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Website idea to connect photographers with buyers

Idea threads

Jaxsss

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Hello,
I've got an idea to build a website for photographers:
- photographer would register on the website and list his service (what he shoots, what are the prices etc.)
- there would be a form for client to contact the photographer
- every photographer would have reviews so the client can better choose
- also there could be a small marketplace for registered photographers so they could sell their cameras and equipment between themselves

I don't see much websites doing this, almost none in my country. My concern is that what would be profitable on this website for me - ads? I think people wouldn't like to pay a fee to see the photographers, that's nonsense. Maybe I could get a small fee from photographer if the client contacts them through my website and makes a deal, but I think that would also discourage photographers from joining in.

It provides some value so people can easily find the best photographers for their exact needs, but it lacks the profitability for me.

What do you think about this?
 
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DoTheWork

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Hey! Creating a marketplace website like this is very difficult because you need to attract both the clients and photographers at the same time. The photographers won't be interested without clients. The clients won't be interested if there's no photographers.

However, it can be done! I started my own marketplace website just like this, but in a different niche, and it has gone well and been profitable (although it's just a side project for me now).

I would not be too worried about how you'll monetize this right now, but rather how you will attract both side of this marketplace effectively. What's your plan for attracting photographers and clients?
 

Jaxsss

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I need to think more about this idea in this niche if it's even worth it, if people would appreciate this.

You know many people need photographer just for one time - wedding, family photos etc.

In that case many of them just hop onto Google and use the photographers already made business details. And people write reviews there too.

I will rethink it and maybe change a niche, its not a bad idea, like this sort of catalogue for people, but it needs to be attractive.

Thank you for your response and insights!
 

HabitsCampaigner

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Good thoughts. I never want to discourage anyone but after being in this niche for 25 years, I would not recommend it.

Your thinking is guiding you right.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Hello,
I've got an idea to build a website for photographers:
- photographer would register on the website and list his service (what he shoots, what are the prices etc.)
- there would be a form for client to contact the photographer
- every photographer would have reviews so the client can better choose
- also there could be a small marketplace for registered photographers so they could sell their cameras and equipment between themselves

I don't see much websites doing this, almost none in my country. My concern is that what would be profitable on this website for me - ads? I think people wouldn't like to pay a fee to see the photographers, that's nonsense. Maybe I could get a small fee from photographer if the client contacts them through my website and makes a deal, but I think that would also discourage photographers from joining in.

It provides some value so people can easily find the best photographers for their exact needs, but it lacks the profitability for me.

What do you think about this?

The problem I see is that most photographers would have unlimited business already if they would answer the damn phone or respond to emails.
 

Pink Sheep

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I actually was making a business exactly like this for a while before I gave up on it. Sitting on a decent domain if you're interested.

It's great in theory.
You have to figure a good way to deal with uploading pictures, unhappy customers, filtering for needs, different pricing, portfolios, simplicity.
It's expensive to set up, and you probably need to expand 1 city at a time to be successful. Hit hard with ads for an initial big loss, and sit back once it's the standard in the city.

Lots of ideas if you wanna talk about it.
 

Mattie

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I need to think more about this idea in this niche if it's even worth it, if people would appreciate this.

You know many people need photographer just for one time - wedding, family photos etc.

In that case many of them just hop onto Google and use the photographers already made business details. And people write reviews there too.

I will rethink it and maybe change a niche, its not a bad idea, like this sort of catalogue for people, but it needs to be attractive.

Thank you for your response and insights!
I would think you'd have to have some kind of directory or organization of the different types of photographers on your site. Wedding photographer is a niche it's self. Then you have photographers for fashion, the food industry, the Car industry, the Music Industry, the Cinema. It can be quite expansive when your talking about Photographers.

You have artists as well that combine art with photography and cinema.

Film Festivals and Photography Contests might be something you'd want on your site. This gives direction of geographical locations, opportunities, and would bring people to the site I would think if you featured short film creators that use short story.

You can have a showcase of artists, musicians, and literary artists. Since literary covers might have photographs mixed with art.

You can feature the fashion shows and photographers around the world.

Naturally they would pay you just like in a Magazine Advertisement. I haven't looked at Magazines for awhile, but usually perfume, cologne, beauty products, branded clothing are all photographed.

