Distractions are everywhere and for professionals who have “Shiny Object Syndrome” (SOS) the world is a dangerous place.  Slick, pervasive marketing campaigns attract even the most educated and otherwise disciplined executives to chase the next best thing.  This segment of the market buys into and then often pays for the promises of new technology, coaching or other products and services which seem to answer their problems.

It is important to recognize which of your clients have SOS.  They will often give you direction and ask you to begin a project.  Yet, before you complete the task at hand and can test or implement what you have created, your client is enamored with something new, and probably expensive.  They change direction.  You are now on a new project using a new technology or tool or method. There is a learning curve associated with this that you really cannot reasonably bill the client for.  And if you are able to bill the client,  these are not necessarily good billable hours.  Your client may experience disappointment because they are continuously investing in his business growth but never really seeing results.  This happens because he (or she) does not allow the seeds he has planted through each project you have completed to come to fruition.  Instead, he simply wants to keep trying new things without properly measuring his success or failure in the last endeavor.

Here is the first way to manage a client with SOS.  Help them establish clarity of focus and build a system to measure all opportunities in an objective manner.  This will help him separate the real opportunities from the illusions.

Schedule time with each client and engage in an active listening session.  Ask the client to share their goals with you.  These should include project goals, business objectives and their perceived life purpose.  Be sure that these goals are clear and measurable.  This will serve as your baseline for measuring success in future projects.  Document the conversation and review the main points with your client to make sure they are accurate.

When you client approaches you with a new idea, take some time to listen.  If you hear your client talking about “how” to accomplish a result without sharing “why” they want to accomplish this result, you may have a case of SOS on your hands.  Those who are suffering from SOS typically spend a majority of their time selling others on the benefits of a particular way of solving a problem.  They begin to sound like a commercial for that which they want to purchase.

While being open to their ideas, you should ask them how this new idea helps them accomplish their project goals, business objectives or life purpose.  You should ask them;

• “On a scale of 1-5 how aligned with your goals, objectives and purpose are the outcomes you imagine this will create?”  (In this case, “1” represents “No Alignment” and “5” represents “Perfect Alignment.”)

• If they have offered a rating of 4 or 5, follow this question with,

• “Please describe in detail why you believe this is true.”

Ask for clarifying points anywhere you are unsure of what they mean or if you feel that they need to analyze their reasoning more.  You should support their enthusiastic vision, but at the same time help them see past the marketing rhetoric to the reality of the results that are likely from engaging in the project.

If, by the end of the discussion, both of you are convinced it is a good idea you should move forward with it.  However, before you do, establish clear objectives including time frames for testing, implementing, and allow results to show up.  Failure is often a result of not thinking clearly at the outset of a project and then changing too many things too quickly.

In the next article, I will share another strategy for dealing with clients with SOS that will save you both time and energy.

As work-from-home entrepreneurs we experience stress on a daily basis. We deal  with client deadlines, acquiring new clients, client retention, team building… the list is endless! And this is before spouse and kids get home.

Stress does not just affect how we sleep or function when we are working, it also can cause chronic discomfort in parts of your body. For me it is my back if I don’t pay close attention and prevent knots and sore muscles. Once your muscles are all knotted up it is difficult to get them relaxed again. When your body is in pain, your work suffers. When your work suffers, you have now added more stress because you are running behind schedule. It is a never ending cycle if you don’t listen to your body and take care of yourself, and therefore your Virtual Assistance practice.

It is up to us how we deal with our stress though, and these are some of my go-to stress busters.

Deep Breathing

Remember when your dad told you to “suck it up”? He knew what he was talking about. Taking deep, calming breaths calms your brain and therefore your stress response.

Draw as much breath into your lungs as you can. When you exhale, suck your belly button toward your spine to push your diaphragm up so you can empty all of the air in your lungs. When you are consciously taking very deep, calming breaths you are bringing nitric oxide from the back of your nose and sinuses into your lungs which dilates the air passages in your lungs and so that you are getting oxygen to your entire body.

