I am practically bursting with excitement and my husband gets it but I want to share with people that I know will really GET it!
I am officially a *profitable* photographer! Now here is the amazing thing: I just launched my new website yesterday!!! I just posted a picture of my website from my phone this morning to announce that I launched the site last night and I have already received enough orders to cover the cost of my site for the next year! Woohoo!!! I am officially one day into my new website and everything I make going forward is profit... that just blows my mind! I have been fighting nerves getting this going but I decided that if I was going to try and pursue my dream, I would do so boldly. I think the confidence (even if I have to fake it periodically) is paying off.
Apologies for all of the exclamation points and poor grammar but I am just so darned excited. Thank you for being such a supportive community. I am not sure I could have done this without you. *happy dance*
Congrats Autumn. I love smugmug! I actually drive past their building on my way to work :). Was excited when they partnered with the Bay Photo lab, but I don't have a pro account through them so I now opt to print directly through Bay Photo in Santa Cruz. Free shipping on 11x14 and smaller and the ability to print on 2mm styrene! Good luck and nice work!
Thanks everyone! I am thrilled to see people loving my work since it makes me so happy just doing it. Photography IS my happy place so anything extra that comes from it is a complete bonus to me!
For those of you considering trying to make the move, I would highly recommend SmugMug! If you are also looking at getting your own domain name, I purchased mine through GoDaddy. I know GoDaddy has a referral program but I am having trouble finding the link. I will find it and post it here later!
If you have both and need help with getting your domain to point to SmugMug, let me know. The instructions for this read a little odd so I struggled with it a bit but I got it up and working. Just reply and let me know. =)
Hey, congratulations! I just wanted to let you know that because you have created a personal profile for your business link that you will be restricted to 5k friends. If you create a fan (business) page there is no limit on how many fans you can have. I would also be able to add your page to my photogaphy fan page as a favorite page.
Fantastic news Autumn, i had a look at your site yesterday and have to say Im not surprised the orders came flooding in. You have some stunning photographs on there. Well done :-)
Are you frickin' kidding me! That is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Autumn - we HAVE to talk! My husband has been after me forever to do something like this, but I've been too chicken, plus I wouldn't even know where to begin!
I'm so happy for you - what an inspiration you are!
@cleaty Thank you so much! I just was looking at the stats on my page and I have already had over 800 views of my photos. Fantastic!
@shutterbug0810 Thank you!!! I love your enthusiasm! That was the response I was hoping for at home but I know he doesn't fully get it. I would love to chat. Email me at info@autumneden.com and we can swap phone numbers. =D
@dmortega I have my personal page (under Autumn Eden) and then I have a business page for Photography by Autumn Eden. I thought I had set it up as a business page but maybe I didn't... hmmmm... I will have to check on that tonight. Photography has over 300 fans so far so I know I am no where near hitting any limits yet at least. =D
I LOVE your site!!! Gorgeous photos... very nice site setup, too =)
So.... was this really difficult to set up? I have been wanting to do this kind of thing for a LONG time.... but never really knew *how* or *where* to do it.... how does your site get exposure via smugmug? may I send you an email with more specific questions? Thanks in advance!!
@autumnseden --- No need to check it, it there and looks great. I did not know it was on fb. I've added it to my photography page with the favorite pages section. Great page. :-)
@dawnetta Thank you and I would be happy to chat with you! You are welcome to email me at info@autumneden.com with your questions or we can discuss a time when it would be good to talk on the phone. Either way is fine with me!
oh congrats Autumn!! I will definitely check out your site! i'm so happy that you get to do the things that you are passionate about. what more can we ask for! :) keep it up!
Congrats, you! Your photos deserve to be in people's houses :D I'm having a shot at selling some prints at a Christmas Fayre in December so it's really nice to know that some other folks are having success too, that gives me confidence!
@indiannie_jones Thank you! I just wish that shot could be printed larger than 4x4. Unfortunately, the resolution is too low since it was shot with my old iPhone. =\
@autumnseden I have been to the site and don't understand it ... people go there and buy your work to do you get a commission everytime someone goes to the site ...??? you can email me in more detail if you like carlita61@ymail.com
@misschuff Yes, people come to my site, pick photos that they like and click Buy to select the size and style of print they want. When you setup a Pro account, you will see the base cost of each item and you will then markup the cost of what you are selling. When the item is sold, SmugMug takes 15% (which seems to be the average but I have seen others offer to take a smaller percentage but their yearly membership is more expensive) and the rest of the markup less the base cost is your profit. For example, a 4x6 print may cost $.10 and I am charging $5.00. Take $4.90 less 15% and I have made a profit of 4.17 for that 4x6 print. The 15% is worth it since they handle all of the administrative end of things from processing your customer's credit card to submitting the order to the printer and getting the order shipped along with making sure you are paid and that all of the appropriate end of year tax forms are submitted. Plus their customer service rocks. I have sold a few posters, some square Hipstamatic prints to a gal wanting to redecorate her guest room along with some other smaller purchases. All said, my site and domain name are paid for for the next year. Everything going forward is profit. Do I expect that I will be raking in huge masses of money from this? Absolutely not. I am just happy to see that people like my work. I love what I am doing so anything extra that comes from it is a huge bonus to me. Hope that helps!
