Author Topic: Are the Low Earners worth uploading to? (Read 32054 times)

Zalee · « **on:** April 21, 2016, 17:51 »

I only started uploading in February, I have images with Dreamstime, Deposit Photos, Bigstock - I have just a couple of sales with these but no sales as yet with Canstock (only joined recently). Depending on acceptances I have between 150 and 200 so I know it's not many but I do have sales with SS, iStock and Fotolia.

Anyone have insight for these sites. I've read that sales come over time with Dreamstime but I'm not so sure they ever will with the others?

PixelBytes · « **Reply #1 on:** April 21, 2016, 19:09 »

I would say don't waste time with the lowest earners until you have several thousands of high value images. Even with over 5 thousand images I hardly ever get a payout on low earners. I consider Canstock to be low to mid level so worthwhile.

Microstockphoto · « **Reply #2 on:** April 21, 2016, 20:08 »

Chichikov · « **Reply #3 on:** April 21, 2016, 23:07 »

I think that when you begin with the microstock business the $100 that you can make every month with 20 low earners can be interesting.
But when your portfolio will have grown and your sales on the top earners will have grown accordingly you can let the low earners go because it becomes a waste of time.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 22, 2016, 01:16 »

Quote from: Chichikov on April 21, 2016, 23:07

I think that when you begin with the microstock business the $100 that you can make every month with 20 low earners can be interesting.
But when your portfolio will have grown and your sales on the top earners will have grown accordingly you can let the low earners go because it becomes a waste of time.

$100 a month with low earners would be an excellent return I doubt many could achieve that with 200 images

Minsc · « **Reply #5 on:** April 22, 2016, 01:33 »

It's worth it if you can get your images up quickly. If your images contains the necessary meta data, getting it up on some sites can be fairly easy. If you're working with vectors, the task becomes a lot harder because of different upload requirements for different sites.

I have my portfolio up on 2 sites fully and 3 other sites partially. I put all my focus on the best selling sites and I try to maximize their earnings. When I have down time, I upload to the middle tier sites. So far, it's been going well for me.

Chichikov · « **Reply #6 on:** April 22, 2016, 02:20 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on April 22, 2016, 01:16

Quote from: Chichikov on April 21, 2016, 23:07
I think that when you begin with the microstock business the $100 that you can make every month with 20 low earners can be interesting.
But when your portfolio will have grown and your sales on the top earners will have grown accordingly you can let the low earners go because it becomes a waste of time.
$100 a month with low earners would be an excellent return I doubt many could achieve that with 200 images

Yes, you are right

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #7 on:** April 22, 2016, 12:40 »

submitting to low-earners take time and if you consider the time uploading , editing ,etc..
the same energy would be better spent making new works for ss, is, fotolia..
if that is where you see regular sales.

i don't like to upload even to dreamstime, alamy or fotolia, when i see that after years i still
as i said before in other thread, i make more in one month with ss than i make in years with these
others. worst still, when i see i have zero views , which tells me i am really wasting my time
cannibalizing my images which are getting maybe 1 sales a month. even that is optimistic
...
so, to answer you question, i say definitely not. i make payout monthly with ss
and there is no requesting payoff and all that bs...
and i don't mean bigstock, lol

SergeStudio · « **Reply #8 on:** April 22, 2016, 13:34 »

Hi, some info from a beginner
[Sorry, automatic translation]
Here is my experience after 120 days.
I downloaded my first images since the beginning of the year:
SS iS, FL, DT, DP, and CS PantherMedia (PM)
Validation of photos:
- According microstocks: 380/280 retained
- DT and FL are the most selective (to absurd ... but ... we do not know the guidelines and the spirit of the inspectors ...)
- The most reactive: SS valid images in 1 or 2 days.
- The slowest: PantherMedia! I still have 68 images waiting for 6 weeks!
- FL: 1 to 2 weeks
- IStock takes his time ...

sales results
- Some pictures with a 'good' commission (1.88 / 0.81 for SS, 4.32 / 1.44 for MI, 6.52 for iS).
Otherwise all other images are on the floor.
Sales amount (to date)
- SS: 24.16
- IS: 15.16
- FL: 10.24
Number of sales:
- SS: 74
- IS: 21
Fla: 11
Needless to mention other ...
I do not know if it's good or not ... (well came review)

