Selling books online might seem like a daunting task, but if you know what it takes, then getting started can be easy and very rewarding.
What you'll need:
A website where people can make/buy books Bookmaking software that is tied to your site A book manufacturer to print and mail out the booksWebsite
You have a few options here. You could program an entire website with an e-commerce cart engine and bookmaking software, but let's be honest, that's a LOT of work. A friend's brother could make your site, but that might be a little iffy. Some websites offer custom website creation, which can be a good thing if they really work with you. There are also sites where you can just create your book and have it sent to you before the resell, but that's hard to make a business out of.
Bookmaking Software
If you Google "bookmaking software" or "photobook software," you'll get a plethora of results. Some software is based in Adobe Flash and can run online. Some software needs to be downloaded and installed on a user's computer. Remember that not all bookmakers are created equally. Some are harder to use than others. Extra features are a plus, but sometimes they can confuse an end-user. So take a look at your options before really selecting one.
Book Manufacturer
Again, there are a ton of options for book manufacturing. You've got to consider two things: who will be printing your books, and also what size of books you'll offer. Generally book manufacturers will handle all the packaging and shipping of the books, which is really nice. Call the places that you want to know more about and ask them to mail you samples. Then you can decide what you like.
My Easy Solutions
In my research, I found that a lot of companies offer pieces of the puzzle, but only a few had a solution with a total package. I would just contact these companies and let them know what you want to do and then see who can take care of your needs the best.
Ziblio.comPros - Getting started with your own photobook business with them is super easy. You can be up and running the very same day depending on your customization of their site specifications.
Cons - Your site is based on a template and so all Ziblio sites have the same general layout.
Taopix.comPros - Their software looks nice and they are always updating it.
Cons - It's just software. You'd probably need an IT guy to help get started.
Smugmug, Blurb, MixbookPros - Great if your making and designing the books offline and then reselling them.
Cons - Your customers don't have a site where they can go to customize their own books.
A lot more sites like these exist, but in the end it depends on how you want to run your photobook business. If you want to offer custom yearbooks, scrapbooking books, event photobooks, leisure photobooks, or whatever kind of book you can think up, you can easily do so. And since this market is growing so rapidly, you could easily sell thousands of books in a single weekend.
Suggestions to Launching a New Business - Discover Why It Should Start Online! What Is Kajabi? 5 Website Savvy, Yet Simple Steps to Launch Your Product or Service Infoprenuer Ideas: Little Niche Sites Will Keep You Poor I Have a New Product Now - How Can I Sell It Online? Promoting and Marketing Your Online Product
0 comments:
Post a Comment