Scrunch Your Face

Seriously… scrunch your face tightly (pretend you just banged your toe against a stone wall) for about 15 seconds and then relax. Repeat this several times and you will notice that the strain that you are holding above the neck is diminishing. I have done facial exercises for years, partly for stress and partly for vanity. Why not? They work, they are fun to do and at the very least, it moves you away from your keyboard for a while.

Jump Like a Little Kid

I have a Needak Rebounder (mini-trampoline) in my office and several times a day I will get on it and just bounce around like a happy child. I may not be on it long, sometimes just 5 or 10 minutes at a time, but I feel energized and happy when I get back to my desk. It is a GREAT stress buster and does some pretty amazing things for your legs too!

Reduce a Tension Headache

I actually got out of a speeding ticket some years ago because I showed this acupressure trick to the state trooper who nabbed me. I could tell that he had a bear of a headache and offered my tried and true headache buster.

Take the thumb and index finger of one hand, and apply a firm pinching pressure to the soft, fleshy web between the thumb and the index finger of your other hand. Be careful not to bruise yourself. If that happens, you are pinching too hard. And before you ask, I don’t speed anymore!

Move It!

As very busy entrepreneurs we need to make movement a integral part of our business model. Any type of exercise or movement will help reduce stress and help you focus on what is important – joyfully building and growing your business!

Please share your stress-buster moves. We would love to hear from you.

There seems to be a particular personality type that is attracted to the newest, greatest, next best thing in the market.  I call this condition “Shiny Object Syndrome” or (SOS).  Some of my clients are like this.  I also have partners and team members who attract clients like this.  It is challenging to deal with these clients but over the years I have developed several strategies to make it easier for all of us.

Over the next few posts, I am going to share some strategies for dealing with clients who have been “diagnosed” with SOS.  But, first, let’s understand how to identify SOS and why it can be detrimental to success in business. When you recognize that your client has SOS you can take action to limit the consequences to both of you. By staying on track and making sure that your virtual assistance client understands the forward progress that is made on a regular basis, you will be able to help them reconsider purchasing the next and greatest tool, software, etc. Too many of which are pure hype, by the way!

Shiny Object Syndrome is one of the root causes of business mediocrity.  Otherwise capable individuals find themselves distracted by new technology, new coaches, new business models, etc.  These individuals are seduced by the promise of something better, usually because they are not getting the results they want.  Slick marketing and the testimonials of others trigger your clients’ imaginations and within a relatively short period of time those suffering from SOS believe they have to solution to their version of “world hunger.”

The truth is, the lack of results is caused not by poor tools or methods, but rather, by a lack of clarity of vision, a lack of complete discipline to execute that vision, or the lack of confidence that they can achieve the great vision they have set forth.  In other words, those infected with SOS have acquired the virus because their business model immune system is weak.  They have allowed themselves to be undisciplined in their focus and are not exercising their will power stay the course they originally outlined.

Curing SOS takes time.  It requires a change of habits which arises from a change in emotional response caused by a change in thinking.  You must administer an inoculation which alters the emotional high associated with “new” to an emotional response that is neutral.  You then must build the immune system by building an emotional high related to “completions” of existing plans.  This approach will help your client overcome SOS given enough time and discipline.  Cutting back on the intake of potentially harmful marketing is recommended and doing serious research on the tool or system they are eyeballing is necessary for both of you. It may well be that the tool or system is a good idea, but you won’t know until you take a good long look at it. Another thing that clients tend to forget is that there is often a steep learning curve associated with any new system and they and you, will need to re-prioritize your work load and goals if they do proceed with the purchase or subscription.

If your clients do not recognize that they are falling prey to some seriously talented copywriters, they will experience continued dissatisfaction with their results, and your work!  Over an extended period of time, they may lose the passion for their business model and their results will decline further.  Discontent turns to depression and they may give up on their dream.  If they adopt the failure as part of their self-image they will struggle in other areas of their lives.