It seems to me that this is an activity that lasts over time.
In recent auctions, there were achievements of the first hour ...
It is chaotic: almost no results last week, and 3 sales 'good' raked the weekend.
With my few hundred sold, I was able to establish some guidelines. For example :
- I think FT iS and do not sell the same type of images SS
- Horizontal images are much ... much more sold than vertical images
- The white background of images are sold as the other images (about 2/3)
After this test, I took some decisions:
- Abandonment of DT. No results for a major site (?) Industry.
- CS-surrender.
- Subscription Alamy (almost 100 images already uploaded)
- I will take a decision for PM when they come out of hibernation ...
- For now I wait to see DP
Some problems :
- I really regret that Ligthroom class keywords by alphabetical list. Recently, just before the download, I got used to open the images in Photoshop to place the keywords.
- Sites show quite well the IPTC but not always the same (title, legend, etc ...)
- The different interfaces (DeepMeta, FT, SS, Alamy ... and surprising PantherM!)
- With or without separators, with or without plural, number of words, characters, etc ...

Here's some info from a beginner.
Thank you for your attention

cascoly · « **Reply #9 on:** April 22, 2016, 14:25 »

i upl to ss, pond and canva

I still upload to some low earners when it's quick & simple (ie, they don't require ANY editing after uploading) - the ones I have left are Solid , 123; I've stopped upl to DT because of drop in sales and category req'd

I tried 500px & picfair, but dropped them after no sales in 6+ mo

Zalee · « **Reply #10 on:** April 22, 2016, 17:25 »

Thanks so much for your replies, lots of food for thought amongst them.

Through this forum I found Xpiks and it is such a time saver.

Maybe you have a point etudiante_rapide, I don't see ever getting payout from those small sites so perhaps I should drop them now while I will only lose a few dollars. Perhaps my time would be better spent making new images as you suggest...

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on April 22, 2016, 12:40

submitting to low-earners take time and if you consider the time uploading , editing ,etc..
the same energy would be better spent making new works for ss, is, fotolia..
if that is where you see regular sales.

i don't like to upload even to dreamstime, alamy or fotolia, when i see that after years i still
as i said before in other thread, i make more in one month with ss than i make in years with these
others. worst still, when i see i have zero views , which tells me i am really wasting my time
cannibalizing my images which are getting maybe 1 sales a month. even that is optimistic
...
so, to answer you question, i say definitely not. i make payout monthly with ss
and there is no requesting payoff and all that bs...
and i don't mean bigstock, lol

Zalee · « **Reply #11 on:** April 22, 2016, 17:52 »

Quote from: SergeStudio on April 22, 2016, 13:34

Hi, some info from a beginner
[Sorry, automatic translation]
Here is my experience after 120 days.
I downloaded my first images since the beginning of the year:
SS iS, FL, DT, DP, and CS PantherMedia (PM)
Validation of photos:
- According microstocks: 380/280 retained
- DT and FL are the most selective (to absurd ... but ... we do not know the guidelines and the spirit of the inspectors ...)
- The most reactive: SS valid images in 1 or 2 days.
- The slowest: PantherMedia! I still have 68 images waiting for 6 weeks!
- FL: 1 to 2 weeks
- IStock takes his time ...

sales results
- Some pictures with a 'good' commission (1.88 / 0.81 for SS, 4.32 / 1.44 for MI, 6.52 for iS).
Otherwise all other images are on the floor.
Sales amount (to date)
- SS: 24.16
- IS: 15.16
- FL: 10.24
Number of sales:
- SS: 74
- IS: 21
Fla: 11
Needless to mention other ...
I do not know if it's good or not ... (well came review)

You would think we have the same portfolio! For my 85 days on SS I have 75 sales at $24.66, almost the same as you. IS has similar income to SS but with fewer sales. For me it seems iS might be a better earner but I guess time will tell.

My acceptance on Fotolia is only around 55% but DT accepts 85% for me. SS is probably between the two.

Good luck!

Zalee · « **Reply #12 on:** April 22, 2016, 17:55 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on April 22, 2016, 01:16

Quote from: Chichikov on April 21, 2016, 23:07
I think that when you begin with the microstock business the $100 that you can make every month with 20 low earners can be interesting.
But when your portfolio will have grown and your sales on the top earners will have grown accordingly you can let the low earners go because it becomes a waste of time.
$100 a month with low earners would be an excellent return I doubt many could achieve that with 200 images

At this point $100 a month from the high earners would be nice, haha. It's early days for me though...

