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Author Topic: Alamy- Tips on getting Sales  (Read 44950 times)

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Valo

« Reply #100 on: September 29, 2014, 12:14 »
0
That doesnt explain why I am able to produce stayers on Shutterstock, in a pool of images as big as Alamy's.


« Reply #101 on: September 29, 2014, 12:20 »
0
That doesnt explain why I am able to produce stayers on Shutterstock, in a pool of images as big as Alamy's.

It kinda does.  SS have many times the sales of Alamy so your odds are a lot better of getting those sales.  When you get sales on an image it moves up in rank, then has better chance to become a "stayer".   If you rather believe it is magic over math, go ahead.

« Reply #102 on: September 29, 2014, 12:35 »
+3
I get plenty of on-demand and single, non-sub downloads every month on SS. Excluding them from the equation still confirms Alamy just doesn't perform.

As far as a search ranking the contributor rather than each individual image, that's just another poorly thought out way of doing things that is clearly helping kill FAA (the general consensus of folks here seem to confirm that) and makes absolutely zero sense no matter how you slice it. Each image should carry it's own weight. If a contributor has one image that sells well, it shouldn't make the weak images in their portfolio rank higher than superior shots from others that obviously suffer from a poor search rank to begin with. To me, that's just another factor showing how Alamy makes poor choices, almost every step of the way.

Valo

« Reply #103 on: September 29, 2014, 12:45 »
0
That doesnt explain why I am able to produce stayers on Shutterstock, in a pool of images as big as Alamy's.

It kinda does.  SS have many times the sales of Alamy so your odds are a lot better of getting those sales.  When you get sales on an image it moves up in rank, then has better chance to become a "stayer".   If you rather believe it is magic over math, go ahead.


I didn't mention anything about magic. No need to get upset when I don't agree. I am just speaking from my own experience and responding to the topic. That is all.

« Reply #104 on: September 29, 2014, 12:58 »
+2
I agree every image should rise or fall on its own - one of the problems with many of the sites like IS, DT, etc. I think I was on Alamy over a year before I had my first sale (for something like $5 of which I got 2.70) then 6 months later I had another small sale. During this time they changed their minimum size and I made an effort to get stuff uploaded. a few months later I started getting regular sales (with around 700 images) and I think I have only had 2 months w/ 0 sales since then. They are often my number 2 site after SS but sales seem pretty random events. My last 3 sales were $225 $7 and $74 (that is what the buyer paid - I get 50%). My sales were better in 2012 and were down about 1/3 in 2013 and are lower again this year. Upload is a pain, but it is probably worth it - or at least it was in the past.

« Reply #105 on: September 29, 2014, 14:15 »
0
Upload is a pain

It isn't if you upload in sets. i.e. - all of the pictures which will have the same core keywords and captions. And you batch edit. Done like that it's one of the fastest to upload to. Then you can quickly go through them and tweak any which need / don't any specific keywords different from the set.

Alamy exceeds my expectations. I am a realist.

Uncle Pete

« Reply #106 on: September 29, 2014, 21:18 »
+1
Very funny coincidence that you and Ron (see the quote) half agree? But are both wrong about the "first reshuffle of rank based on ctr".

You are also making an error, in assuming that A and SS have the same markets or clients. One is microstock and has subscriptions and easy web use, the other is more oriented towards publications, even if they have smaller sales.

Everyone with a new account starts with a medium rank, and after the first reshuffle of the rank based on CTR, your images are pushed back or forward. I was doing okish in my first year but apparently a rerank pushed me back killing my sales, and I could recover from that. My work is mostly creative and not in high numbers. Which is why people work with several pseudonyms. they move sellers over to another pseudonym so that they keep a good CTR. People who are best at playing that system and throw everything against the wall to see what sticks, come out best. If you want to see an overabundance of similar images, go to Alamy. I have seen the sales threads, they are full of people with a dozen of sales per month out of tens of thousands of images. Alamy only sells 0.87% of their database annually. Shutterstock sells 300% just to give you an idea. Alamy reduced their royalties to fund their NY office and promised to increase sales with targeting US audience, but all that happened was a decline in sales. So people lost earnings on both fronts. For me Alamy is an ostridge with its head in the sand.

