As commerce on the Internet develops, we are beginning to see successful
Internet merchants taking a similar "niche" approach: focusing on
specialty areas, rather than massive portals where they might have a few of
the specialty item(s) you are looking for, but not the deep selection you might
wish they had.

            However, if you have no specialty area, and your photo collection
is across the board, the web now offers a new remedy.

            Today’s web search engines offer photo researchers the opportunity
to type in a single word or phrase and find the source of a highly specialized
photo for their project. If you have included captions with your photos at your
web site, or have listed text descriptions of your photos, the new search engines
will locate your photos and follow up with your contact information. A photo
researcher will contact you for more information on your stock photo collection,
and you'll either make a sale or earn a good contact for future business.

            My new book, "sellphotos.com," can help you get a handle on how
to use the new electronic tools available, to increase your sales. You'll learn
how our stock photo industry is in a transition between digital and analog (film)
images. Depending on what your aspirations are, and where your target markets
lay, you'll be able to decide which niche markets (or none) are the most beneficial
to you. -RE