Zalee · « **Reply #13 on:** April 22, 2016, 18:08 »

Quote from: PixelBytes on April 21, 2016, 19:09

I would say don't waste time with the lowest earners until you have several thousands of high value images. Even with over 5 thousand images I hardly ever get a payout on low earners. I consider Canstock to be low to mid level so worthwhile.

Thanks PixelBytes. With your 5000+ images you still upload to CS, DT, DP and BS? How about Alamy and 123? Others are suggesting they're not worth the effort. I'm thinking I won't upload anymore unless they are just a couple of clicks as @cascoly suggests.

I appreciate everyone taking time to answer. For the aussies out there have a great Anzac Day long weekend

PixelBytes · « **Reply #14 on:** April 23, 2016, 18:16 »

Quote from: Chichikov on April 21, 2016, 23:07

I think that when you begin with the microstock business the $100 that you can make every month with 20 low earners can be interesting.
But when your portfolio will have grown and your sales on the top earners will have grown accordingly you can let the low earners go because it becomes a waste of time.

If you make a total of $100/mo with 20 low earners how is that worthwhile or interesting? Payout limits mean you won't actually be able to collect those piddly pennies or few $ per site for months, if ever. So you get the hassle of uploading and submitting to 20 sites for a pittance you can't even collect? That's not my definition of interesting.

PixelBytes · « **Reply #15 on:** April 23, 2016, 18:24 »

Quote from: Zalee on April 22, 2016, 18:08

Quote from: PixelBytes on April 21, 2016, 19:09
I would say don't waste time with the lowest earners until you have several thousands of high value images. Even with over 5 thousand images I hardly ever get a payout on low earners. I consider Canstock to be low to mid level so worthwhile.

Thanks PixelBytes. With your 5000+ images you still upload to CS, DT, DP and BS? How about Alamy and 123? Others are suggesting they're not worth the effort. I'm thinking I won't upload anymore unless they are just a couple of clicks as @cascoly suggests.

I appreciate everyone taking time to answer. For the aussies out there have a great Anzac Day long weekend

Due to falling sales across the board, I haven't uploaded to any micro sites in the past year. But if I were uploading, I would still upload to the sites you mention. I dont consider them low earners as they each get me a payout or better per month. To me the real wastes of time are Stockfresh, GL Images, Crestock, Pond 5 (for photos ), and any others that rank near or below them on the poll.

Zalee · « **Reply #16 on:** April 23, 2016, 22:26 »

Quote from: PixelBytes on April 23, 2016, 18:24

Due to falling sales across the board, I haven't uploaded to any micro sites in the past year. But if I were uploading, I would still upload to the sites you mention. I dont consider them low earners as they each get me a payout or better per month. To me the real wastes of time are Stockfresh, GL Images, Crestock, Pond 5 (for photos ), and any others that rank near or below them on the poll.

Thanks again, I would consider a payout each month definitely worth the effort... you give me hope

... back to the computer for more uploading, I have a long way to go to 5,000!!

fotografer · « **Reply #17 on:** April 24, 2016, 04:26 »

Quote from: PixelBytes on April 23, 2016, 18:24

Due to falling sales across the board, I haven't uploaded to any micro sites in the past year. But if I were uploading, I would still upload to the sites you mention. I dont consider them low earners as they each get me a payout or better per month. To me the real wastes of time are Stockfresh, GL Images, Crestock, Pond 5 (for photos ), and any others that rank near or below them on the poll.

Exactly the same experience as you. Monthly pay outs from the ones you mentioned and very little from the others.
I still upload to some of the others though. GL because it's so easy as no need to link MRs, Pond 5 as I can set my own prices but if they reject a perfectly good batch again then I will stop uploading, and Stockfresh because I think Peter is a good guy.

SergeStudio · « **Reply #18 on:** April 24, 2016, 05:36 »

[Sorry, automatic translation]

The minimum payment & Speeds

When we do starts and a first assessment, it seems to me that we must consider the number of first sales and minimum payment.

When DT requires a payment for $ 100 and there are two sales in one quarter (0.70) to 250 frames I tell myself that my images are not suitable for DT. So exit DT. (Plus it is difficult for validation ...)

PantherMedia merely 30 € but for now 0 sales and 75 images waiting for a few weeks. Have faith ?

I also deleted CS. Sale almost 0.

