Make Photos Interactive on Your Website

Mike Phillips — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:20:00 GMT

We all want our website visitors to spend more time on the site and interact with our content. Photographs are a good way to keep people interested in your content but, traditionally, have not offered much in the way of interaction. Phlook has a solution.

By uploading your photo to Phlook, you then get an embeddable piece of code. This is then entered into your content and the photo appears with several interactive options - such as the ability to leave a note, vote on a photograph, zoom functions and photos can be e-mailed to others.

While this might not be for every website, for some, it could prove to be a good way to keep people engaged and give them a reason to come back often. After all, people like the opportunity to have their voices heard and they will often check to see if their comments have resulted in any discussion on the site. This might also be an interesting way to gather feedback about new products or even website designs. Think of it as a way to build community with your photographs and to give people the opportunity to "have their say" about the content on your website.

See a Phlook demo here.

Stipple is another, related service. Here, users can tag photos anywhere on the Web, including using their Facebook accounts, via a mouseover. And beyond people, items within the photo can be tagged. Not only can items be tagged, but particular items within the photo can actually be purchased by users, directly from the photo. The publisher can then earn a portion of the revenue or earn per click, depending on the set revenue model.

Shutterstock Affiliate Program Earns High Praise

Mike Phillips — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:20:00 GMT

Affiliate programs abound, but sometimes a good one is hard to find. That's not the case with Shutterstock, the online stock photo agency. Their program is getting rave reviews from bloggers, photographers and videographers. The program pays in two ways:

When an affiliate refers a user to Shutterstock, they earn up to 20 percent of each purchase, including subscriptions.
Affiliates (or bloggers) can earn by referring submitters to Shutterstock. So, if a photographer is referred, the affiliate earns three cents for every user download of that photographer's images.

"Shutterstock's affiliate program is the best in the microstock industry and one of the best anywhere," said Matt Antonino, author of NiltoMil, a popular online stock photography blog. "New photographers sign up directly from my blog, and Shutterstock takes care of everything else all the way through paying me. I often make more on the affiliate program than I do on sales at other sites."

Shutterstock is the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world, boasting more than seven million royalty-free photos by subscription. Learn more about the Shutterstock affiliate program.

'Net Features : photography

Make Photos Interactive on Your Website

Shutterstock Affiliate Program Earns High Praise