I hate their time consuming 3 tier keywording because I know that however many images I upload, it makes no difference as I still get zero sales.

I'm sorry if I'm too direct, but if you get no sales no matter how many images you upload, then something is wrong on your side.

Maybe your keywording isn't accurate, or your images are just not what sells on Alamy (probably mainly editorial, not stocky looking concepts/creative). Or your postprocessing might not be up to par. Post a link to your portfolio and I'm sure people here will give you constructive feedback why you don't have sales yet.

My portfolio on Alamy is quite small; a bit more than 1000 images. My CTR (zooms vs views) is consistently above 1%, and I make regular sales (4 in the last 30 days).

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Quote from: ShadySue on November 08, 2016, 06:51

Quote

Many say that for every 1000 files you get one sale?

Per day? Per month? Per year?
Many?
Someone posted on the October sales thread that they'd got a sale with a port of <50. It's just if you happen to have what a buyer needs. Generally different buyers from micro. My best selling genre on iS doesn't sell at all (for me) on Alamy (different images, obviously), which is a great pity.

The consensus on the Alamy forums is that, on average, people there get one sale per month per 1000 images. Some do better, some do worse. Just like comparing yourself to the averages in the poll here. I average more than one sale per month per 1000 images. Sorry I wasn't clear before.

Surprisingly, sales from my small portfolio are in rough agreement with that figure.   And I had to stop and reflect on this for a minute because producing 1,000 quality stock photos is a huge amount of work - unless they're dead simple, no-brainer shots.  And the return you can expect on that work is pitiful, even from an honest agency like Alamy. 

Quote from: wordplanet on November 12, 2016, 13:52

Quote from: ShadySue on November 08, 2016, 06:51

Quote

Many say that for every 1000 files you get one sale?

Per day? Per month? Per year?
Many?
Someone posted on the October sales thread that they'd got a sale with a port of <50. It's just if you happen to have what a buyer needs. Generally different buyers from micro. My best selling genre on iS doesn't sell at all (for me) on Alamy (different images, obviously), which is a great pity.

The consensus on the Alamy forums is that, on average, people there get one sale per month per 1000 images. Some do better, some do worse. Just like comparing yourself to the averages in the poll here. I average more than one sale per month per 1000 images. Sorry I wasn't clear before.

Surprisingly, sales from my small portfolio are in rough agreement with that figure.   And I had to stop and reflect on this for a minute because producing 1,000 quality stock photos is a huge amount of work - unless they're dead simple, no-brainer shots.  And the return you can expect on that work is pitiful, even from an honest agency like Alamy.

Right and that's why people who quote downloads per thousand are not using their brains. No-brainer shots, no download shots and no number for downloads per unknown photos or 1000 common ordinary shots. There is no expected download per shot number when we are all different and so are our photos. Why do people insist on making up these statitistics with no value or meaning and promoting them?

I don't get 1 sale per month for each 1000 photos. Some people will get many more, if they have better pictures. Anything micro has never sold for me on Alamy. I think buyers are smart enough to search for a $10 download instead of $48 download for the same picture?

Yes, $20 is average now for a download on Alamy. And better words first that match the photo subject exact will get better sales. Views for a mismatch don't mean any sales ever.

Quote from: stockastic on November 12, 2016, 16:49

Quote from: wordplanet on November 12, 2016, 13:52

Quote from: ShadySue on November 08, 2016, 06:51

Quote

Many say that for every 1000 files you get one sale?

Per day? Per month? Per year?
Many?
Someone posted on the October sales thread that they'd got a sale with a port of <50. It's just if you happen to have what a buyer needs. Generally different buyers from micro. My best selling genre on iS doesn't sell at all (for me) on Alamy (different images, obviously), which is a great pity.

The consensus on the Alamy forums is that, on average, people there get one sale per month per 1000 images. Some do better, some do worse. Just like comparing yourself to the averages in the poll here. I average more than one sale per month per 1000 images. Sorry I wasn't clear before.

Surprisingly, sales from my small portfolio are in rough agreement with that figure.   And I had to stop and reflect on this for a minute because producing 1,000 quality stock photos is a huge amount of work - unless they're dead simple, no-brainer shots.  And the return you can expect on that work is pitiful, even from an honest agency like Alamy.

Right and that's why people who quote downloads per thousand are not using their brains. No-brainer shots, no download shots and no number for downloads per unknown photos or 1000 common ordinary shots. There is no expected download per shot number when we are all different and so are our photos. Why do people insist on making up these statitistics with no value or meaning and promoting them?

I don't get 1 sale per month for each 1000 photos. Some people will get many more, if they have better pictures. Anything micro has never sold for me on Alamy. I think buyers are smart enough to search for a $10 download instead of $48 download for the same picture?

