pancakes

MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Contributors' Collective  (Read 66772 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

m@m

« Reply #200 on: May 06, 2009, 09:39 »
0
I upload to both sites, FP and CC but I put a little more emphasis in uploading to FP based on sales, commissions, review time, I've also being there for some time, so I'm very comfortable with the site and the partner relationship I have with Elena (the administrator), and I have a larger portfolio with them than I do with CC, mind you, ones John is able to bring in sales I would not have any problem concentrating more on building a larger portfolio with John, but for now FP is making me sales and CC is not yet.
Could not tell you about Zymmetrical because, even though I registered there some time ago, for some reason (maybe some things I've read on this forum) I've never uploaded there.
So as to help a site grow and come up in the scale, for me FP is right now the place to be.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2009, 10:03 by m@m »


donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #201 on: May 06, 2009, 10:10 »
0

As for how to attract buyers from existing established agencies...  That's done through content.  If coop members are willing to stop updating their portfolios on other sites (not remove them, just stop uploading to them) and the coop becomes the #1 location for fresh images, the buyers will come.  Either that or they just keep buying from old collections at other sites.

It's a test of will, though.  Ultimately this is all about money and MOST artists won't have the willpower to stop contributing to the main players they despise because they don't want to give up what little they are getting now.

I agree. many rely on that income from the big 6 and it would be hard for them to stop uploading, but on the other hand if they would start uploading fresh images that are available on one site and that site only, then I think alot of the buyers would come. I got pics on my hard drive I just can't bring myself to sell for 30 cents therefore I don't upload them. What I do upload is mainly what I believe won't sell on a macro site because they can get something like that on a micro for less money. I wonder if we could get one of these already established sites to put up a separete section that only has the exclusive contributors on it...the fresh stuff. Leave what you have on the other stock sites alone simply because they are more likely already ready floating around out in the buyers market. that would help generate income to those who are hardly making it now untill this thing takes off.

« Reply #202 on: May 06, 2009, 10:13 »
0
I don't understand this discussion. Instead of putting a lot of effort, money and risk into making something that may or may not fail, why not give our full support to agencies like FP? FP was my number five earner last month, with 70% of prices that I decide myself. You won't do much better than that whatever you do.

I was going to suggest that, not because of FP's performance - it does need improvement on that side - but because of two things: they are always open for suggestions and they have nice tools we can use if we want to market images on our own.  

If our collective effort is on traditional macrostock to traditional markets, FP is a good choice.  Maybe Zymm also, as they already have a multi-language site.

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #203 on: May 06, 2009, 10:16 »
0
as for Fp and CC I have pics on both sites and have yet to make a sale. Of course I upload the same pics to all the micro stock sites where they do sale which may be why they don't sell there because they are cheeper some where else. As for Zym I'm never tried them out so I don't know what the results would be there.

zymmetricaldotcom

« Reply #204 on: May 06, 2009, 10:29 »
0
To clarify, it wasn't my intent to suggest ourselves as a contender for this type of action necessarily- just that the direction of the coop idea sounds great.  As has been said, i'd bet on a collective group being much easier to implement and maintain, then trying to reinvent the wheel of working business infrastructure.    If you made designer shoes, would you want to open a department store to sell them in or simply focus on what you do best and let someone take care of the nuts & bolts? :)

There's plenty of great agencies that listen and adapt to members requests  - it might be just a matter of making sure your voices are cohesive in one unit - it's hard for any business to try and assemble individual suggestions and requests into 'the big picture'.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2009, 10:34 by zymmetrical »

« Reply #205 on: May 06, 2009, 11:43 »
0

Not many creative co-operatives work.  United Artists sold out as did many record labels that 'kept it real'.  One notable exception that's kept the vision is in fact a photographic cooperative: Magnum.

I've worked with Magnum on image quality in the past and you feel like you're a part of something special.  Their focus on the co-operative and sticking to their vision has worked well.

http://agency.magnumphotos.com/about/about

Milinz

« Reply #206 on: May 06, 2009, 11:52 »
0
Ok all...

