New plans for The Online Darkroom

So, a New Year and some new, exciting things planned for The Online Darkroom which I'd like to share with you. This post will be quite long but please bear with me.

First of all, I've got to start earning some money. I gave up my job as a newspaper reporter just over three years ago (at the age of 49) and have been basically living off my severance payment ever since. That was never going to be sustainable in the long run and it's approaching crunch time.



The obvious solution is to get a job. I spent 32 years in an office-based job that I was never enthusiastic about at the best of times and the idea of going back to that way of working brings me out in hives. The job option, from my point of view, has only downsides associated with it, apart from the extra cash it would bring in. And if it were to be a job, then which one? Reporters are only really equipped to do that job or one in public relations and, having had plenty of experience of PR at first hand, that holds no appeal at all.

If I did decide to go down the jobs route through necessity then it would have repercussions for The Online Darkroom. I'd still post but it would be on a now and then basis as it would be difficult to maintain enthusiasm or devote as much time to it. So are there any other options?

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There is one that would save me from office drudgery, keep The Online Darkroom in a state of glowing health and, possibly, earn some cash. It would involve "commercialising" this website, something I didn't anticipate when I started it back in September, 2011, with this post. It would also mean posting on a regular basis - at least three times a week - and that's not particularly easy for a one-man band. It's like having to meet the demands of a newspaper column a dozen times a month.

Crucially, it's also an option that, to a large extent, is outwith my control. I could puts lots of effort in, posting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but if my readers aren't willing to offer their support then the venture would probably not amount to much. I know that you all have busy lives as well and I've no right to expect that you would automatically want to do any more than you're doing right now, which is fine. However, if everyone who gains something of value from T.O.D. were to mention it to a few friends then the knock-on effect might be significant. Having said that, I'm very pleased and not a little humbled by the thought that this blog is already getting around 20,000 hits a month and climbing. It's not big by The Online Photographer or Ken Rockwell standards but it's still something that gives me a warm glow - or is that the red wine I'm drinking as I write this? :)

To begin making a success of the blog from a financial point of view, I would need to double or treble the monthly hits and that's not exactly going to be a walk in the park. Posting three times a week would help and I've embarked on a social media outreach programme to reach a wider audience even though it's not something I know much about. I remember someone once described Twitter as "blogging for the retarded" and, whilst I wouldn't go that far, I do wonder about the value of a 140 character message. Still, Twitter, Facebook and Google + appear to be here to stay so I'm trying to get up to speed.

It All Adds Up

With increased readership comes the opportunity to have some adverts placed on the columns either side of the main posts. It also makes it worthwhile to enter into affiliate deals with photo stores, the idea being that readers can click through to their favourite photographic outlet via The Online Darkroom. Every sale recorded in this way doesn't cost the reader anything but a small percentage of each sale finds it way back to my PayPal account. And, as we say up here in Scotland, many a mickle maks a muckle or, if you're a Tesco fan, you might prefer "Every Little Counts". Both of those potential income streams would depend on reader support.

A third form of commercialisation that looks set to go ahead is much easier to understand. Regular readers will have noticed that I've been reviewing Spur products for a while now. The German company were happy to send me some of their goods as they sought a bigger profile in English-speaking circles. They've also been thinking of expanding into the UK market in a bigger way. I've always found Spur's developers - film and paper - to be at least as good as anything else out there and often better.

Acurol-N, as both Omar and I independently found, is a cracking developer. I love Spur's HRX film dev and their print developers, too. So, a couple of months back, I suggested to Spur that, since a Google search for their products will more often than not place The Online Darkroom high up on the first page of results (a search for Spur Acurol-N places T.O.D. second behind Maco Direct) then it might be a good idea for me to start selling their products - become their UK agent, so to speak. Spur agreed and we're in the process of working out exactly what that will mean for us both.

Something for Everyone

Again, though, the success of this venture will depend on readers feeling encouraged to order Spur products from a source they can trust. Believe me, if I didn't think Spur chemicals were on a par or better than anything else then I wouldn't touch them! I'm a bit like Victor Kiam who, you might remember, told us back in the late 1970s that he liked Remington shavers so much he "bought the company", The good thing is that the products I'm thinking of stocking have their own USP (unique selling proposition, as advertisers love to say) so each brings something different to a table already groaning under the likes of D76 and Rodinal.

That's where I stand at the moment, then. Starting this week, I'll be posting three times a week, probably on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (you deserve a weekend off!) for as long as I can manage. It's possible I'll have to drop back to twice a week if I start to run dry or I might even post four or five times a week if I can think of enough things to write about.

If I continue to attract new readers, I'll approach some companies I respect with a view to taking advertising space - something that will not be easy in today's economic climate. Then, probably within a matter of weeks, I'll sort out an online store for The Online Darkroom and start offering Spur goodies in the hope that you will be willing to give them a fair crack of the whip. That's all I can ask for. I'll post more on all these developments as they come on stream.

Yes, 2014 is shaping up to be an interesting year.