In the next few posts you will learn some specific tools to help you change your client’s habits so that they can overcome Shiny Object Syndrome.

Inert (adj.) – Having no inherent ability to move or to resist motion.

Does this describe the clutter on your desk and in your office? Matter is inert. Files are inert. Books are inert….. You get the idea.  To de-clutter your working space, you need to make matter mobile, meaning, PICK IT UP AND PUT IT AWAY!

As busy as we all are, sometimes it is just way too easy to let things get out of hand and then we are left  staring at a pile of files that are threatening to either topple off of the corner of the desk or trip you up when you step unwarily over them. Been there, done that!

This is where containers become your friend. And any container type will do. Shoe boxes, bank boxes, baskets or clear plastic containers, preferably with lids. These containers can be used to sort out what will be re-distributed (put away), donated, or dumped.

Re-distributed

Working from our own home offices as we do, it is not at all unusual to find that little things wind up on our desk during the day that really have no business being there.  With me, I tend to need to put away such items as water bottles, hand lotion, books that somehow migrated into my office, and any other number of small items that landed on or near my desk. These all go in the box next to my office door and at the end of my working day they are treated much as the left behind items in a grocery store are. I take my box and put everything in it back on the shelf.

Donate

Twice a year I engage in what I term a “Purge Party” and go through closets, cupboards, drawers, garage and get rid of junk and other stuff that just accumulates and is of no real use to me but may well be to somebody else.  By purging old clothes out of closets, old food out of the pantry, and old folders and papers out of your office, you can free up your mind and increase your energy. To this end, there is a large box in the garage labeled “Donate” which reminds me to place items there so I don’t have to store them indefinitely. When it gets full, off it goes to Goodwill, or it prompts me to have an impromptu “Purge Party”.

Dump

Obviously you need to dump things that you really can’t donate and just don’t want or need. My favorite things in the world to dump are plastic storage lids. Do they have naughty relations in the dark cupboard and reproduce?? Where do the darn things come from anyway and where are the containers that they are supposed to be paired with? It is a conundrum.

I would love to hear how you manage clutter in your home office!

Chronically messy and unorganized people will staunchly defend their overflowing desktop by saying that they know just exactly where everything is. One enterprising lady I know even told me that she remembers things by their location, and can lay her hands on any file at any time. That being said however, she then sheepishly admitted that there is a threshold beyond which she beings losing track of things and that this is happening more often. And she is fully aware that she spends part of her working day hunting for things. She also said there is a certain comfort level in habit, and as we all know, habits can be hard to break!

I have no doubt that adhering to a time worn custom can be soothing to a frazzled solopreneur but as a rule of thumb, it can be more efficient to have a well organized workspace. An organized workspace allows you to focus on the task at hand rather than losing focus while looking for a misplaced paper or file.

Here are 6 steps to decluttering your desk.

