What I like about this photograph is the way the oversized windows and doors emphasize this woman's already diminuative stature. The fact that she's standing in a shaft of light doesn't hurt either. Unfortunately, this is the type of image that, because of the predominance of rich, subtlely textured dark tones, looks much better in print than it ever will on a screen. Give it a click if you'd like to "embiggen" it.
It's been three years since my first Shutterfinger post ("Fun in the Closet", April 4, 2008). I've written 235 more since then, with topics ranging from my favorite films, the pitfalls of digital imaging, equipment reviews, photo techniques, and my philosophical ramblings.
The pace of my postings has been leisurely, averaging one every five days or so. This isn't because of any lack of interest or inspiration on my part; it's more because, like most people, blogging isn't the only thing I do. I fit it in with working for a living, being a husband and father, and yes, taking pictures. There has been no financial incentive: no ads, no subscription fees, and few tips in the tip jar. I'm not begging or complaining--in fact, I planned it this way from the start. One has a lot more freedom and a lot less stress when profit is an option rather than a necessity.
Despite or perhaps because of my relaxed approach, Shutterfinger's readership has roughly doubled in size every year. It peaked at 1,500 when I wrote "What Your Camera Says About You," which went viral, and now hovers somewhere around 800. That tells me I'm probably doing something right. The steady growth of Shutterfinger has also brought me to a crossroads: Do I maintain the status quo, invest only the free time I have available, and let the readership rise or fall as it may, or do I invest time time and energy necessary to make Shutterfinger a profitable enterprise?
It's an important question. One of the things I remember most from my interview with Alain Briot is that there is no such thing as "breaking even" when you're trying to market your work. Whether the work is writing or photography (I do both), it takes time and money to pursue it. If you consistently spend more money than you take in then you're pursuing a hobby. That's fine, but there's a limit to how much you can spend on a hobby without jeopardizing your financial security. If, however, you wish to be paid for your investment of time, money, and materials then you need to approach what you're doing as a business. You have to earn a profit. The upside is that if you're good at it, the more time and energy you invest, the greater the profit. There are no value judgements here, just qualitative statements about the difference between a business and a hobby.
That's where I find myself. I would love to move Shutterfinger to a more full-featured blog platform with more sophisticated design features such as tabbed sections, give it its own web address, combine it with a gallery of my photographs, and use it to market my writing and fine-art prints. That would justify more frequent posts on a wider variety of topics, such as studio lighting, equipment reviews, fine-art printing, and photo techniques.
Another way to generate income from blogging is to publish adds from affiliate sponsors. Frankly, I'd rather have a model where all I'm selling is me; that is, my photographs, my writing (eBooks and the like), and maybe a few workshops. Those of you who enjoy window shopping could continue to do so. My primary motivation has not been and never will be money alone. I'd just like to afford to spend more time doing what I love instead of what I have to do to earn a living.
Which way will I go? Shutterfinger is as much yours as it is mine, so your thoughts, suggestions, and reactions are, as always, welcome. I'd love to know what you think.
Gordon, I am happy with your blog the way it is. I visit often. I like to read your philosophical thoughts about photography.Your crossroads is the question a lot of photographers ask,"how can I make some money to justify this hobby ?" I would think you would want to expand into marketing your photos via the blog. If we are reading your blog we certainly want to see your pictures.Question:are we, your readers, also your customers for your photos ? Maybe for your writing, possible not the pictures.Maybe you market the photos thru Red Bubble, or softly thru Flickr, both of which could be used to drive people to a website.Do you or could you exhibit in Phila.? There are a lot of painters who sell small original paintings via the net, a painting a day, some of them have a steady flow of sales, could a photographer do the same ? You would be selling an exclusive image to one buyer, you could advise that there are other similar images from the shoot which you would retain ownership of however.Lots to ponder. Will be interesting to see what "develops".
Posted by: Tim McGowan | April 22, 2011 at 02:18 PM
Seems to me the real question is what methodology/format will make this financially worthwhile - going it alone or taking in ads. If you "believe" you can make it pay without outside ads etc, then that would be the best approach. You could try it for a fixed period and re-evaluate.
The "take no ads" approach is a nice one, but ultimately, if you want to make this a business rather than a hobby YOU WILL TAKE ADS! Or at least affiliates. That's pretty much a fact of life - see Mike Johnson and Michael Reichmann, Thom Hogan et al.
If YOU WILL TAKE ADS!, the question is what kind of ads and how many. As long as they are relevant, not excessive and not too in your face I doubt if too many people will mind.
We (net users) seem to have this infantile notion that the web should be FREE. It's never been FREE. There have always been user costs and someone has to do the work to provide the content. We all have bills to pay and groceries to buy and so do content providers. If taking ads will keep Shutterfinger on the ethernet - so be it. I'm here for the content. I'll live with the ads.
Posted by: John W | April 22, 2011 at 02:25 PM
Gordon, one more thought. I was introduced to your blog thru Mike Johnson's The Online Photographer. I believe you had a successful print sale over there.I would suggest that you buy some advertising on TOP to promote your prints for sale.Go where there is a proven market for your work.It's so easy to solve other peoples problems.Can I get some help with mine?
Posted by: Tim McGowan | April 22, 2011 at 03:08 PM
You had this same mental itch last year. And, essentially, I share Tim Mcgowan's thoughts in his first post. This blog is just a hobby. Frankly, a dedicated website will not deliver the income to justify your efforts. In a nutshell, you need to identify, through a dealer of fine art, if there is a market for your photos and what price they could command. It helps that you are committed to a particular genre. Leave the marketing to the dealers who are experts at hype.