Time
I downloaded the test a few photos from iS about December 15
I did not have an answer 4 weeks later
I started to download but validation is not very fast

But it starts to give as iS passed by FL (amount and number of sales). Only at subcontractors for now (Think ...).

The ideal would be to compare with 1 month to month and FL-2 delay for iS.

Salvation and prosperity

Serge

EmberMike · « **Reply #19 on:** April 25, 2016, 21:33 »

Do whatever you think is best for you, and ignore what the polls say. My #2 earner isn't even on the list. You need to figure out what works for you and the type of work that you do. One person's "low earner" is another person's "top tier".

HappyBunny · « **Reply #20 on:** April 26, 2016, 03:12 »

Does MostPhotos belong to the low earners? What are they all about? Are they similar to 500px ? Is 500px selling anything at all?

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Pauws99 · « **Reply #21 on:** April 26, 2016, 03:24 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 26, 2016, 03:12

Does MostPhotos belong to the low earners? What are they all about? Are they similar to 500px ? Is 500px selling anything at all?

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Most Photos are unusual in that they don't inspect so if you have stuff you think will sell that the agencies don't like might be worth a shot.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #22 on:** April 26, 2016, 06:15 »

Is anybody earning money from selling on 500px?

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Firewall · « **Reply #23 on:** April 26, 2016, 06:38 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 26, 2016, 06:15

Is anybody earning money from selling on 500px?

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A lot of people left after they lower the commission from 70% to 30%. Sales for me were rare

cascoly · « **Reply #24 on:** April 26, 2016, 15:54 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 26, 2016, 03:12

Does MostPhotos belong to the low earners? What are they all about? Are they similar to 500px ? Is 500px selling anything at all?

I dropped Most recently -- 1-3 sales per month, totaling < $1 with 10K images

sent about 5K to 500px but sales after > 6 mo

these images are on other sites and produce sales

HappyBunny · « **Reply #25 on:** April 27, 2016, 01:59 »

I have severe problems with my arms and I am only uploading to 4 agencies. Would it be better to go with just one exclusive in order to get more paid? If yes which one? I do like DT because they tell me what's wrong with my photos. I get views on DT but hardly any on Fotolia. No sales yet. Would it be best to go exclusive with SS ?

Pauws99 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 27, 2016, 02:04 »

I think the only one worth considering is Istock the draw back for you though is there is a lot of keyboard work to load pics. Though you can make individual pics exclusive with DT and Fotolia ...so might be worth testing the waters. SS don't do exclusive.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #27 on:** April 27, 2016, 02:54 »

Thank you. I am not uploading to iStock yet. I am new. I do like DT for learning but have a high acceptance rate there but not with Fotolia. The same photos get rejected by Fotolia. I am not sure if my photos are good enough for iStock. I don't have problems to get photos accepted that i took outside but with the light set up inside i struggle. I don't have a light tent. Natural window light doesn't seem to be enough for DT. I do use a reflector. I don't like artificial light on food. I will try out iStock.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #28 on:** April 27, 2016, 03:08 »

I like DT too bottom line is though they don't sell much........ $:-\$ .

HappyBunny · « **Reply #29 on:** April 27, 2016, 04:18 »

Very sad. At least my photos get viewed there. The same photos on Fotolia have no views but i do have less on Fotolia. They are rejecting photos taken inside so much. Do i need to buy a light tent instead of working on windows?

Pauws99 · « **Reply #30 on:** April 27, 2016, 06:01 »

I don't take any notice of views for some pics on DT I have thousands of views and no sales :-(.

cobalt · « **Reply #31 on:** April 27, 2016, 06:45 »

istock takes nearly everything. Their biggest downside is you get 15-20% royalty and because subs don´t count towards earning points to move up you are basically stuck at a very low level forever.

But they do have sales and if you are new I would try them as well.

ShadySue · « **Reply #32 on:** April 27, 2016, 07:31 »

Quote from: cobalt on April 27, 2016, 06:45

istock takes nearly everything. Their biggest downside is you get 15-20% royalty

Oh, at first I thought 'you get 15-20%' referred to the first sentence, but of course on second reading I realised you meant that iS hardly reject anything nowadays other than for IP. Ha! Back in the day, a pixel out of place meant a certain rejection!

Quote

and because subs don´t count towards earning points to move up you are basically stuck at a very low level forever.
But they do have sales and if you are new I would try them as well.

