[Rondec]

Rather than online consider local art galleries, gift shops, coffee shops etc.

I have had cards at Timberline Lodge for several years for example. And I just got a check for two metal prints they sold for me on consignment. My first 'big' sale there. But I got in just before COVID so traffic has been low.

I have cards at a local coffee shop, I have been selling on average 30 cards / month there for over 5 years. Probably totals up to more than all my online sales in that time frame.

I am part of a local cooperative gallery. We have 46 artists currently showing. The gallery charges $60 / month and takes 25% and you have to work 2 shifts a month. Even during COVID I have consistently paid the rent and had some left over.

Not to discourage online sales but comparing my local sales to online sales, local wins hands down. Check my website below, it was expensive and time consuming to set up. Sales there do not match the local sales at the coffee shop alone.

My guess is that jatrax has the best ways. I really think most people on line are looking to browse and not buy. Even if Flickr added a "Buy Image" button, I doubt that many would click it. Having prints in a local restaurant or café gives them changing wall décor and probably would generate more sales.

[jatrax]

My guess is that jatrax has the best ways. I really think most people on line are looking to browse and not buy.

I do think that online sales can work, but you need to spend a LOT of time promoting yourself and your website. As you say most people looking online are just browsing. To generate sales you have to get 'buyers' to go to your website. And that takes promotion. Like 50k instagram followers. I do know people who sell well online but they have been promoting themselves online and in social media for years. I hate facebook and social media in general, its just not my thing. So for me local works best. But I have the website so people who see my work locally can go there and shop if they want.

[Digitalis]

Not to discourage online sales but comparing my local sales to online sales, local wins hands down.

+1 this reflects my own personal experience with image sales. In the early 2000's stock photo websites were the way to go... but that whole industry is top heavy with highly paid pros who already had massive libraries of previously unlicensed stock work they could dump on image libraries and turn a tidy profit, with amateurs and entry level professionals having only a snowballs chance in hell of being visible enough to be able to turn enough of a profit to make it a worthwhile pursuit.

[jatrax]

In the early 2000's stock photo websites were the way to go...

I hit the tail end of that. I still have images from 2010, 2011 that still sell well today but new stuff? Forget it, just dumping it in a black hole. The key to stock images is search placement. An image that was in early and has lots of sales (hundreds of sales) will dominate the placement for those keywords. So new stuff, no matter how good is an uphill battle. The time invested in keywording alone is more than will ever be recovered in sales. That said I do still upload to Alamy because I can upload nice work that is not 'stock' and feel like I am a 'real' photographer. And to Adobe stock because (at least through last year) they gave you a license to Lightroom if you contributed a certain number of images every year.