SS is about 80% of Alamy. Not a big difference, but when you are comparing 42 million to 51 million, that's 11 million images. Somehow percentages don't show how big of a difference 11 million is? SS is not "As big"

When you submit as a new contributor you get an average CT ranking, when you hit the first CT reshuffle, your stats will start to come in effect and you will probably be hit hard and pushed back in the search. Happened to me, and I never recovered.

As for the Alamy size of their library, Shutterstock is as big, but my new files do get found there and get sales. And every now and then I still manage to produce a 'stayer'. Although I agree with the drop and the sea theory, it seems that Alamy has a completely different working search compared to Shutterstock.

Yes the searches do seem to be slightly different in how they weight popular, new or finding words in groups of words.

Odd how similar your two conclusions are, and I'll repeat, wrong. Are you related to Ron?  ???

You don't get shuffled on the first re-rank. Maybe not even after years. Not a giant secret, but the facts don't agree with the myth.

« Reply #107 on: September 30, 2014, 10:22 »
0
Okay, I've tried everything I can think of on how to get better results (sales) on Alamy but nothing seems to work for me.  Any tips on how to keyword or if I should include more information on the other areas?

Thanks

 8)


We're selling more images than ever before in our 15 year history so there is plenty of opportunity for revenue with us.

We are very different to microstock so a different strategy is needed. We sell licences from $10 up to $10,000+ but the average price per sale is around $100. You can expect to make fewer sales than you do on MS but for higher value.

You don't mention how many images you have or the type of work you have in your portfolio so it's impossible for us to give you any specific advice but if you want to post a link to your collection here we'd be happy to give you some pointers.

The photographers who do best with us submit well edited work regularly and keyword (relevantly) and thoroughly...

Cheers

Alamy


i have the same problem, only 4 sales in 2014, nevertheless my images sells very well elsewhere. here is the link to my portfolio: http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/FF28B93F-E889-44A4-ABD5-C7FBDE2EC00A/1/Dario%20Lo%20Presti.html

am I doing something wrong?

thanks in advance

« Reply #108 on: September 30, 2014, 11:59 »
+4
i have the same problem, only 4 sales in 2014, nevertheless my images sells very well elsewhere. here is the link to my portfolio: http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/FF28B93F-E889-44A4-ABD5-C7FBDE2EC00A/1/Dario%20Lo%20Presti.html
am I doing something wrong?


Only one question from me - do you have the same images on micros?


If I were client, I would take a look if I can get it cheap. And the rule says - don't cut the branch you're sitting on...

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #109 on: September 30, 2014, 20:55 »
0
My charts haven't improved any since last I posted.
3/4 of the way through the year, my sales are 50% of last year, and gross is 40% of last year.

(Though to be fair, I've only added c8% to my port this year.)
« Last Edit: September 30, 2014, 21:07 by ShadySue »

Uncle Pete

« Reply #110 on: September 30, 2014, 21:16 »
-1
My Alamy chart looks just like yours ShadySue.

I guess no one wants the facts and would rather read the erronious claims and factoids posted by anonymous people. No substantiation and no way to verfiy their claims.

OK here it is:

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography-alamyrank.asp?login=1

Part that would be of interest to the OP

Contributors who over-keyword or incorrectly keyword their images will be penalised, whereas those who are more accurate will gain greater visibility.

The Diversity Algorithm works alongside AlamyRank to show images from a mixture of contributors of a similar rank. This stops the search results from becoming overly dominated by collections with the highest combined scores of AlamyRank and relevancy.


Notice it's Alamy Rank not CTR?

Also the claim that someone did well until they reached the first re-rank is total rubbish. No one is re-ranked based on how new they are or membership age, it's based on how many sales you have made.