Are your new files selling?
What sells most for me are still files uploaded before September 2012, and even old scans are more likely to sell than files loaded after that, other than occaisional subs. What I'm noticing over the past couple of months is that even from pre 2010 with <5 dls are now selling, which must be best match. Files uploaded in or after 2014 are almost exclusively selling only as Subs, if even that.
I must have been at the peak of my photographic ability in 2011, and fallen off rapidly after that.

Still, for all the credit sales I get nowadays, it's hardly worth even looking at stats, far less try to analyse them iS seems now to be almost totally a subs site.

cobalt · « **Reply #33 on:** April 27, 2016, 08:36 »

They sell, not much, but they sell.

Firewall · « **Reply #34 on:** April 27, 2016, 13:35 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 27, 2016, 01:59

I have severe problems with my arms and I am only uploading to 4 agencies. Would it be better to go with just one exclusive in order to get more paid? If yes which one? I do like DT because they tell me what's wrong with my photos. I get views on DT but hardly any on Fotolia. No sales yet. Would it be best to go exclusive with SS ?

Not sure if uploading to many agencies is the answer. You have to find the balance between the time and effort spent uploading and the sales.
I stopped uploading to many low earners and will probably delete them once I reach payout, including DT.
All my best images go to macrostock, the rest goes to SS, FT, Alamy and some mobile sites.

Zalee · « **Reply #35 on:** April 27, 2016, 20:32 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 27, 2016, 02:54

Thank you. I am not uploading to iStock yet. I am new. I do like DT for learning but have a high acceptance rate there but not with Fotolia. The same photos get rejected by Fotolia. I am not sure if my photos are good enough for iStock. I don't have problems to get photos accepted that i took outside but with the light set up inside i struggle. I don't have a light tent. Natural window light doesn't seem to be enough for DT. I do use a reflector. I don't like artificial light on food. I will try out iStock.

Hi HappyBunny! As a newbie and the very short time I have been doing this I would say SS, IS and Fotolia are worth uploading to. As others have pointed out IS takes more time to upload but it is now just in front of SS with sales for me. I also have a very low acceptance with Fotolia but I do see different sales there compared to SS. Like you DT accepts most thing but I have very few sales (I hold out hope).
If you use FTP (I'm using Xpiks) it saves you from entering the title and description each time. Also DeepMeta for iStock is a bit of a timesaver. Good luck!

PigsInSpace · « **Reply #36 on:** April 27, 2016, 20:35 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 27, 2016, 04:18

Very sad. At least my photos get viewed there. The same photos on Fotolia have no views but i do have less on Fotolia.

I wouldn't worry too much about view count. I have photos on Fotolia that sold without having any views! I'm not sure their view-ometer works very well.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #37 on:** April 28, 2016, 01:14 »

Thank you sooooo much for all your help. I bought the EasyStock uploader but was so disappointed when i realised that it doesn't let me add keywords and description to photos. I don't use the subscription Photoshop. I use Affinity fit editing and that doesn't let me add keywords to the photos. Do other FTP uploaders let me add keywords and description to each photo?

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Zalee · « **Reply #38 on:** April 28, 2016, 03:33 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 28, 2016, 01:14

Thank you sooooo much for all your help. I bought the EasyStock uploader but was so disappointed when i realised that it doesn't let me add keywords and description to photos. I don't use the subscription Photoshop. I use Affinity fit editing and that doesn't let me add keywords to the photos. Do other FTP uploaders let me add keywords and description to each photo?

Yes, you can add keywords with Xpiks (free), I haven't tried any others. Once you have added your keywords, titles and descriptions and save it you can then upload however you want as the file is then saved with the image. Someone else might suggest a good one that they use too. Because I haven't tried any others I'm not sure which would be the best or easiest for you to use. MyKeyworder does a pretty good job with keyword suggestions.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #39 on:** April 28, 2016, 03:51 »

Thank you very much. I will look into that straight away. What a waste of money the EasyStock software was. Instead of uploading 3 photos at once to DT it only uploaded one. Real waste of money.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #40 on:** April 28, 2016, 03:55 »

Hello Zalee, I tried to Google your Xpiks ftp uploader but can't find it.