Lets make some details clear:

I suggested to Featurepics that some order in pricing is to be introduced there. It is quite not clever to have full resolution images in range from $1 up to $150...

Other point is if you sell your microstock image for $40 on Featurepics and that same image is sold on other agency for $1 - $10 it just brings bad impression to Featurepics buyers and they feel robbed! Why would they pay $40 for something they can buy 4 or more times cheaper? That is very point where Authors should be excluded in making decision on pricing microstock images.

So, as result of my suggestions there will be 2 product classes introduced soon on Featurepics. Microstock and GOLD collections.

GOLD collection will consider all NON-MICROSTOCK images with authors personal warranty that he will not sell them on micros. Only where you can sell such images are places with the same prices authors set on their work. So, no exclusivity to Featurepics will be needed in order to have gold images. Only fair play from authors on all mid-stock and traditional agencies. So, you will have GOLD images on Featurepics and also, with the same or higher pricing you may upload to CC, Zymmetrical, GETTY, CORBIS, ALAMY and so on including sites like RODEO or even Photographersdirect (if you qualify to their terms and conditions)...

I believe that such agency will have great succes in future!

So you are all invited to see and participate details of my proposal in forum there.

Milinz

« Reply #207 on: May 06, 2009, 11:59 »
0

« Reply #208 on: May 06, 2009, 12:38 »
0
I received a few email with invitation to participate in this discussion.
First of all - THANK YOU!

It is not a secret Featurepics is a small agency.
We are planning to introduce changes Milinz described already.
It will take a lot of redevelopment and, unfortunately, bad news are coming (slower reviewing time in May).

Please read the proposal as "efforts to help Authors to earn more".

Sorry for a very short message.
I don't want my response sounds like "advertisement".
Just want to ensure you - we will continue to work for YOU whatever it takes.

Sincerely, Elena.

tan510jomast

« Reply #209 on: May 06, 2009, 12:49 »
0
I received a few email with invitation to participate in this discussion.
First of all - THANK YOU!

It is not a secret Featurepics is a small agency.
We are planning to introduce changes Milinz described already.
It will take a lot of redevelopment and, unfortunately, bad news are coming (slower reviewing time in May).

Please read the proposal as "efforts to help Authors to earn more".

Sorry for a very short message.
I don't want my response sounds like "advertisement".
Just want to ensure you - we will continue to work for YOU whatever it takes.

Sincerely, Elena.

luvly to see you Elena, welcome !  if this was an invitation, you wouldn't need to worry it being an advertisement. we are all ears. but we also need to know what if , you get new images, do you have any plans to get better sales result than in the past. how is your marketing going to be any difference.
i already have an account with you from the beginning, but the marketing wasn't very successful, so i stop contributing.  i suppose with this current issue, it's obvious some of the other sites like yours will get an upsurge,as some are already grabbing for straws. but to be effectively, esp. the ones who are selling well,you have to be more specific with your marketing plans to attract them to move in your direction.

this is not just a question for you Elena, it's a question for anyone else who are here, Keith from Zymm ... hey welcome too . And please feel free to voice your ideas , that's why this thread was created and dongding's other thread which has been joined here now, to avoid redundancy.

Good promo work again  dongding   !
« Last Edit: May 06, 2009, 12:52 by tan510jomast »

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #210 on: May 06, 2009, 12:52 »
0
Just want to say Thank You to Milinz for doing some talking and research for us as well as Elena for coming on here to listen and being open to discussion. The gold collection sounds like just what alot of us are looking for. I will be moving on over to the other forum on FeaturePics to check this out and suggest alot of you do the same. No commitment...just observe.

« Reply #211 on: May 06, 2009, 13:02 »
0
"do you have any plans to get better sales result than in the past" - I believe so.

We made a small "try" with a very limited volume download plan - we have more return buyers now.

I don't think we will be able to make big changes in the next 2 months. I have a huge "TODO" list in front of me.


