If you visit Family Tree Templates.net, you'll find an enterprising soul who has designed fillable forms but is calling them templates. You can get a free fillable PDF version or for $4 an enhanced version, which I assume means the Word or Excel version of the form...with the password.
To my way of thinking, a document doesn't become a template until I've saved it to my system as a template that I can copy to produce many different documents. It's a matter of semantics and I suppose from the casual user's point of view not much of a point of contention.
Regardless of what you decide to call the document, if you're a longtime reader of this blog, you know how to create a fillable form and a template. My point is, if you're in business, you have lots of the tools you need to create your own forms and templates and perhaps sell them too just like this enterprising soul. I can't imagine that it's a huge revenue stream...but a revenue stream is a revenue stream.
Anyway, if you're interested in seeing a model for picking up bits of cash, you might want to visit this site and see what this genealogy entrepreneur is up to.
On another topic--Pattie, Cathy, and I are off to Palm Harbor today to do a presentation for an afternoon workshop. Pattie and I do two or three presentations a year just for the fun of it. Today we are doing "The Next Generation" and "Dipping Your Fingers in Paint." Cathy is part of the trio doing the Computer Interest Group for the Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa). Next weekend all three of us will be at USF for a daylong seminar. The presenter is D. Joshua Taylor.
I'm still trying to finish up the certificates for Florida State and I need to put together a template for the program for the banquet. All together, it's a very busy time for me. I'll get back to post as soon as I manage to clear the decks. But at this rate, it's going to be a bit longer than I had anticipated.
I've been thinking about sharing some of the forms and templates that I use in my own research in hopes they might be of help to others. Not sure that I would sell these, but have contemplated designing decorative charts that people could use to display their family tree...those I might want to sell. If only I had the time....
ReplyDeleteThe other problem with selling these forms is that you would need to set up a store that would allow you to accept payment. Perhaps genealogists who are already in business have completed this task.
DeletePattie knows how to set up a store and she says it's not that bad. Still, it's a consideration that you would have to maintain the store.
If you decide to sell some of your forms, I'd love to know what your experience is like.
If I decide to go that route, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Delete