@misschuff SmugMug is based in the US but does have international photographers. I think you only get paid by paper check and in US dollars if you are an international photographer but I would definitely check with them for all of the details. I know there are other international sites out there. I would browse around and see what you can find. =) Good luck!
@autumnseden
I just created my website last night... now, I'm wondering if there are ways to "market" it in order to start getting orders? THANKS for the info you shared here! It helped me create my own site, and I'm so excited about it!!
PS - my site is www.sacred-snapshots.com :)
@dawnetta I am not a marketing guru by any means. I started locally with my family and friends who pushed me to try and pursue this further. Once that grew a bit, I put together a business page on Facebook to have a more public venue for people to check me out. It started out slowly but I have a little over 325 fans now (which completely blows my mind!). I am assuming a lot of them have found me through suggestions from friends and family. Other than that, I am just chatty. When people ask me if I am a photographer when I am belly to the ground photographing a bug, I tell them a little about myself, this project and then my site. From there, it is out of my hands. =)
I actually had a site setup through another venue last year and I made a little bit of profit but basically broke even for the money I put into putting the site together vs. actual sales. This posting was prompted by the fact that I have already broken even for my startup costs and am now profitable and it has been less than a week. I am thrilled!
Awesome! I am so excited for you! How cool that you have been so successful in such a short amount of time!! I wish you the best of luck as you continue your new venture :) And thanks again for the info I needed to give me that "push" towards doing this for myself...
Congratulations Autumn, I'm doing the happy dance for you!!! You are an inspiration for the rest of us. I'm hoping that one day I'll be good enough to do the same. You've just made the dream a little more attainable. Thanks!! So ya see I'm doing the happy dance for us both!!!!
SCORE! WOw.. I am going to do a few days of organizing so I don't waste any of my free trial...and then I am going to be ALL OVER IT!
...and I have other questions to I am going to email you :)
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
For those of you considering trying to make the move, I would highly recommend SmugMug! If you are also looking at getting your own domain name, I purchased mine through GoDaddy. I know GoDaddy has a referral program but I am having trouble finding the link. I will find it and post it here later!
SmugMug
They offer a free 14 day trial (no credit card required) and this link will give you $5 off your sign up: https://secure.smugmug.com/signup.mg?Coupon=IReq1plTxzX8o
If you have both and need help with getting your domain to point to SmugMug, let me know. The instructions for this read a little odd so I struggled with it a bit but I got it up and working. Just reply and let me know. =)
Autumn - we HAVE to talk! My husband has been after me forever to do something like this, but I've been too chicken, plus I wouldn't even know where to begin!
I'm so happy for you - what an inspiration you are!
@shutterbug0810 Thank you!!! I love your enthusiasm! That was the response I was hoping for at home but I know he doesn't fully get it. I would love to chat. Email me at info@autumneden.com and we can swap phone numbers. =D
I LOVE your site!!! Gorgeous photos... very nice site setup, too =)
So.... was this really difficult to set up? I have been wanting to do this kind of thing for a LONG time.... but never really knew *how* or *where* to do it.... how does your site get exposure via smugmug? may I send you an email with more specific questions? Thanks in advance!!
@dmortega Perfect! Thank you! =D
Yaaaay, Autumn :D
*that weird in-yo-face thing juggalos do*
@fysmith @madmazda86 Thank you so much! *hugs*
@shutterbug0810 Sounds like a plan! Can't wait to chat. =D
you have mail! :) thanks in advance....
I just created my website last night... now, I'm wondering if there are ways to "market" it in order to start getting orders? THANKS for the info you shared here! It helped me create my own site, and I'm so excited about it!!
PS - my site is www.sacred-snapshots.com :)
I actually had a site setup through another venue last year and I made a little bit of profit but basically broke even for the money I put into putting the site together vs. actual sales. This posting was prompted by the fact that I have already broken even for my startup costs and am now profitable and it has been less than a week. I am thrilled!
Awesome! I am so excited for you! How cool that you have been so successful in such a short amount of time!! I wish you the best of luck as you continue your new venture :) And thanks again for the info I needed to give me that "push" towards doing this for myself...
The free 14 day trial (no credit card required) includes pro accounts and this link will give you $5 off your sign up: https://secure.smugmug.com/signup.mg?Coupon=IReq1plTxzX8o. =)
...and I have other questions to I am going to email you :)