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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: Pauws99 on October 03, 2017, 04:15

Title: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 03, 2017, 04:15
October 3 and no one posted yet. Overall for me a mediocre month but not awful. Fotolia crashed spectacularly going awol for days....compensated for largely by Alamy coming up with nice sales. Fairly average for the rest though SS would have been down but for some SODS....feel like I dodged a bullet there. Not the big September bounceback I hoped for.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Brasilnut on October 03, 2017, 04:38
Overall, OK for me...expecting much greater and better Oct/Nov/Dec which are supposed to be the "hotter months".

Summary:
SS: 338 downloads and only one significant EL worth $42
Alamy: 6 decent-sized downloads...looking up
AS: Portfolio building mode
Robert Harding: My first sale and I believe another 2 went through via Getty but still not reported
Arcangel: Patiently waiting and uploading...
FAA: Patiently waiting and uploading...
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 03, 2017, 04:52
I never do well in December....for me Sep-Nov is best. But first half September very slow so perhaps things picking up a little later.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: SpaceStockFootage on October 03, 2017, 07:02
But first half September very slow so perhaps things picking up a little later.

You do realise it's October, right? If your September sales didn't pick up in the second half of September, it's highly unlikely they'll pick up in the first half of October.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: increasingdifficulty on October 03, 2017, 07:09
I think Pauws99 is on a different moon cycle.  ;D
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: niktol on October 03, 2017, 08:00
Moving up, as hoped for.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 03, 2017, 08:02
I think Pauws99 is on a different moon cycle.  ;D
er I said the first half of September was slow....so to spell it out for the statistically challenged  the second half must have picked up to have a fairly average month.........so things picking up later in the year than normal.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: increasingdifficulty on October 03, 2017, 08:06
I think Pauws99 is on a different moon cycle.  ;D
er I said the first half of September was slow....so to spell it out for the statistically challenged  the second half must have picked up to have a fairly average month.........so things picking up later in the year than normal.

What does it have to do with statistics?

Anyway, it was a joke. You wrote "picking" which means that something will happen in the future. Not "picked".
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 03, 2017, 08:26
If I had a lower than average first half and the month was average then the second half of the month must have been above average........so "If your September sales didn't pick up in the second half of September," is an odd statement to make. I didn't realise this was pedants corner ;-).
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Chris Kelleher on October 03, 2017, 09:20
SS: 41
BS: 23
AS: 11
DT: 4
123: 4
Alamy: 1

More downloads in Sept over Aug, but only 75% of the revnue.  Was looking even worse until I had an Alamy sale on the last day of the month.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Dumc on October 03, 2017, 09:44
September was my second BME, thanks to EL and video and SOD sales. But overall, number of sales was not that good.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: steheap on October 03, 2017, 09:56
Pretty good for me - almost hit $3000. I've published my blog post as usual at http://www.backyardsilver.com/2017/10/earnings-stock-photography-september-2017/ (http://www.backyardsilver.com/2017/10/earnings-stock-photography-september-2017/)
(https://i0.wp.com/www.backyardsilver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MonthlySeptember2017.png)

Steve
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: increasingdifficulty on October 03, 2017, 10:04
Pretty good for me - almost hit $3000. I've published my blog post as usual at

That's what I like to see. Some hard data.

I'm sure some of the more sour people here will have a hard time accepting that your sales haven't gone down the toilet since 2013.  ;)
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Brasilnut on October 03, 2017, 10:15
Quote
Pretty good for me - almost hit $3000. I've published my blog post as usual at [url]http://www.backyardsilver.com/2017/10/earnings-stock-photography-september-2017/[/url] ([url]http://www.backyardsilver.com/2017/10/earnings-stock-photography-september-2017/[/url])


As always, great job Steve, and thanks for sharing your results.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: steheap on October 03, 2017, 10:54
Quote
I'm sure some of the more sour people here will have a hard time accepting that your sales haven't gone down the toilet since 2013

That is true, although I have continued to add new images through these years. The game has changed from one where adding new images translates into increased revenue, into one where new images are needed to keep your earnings at around the same level. If I calculate earnings per online image - which I do from time to time - then my earnings per image are certainly not as high as they used to be.

However, with the work I put into it, I am seeing a small but steady increase in earnings over the past 4 years.

Steve
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: increasingdifficulty on October 03, 2017, 11:02
The game has changed from one where adding new images translates into increased revenue, into one where new images are needed to keep your earnings at around the same level.

Yes, and this is true for ANY business once enough competitors discover that there is money to be made.

