Category: Fine Art America

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Photography & Business Goals for the New Year

Foreseeable, attainable and lofty goals to move my business forward.

A wise man, Benjamin Franklin, once said, “If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.” With that in mind, I’ve been looking at a few marketing goals for my Bill Swartwout Photography business for the coming year.

Attainable goal: A couple weeks ago I started back at my earliest upload folder and began making black and white versions of images where B&W actually “works” well. In doing that, I am updating (cleaning, culling, rearranging) keywords and adjusting descriptions as needed. I have been selling a few black and white images and, with a greatly increased inventory, hope to sell even more in 2021. That project will likely add 500 +/- images to my current gallery total at USPictures.com.

Attainable goal #2: Increase my web presence of individual sites (blog and image style) that support my better-selling themes/collections.
Examples: https://www.FortMcHenry.net – https://www.IndianRiverBridge.com – https://www.MyPhoneography.com.

Attainable goal #3: Redefine my personal website to better focus on photography. I’m trying to be/act (more) retired – so I want to eliminate all old affiliate marketing “stuff” and clean out extraneous and obviously dated posts/articles.

Lofty goal: Double my current inventory by the end of 2021.

But – first and foremost – my photography must remain fun.

YOUR THOUGHTS? Please leave a comment…

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Jigsaw Puzzles by Independent Artists

Photographs by Bill Swartwout are now available on Jigsaw Puzzles.

These premium jigsaw puzzles are available in two different sizes: 18″ x 24″ (500 pieces) and 20″ x 28″ (1,000 pieces).   Each puzzle is made from premium 0.200″ thick card stock and includes a custom-designed box containing the puzzle with artwork by Bill Swartwout Photography.

Jigsaw Puzzles by Bill Swartwout Photography
More than 700 Jigsaw Designs with images by Bill Swartwout Photography.
Representative Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces to Illustrate the High Quality of the Product

Challenge yourself and your brain with a jigsaw puzzle designed with imagery by Bill Swartwout Photography. These puzzles are made from premium 0.2″ thick paper stock and include a semi-gloss coating on the top surface to make the image really stand out. The puzzles are available in two different sizes and piece counts: 500 pieces at 24″x18″ and 1000 pieces at 28″x20″. The puzzle pieces are unique and contained in a sturdy puzzle box with the image printed on the top. Care instructions include keeping the puzzle in the box when you are not “puzzling” and store it at room temperature.

Jigsaw Puzzle of the Indian River Bridge at Twilight
Jigsaw Puzzle of a Crowded Beach at Ocean City, Maryland

These are produced and fulfilled by Fine Art America/Pixels and have a 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee. In addition to the 700+ offered by Bill Swartwout Photography there are over a million designs by created by other independent artists. CLICK HERE to get started.

Jigsaw Puzzle of French Fries Not Judging You
This puzzle design always evokes a laugh.
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To Watermark or Not to Watermark Images For Sale

Some say watermarks deter buyers from purchasing Art, others say it doesn’t.

It’s true that there are many comments on line leaning one way or the other. What I tend to do is listen to those with the most experience. Should I listen to folks who sell a couple dozen works a year or the folks who sell thousands of pieces a year. Amazon, eBay, Fine Art America and ImageKind, who sell thousands of units have run A/B tests and have determined that watermarking degrades sales. They are not artists with egos – they are Internet marketers looking to improve the bottom line.

Indian River Inlet Bridge
Charles W. Cullen Bridge at Indian River Inlet – with an example of my usual watermark.

In my case, I choose to NOT watermark the images I upload for sale at Imagekind or Fine Art America and other POD (Print On Demand) art companies. If the unscrupulous want to steal an image – they will – and there is nothing you or I can do to stop them. Anyone with rudimentary image editing skills can remove your watermark in a matter of minutes.

On the other hand I DO watermark images that I post to social media and on other websites. Why, you ask? Well, there I want people to see where the image can be found. My watermarks include a URL – in most cases my USPictures.com domain. I can have that domain point to whichever POD I choose (and I can change that at any time).

CLICK: Bill Swartwout Photography