Use Your Facebook Portfolio To Advertise Prints
I upload all of my work to Facebook because it's free and has unlimited storage space for large, print quality images. Each image caption can link to your store or you can simply leave a message stating "framed prints available upon request." Each image can function as its own advertisement.
If you keep a ready supply of frames and bubble mailers on hand, you'll be able to fulfil orders in under an hour. When you order prints online, your account with the photo lab will retain those uploaded images, speeding up the process for subsequent orders. Some print labs, such as the one at Walgreens.com, conveniently integrate with your Facebook profile for the purpose of importing images.
Another way to monetize your web portfolio is to sell it as a digital download. From your Facebook general account settings, you can have your entire collection of images downloaded into a single file. I sell my 2009-2013 portfolio though a third-party website in this manner and get paid royalties every three months.
3) Upload your work to Print on Demand websites such as Society6.com or Zazzle.com where the production and shipping is handled by the printer and the artists receives a percentage of each sale. Third-party websites such as these are free to use and have built in social media plugs for promoting your work:
Your portfolio is the principal tool with which you introduce people to your work so there's no reason to confine it to your own website. Each third-party website you upload a selection of your work to will improve your search engine ranking because third-party websites buy their own ads and draw their own traffic. Upload your work to photo-sharing websites, such as Flickr.com, and use the image caption space to post links to a places where prints can be purchased. One more point about prints, and why you must make them available: they generate interest in, and demand for, originals.
The rapid turn-around on digital prints and related products eliminates the need for maintaining a vast inventory; you simply order as needed. Here are three ways you can begin to generate income from your portfolio:
1) Sell small, inexpensive, framed prints.
The most cost-efficient print and frame combination, at least in my experience, is a 4"x6" photo in a plastic, one-piece frame with a pop-out glass front. These smaller, one-piece plastic frames don't flex, twist, or bend, which makes them ideal for mailing.
The 4"x6" frame is the largest size light enough to ship Parcel Post. The next size up, a 5"x7" framed print, will cost more per print and will fall into the Priority Mail category, adding another two or three dollars to the shipping price.
A 4"x6" frame costs $1.00, the print costs $0.06, and the bubble mailer costs an additional $0.50. Add $3.00 for shipping to this, and for under $5.00 you can choose any image from your portfolio and have it printed, framed, and shipped anywhere in the U.S.A., and for only a couple dollars more, internationally.
I don't bother shipping larger photo frames because, even with bubble wrap and "handle with care" stickers, an 8"x10" glass fronted frame cannot withstand the rigors of the shipping process. Even a slight twist or bend will break the glass.
2) Use Your Facebook Portfolio To Advertise Prints
I upload all of my work to Facebook because it's free and has unlimited storage space for large, print quality images. Each image caption can link to your store or you can simply leave a message stating "framed prints available upon request." Each image can function as its own advertisement.
If you keep a ready supply of frames and bubble mailers on hand, you'll be able to fulfil orders in under an hour. When you order prints online, your account with the photo lab will retain those uploaded images, speeding up the process for subsequent orders. Some print labs, such as the one at Walgreens.com, conveniently integrate with your Facebook profile for the purpose of importing images.
Another way to monetize your web portfolio is to sell it as a digital download. From your Facebook general account settings, you can have your entire collection of images downloaded into a single file. I sell my 2009-2013 portfolio though a third-party website in this manner and get paid royalties every three months.
3) Upload your work to Print on Demand websites such as Society6.com or Zazzle.com where the production and shipping is handled by the printer and the artists receives a percentage of each sale. Third-party websites such as these are free to use and have built in social media plugs for promoting your work:
Your portfolio is the principal tool with which you introduce people to your work so there's no reason to confine it to your own website. Each third-party website you upload a selection of your work to will improve your search engine ranking because third-party websites buy their own ads and draw their own traffic. Upload your work to photo-sharing websites, such as Flickr.com, and use the image caption space to post links to a places where prints can be purchased. One more point about prints, and why you must make them available: they generate interest in, and demand for, originals.
Finally, a note on product photography:
If you’re not particularly confident in your camera or if you simply don't have the time for product photography, you can’t go wrong with your computer’s scanning device. A scanner will allow you to skip the process of perfecting the lighting while avoiding bothersome glares and distortion from bad camera angles. Best of all, you can scan eight or more art cards at a time, which is much faster and less tedious than taking multiple shots of each art card and selecting the best one. Scanners get it right the first time.
Jack Larson
http://www.ZombieArt.blogspot.com
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