Until you trigger the ranking, people are placed at the same point as where we started, in the middle. (as per Alamy, not my imagination)

I will quote a second version of the same information:

"All collections that have recorded a sufficient number of Views to be statistically significant have are given an AlamyRank. However, if a Collection has insufficient Views or Sales in a measurement period, a median AlamyRank is applied."

http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/find-images.asp?login=1

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #111 on: September 30, 2014, 21:36 »
0
Just noticed, my 2014 Getty $$ to the end of August are about half of my Alamy $$ until the end of September, despite some really insultingly-low (sub $1) Getty sales.

However, I have 2739 pics on Alamy, and get 50% / 40% of sales.
But only 144 pics on Getty and only 20% of sales.

Hmmmm.

« Reply #112 on: October 01, 2014, 02:54 »
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I heve seen important exclusive photographs sold for few bucks by "big players". I have seen the fall of the general quality of the photographs in this industry (I'm not thinking of technical quality, but conceptual, artistic, creative, communicative and all the kind of quality that is not depending by the gears and hardware) because the market was opened to amateur that are happy to see 20$ at the end of the months, and the clients are happy to save money. Alamy is plenty of this pictures, but they don't sell for cents. That's enough. This is a political vision.

Ed

« Reply #113 on: October 01, 2014, 08:31 »
+1

I guess no one wants the facts and would rather read the erronious claims and factoids posted by anonymous people. No substantiation and no way to verfiy their claims.


I am not anonymous....I'm not providing erroneous facts.





The month of September was a slow month for me...only one image license reported at $60.  I have found 3 other images used though during the month and they should show up on my October sales report.

I am currently at 4,732 images - the majority can be classified as "editorial" in nature.

My CTR is low as compared to the rest of Alamy (I only have one psuedo)



I have uploaded 1,100 images since January 1 and my goal is to round out the year with adding at least another 268 so I end up at 5,000.  I did not upload any images in the months of February or March due to other commitments.

Realistically speaking, I don't expect another payout from Alamy until 2015.  My balance in my account completely cleared this month (with the exception of this month's image that was licensed).

My goal for next year is to add another 2,500 images of diverse topics.  This will include isolations, models shot in studio, newsworthy images, and images of regular people going about their ordinary lives.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2014, 08:33 by Ed »

Ed

« Reply #114 on: October 01, 2014, 08:38 »
0
I heve seen important exclusive photographs sold for few bucks by "big players". I have seen the fall of the general quality of the photographs in this industry (I'm not thinking of technical quality, but conceptual, artistic, creative, communicative and all the kind of quality that is not depending by the gears and hardware) because the market was opened to amateur that are happy to see 20$ at the end of the months, and the clients are happy to save money. Alamy is plenty of this pictures, but they don't sell for cents. That's enough. This is a political vision.

Red On, I agree with you with relation of concepts, artistic, and creative images.  However, I believe this is the trend.  With the dawn of the internet, people want facts, they don't want fantasy.  Rather than watching feel good comedies on television like the show 'Friends' they would rather watch and see reality television shows like 'Survivor' or 'The Biggest Loser' or a talent competition of some sort.  My opinion is that is where the market has gone and thats what the buyers want - real people going about their daily lives.

Images of that type are harder to find on the micros than they are to find at places like Alamy, Aurora, AGE, etc.

Uncle Pete

« Reply #115 on: October 05, 2014, 18:26 »
0
I'll keep this simple. I like Alamy. It has potential and it's NOT Microstock. People need to keep their Micro images on Micro. It's not the same market! Don't expect your isolated tomatoes or business handshakes to sell, and especially don't assume that buyers are stupid and don't know how to search and find the same images (if on both Alamy and Microstock) for much less.

Now my graph and you'll see why I wonder what happened. I have not removed images, so I can assume my content is stale. Good lesson and I'll take credit for not uploading new to Alamy.

No problem with their search. I think they fill a spot in the marketplace.



But, my income has dropped, which is a statement of fact, not some opinion or blaming them.