SergeStudio · « **Reply #41 on:** April 28, 2016, 04:35 »

[Sorry, machine translation]

I think that agencies lead us to index our images carefully:
-DeepMeta for iStock: should be confirmed in their direction, one by one, nearly half of the key words
Limitation of the number of words for the title. Should not begin with "A".
-Alamy place the keywords saved with the image in the secondary keywords and obliges us to choose the main and other
-Fotolia and SS are not the same for the description (caption/title defined in Ligthroom)

A few specifics:
-Alamy account number of characters, the others in number of words
-Alamy does not handle singulars / plurals: SS among other flag them when submitting
-Alamy asks unknown field in others, main key words

As a beginner, I confess that I did not much care my titrations/keywordings in my downloads first. It is a mistake. I've corrected in the stocks where it may the be. Exception of Fotolia who cannot only change the order of keywords.

I think we should take the time to treat the keywording: know and do know!

I always assume the suggestions by SS, without forgetting that it is somewhat uniform.

Note: the keywords in Lightroom are unusable: classification alphabetically...
It would be heaven if a next release fixes the thing...

roede-orm · « **Reply #42 on:** April 28, 2016, 08:24 »

Quote

Are the Low Earners worth uploading to?

Some are worth it, most are not! There are some Low Earners that earn you with a single sale or a few sales more money than a top tier in a month or two. Zoonar is an example for that. But you have lot of work to get your pictures online and you must be patient at least one or two years!

HappyBunny · « **Reply #43 on:** April 28, 2016, 08:29 »

Why do i have to wait one or two years?

roede-orm · « **Reply #44 on:** April 28, 2016, 10:42 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 28, 2016, 08:29

Why do i have to wait one or two years?

Because it takes so long until you have the first sales.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #45 on:** April 28, 2016, 10:45 »

Yes, but why? Is it because I need to have hundreds of photos on the websites?

ShadySue · « **Reply #46 on:** April 28, 2016, 10:59 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 28, 2016, 10:45

Yes, but why? Is it because I need to have hundreds of photos on the websites?

Yes, and they have so few buyers.That's why they're low earners. QED.

roede-orm · « **Reply #47 on:** April 28, 2016, 11:18 »

Quote from: ShadySue on April 28, 2016, 10:59

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 28, 2016, 10:45
Yes, but why? Is it because I need to have hundreds of photos on the websites?
Yes, and they have so few buyers.That's why they're low earners. QED.

That's right. And the upload process and keywording are usually very elaborate, and some agencies require the tagging in two languages.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #48 on:** April 28, 2016, 11:25 »

Yes, that's why i bought EasyStock but it doesn't let me add keywords or description. I can't find Xpiks on the internet. I certainly will give up Bigstockphoto. I have not applied at SS bit want to do that. When I wrote to Bigstockphoto and told them that i want to upload to SS they told me that they wrote to SS and that I would hear from SS but i haven't. Is it better to just close the Bigstockphoto account and to apply at SS ? I had no sale on Bigstockphoto. Hardly any photos the because I can't manage all that copying and pasting keywords. ...Thank you for all your help.

cobalt · « **Reply #49 on:** April 28, 2016, 12:18 »

I wouldn´t close an account once opened. You never know what happens in this industry, maybe ss one day has a great idea for bigstock and you´ll be glad, you still have an account there.

i would feed the low earners maybe once a quarter and perhaps with the files that you know are selling, not with everything.

But I would definitely apply to SS, they are the best agency for many.

Alternatively you could experiment with adding a few files or a theme exclusive to fotolia, once you get a feeling for what sells there.

exclusive images help to improve overall visibilty.

but I would only do it, once you get a feeling what their customers like to buy from you.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #50 on:** April 28, 2016, 12:31 »

A lot of Zoonar sales are through partner sites and they can take ages to finally get up for sale similarly on other low earners I suspect

roede-orm · « **Reply #51 on:** April 28, 2016, 14:25 »

Hm, Zoonar shows my earnings updated each month. And almost each second month I have really nice sales, really nice big sales. That's my experiences.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #52 on:** April 30, 2016, 01:30 »

Does anybody know an FTP uploader that let's me add keywords and description to an image? I was accepted by iStock today. I will see how it goes and maybe just work for them. I can't do that to copy and paste everything to 5 agencies.

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ShadySue · « **Reply #53 on:** April 30, 2016, 03:56 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 30, 2016, 01:30

Does anybody know an FTP uploader that let's me add keywords and description to an image?
I was accepted by iStock today. I will see how it goes and maybe just work for them.