Then you have the landscaping photographers of geographical locations.

If it's a catalogue style website you'd feature these different niches in some type of design where people can gravitate what area they are searching for.

Naturally if you go to a department store online they have this already modeled for you on various websites.

Excuse me for using a video game, but Second Life had a Hub you landed on, which then presented a board of all the in-world Markets just like the real world has there Advertisement with a photograph, information about the businesses, link for the location on the grid, and this is the same concept with a Website. They can have their own page.

Ha ha! Which I owned a business on the game, which you paid a fee to advertise and bring the customer to the location on the Grid. Same here on your website. If they're featured on the front page they can pay for that position. Then naturally after they pay the client can investigate further.

This is more geared to Business owners paying fees.
Clients naturally would pay the business owner.

The other thing you can do if you have multiple businesses is what they do back home for fund raising for sports is a discount book for all the businesses on the website. They usually have a few dollars off this company or 10 % or 50 % off this company, and if you are sponsoring different Schools it gets your website known.

You can even get your brand on sports jersey's and teams. Sports have Team Photographs in every School. Then you have recreational sports in local communities. You have school pictures every year. You have Graduation Photographers for Senior Years.

Yearbook designers. Graphic Artists for Book Covers, Advertisement, Brochures, etc.

You have sports photographers in every level of beyond high school, college, up the NFL if we're using Football. The NBA Basketball. UHL Hockey.

You have Wildlife Photographers. Pet Photographers.

Limitless opportunity here.
 
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StrikingViper69

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PurplePort does something like this. There is another website I can't remember the name of that is a marketplace for models and photographers.

Part of your competition for this is instagram. Instagram has all the models and all the photographers in the world. Most of them follow other photographers and models. It's an informal marketplace, but quite effective.
 

Matake007

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Hey! Creating a marketplace website like this is very difficult because you need to attract both the clients and photographers at the same time. The photographers won't be interested without clients. The clients won't be interested if there's no photographers.

However, it can be done! I started my own marketplace website just like this, but in a different niche, and it has gone well and been profitable (although it's just a side project for me now).

I would not be too worried about how you'll monetize this right now, but rather how you will attract both side of this marketplace effectively. What's your plan for attracting photographers and clients?

I am also building a marketplace for a different service and you're right, the monetization is necessarily the hardest part it's bringing both sides of the marketplace to the platform.

I found this article on Strip that really helped me determine which direction I need to go.

Specifically the section of "Cracking cold-start by outmaneuvering Metcalfe’s Law"

 

Kevin88660

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Hello,
I've got an idea to build a website for photographers:
- photographer would register on the website and list his service (what he shoots, what are the prices etc.)
- there would be a form for client to contact the photographer
- every photographer would have reviews so the client can better choose
- also there could be a small marketplace for registered photographers so they could sell their cameras and equipment between themselves

I don't see much websites doing this, almost none in my country. My concern is that what would be profitable on this website for me - ads? I think people wouldn't like to pay a fee to see the photographers, that's nonsense. Maybe I could get a small fee from photographer if the client contacts them through my website and makes a deal, but I think that would also discourage photographers from joining in.

It provides some value so people can easily find the best photographers for their exact needs, but it lacks the profitability for me.

What do you think about this?
Pretty good idea as photographs are getting more important these days when people are marketing themselves online through social media.

Eventually you have to be paid by the photographers since they are in the business of making money. B2B always makes life better.

Almost all photographers have their own websites. The value proposition has to be thought over again. Why should they pay you to compete with themselves?

Maybe you have better SEO?
 
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Jaxsss

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Aug 13, 2021
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PurplePort does something like this. There is another website I can't remember the name of that is a marketplace for models and photographers.

Part of your competition for this is instagram. Instagram has all the models and all the photographers in the world. Most of them follow other photographers and models. It's an informal marketplace, but quite effective.
Seems like this website is on the net for 10 years, I looked at it and for me its not organized and with outdated design. Yes Instagram is sort of suited for this, but for the younger generation, think about older people that do not have ig, so they go on Google or ask their kids to help them or maybe have contact with someone who is photographer.

