Society6 keeps on rolling
Another month with more sales on Society6! This time, a collection of different products rather than just some wall art (although it is nice to see those sales!). The first sale was actually just that – an art print of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC:
This one made a profit of $22. Quite a lot less than at FineArtAmerica, but you need to price to match the competition at the place the buyer is searching. I did publish my markups in an earlier blog post on Society6 here.
My next sale was of 9 travel mugs illustrated with my watercolor of San Diego. The profit here was $26.10:
I created the water color painting using a neat program from Jixipix called Watercolor Studio. I find it easy to use and a lot of fun! (affiliate link). As I’ve mentioned in the past I also upload them to the stock agencies and they sell from time to time.
Finally, my third sale was on the last day of the month and was a throw pillow this time! My photo of the sunset over Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island has always been a favorite of mine, and someone obviously thought it would be nice on a matching set of pillows:
Profit on this one was $8. Although this site has not yet joined my list of big earners, I enjoy seeing these sales coming in. I’m trying to boost the popularity of my Society6 store using Instagram at the moment. Not sure how well that will work, but I’ll keep at it!
Incidentally, my report on earnings in April is running late because both EyeEM and Zoonar haven’t released earnings. I understand there is some issue with a report they get from Getty, and so I will wait until that is in before doing my normal monthly report.
Are you saying that some of the stock photo agencies will accept watercolors?
Yes, certainly iStock, Shutterstock, Bigstock and Adobe. Maybe the others as well (I dont really check rejections). I did find, however, that not all were accepted. Some on Adobe needed a property release because this looked like a piece of art, and I suspect others on Shutterstock were rejected because of no release. My San Diego one has sold 6 times for $6 in total! I need to dig into the requirements to submit a release for artwork.
Steve
im so jealous of you. i also have society6 and i havent earn anything yet. maybe its because my photos are not beautiful and im using not so good filter apps.
Yes, having good interesting photos to start with is key. Remember that you are expecting people to part with their hard earned money and so the image needs to be something that you would personally be happy buying (not just taking). Also, don’t be afraid to be aggressive in processing if that can be supported by the subject. In my Chicago shots I really boosted the brightness of the lights in the city, and, of course, replaced the dull water of the lake in front of the city. People are looking for something striking, not necessarily true to life.
Steve