1. Reduce distractions. Is your desk covered with pictures, knickknacks, yesterdays mail and a pile of yellow note pads that outline all tasks past and present? Take a good look around you and see what may be distracting and what is just plain old fashioned annoying and get them off of your desk.
2. Everyday use: Really the only things that should be on your desktop at all times are the things that you use every day. Clearly you don’t want to have to hunt for your favorite pen or that critical notepad with your creative thoughts that you jotted down in a free moment. However, speaking of notepads, consider getting a large whiteboard and placing it above your desk where you can see it and transfer the “Must Do”items from notepads, pieces of paper, index cards, etc., to the whiteboard and shred those pesky pieces of paper. It is much more efficient and if your eye sees it, your mind will respond to the urgency of the project or projects. It is much too easy for an important task reminder to get lost on a piece of paper.
3. Right hand or left hand? Depending on which hand you use the most during the day, it makes sense arrange your desk accordingly for fingertip management. I happen to be ambidextrous so this one is easy for me and allows me to make maximum use of my L-Shaped desk. If you are right-handed, placing your pens, pencils, pads, phone where you can comfortable reach them on the right side of your desk, makes the most practical sense. Ditto left handed people. It just makes everything from writing notes to taking phone calls faster and more efficient.
4. Like likes Like: You wouldn’t place your dish towels in the same drawer or cupboard as your pot lids and this same principal holds true for your desk. Organizing like things together on the desktop forms small centers where you can find and use items easily.
5. Time Management: It is very easy to lose track of time when working on client projects, or even your own projects. I find that having a large clock on my office wall just above my desk as well as a day minder (bright red!) helps me keep track of what I MUST do and when it needs to be done. The day minder stays on the desk and serves as a reminder to come up for air and check my task list against my time constraints.
6. Designated clutter free zone: Your desk is where you work. And even though we work in an increasingly virtual world and our computer keyboard is our connection to our clients and our team members, we do still have to have a clutter free zone, meaning a dedicated flat surface where we can write.  Writing and note-taking is important and we need a spot to work without having to displace something else.

What are some of the ways you declutter and gain in efficiency? I would love to hear them!

My business philosophy has always been this: “If I am not connecting with my clients, consumers and team members, then I am not doing my job.”

A true entrepreneur puts relationships ahead of profits because he or she knows that strong relationships just naturally lead to healthier profits in terms of partnerships and referrals.

Unsure how to build trusting and enduring relationships with your audience? Here are some tried and true recommendations:

• Let your voice be heard. Record videos if you are comfortable in front of a video camera. If not, consider creating PowerPoint videos with voice-overs. Frankly, I prefer the second but that is a personal choice and you should only do what you are truly comfortable with. If you absolutely hate having a camera in your face, your misery will show and your message will not be heard.

• Consider hosting your own FREE radio program on BlogTalkRadio. My weekly broadcast, Your Partner In Success Radio, has become so popular, and I have had the great good fortune to interview so many fabulous personalities and business people that I couldn’t shut the program down if I wanted to, and I don’t!

• Host as many free workshops and teleseminars as you can handle. Of course you have valuable information to share, so share away. Your audience will appreciate it.

• Ask for feedback and suggestions. You will be very surprised by how generous your fellow entrepreneurs can be with their comments, observations and advice.

• Stay in touch with your list! I don’t recommend that you overwhelm people but you must stay in touch by either sending out an automated blog broadcast or set up your newsletter or ezine to publish consistently once or twice a month. You cannot drop off the face of the earth and then just suddenly reappear when you have something to sell or promote. You will shed email subscribers at an alarming rate. And who could blame them?

• Be religious about responding to emails. One of the very WORST things a virtual assistant, or other virtual service provider can do is to neglect this very important means of communication. If your client or customers do not feel like they are being heard, that they are very important to your business, they will quite simply find somebody who does care about their business. Actually, this one probably should have been placed in the number one slot! It is that important. Even if you don’t have good news or are behind in a project, it is imperative that you communicate with your client or customer.

• If you are blogging regularly, ask for comments on your blog post. People will often read your content, but don’t even think to leave a comment or ask a question. This is a very important dialogue and one you need to foster.  If you are not blogging regularly…. why not??

• Send each new client a welcome gift. Both of my companies, Your Office On The Web and Your Virtual Assistant gift new clients with a set of Journaling Jems™ for the Business Professional. These wonderful cards are daily reminders and I use mine constantly. For instance, I just reached across my desk and randomly pulled this “jem”:

My clients love them!

These are just a few things that we consistently do to keep our clients happy and loving doing business us. I would love to hear your thoughts on these suggestions and hear from you what you do to connect with your clients.

