My sales picked up about a year into my time on FAA (3 or 4 a month) & escalated over the past two years (currently averaging 15-20 sales a month). I'm certainly not selling enough to make this a living, but I do sell enough to fund my camera equipment and international travel related to my work with the Baptist World Alliance. The bulk of my sales are on FAA, with a few on RB & S6. I promote FAA and not RB & S6. I credit my sales to the following--some in my control; some not.
1) Keywords & Descriptions: I am very intentional with key words and image descriptions. The professor and historian in me comes out in my descriptions. (I've discovered a few of my descriptions copied by others on FAA. Perhaps they did not know the descriptions are my own and not something copied from other sites.) I include my name in the key words. I believe keywords/descriptions drive search engine hits. I try to update and adjust key words and descriptions (once or twice a year) to keep search functions fresh.
2) Social Media Promotion: Social media has been a big player for me--Twitter, FB, Pinterest, Google+, etc. Twitter has been most effective for me--14,200+ followers. I do see a correlation between image promotions and sales. My social media activity has slowed over the past year due to work obligations.
3) FAA Group Activity: I credit FAA group activity with my sales. I honestly believe the comments, likes, shares, etc, from y'all play a big role in my sales.
4) Deciphering FAA Analytics?: I do believe sales beget sales on FAA, increasing search visibility along with key words, descriptions, etc. Honestly, though, the FAA analytics search matrix puzzles me.
5) FAA Luck: I was fortunate to have two images appear on FAA's homepage. The visibility of those two images have increased traffic to my site.
6) Portfolio/Website: I am intentional about image placement on my site, including collections/galleries and image placement within galleries. I occasionally reorder the images within collections, creating new visits.
7) Pricing: I increased my prices on prints (and everything else) and sales increased. I took the advice of several artists: "If you don't value your art, why should someone else?" I cannot say for sure that there is a direct correlation between higher prices & sales, but my pricing structure does not deter sales. I do have a pretty high margin, but my margin is in line with others who have regular sales.
8) Image Subjects: Linda is correct about iconic images--landmarks & locations. I keep an image bucket list--iconic places I'd like to photograph, as well as image ideas. I do not travel specifically for photography, but I do try to take advantage of my travels (personal and professional) to capture bucket list items. I do post multiple versions of the same image, offering potential buyers options to account for personal tastes or decorating needs.
Hope these thoughts help.