At one time, that would have been a perfectly reasonable plan; nowadays not so much. They are a rudderless ship rushing this way and that without any discernable plan. But then, SS, for some time the darling of msg, seems to be heading the same way.
Is iS accepting FTP now? I didn't know that.
Many iS suppliers, but not me, prefer to use Deep Meta to upload to iS than to upload directly. You could try it out. However, it ONLY works with iStock. I'm sure it is worth it if you have releases to sort out; reportedly it does a good job with them.
http://www.deepmeta.com

HappyBunny · « **Reply #54 on:** April 30, 2016, 04:24 »

Why do i need Deepmeta ? Is uploading more difficult than on other websites? I don't know if iStock accepts FTP. I only just got accepted. I was asking for the other ones I upload to at the moment. Fotolia and DT.

ShadySue · « **Reply #55 on:** April 30, 2016, 04:54 »

I don't find it difficult, but I seem to be in a minority of one, and I only have Alamy to compare it to. You have to get used to the controlled vocabulary and be aware that if your main subject isn't in the CV, you need to ask on the keyword forum and be very patient. However unless you need less usual locations or species, that will seldom be an issue, and as iS transitions rapidly to be a subs site, it's no longer a good match for low-demand, low-supply files as it once was.

My advice, which I know isn't great in your circumstances, is to try the top agencies and see which work well for your files - they don't perform equally for everyone. A reasonable trial term would be a year, to take account of seasonal ups and downs.

Just remember when seeking advice:

No-one else has your port.
People who have enough experience to be able to give you advice have portfolios which already have traction in the agencies. New files may do better or worse according to which search algorithm any particular agency is trying out.
Agencies change all the time, and seldom for our benefit. First iS was the darling, then it was SS, but now ...

Anyway, good luck. I'm pretty certain iS doesn't have ftp for uploading stills.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #56 on:** April 30, 2016, 05:24 »

No it doesn't have FTP and its uploading process even via Deepmeta is time consuming compared with other sites. ShadySue offers sound advice be guided by your own experience of sites.

amabu · « **Reply #57 on:** April 30, 2016, 06:31 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 30, 2016, 01:30

Does anybody know an FTP uploader that let's me add keywords and description to an image? I was accepted by iStock today. I will see how it goes and maybe just work for them. I can't do that to copy and paste everything to 5 agencies.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

You can use Stocksubmitter http://stocksubmitter.com/. You keyword your images once (you can also attach model releases and choose categories). You click upload once -and the program uploads and submits(!) the images to all the agencies you set up. No need to visit the agency websites at all. It works with most agencies (including iStock and Alamy).

Upload is always free. Submitting is free for 33 files per month. You can buy more submits if you need them.

If you sign up, it would be nice to give [email protected] as your referrer email.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #58 on:** April 30, 2016, 07:00 »

Hello amavu, I think Stocksubmitter is only for Windows. I recently switched to a MAC.

dirkr · « **Reply #59 on:** April 30, 2016, 08:58 »

You can use any software (e.g. Irfanview, that's free) that writes IPTC for keywording offline. Than use any FTP client (e.g. Filezilla) for FTP upload.

HappyBunny · « **Reply #60 on:** April 30, 2016, 09:12 »

I bought EasyStock for uploading. Does IPTC let me add title and description as well?

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HappyBunny · « **Reply #61 on:** April 30, 2016, 09:14 »

Hello dirkr. I just checked but IrfanView is for Windows and not for Mac.

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dirkr · « **Reply #62 on:** April 30, 2016, 09:22 »

IPTC let's you add title and description as well.
Didn't know that Irfanview doesn't run on Mac, but I'm sure there are other (free) editors allowing you to enter IPTC data for Mac as well...

However you do it, I would strongly advise to enter all Metadata offline and then upload to the sites where you want to sell
Avoids duplicate work and also you have a fully keyworded version of your files on your own harddrive. Comes handy when you decide for a new agency to upload to.