I get this question a lot from new virtual assistants who are now experiencing the highs and lows of owning their own business. While it can be a very heady time for you, few of us have the luxury of beginning our virtual assistance practice without experiencing some panic over just how to pay the bills. Just because you no longer have that comforting steady paycheck does not mean that the bills take a holiday and come back when you are financially stable again.

Consider this when creating your shopping list for the week. By working from home, you are replacing fast food and restaurant meals during lunch so you are saving that money. And the cost of preparing your own lunch, and possibly breakfast if you were in the habit of stopping for coffee and a doughnut before arriving at the office is significantly less than eating out five days a week. However, many of my team members tell me that because they are at home and because of the stress usually equated with starting a new business, they find themselves eating more junk food, and eating more frequently than they did when in a structured environment. Bad news all the way around!

So my advice is to ALWAYS grocery shop with a list and shop with CASH!

By leaving your debit or credit cards at home and going to the grocery store with cash only, you will find that you are no longer impulsively tossing high-cost, high-calorie snacks into your cart. By mentally tallying up what is in the cart and ensuring that you do have enough money to pay for your purchases you will discover that you are making healthier food choices and cutting down on your food bill at the same time.

Being an inveterate list maker, I find mind mapping to be invaluable when creating new business plans for myself and for my clients. One free resource that I highly recommend is Freemind that I found at SourceForge.net. I use it a lot, but mostly when I am mapping out an Infusionsoft campaign for clients.

Go to here to download. It does require Java so be sure to download if you don’t currently have it. Depending on what platform you are running, click on the link that works best for you.

Once the .exe file is saved, locate the file, double click on it and say “yes” to run. It takes just a few minutes and you will have a very powerful and FREE mind mapping solution that allows you to conceptually design your projects.

Being self employed is stressful. No question about it. Building up your Virtual Assistance practice can require much more of your time and attention than you ever thought possible when you hung up your VA shingle and opened your virtual doors for business.  One of the things that my business coach told me that REALLY stuck with me is that as a woman entrepreneur it is imperative that I practice what she termed “extreme self care” in order to manage the stress that owning two small businesses brings into my daily life. Once I began monitoring just how much time stress was taking away from my business, I learned to develop some very effective stress busters. Life is MUCH easier when you identify and manage stress!

The good news is that there are easy ways you can relieve stress in just a few minutes, wherever you are.  Let’s take a look:

Breathe

Deep breathing has been shown to reduce the levels of stress hormones in your body, oxygenate your blood, and allow you to clear your mind and focus. Typically, shallow breathing accompanies stressful feelings, so deep breathing counteracts this process. Stand up straight and breathe deep to give your brain the oxygen it needs to operate efficiently.  Experts recommend breathing in deeply through your nose to a count of five, expanding your belly, and exhaling through your mouth to the same count of five. Repeat several times and feel the stress begin to melt away and your brain begin to become clear once again.

Stretch

Stretching your body, whether you perform official yoga movements or just roll your shoulders and neck, and swing your arms wide a few times, helps combat stress much in the same way deep breathing does. It opens up your muscles and lungs, fighting the contraction that can take place when under stress. Stretching also helps address many of the aches and pains associated with stress on your body caused by sitting in front of your computer monitor all day.

Include the muscles around your eyes in your stretching routine.  Just close your eyes, and move your eyeballs back and forth, then up and down.  This relaxes and refreshes those tight muscles around your eyes that can, eventually, cause a headache.  Give your whole body one of those “cat” stretches that feels so good in the morning several times a day and feel the stress melt away.  Have you ever seen a stressed out cat?!

One of my favorite eye exercises also has the added benefit of smoothing out the “crowsfeet” area around your eyes. Try this! BTW, do this in front of a mirror until you have it memorized.

1. Raise your eyebrows and lift upper lids until you see the whites of your eyes above the iris.
2. Slowly begin to bring your upper and lower lids together until you appear slit-eyed. Think about both lids resisting each other as you bring them together. To do this effectively requires concentration so don’t do this at your desk! The upper lids should not move down at a faster rate than the lower lids move up.
3. Slowly open your eyes, again thinking of resisting as you concentrate on moving the upper and lower lids apart at the same slow pace.