Of course it's a bit frustrating when it used to be easy to make lots of cash without too much effort (and mediocre images were more than enough), but as always, the hard workers who don't give up succeed in the long run.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Minsc on October 03, 2017, 12:55
SS - Great month. 3rd best month of the year. It looked a buyer had some leftover budget at the end of the month and decided to splurge on some large SODs.

Adobe Stock - So close to BME. AS has been incredibly consistent lately.

123RF - Mediocre. 2nd worst month of the year. October is off to a good start so far.

IS - Probably the same as last month. Not great, but not bad.

DT - Lousy like always. I stopped uploading a while ago.

Overall a great month because of SS and AS. They continue to perform well despite the current market conditions.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 03, 2017, 14:08
Interesting to see a few people still doing well on SS despite the loud assertions of some that sales have bombed across the board.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Brightontl on October 03, 2017, 14:47
Overall BME by miles, miles and miles.

SS: BME, but exactly same level as May, June and July
FT: good month, close to BME
P5: good, BME by a small amount
SB: totally on fire, incredibly exploding after doing nothing for 2 years. This month was 6 times higher than the previous BME here. But I fear that is just a welcome aboard package after their re branding
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Asthebelltolls on October 03, 2017, 14:51
....and in the end the only true statistic that counts will be the end of the year results. I had a mediocre September. Today, for whatever reasons, I'm God's gift to photography/videography and enjoyed my best sales day ever by a country mile. How that plays out in the overall statistics at the end of the year will be interesting.

If we all deal with lower sales at the end of the year - the business has a problem. Month to month doesn't really assert anything other than some people did well while others didn't.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Tyson Anderson on October 03, 2017, 15:07
Still waiting a few weeks for iStock and Dissolve data but it's looking like my best month so far
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 03, 2017, 15:36
....and in the end the only true statistic that counts will be the end of the year results. I had a mediocre September. Today, for whatever reasons, I'm God's gift to photography/videography and enjoyed my best sales day ever by a country mile. How that plays out in the overall statistics at the end of the year will be interesting.

If we all deal with lower sales at the end of the year - the business has a problem. Month to month doesn't really assert anything other than some people did well while others didn't.
If everyone reported a bad month it would be just as much a true statistic as if everyone reported a bad year.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: pancaketom on October 03, 2017, 18:24
It was a better than average month for this year barely - thanks to a few big sales on Alamy. SS was about average for now - so less than 50% of what it was a few years ago. Most sites were just a bit on the low side so it would have been a sad month without Alamy.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Graiki on October 03, 2017, 18:50
For me, September was my second best month of the year, just after June.

Getty images returned to sell well, SS hit records, Fotolia on average and Pond5 always good.
I uploaded videos in VideoBlocks, let's see what happens.

I hear Alamy speak very well.
And IStock, although a lot of people speak badly, I see by the ranking and by the sales in this post that it is also a good site. I will upload my portfolio on these two sites as soon as I have time ..
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Mantis on October 03, 2017, 21:06
Nothing like the old days.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: SpaceStockFootage on October 03, 2017, 22:27
I'm just slightly confused... isn't this an October sales thread? Here's the September one...

http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/september-sales/ (http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/september-sales/)
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 04, 2017, 00:26
I'm just slightly confused... isn't this an October sales thread? Here's the September one...

[url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/september-sales/[/url] ([url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/september-sales/[/url])
I forgot that one had already started...this is meant to be for the whole of september rather than a daily commentary  ???.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Semmick Photo on October 04, 2017, 05:25
Pants pants and more pants and continued to be pants. SS down from 600 dollar to 250 dollar per month, a few months in a row now with no signs of improvement. The other sides are lowly plodding on as usual.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Noedelhap on October 04, 2017, 07:22
Overall best month since October '14.

SS: BMY
FT: not BMY, but a good month as well.
VB: same at FT

Even 123RF is on the up again after 3 lousy months.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: zebra007 on October 04, 2017, 07:34
A BIT UP!!! :'(
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Zero Talent on October 04, 2017, 11:43
4 digits from SS, but worse than last year.
Other agencies compensated the loss with unexpected gains (Alamy, 500px) while FT and IS had solid good performances, making September a very good month, overall.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Zero Talent on October 04, 2017, 12:45
...
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: SpaceStockFootage on October 04, 2017, 23:22
September was my second BME. Last September was my BME. Good start to October.... projections indicate it could be my new BME, but a bit early to tell.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Zero Talent on October 05, 2017, 09:25
September was my second BME. Last September was my BME. Good start to October.... projections indicate it could be my new BME, but a bit early to tell.

