MicrostockGroup

Well it took me nearly a  year to get 1,000 on SS but I have a very small portfolio.  It was at 174 when I reached 1000 now at 308 and I will probably not quite break 2,000 dls before my 2nd year anniversary.

Biggest variable is how many images you put on-line (i.e. how hard you work!)

c h e e r s
fred

Yes, make sense, I had 260 images when I passed the barrier...

Seems like we're closing in on a magic number here.

I hit 1000 SS downloads in one month for the first time this May, in my seventh month in microstock.  I had about 360 images at that point.

Things have been chugging along nicely since then, but I've noticed a significant slowdown since early October.  My RPI is down noticeably from Sept.  Wondering if the honeymoon is winding down for me, or if it's just a hiccup in my numbers?  (April and July were also lousy months for me, but in each case I recovered nicely the next month, getting me back on track for my goal line.)

Anyone else having a lousy October compared to September?

Interestingly,  the SS Submit home page still shows the increase after $500 to be $.30 - its was raised to $.33 over a year ago!

after attempt nr. 4, started on 17th march, 1039 downloads until today, 240 online.
hope to reach $ 500 in a few months.

316 images...561 downloads in first 6 weeks...not a bad start...now if only the sales were at macro RF prices!

Have already noticed how quickly sales drop off between uploads. Also noticed that OD sales on SS are earning better than DT or FT.

Looking at your SS port, it's clear that you do great work.  Problem is, there are many contributors doing similarly great work on the same subject matter.

Most new contributors experience a "honeymoon" at SS, in which they start with a bang making a good number of sales, then things slow down despite consistently uploading new pics.  The problem is two-fold: 

1) When you post new material, it shows up highly on the page when a buyer is ranking by newest pics.  You get good sales because your pics are newer than the many near identical shots from your competition.  But then as your stuff ages, other near identical shots are added and your once-hot pics fall into oblivion.  The solution is to offer an extremely unique take on the subjects -- come up with your own style that isn't similar to anyone else and isn't easily duplicated.

2) If you're focusing on just a few subjects, you end up competing with yourself.  For continuous growth, you need to not only tackle different subjects, but search out niches that are currently underserved.

I've kept these two points top of mind when uploading new stuff to SS and all the other sites, and for me, it's working.  I've had consistent growth over the past year from my first month (288 sales at SS) to last month (1351 sales).  Watch your RPI (return per image) like a hawk... if it's sliding like yours has been doing, you can either apply the two points above to get it to stabilize, or you'll simply be watching it fall further.

Good luck!