Daydream

“Go to your happy place” may make you laugh because it sounds fairly goofy, but it works! In the midst of heart-pounding stress, close your eyes, and picture a calm, serene environment.  In other words, daydream!  Create as much detail as possible – hear the ocean waves, smell the seaweed on the beach, feel the sand beneath your feet.  When your mind drifts, and it will, bring your attention gently back again and again to your scene of choice.  A few minutes is all it takes to slow your body and your mind down, relieving stress in the process.  To be perfectly frank with you, both of my very successful businesses are the direct results of my day dreams. I conceived and built both of them in my mind and once they were fully formed I built them in real time. It didn’t take long either!

Walk

When you’ve got a case of the jittery, nervous, I-can’t-stop-moving-my-body nerves, don’t fight it! Take a five-minute walk outdoors if possible. Working off some of that anxiety can often give your creativity a kick, as well as help calm nerves and burn off calories. While you’re walking, don’t dwell on the source of your stress. Take note of your surroundings, think of a funny movie, or think about someone you love. The idea is to take your mind as far as possible from your anxiety. When you get back, you’ll have new energy and perspective.

If nothing else, go outside in your backyard and walk the perimeter of your yard. Work that fence line! Grab the hose and walk the entire yard and give each tree and shrub a sip of water. There is something very soothing about the simple act of watering. And your yard will appreciate it too!

Quick Bursts of Indoor Exercise

One of my very favorite ways to get in some quick and fun exercise is to turn on some high energy music and spend 15 minutes bouncing around on my rebounder (mini-trampoline) like a little kid. At the end of my ten or fifteen minutes I am giggling like a fool and ready to jump back into whatever issue I walked away from with renewed energy and a much improved attitude.

Laugh

Laughter truly is the best medicine. If you’re stressed, call a funny friend, look at funny pet pictures online, head over to YouTube and find something that makes you smile, or simply recall a time you laughed until your stomach hurt. Funny moments can be found in many places. Dig out your favorite movie and fast forward to the best laugh lines if you don’t have time to watch the whole thing.  Some studies even suggest that you can “fake it till you make it” meaning just start laughing and the funny feelings will follow. You’ll release loads of anxiety-fighting endorphins and enjoy yourself, too.

Play

Small children have the fantastic ability to focus entirely on the matter at hand, whether it’s a game of “Let’s Pretend” or a particularly enthralling picture book. Pick a book to read, build a sandcastle, roll out Play Dough creatures, enjoy the mystery of Silly Putty, cut out snowflake shapes or paper dolls, do somersaults, roll down a hill, slide down a slide, or push your favorite little one on the swings; or swing yourself!  Focus on what kids are saying and doing, and try to put yourself in their shoes, noticing what they’re noticing. It’s the best introduction to living in the moment that you can imagine.

Have pets? Take time several times a day to play with them. Cats do fetch you know. Playing fetch with your cat and a toy mouse can provide some fabulously funny moments. Play with your puppy or dog. Romp around with them and forget everything that is worrying you for the moment.

Talk

Yes, we all love email, Facebook and Twitter. In our industry, we HAVE to love it and be very effective at using it. But, what about a good, old fashioned two-way conversation in which we exchange ideas, banter back and forth, even interrupt each other with an “oh, oh, oh, wait a minute… I just thought about the time…” sort of interchange?  It’s natural, even desirable, for voices to stumble over each other in conversation as thoughts, ideas, even disagreements, take shape.  If you’ve ever watched early black and white movies, you’ll notice the dialog is stilted, one line said at a time. This was changed later to more accurately reflect real conversation, which naturally overlaps.  Electronic conversations do not overlap, and therefore, do not engage the other person in nuances and expression, no matter how many emoticons you use!  Engage in a real, verbal conversation and blow off some stress. Call a colleague, a friend, your spouse or your mother!