AlessandraRC · « **Reply #63 on:** April 30, 2016, 18:47 »

Quote from: SergeStudio on April 22, 2016, 13:34

Hi, some info from a beginner
[Sorry, automatic translation]
Here is my experience after 120 days.
I downloaded my first images since the beginning of the year:
SS iS, FL, DT, DP, and CS PantherMedia (PM)
Validation of photos:
- According microstocks: 380/280 retained
- DT and FL are the most selective (to absurd ... but ... we do not know the guidelines and the spirit of the inspectors ...)
- The most reactive: SS valid images in 1 or 2 days.
- The slowest: PantherMedia! I still have 68 images waiting for 6 weeks!
- FL: 1 to 2 weeks
- IStock takes his time ...

sales results
- Some pictures with a 'good' commission (1.88 / 0.81 for SS, 4.32 / 1.44 for MI, 6.52 for iS).
Otherwise all other images are on the floor.
Sales amount (to date)
- SS: 24.16
- IS: 15.16
- FL: 10.24
Number of sales:
- SS: 74
- IS: 21
Fla: 11
Needless to mention other ...
I do not know if it's good or not ... (well came review)

It seems to me that this is an activity that lasts over time.
In recent auctions, there were achievements of the first hour ...
It is chaotic: almost no results last week, and 3 sales 'good' raked the weekend.
With my few hundred sold, I was able to establish some guidelines. For example :
- I think FT iS and do not sell the same type of images SS
- Horizontal images are much ... much more sold than vertical images
- The white background of images are sold as the other images (about 2/3)
After this test, I took some decisions:
- Abandonment of DT. No results for a major site (?) Industry.
- CS-surrender.
- Subscription Alamy (almost 100 images already uploaded)
- I will take a decision for PM when they come out of hibernation ...
- For now I wait to see DP
Some problems :
- I really regret that Ligthroom class keywords by alphabetical list. Recently, just before the download, I got used to open the images in Photoshop to place the keywords.
- Sites show quite well the IPTC but not always the same (title, legend, etc ...)
- The different interfaces (DeepMeta, FT, SS, Alamy ... and surprising PantherM!)
- With or without separators, with or without plural, number of words, characters, etc ...

Here's some info from a beginner.
Thank you for your attention

My experience being similar to yours, other than I don't have more than 150 files on any site and only contribute to SS, IS, FT, DT, DP, CanStockPh, Alamy and Zoonar. The latter three have generated no sales yet.

Zalee · « **Reply #64 on:** April 30, 2016, 23:21 »

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 28, 2016, 03:55

Hello Zalee, I tried to Google your Xpiks ftp uploader but can't find it.

Hi HappyBunny, so sorry I didn't see this earlier. I just googled xpiks to find it: https://ribtoks.github.io/xpiks/
The maker is also a microstocker and he is very helpful if you have any problems. There is a forum to ask questions, there is also a thread on Shutterstock which he replies to. You might need a shutterstock account to access the thread:
http://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/77044-xpiks-open-source-software-for-microstocker/

HappyBunny · « **Reply #65 on:** May 01, 2016, 05:03 »

Hello Zalee, thank you soooo much. I just downloaded the program. I felt like crying when I saw that I can add keywords and description. What a life saver that is. I can't understand why EasyStock didn't add that option. I have not used it yet to a upload to a website yet. But will try it out soon.

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Rage · « **Reply #66 on:** May 01, 2016, 05:53 »

Quote from: Zalee on April 30, 2016, 23:21

Quote from: HappyBunny on April 28, 2016, 03:55
Hello Zalee, I tried to Google your Xpiks ftp uploader but can't find it.

Hi HappyBunny, so sorry I didn't see this earlier. I just googled xpiks to find it: https://ribtoks.github.io/xpiks/
The maker is also a microstocker and he is very helpful if you have any problems. There is a forum to ask questions, there is also a thread on Shutterstock which he replies to. You might need a shutterstock account to access the thread:
http://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/77044-xpiks-open-source-software-for-microstocker/

This looks amazing, how does this compare to stocksubmitter? Can it submit images? Are the keywords amazingly better

Zalee · « **Reply #67 on:** May 02, 2016, 01:38 »

Quote from: izzikiorage on May 01, 2016, 05:53

This looks amazing, how does this compare to stocksubmitter? Can it submit images? Are the keywords amazingly better

Yes, I use it to submit to SS, DT, FT, BS, DP. I find keywords at MyKeyworder and add those. Sorry, it's the only one I have used, so I have no idea about any other FTP uploader.

I use DeepMeta for iStock and find it is just a little bit easier than webloader because you can do a batch at once rather than one at a time. You still have to manually click through keywords and categories but can upload the lot at once.

It's all a huge learning curve but little by little I am figuring out things... only with the help of fantastic people on this site.

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