Yes, $20 is average now for a download on Alamy. And better words first that match the photo subject exact will get better sales. Views for a mismatch don't mean any sales ever.

I don't agree with your general objection that "1 sale per month per 1000 pictures" is a figure without value. For sure it is true that some people will have more and some will have less. Don't read "1 sale per 1000" as "1.00". It could easily be double or half that figure. The main benefit of this 1 per 1000 statement is that it shows newbies what they can expect. The forum is full of newbies who complain that they have no sales with a portfolio of 100 pictures.

Also, on a further note, your absolute statement that "$20 is average now on Alamy" is on the same level as "1 sale per 1000 images per month". How can you condemn one and promote another? The average sale price is depending on many factors, including if a contributor signed up for the UK newspaper deal (with very low payout rates), and of course, to which market their pictures appeal.


I don't believe this theory that pictures which are on micros don't sell on Alamy. Don't get me wrong, I don't like the microstock concept, and I'm not submitting to any such agency. But I repeatedly sell licenses for absolutely trivial images (e.g., banknotes) for three digit values on Alamy, although essentially the same images are available on micros. Apparently, not all customers compare prices.

"Micro images don't sell on Alamy"

Although this gets said a lot, I've never seen a single example to illustrate this theory. My best sellers on Alamy are just as popular on the micros. Alamy sells as good as the column to the right of these words would indicate. Less sales, albeit higher priced, but averages out to right around 123RF and Dreamstime overall. Shutterstock, Fotolia, even Pond5 eat Alamy for breakfast. I barely make enough to justify the tedious keywording system.

"Micro images don't sell on Alamy"

Although this gets said a lot, I've never seen a single example to illustrate this theory. My best sellers on Alamy are just as popular on the micros. Alamy sells as good as the column to the right of these words would indicate. Less sales, albeit higher priced, but averages out to right around 123RF and Dreamstime overall. Shutterstock, Fotolia, even Pond5 eat Alamy for breakfast. I barely make enough to justify the tedious keywording system.

You left off my word, MY micro don't sell as well on Alamy. My point remains the same. Individual not by forum pundits experience. We all have different photos and subjects. Counting numbers for different pictures makes no sense. "how many photos do I need to make $100?" who knows? What are the photos? No way to know how many sales per 1000 if we don't know whaat the photos are!

What subjects and styles sells better on Alamy then Micro, that's the question.

I like Alamy, one $20 sale is 71 subs on some place. It's like sharpshot says, worth the time and effort to make good keywords.

I'll use my case as as example.

I've been submitting to Alamy for just over a year...

currently: 1405 images
Total views: 7601
Total zooms: 32
Total CTR: 0.42

I didn't have any downloads for the first 6 months, however past 6 months came 8 in a flurry. 7/8 have been heavily commissioned due to the "distribution commission". However, my latest sale was $118.74 and 50% commission to me. That's a lot of subs.

I don't know who came up with that 1,000 portfolio for 1 sale a month rule of thumb. I rather have a portfolio with 100 premium images than 1,000 mediocre images.

What did I change?
- The stuff that goes on Alamy should be different than other microstuff since most buyers are smart enough to shop around (which many people have stated here but should be repeated)
- I've decided to start submitting most of my editorial from micros to Alamy RM. I'll likely leave them there for a year or so and if there are no sales, switch them to RF editorial (when it's rolled out) and also submit them at SS.
- There's the keywords difference but I don't know so much about that. I do try harder with more accurate captions since they also contribute to keywords.

So, how long does it take for sale to be reported after image has been zoomed (and downloaded). I know from my experience, that it usually takes 3 months between zoom and reported sale, sometimes less. I found one of my images here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/slovenia/articles/slovenia-restaurants/

Article is from 5th of October, image was zoomed about 2 days earlier, but no sale has been reported yet.
And also, what commission can I expect from that kind of usage:)?

It really varies a lot from one customer (and type of contract they have) to another. I have contacted support in the past when I found a usage for an image online but there was nothing showing for a sale at Alamy. They replied "We�ve a relevant download for your image CTxxxx from (customer name).
 
A delay in reporting usages is perfectly normal. Some of our customers take up to 3 months to report usages. If you don�t see the sale appear in your account within this timeframe then please get back to us. We�ll then check this against the customers downloads and invoice it."

And the amount of the sale isn't predictable unless you know the terms of the contract that applies.

Thanks for replies. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. I sold photo for The guardian, and was on top of the article and full-screen, if you clicked on it, and I got 7$ gross. Anyway, I'll wait abouth another month or so and then ask support about it.