Sing

Belt out a show tune, whistle Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, or hum along to the Top 40 radio station. Singing out loud is not only therapeutic, it’s a heck of a lot of fun.  It doesn’t matter if you have a lovely voice or if your voice is the nails-on-a-chalkboard variety, sing loud and sing proud.  You may want to choose a favorite song from your childhood that evokes memories of days around a campfire, a school trip, or church event. Make up a new song, or sing along with a favorite; either way you are lifting your spirits while you lift your voice in song.

Study

Unlike light reading to pass the time, studying a subject will engage the mind as well as challenge it.  Getting lost in a fun short story is a great way to relax, but if you want to seriously relieve stress, you’ll want to focus on something that stretches your imagination and knowledge.  Studies show that learning a foreign language forces your whole thought process to expand and relax as you visualize the objects attached to a new word.  A foreign word to describe something we are familiar with confuses the brain and wakes it up.  It’s similar to exercising your muscles to wake them up and de-stress them, only here we’re exercising the brain.  Challenge your brain for just five minutes to learn something new.

Cook

OK. I freely admit that as an avowed “foodie”, cooking is one of my favorite stress busters. There is nothing better for me than getting in the kitchen and creating a lovely meal for my family.

It may be the aromas, it may be the taste, or it may be the tactile sensations of handling food, but many people release stress by preparing food.  Whether you’re a good cook or not, the physical process of washing, chopping, kneading, stirring, and flipping food seems to take stress out of the body and mind.

The next time stress is taking over your day, give yourself permission to take five minutes and engage in one of these distractions. I guarantee, you will return to your task at hand a refreshed and smiling person.  And, smiling is the beginning of any stress reduction strategy.

There was a great question about how to use thousands of flower photographs posted on my Virtual Assistant group on Facebook recently and it lead me to write a quick post in order to help. And as you can see, members of the group quickly offered up some helpful advice.

Many of your hobbies can be turned into business ideas that can make you money. As a digital photographer you can sell those beautiful photographs online.

Here are some ways to do that.

Digital photography allows you to capture a variety of images in a variety of formats. For instance, remember when you used to visit the carnival or amusement park and they took those old-fashioned pictures of people? The pictures looked faded but that was simply a sepia tone. You can create the same effect on your digital camera when you edit a photo.

Stock photography is one of the best ways to break into the online digital photography market. You can sell your photos to others who need pictures for websites, newsletters, magazines and e-zines and other media.

First, be sure to research how the stock photography business works. On some sites, customers can purchase pictures or lease them for a certain amount of time. On some sites, photos are free to use when signing an agreement of use and including a link back to the site. Find the ones that offers the best option for you and also has an easy-to-navigate site. Easy navigation is important because people simply don’t have the patience to have to click and click to get where they want to be. And you want them to EASILY find your work.

As a photographer, you will make more money if your photos are leased as opposed to being sold. The one time sale may net you some cash but the lease will provide a continuous source of income off of that one photograph. And, many people can pay to lease the photograph at one time. Through the leasing process, your work will be viewed by a large audience.

Here are some websites where you can sell your photos.

• Fotolia
• Shutterstock
• Istock
• Alamy

Now, all you need to do is produce some quality work. Look at other stock photographs. What do they have in common? Are the pictures clear? Can you make out all of the features of the photo? At the least, your photographs need to be clear with the subjects in the foreground.

Another consideration is the type of digital photos you are trying to sell. More of the same that already exists won’t be received well. The stock photography companies are out to make money too. Don’t be afraid to try some new ideas for holiday photos or for everyday photos. They will let you know what does and does not sell.

In the meantime, create a website or blog with links to the stock photography sites featuring your work. This will send more people to view your photographs and may lead to other opportunities in the future. And of course, I strongly suggest that your website is built on the WordPress platform!