Saturday, 27 October 2012

Making money online - paid to design

Did you know that anyone can become a product designer? Whether it's printed t-shirts, bags, hats, keyrings, mugs, or postcards, there are companies who will pay you royalties for your designs. If you are a dab hand at photography or art, you could be making money with your designs.


Why do it?
Providing your designs to be used on products can not only increase your income but could get your art recognized and featured. It could also be a great opportunity to expand your art portfolio by designing for new and interesting mediums such as mugs and t-shirts.


How Paid 2 Design websites work
Paid 2 Design websites earn money by selling products: their unique selling point is that these products could feature your designs. If customers purchase an item with your designs, you will receive a fixed percentage in royalties.
The best part of it is that you don't have to do anything. The company takes care of everything from taking the order, producing the product, and shipping the order. The only thing you'll ever know of an order is an email telling you how much you've earned. 
Artists have always been paid royalties for their product designs, but it's only now that the opportunity to be a product designer has been made available to anyone with access to the internet. 
Some websites even have smart-phone apps to make the design process easily possible through the use of a mobile device.


Legal issues
Most websites of this kind will only accept designs for which you own the intellectual property. That is to say you have either designed it yourself from scratch or purchased the right to use anothers designs.
Most websites disclaim that it is you, as the designer, who will be ultimately responsible for the consequences of any copyright infringement.

Most websites also prohibit the design of offensive articles, and depending on your respective countries laws this may constitute a criminal offense.


How to get started
The websites listed below are free to join without invitation or referral and require no qualifications or special skills:
Once you are signed up, you are free to design as much or as little as you like. If and when your designs sell, you will receive emails or account notifications informing you of the sale and stating how much you have earned.

Once you have designed your products, most websites will hold it in their catalog infinitely and further sales of those products require no further input from you.


Never pay to join a paid 2 design. The usual caveat for avoiding scams also applies here: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!


How payments work
The payment methods of paid 2 design websites vary. Some will pay you in pounds or dollars, while others may offer points that you can exchange for retail vouchers.
All such websites have a threshold that you must reach before any payments can be made. Sometimes this can be as low as ten pounds, but can be fifty pounds or more. If the company were to go into liquidation before you reached your threshold, it's likely that you wouldn't get anything.


Conclusion
Designing products can be a fun and interesting way of creating a passive income. Once a product is made it is made forever and you could have a potentially infinite number of sales for years to come with no additional effort on your part.

Because everyone is allowed to become a designer, there is a great deal of competition and an emphasis on quality. Like any venture, what you put into it will undoubtedly affect how much you get out of it. With enough effort, it is possible to make a living solely from the likes of Zazzle and some members (albeit talented designers with vast product lines) earn in excess of $1000 per month.

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