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Author Topic: "The WALL" - What is it Truly?  (Read 25778 times)

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tab62

« on: September 10, 2013, 14:12 »
0
I've often heard about the so-called 'Wall' but felt it only applied to the super pro's with huge portfolios but now realize that it might even apply to a rookie like me as well.

By definition 'The Wall' is when you add more images to your existing portfolio your income stays the same.  Thus no matter what you do the income just will not go up anymore.

What do you folks on MSG feel are the root causes for this 'Wall' occurring? Here are a few thoughts that I have-

1. RPD dropping due to subscriptions
2. New images talking a back seat to exclusive or taking too long to get out to buyers


Now the fun part - How can one over come 'The Wall'?  Again my thoughts-

1. Develop a Niche that is in demand
2. Produce higher quality photos

simply to continue to pump out images (Volume) will not work against the wall in my opinion.

Interested in reading your thoughts on 'The Wall'...


T


« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2013, 14:20 »
+5
there is no wall unless you covered all possible subjects which is kind of hard I believe ;D

disagreeing means an immediate minus, OK let's get this party started ;D
« Last Edit: September 10, 2013, 15:22 by luissantos84 »

« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2013, 14:30 »
+5
I think it is a lot of things combined from agencies and the contributors themselves. Some of us joined when agencies were growing rapidly and royalties/prices were increasing. That climate doesn't necessarily exist anymore.

« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2013, 15:11 »
+10
there is no wall unless you covered all possible subjects which is kind of hard I believe ;D

Oh, it's there.  While you're off busy covering Y and Z, having already done W and X, some other person is just doing W and X, and yours get shuffled out of sight.

« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2013, 15:18 »
+1
there is no wall unless you covered all possible subjects which is kind of hard I believe ;D

Oh, it's there.  While you're off busy covering Y and Z, having already done W and X, some other person is just doing W and X, and yours get shuffled out of sight.

sure but that doesn't mean that dude is making all money, you will still collect something

« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2013, 15:18 »
+5
And how do you call it when you add more photos and your income drops?  :D

« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2013, 15:28 »
0
And how do you call it when you add more photos and your income drops?  :D

there are quite a few variables beside "the wall"

- new content not as good as competition
- lower commercial value
- competing with your own content
- less buyers on that particular time which made that work bury faster
- less investment in marketing from agencies on that content
- world crisis

« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2013, 15:51 »
+6
removed 2 posts .. stopping a little spat before it begins.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2013, 16:41 »
+32
And how do you call it when you add more photos and your income drops?  :D
iStock.

ACS

« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2013, 18:13 »
+4
Diversification is the key.

The more you supply in the same subject the more you decrease your sales per image ratio.

A portfolio with 5 apples, 5 oranges and 5 bananas will probably beat the portfolio with 15 apples.

« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2013, 18:59 »
-1
;
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 10:48 by Audi 5000 »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2013, 19:06 »
+1
And how do you call it when you add more photos and your income drops?  :D
iStock.
I'm surprised you're still exclusive, are you just torturing yourself? 
Apparently so.
I'm only submitting 'markers' there nowadays and focussing on Alamy.
ATM, I see no reason to leave exclusivity, let them pay me <20% and earn peanuts elsewhere. If I drop a level at the end of the year, I'll just stop uploading there altogether while I consider options (probably Alamy only).
I'm still not in a place where I'd consider letting commercial companies use my pics for which I'd get 25c. I nearly had a fit yesterday when I sold an XS- and got 50c.
I may be forced to change my stance on that, but not yet. At this stage, I'd rather just quit.
Down the line, who knows?
« Last Edit: September 10, 2013, 19:09 by ShadySue »

Leo Blanchette

« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2013, 19:16 »
+4


Interested in reading your thoughts on 'The Wall'...



All this talk of the wall...

"How can you have any pudding if you dont eat your meat!?"

ruxpriencdiam

    This user is banned.
  • Location. Third stone from the sun
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2013, 19:25 »
0
Yeah I made a bunch of wall jokes but my freedom of speech was censored and my post removed.

« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2013, 19:31 »
+3
As for the causes, I see 3:

1. covering the same topics you've covered before and stealing your own sales (see ACS' post... he/she is dead-on)
2. increased competition... the explosive growth in contributors and portfolios is almost certainly outpacing the growth in customers and sales... smaller slice of the pie for everyone.
3. reductions in pricing/commissions at the agencies. 

To beat the wall you'd have to compensate for all three causes.

1. diversify
2. increase output
3. not much you can do about pricing/commission changes except remove your port from agencies making changes you disagree with.  Of course, this only makes the wall taller.

I hit the wall about a year ago (my fifth year).  Since then, I've diversified and increased output significantly, and I've been seeing slight growth over year-ago revenue.  We'll see how long I can keep that up.

 

Uncle Pete

« Reply #15 on: September 10, 2013, 20:00 »
+1
Never expected to read "hitting the wall" coming from you.

Three good points. Nothing to add to the why, except repeating the other posts that say how to possibly add income. Try something different. I think all of Microstock has hit the wall. With 25 million images out and about, it's getting difficult to find marketable subjects and content, not well covered already by thousands of people. There are probably many little covered subjects, with good reason. No one wants or needs them.

"Tear down this wall!" President Reagan 1987 (How did he know about Microstock back then?)


As for the causes, I see 3:

1. covering the same topics you've covered before and stealing your own sales (see ACS' post... he/she is dead-on)
2. increased competition... the explosive growth in contributors and portfolios is almost certainly outpacing the growth in customers and sales... smaller slice of the pie for everyone.
3. reductions in pricing/commissions at the agencies. 