Posted by: Ted | April 22, 2011 at 05:45 PM
Which ever way you go, in the words of the four tops " I`ll be there "
Posted by: Karl stevens | April 22, 2011 at 07:15 PM
Agree with Tim and Ted above. The market for prints is not necessarily the same as the market for click ads. Your readership may provide the latter, but I would probably leave it to a fine art dealer to take care of the former. Some photographers such as street photographer Joseph Holmes have a great presence on Flickr, for instance, but sell prints via the Bekman Gallery. This business model seems to work very well for him. Most of the sites that survive on ads are mostly "gearhead" type sites, although a precious few like Luminous Landscape provide information on both gear and prints and print making. A good example of a site that I usually frequent that combines blogs and the business of prints and Ebooks is pixelatedimage.com, run by David du Chemin. The site is tastefully designed, has a great blog, and even has a version that runs on mobile devices like the iPad.
Posted by: Syed | April 22, 2011 at 07:57 PM
Gordon, in your heart I think you already know what it is that you should do. Follow your instinct. Nobody ever went wrong following their own path.
Posted by: John | April 22, 2011 at 08:00 PM
I do a lot of reading of the various photographer's blogs (yours is in my RSS reader which is why I always know when you have something new up :) and most that discuss this matter agree that you get very little promotion of your own photography from your blog. Nothing scientific here, it's mostly educated speculation. But it has the ring of truth.
Affiliate links and ads seem to be the way to go.
Of course, if you go the profit route then writing becomes obligation rather than enjoyment. And that always changes things.
Which ever way you decide to go, I guarantee you will have at least one permanent fan :)
Posted by: Nikhil Ramkarran | April 22, 2011 at 08:57 PM
I built my blog up to just under 3000 daily hits but was earning no more than a few pounds a week on average through ads. It became a bind having to produce copy to regularly update it. Now it sits at just a couple of hundred daily hits because I only update it when I can be bothered.
It would be nice if readers felt inclined to click on an ad to generate a few pennies in return for what would otherwise be completely free entertainment but, sadly, hardly anyone does. Unless you have some seriously high traffic figures you will not make much more than $75 a month through click ads.
I would say that unless you can get to tens of thousands of hits per day you will struggle to make enough to replace your DSLR every year. On a dollar per hour basis you won't even make minimum wage. Sorry to be so negative but that's been my experience.
It's also difficult to produce a constant supply of interesting, relevant posts. I see that in Mike Johnston's blog. Guest or co-bloggers are a sign that the original writer is running out of steam. ToP was better, in my opinion, in it's first couple of years. I hardly read it now.
In short, by all means sell your pics as fine art but don't expect to make much from a blog - even one as good as yours.
Posted by: Bruce | April 23, 2011 at 08:24 AM
Gordon, there are precious few blogs I read where I feel the opinion is 'informed.' Yours is one. I believe you deserve to make some dollars from this. Go for it.
Posted by: Chris Klug | April 23, 2011 at 12:32 PM
Gordon,
First, thank you for your blog. I find it enjoyable, useful and inspirational.
One of the challenges with any business is that as it grows, simply running it takes time, which means less time for the craft around which the business is based.
I think you are off to a great start in taking the view that while it would be great for the site to generate revenue, it would be best if your work generated the revenue. There is a difference.
My input is to look for solutions that maximize revenue with the least amount of work.
I would add another proviso: watch out for clutter that dilutes your brand.
Consider revenue generating sites that you like and find useful, and see what you might emulate.
In order to develop a solid brand, ensure the site reflects you and your photographic ethos.
There are a few things you can do that avoid a lengthy management 'tail', and also avoid the site looking like Wal-Mart:
1. Have just one advertisement. When you build enough traffic, there will be demand for the spot.
Have a look at Jong Gruber's site (daringfireball.net) as an example. The ad does not clutter, but works for John and the advertiser.
2. Be set up for revenue from Amazon
These things create little work and make sure you are still in charge.
Then run some workshops.
Go from there.
Very best wishes,
Stephen
Posted by: Stephen McCullough | April 23, 2011 at 10:12 PM
As long as you (or anyone for that matter) can pay the rent, feed the family, and put gas in the car (etc., etc), then the choice is a no-brainer: Choose to do that which makes you most happy. If one keeps one's priorities in line, decisions become clearer.
cfw
Posted by: cfw | April 24, 2011 at 08:04 AM
Find an answer that you can sustain for the long term. If your answer requires more energy than you can maintain over the long haul, you will burn out and we all lose. I have no clue of which answer you should choose and I will be reading whatever is your choice.
Posted by: Jerry Kircus | April 25, 2011 at 10:48 AM
I don't know enough about marketing to be able to determine if Shutterfinger could be profitable as a website/blog alone. If you do choose to keep it as a sideline, I wouldn't mind a few ads, at least it would help it to earn its keep. I also wouldn't mind print sales done through the blog-it certainly seems to work for Mr. Briot!
As I've said before, I really enjoy Shutterfinger as it is, but I don't know what it could be. I also enjoy TOP and George Barr's blog; they market on their sites, and TOP has advertisements, but the marketing and ads aren't aggressive.
On the other hand, I have found that I read Luminous Landscape and Alain Briot's site much less often now that they market more than they chat.
Whatever you do, I'll stay on as a reader, and wish you the success you deserve in selling your prints.
Posted by: Lesley Thomas | April 26, 2011 at 02:50 AM
Well, if you want to tout your wares and only your own wares, that's no bad thing - and easily accomplished with a similar right-margin strip box as others would use for syndicated ads, possibly entitled "Buy my stuff!" or words to that effect :)
Posted by: Tim | April 26, 2011 at 07:29 AM