« Reply #116 on: October 06, 2014, 14:31 »
+1
If I was to keep my micro port off alamy I would lose around $150 - $200 a month of income.  I don't have too much isolated tomatoes or business handshakes tho.

Uncle Pete

« Reply #117 on: October 07, 2014, 12:04 »
0
Maybe you should try it, seems that's the standard of the industry. Toss in a girl with a headset, someone sitting with a computer in their lap, looking pensive, lone tree on a hill, girl jumping on a beach or hill, with a long flowing scarf or streamer (or Photoshop one in), and child blowing bubbles or the seeds off a dandelion.  ;)  That would be a start into the tsunami of similar images.

Really, you must have some interesting shots if they make money on Alamy and Micro. In which case I'd argue that you should remove them all from Micro (which is the same as not on both) So you aren't competing on price, against yourself.

That's was the point. If a buyer can find something on Alamy and also finds the identical shot on Microstock. All things being equal except price... Which would you expect them to buy?

And also consider that you are possibly one of the exceptions? The biggest repeating complaint is, people find their best selling Microstock images, don't sell at all on Alamy. People say the same 2000 images that make money on Microstock, make nothing on Alamy.  And that's the reason for my answer.

Different market, different demand and... blah, blah, blah if they can get it for less from Micro, they will.



If I was to keep my micro port off alamy I would lose around $150 - $200 a month of income.  I don't have too much isolated tomatoes or business handshakes tho.

« Reply #118 on: October 07, 2014, 15:15 »
0

Really, you must have some interesting shots if they make money on Alamy and Micro. In which case I'd argue that you should remove them all from Micro (which is the same as not on both) So you aren't competing on price, against yourself.



Well, if I removed them from micro I would lose couple thousand $ a month.

I don't want to lose either the couple thousand from micro or the couple hundred from Alamy.  Why cut off any source of income if you don't have to? 

Most micro ports may not do well in Alamy.  I speak for myself only.  Mine does okay.   Maybe it is because I do not have the cliches, as you say. 

Hobostocker

    This user is banned.
« Reply #119 on: October 07, 2014, 23:05 »
+1
The photographers who do best with us submit well edited work regularly and keyword (relevantly) and thoroughly...

yes but their dirty little secret is most of their images are about the UK.


Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #120 on: October 17, 2014, 02:04 »
-5
The slow,painful, laborious task of keywording every image to see absolutely no returns on your invested time is enough to ask what is the fuss all about with Alamy ? I have had just 3 sales in getting on for 3 years. These images sell well on IS/SS. Waste of time.

« Reply #121 on: October 17, 2014, 03:50 »
+3
I have had just 3 sales in getting on for 3 years. These images sell well on IS/SS.

It's been repeatedly pointed out that the sort of content which sells well as microstock is often but not always best suited to Alamy. Alamy is clearly best at selling timely, pertinent, trending editorial - i.e. images with relevant themes. Google Images is a good resource for seeing what is selling at Alamy.

The slow,painful, laborious task of keywording every image ...

Why not keyword your images in batches - using the batch editor. So you do all of the pictures from a given shoot together, simultaneously, and once. Then quickly tweak them individually for specifics.

« Reply #122 on: October 17, 2014, 06:02 »
0
I think there's a difference between interesting documentary "street photography", and "here's the fence down the road from me, and this is the building next to it, and here's another, and here's the sign on the building" that some Alamy contributors do.


I dunno, Sean, it's all high art, you know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentysix_Gasoline_Stations

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #123 on: November 06, 2014, 02:59 »
+1
They tell me to hang in there and upload more images to get the sales. I upload more images and yet I still have 1 sale for the whole of 2014. Dire to say the least !

« Reply #124 on: November 06, 2014, 05:46 »
+1
They tell me to hang in there and upload more images to get the sales. I upload more images and yet I still have 1 sale for the whole of 2014. Dire to say the least !

Might be worth thinking about a few more images with some sort of potential economic or business angle. Things which might trend. You could wait for ever for random rural stuff and steps to be news.


 

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