To beat the wall you'd have to compensate for all three causes.

1. diversify
2. increase output
3. not much you can do about pricing/commission changes except remove your port from agencies making changes you disagree with.  Of course, this only makes the wall taller.

I hit the wall about a year ago (my fifth year).  Since then, I've diversified and increased output significantly, and I've been seeing slight growth over year-ago revenue.  We'll see how long I can keep that up.

ruxpriencdiam

    This user is banned.
  • Location. Third stone from the sun
« Reply #16 on: September 10, 2013, 20:09 »
+1
Wrong lots still left out there just no one is looking for or shooting as they walk right past it.

And some of it is as plain as the nose on your face.

I discussed this on SS many times over but no one believes it so discussion ended.

Never expected to read "hitting the wall" coming from you.

Three good points. Nothing to add to the why, except repeating the other posts that say how to possibly add income. Try something different. I think all of Microstock has hit the wall. With 25 million images out and about, it's getting difficult to find marketable subjects and content, not well covered already by thousands of people. There are probably many little covered subjects, with good reason. No one wants or needs them.

"Tear down this wall!" President Reagan 1987 (How did he know about Microstock back then?)


As for the causes, I see 3:

1. covering the same topics you've covered before and stealing your own sales (see ACS' post... he/she is dead-on)
2. increased competition... the explosive growth in contributors and portfolios is almost certainly outpacing the growth in customers and sales... smaller slice of the pie for everyone.
3. reductions in pricing/commissions at the agencies. 

To beat the wall you'd have to compensate for all three causes.

1. diversify
2. increase output
3. not much you can do about pricing/commission changes except remove your port from agencies making changes you disagree with.  Of course, this only makes the wall taller.

I hit the wall about a year ago (my fifth year).  Since then, I've diversified and increased output significantly, and I've been seeing slight growth over year-ago revenue.  We'll see how long I can keep that up.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #17 on: September 10, 2013, 20:15 »
+1
Wrong lots still left out there just no one is looking for or shooting as they walk right past it.
And some of it is as plain as the nose on your face.
I discussed this on SS many times over but no one believes it so discussion ended.
Just shoot it yourself. Do you really need rivals?

ruxpriencdiam

    This user is banned.
  • Location. Third stone from the sun
« Reply #18 on: September 10, 2013, 20:18 »
+2
Wrong lots still left out there just no one is looking for or shooting as they walk right past it.
And some of it is as plain as the nose on your face.
I discussed this on SS many times over but no one believes it so discussion ended.
Just shoot it yourself. Do you really need rivals?
Nope.

And I do shoot it myself and will shoot more as everyone else says that it has all been done when it hasn't.

All you have to do is a search as I have been told many times so that's what I do.

tab62

« Reply #19 on: September 10, 2013, 20:18 »
0
What concerns me is that my RPD is dropping like a rock in the water! Last month I was at .50 cents (my overall average has been in the high 60's)- yet my sales slightly increased...

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #20 on: September 10, 2013, 22:33 »
0
I nearly had a fit yesterday when I sold an XS- and got 50c.


I have  a fit every day at FT when some XL sells for peanuts. I've stopped uploading there.

« Reply #21 on: September 10, 2013, 22:50 »
+2
No one has mentioned that files have a life span. Clothing and props become dated. Ideas become stale, and images become overused. You hit a wall when photos aging out equals new images added. Plus the other factors. The wall is a mathematical certainty. It's a state of equilibrium between all negative factors and the ability to produce new images. Every image creator has their own personal wall. The only way to get past it is increasing the rate of uploading. Just keeping a constant uploading rate does not prevent a wall as a state of equilibrium will be reached at some point.
ETA
One more reason for aging out is the artificial one when the best match knocks down older files, even though they are selling well. This is the one that affects long time contributors with large amounts of older files.  Correcting this creates a wall for new contributors which is the best match dilemma.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2013, 07:06 by landbysea »

« Reply #22 on: September 11, 2013, 00:39 »
0
Yeah I made a bunch of wall jokes but my freedom of speech was censored and my post removed.

You post just got caught in the cross fire of the little spat... sorry. 

Uncle Pete

« Reply #23 on: September 11, 2013, 11:03 »
+2
Yes we have, it's been entertaining, but the part I wrote said marketable, which is important. Just shooting something that isn't covered, doesn't mean someone will want it. Searching for obscure keywords, when the buyers will use common terms, doesn't make the image a seller, it just makes it harder to find.

Finding something in demand that isn't well covered would be what your goal and anyone else should be.

For all the reasons that things are going down, I personally see the market as flooded with good quality images and more choices for someone to download, something that meets their specific needs. When there were only a few million images (how does that sound funny?) Less options, so buyers would buy the same images over and over.

Overall sales are up, individual earnings are down.


Now there are 25 million images on SS and slightly less on IS. Slice up that pie and that's why people make less. That's the foundation for The Wall.


Wrong lots still left out there just no one is looking for or shooting as they walk right past it.

And some of it is as plain as the nose on your face.

I discussed this on SS many times over but no one believes it so discussion ended.


« Reply #24 on: September 11, 2013, 11:12 »
0
What concerns me is that my RPD is dropping like a rock in the water! Last month I was at .50 cents (my overall average has been in the high 60's)- yet my sales slightly increased...

You have to stack the deck to get a better RPD.  ;D


 

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