I would think you'd have to have some kind of directory or organization of the different types of photographers on your site. Wedding photographer is a niche it's self. Then you have photographers for fashion, the food industry, the Car industry, the Music Industry, the Cinema. It can be quite expansive when your talking about Photographers.

You have artists as well that combine art with photography and cinema.

Film Festivals and Photography Contests might be something you'd want on your site. This gives direction of geographical locations, opportunities, and would bring people to the site I would think if you featured short film creators that use short story.

You can have a showcase of artists, musicians, and literary artists. Since literary covers might have photographs mixed with art.

You can feature the fashion shows and photographers around the world.

Naturally they would pay you just like in a Magazine Advertisement. I haven't looked at Magazines for awhile, but usually perfume, cologne, beauty products, branded clothing are all photographed.

Then you have the landscaping photographers of geographical locations.

If it's a catalogue style website you'd feature these different niches in some type of design where people can gravitate what area they are searching for.

Naturally if you go to a department store online they have this already modeled for you on various websites.

Excuse me for using a video game, but Second Life had a Hub you landed on, which then presented a board of all the in-world Markets just like the real world has there Advertisement with a photograph, information about the businesses, link for the location on the grid, and this is the same concept with a Website. They can have their own page.

Ha ha! Which I owned a business on the game, which you paid a fee to advertise and bring the customer to the location on the Grid. Same here on your website. If they're featured on the front page they can pay for that position. Then naturally after they pay the client can investigate further.

This is more geared to Business owners paying fees.
Clients naturally would pay the business owner.

The other thing you can do if you have multiple businesses is what they do back home for fund raising for sports is a discount book for all the businesses on the website. They usually have a few dollars off this company or 10 % or 50 % off this company, and if you are sponsoring different Schools it gets your website known.

You can even get your brand on sports jersey's and teams. Sports have Team Photographs in every School. Then you have recreational sports in local communities. You have school pictures every year. You have Graduation Photographers for Senior Years.

Yearbook designers. Graphic Artists for Book Covers, Advertisement, Brochures, etc.

You have sports photographers in every level of beyond high school, college, up the NFL if we're using Football. The NBA Basketball. UHL Hockey.

You have Wildlife Photographers. Pet Photographers.

Limitless opportunity here.
Interesting insight on this idea.

This would need to be very attractive to the clients to actually make the connections, the photographers that shoot commercials and these type of things are already famous in the niche, so the brands and the people who need the photographer already know him and the photographer also already has a website.

From the other side, for example the commercial video maker is contacting companies with his work by email. Marketplace for companies to find the right people to shoot their commercial?

How is it working right now? Is there an established pool of video makers and photographers that companies know and contact them or are they searching often for someone new to cooperate with?

Opportunity is limitless, but is the need?
 

Jaxsss

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How's it going?
Haven't continued in it.

But on the other side I learned how to code and build websites, and gained much information from Fox Web School. So maybe in the future I will get back to this idea, but not for now.
 

Pink Sheep

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Haven't continued in it.

But on the other side I learned how to code and build websites, and gained much information from Fox Web School. So maybe in the future I will get back to this idea, but not for now.
Glad you've taken steps forward! Keep it up champ
 

Fasoon

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Hello,
I've got an idea to build a website for photographers:
- photographer would register on the website and list his service (what he shoots, what are the prices etc.)
- there would be a form for client to contact the photographer
- every photographer would have reviews so the client can better choose
- also there could be a small marketplace for registered photographers so they could sell their cameras and equipment between themselves

I don't see much websites doing this, almost none in my country. My concern is that what would be profitable on this website for me - ads? I think people wouldn't like to pay a fee to see the photographers, that's nonsense. Maybe I could get a small fee from photographer if the client contacts them through my website and makes a deal, but I think that would also discourage photographers from joining in.

It provides some value so people can easily find the best photographers for their exact needs, but it lacks the profitability for me.

What do you think about this?
This has been done before and you can learn from this site here Snappr Photography | Great Pro Photographers On-Demand

Don't get intimidated if someone else has done or because of their size. That only shows that there is a demand. All you have to figure out is how you can better tailor your offer to the marketplace.

The payments would make sense if they are made through your website like UpWork for example and you take a fee of that to cover the running and advertising costs and profit.
 

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