If you make "projections" based on only 2 working days, may I ask what is your margin of error or confidence interval?  ::)
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: dinamicro on October 05, 2017, 09:28
A BIT UP!!! :'(

Holy cow! Your sales are amazing :o
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 05, 2017, 10:58
September was my second BME. Last September was my BME. Good start to October.... projections indicate it could be my new BME, but a bit early to tell.

If you make "projections" based on only 2 working days, may I ask what is your margin of error or confidence interval?  ::)
I'm guessing its a big one ;-) maybe by tomorrow we will have a concrete forecast  ::)
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: SpaceStockFootage on October 05, 2017, 20:58
September was my second BME. Last September was my BME. Good start to October.... projections indicate it could be my new BME, but a bit early to tell.

If you make "projections" based on only 2 working days, may I ask what is your margin of error or confidence interval?  ::)

My Excel spreadsheet makes projections for me. He's good like that. And it was 3 working days as far as I know... with a non-working day which should make the figures a bit more 'realistic'. But yeah, one day later, still on target for 50% over last month. Will estimate still being over last month.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Zero Talent on October 06, 2017, 06:56
September was my second BME. Last September was my BME. Good start to October.... projections indicate it could be my new BME, but a bit early to tell.

If you make "projections" based on only 2 working days, may I ask what is your margin of error or confidence interval?  ::)

My Excel spreadsheet makes projections for me. He's good like that. And it was 3 working days as far as I know... with a non-working day which should make the figures a bit more 'realistic'. But yeah, one day later, still on target for 50% over last month. Will estimate still being over last month.

Of course, in fact, you only need 2 points to make what you call a "projection". Just connect the dots!

A projection always has an associated error margin. When based on only 2-3 points, yours is huge, probably no different than simple luck.

You can have similar "success" with a crystal ball and your local palm reader.  ;)
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Pauws99 on October 06, 2017, 07:33
If I were to do projections I would do something based on around the last 30 days or so wherever I was in the month. But I don't really bother much as I wouldn't change my behaviour based on it. I do keep a monthly rolling average which is of some help..particularly prioritising where to do uploads if at all. (FWIW its pretty flat so running round the hamster wheel to stay where I am)
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: YadaYadaYada on October 06, 2017, 09:24
Pretty good for me - almost hit $3000. I've published my blog post as usual at

Steve

What agencies are what color on your graphic? Nice work! I don't do video which makes my numbers much less. Just wondering if I add video next year, where should I be going?
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: steheap on October 06, 2017, 09:34
The colors aren't agencies - they are the months of the year for the past 4 years. I sometimes report sales per agency, but I submit to 16 or so of the most popular sites that you see on the right in the Poll. I mainly take images - I do have some videos and I keep meaning to do more videos, but so far the earnings are almost all from still photos.

Steve
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: Microstockphoto on October 06, 2017, 09:52
i just got paid, so early, it must be easier for there system to pass through these smaller paymets so they dont need the full 7 days to process. i mean, 50% is the norm these days,
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: sauletas on October 06, 2017, 09:53
This September is almost equal to average and September of 2016.
47% of earnings on Shutterstock after few worse months.
Here is my top 6 (50$+) compared with September/average of 2016 year:

1. Shutterstock    -3%/ +29%
2. Pond5         +41%/ +23%
3. Videoblocks     -33%/ -53%
4. Fotolia/Adobe  +34%/ +10%
5. Envato         -27%/ -33%
6. Dreamstime    +117%/ +90%
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: tickstock on October 10, 2017, 00:12
Strong month!   :D
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: YadaYadaYada on October 12, 2017, 09:51
....and in the end the only true statistic that counts will be the end of the year results. I had a mediocre September. Today, for whatever reasons, I'm God's gift to photography/videography and enjoyed my best sales day ever by a country mile. How that plays out in the overall statistics at the end of the year will be interesting.

If we all deal with lower sales at the end of the year - the business has a problem. Month to month doesn't really assert anything other than some people did well while others didn't.

Good point, year to year is a more stable statistic to look at. I know people here who start doing day to day and week to week, which borders on insanity. Long term is most sensible.

But since the question is month, rpd is up, number of downloads is down, income down slightly. That's 2017 / 2016. And 2014, 2015 income are about the same as 2016 within under $10 difference for the month of September, past years. Going up or down $10 a year is insignificant.

Yes I add new files every month over the year.
Title: Re: September Sales
Post by: SpaceStockFootage on October 12, 2017, 23:28
I'm at 46% of my BME, 52% of last October, and we're currently 42% through the month... so looking promising!