« Reply #212 on: May 06, 2009, 13:33 »
0
That's good Elena. Featurepics is very easy agency to work with (easy upload, no categories...), and their support is always helpful, and I like the ability of making your own price for your photos. There is no typical subscription system, and that's good too.

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #213 on: May 06, 2009, 13:38 »
0
Well I read the forum over there ..not many there...and I might add I couldn't figure out how to post a reply even though i was logged into my account...so I guess I just put it on here.
The gold collection sounds great but I don't know if that is what micro stockers want. Alot of them only do micro stock and if they do macro stock now they are probably already on those other agencies you mention. That really isn't the right anwer but you are on the right track. If you are already on a macro site I wouldn't consider that exclusive.

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #214 on: May 06, 2009, 13:42 »
0
another thought...if you already have those shots on the other macro sites and they sale it for 250.00 but you are selling it on FuturePics for say 150.00....isn't that the same thing as you were talking about buyers being able to go elsewhere to buy the same image cheeper...only the role would be reversed as far as featurePics would be concerned...
Correct me if I am misunderstanding this.

Milinz

« Reply #215 on: May 06, 2009, 14:03 »
0
another thought...if you already have those shots on the other macro sites and they sale it for 250.00 but you are selling it on FuturePics for say 150.00....isn't that the same thing as you were talking about buyers being able to go elsewhere to buy the same image cheeper...only the role would be reversed as far as featurePics would be concerned...
Correct me if I am misunderstanding this.

your price = single sale price... And 10 times more if it is Extended licence... That would be this plan:

your price set at $50 will be $500 for extended licence... So, that is quite more than figures you are mentioning...
And don't forget that commission on Featurepic is NOT 20% - it is at least double and little more than that!
« Last Edit: May 06, 2009, 14:05 by Milinz »

Milinz

« Reply #216 on: May 06, 2009, 14:14 »
0
Well I read the forum over there ..not many there...and I might add I couldn't figure out how to post a reply even though i was logged into my account...so I guess I just put it on here.
The gold collection sounds great but I don't know if that is what micro stockers want. Alot of them only do micro stock and if they do macro stock now they are probably already on those other agencies you mention. That really isn't the right anwer but you are on the right track. If you are already on a macro site I wouldn't consider that exclusive.

You are now forcing me to think fast - I planned that before this story about coop started...
Maybe some solution for microstockers may be that you already suggested with exclusivity on some time frame... But, that time frame is quite short if it is under 6 months as Keith said... If you want to have comparative advantage as coop group and to punish some sites who run unfair policy, you must consider all your new images waiting even more than 6 months before you upload them on other sites. Also it is clear that in 15 days and even more after you upload some image it finds first interest in this industry... So, you will be exclusive with say 5 - 10 sales before you go non-exclusive with your image... Again, that image will probably be charged more than after you take it down from exclusivity... So, plan and logic say no less than 6 months image exclusivity is enough.

I already asked and no one answered: Who has guts to not upload to SS or iStock for 6-12 months?

So, your call about that...


« Reply #217 on: May 06, 2009, 14:15 »
0
One major issue that is not addressed by the existing agencies and would be a huge benefit of a coop is REVIEWS.

When you upload to an agency you are at their mercy as far as both review times and acceptance.  Review times on many sites are out of control taking weeks to months in some cases.  It's hard to be timely and current when it takes that long to get something reviewed.

More importantly, the review criteria between the sites is not uniform.  Some sites reject images that are best sellers on another site.  And the rejections are, more often then not, very arbitrary based on opinion of the reviewer as opposed to technical details.

By creating your own site and linking it to a common search engine, YOU CONTROL your own content.  Not some unknown person who may or may not know what they are doing.

---

BTW, getting an agency such as Zymm, FP or CutCaster involved is not a bad idea.  Since they already have an existing infrastructure, they could easily build the central search site, provide artists with an API to hook into the searches, handle the transactions and pay the artists taking a small cut to handle transaction fees and a profit for themselves.

Question is... Would any agency be willing to do that?

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #218 on: May 06, 2009, 14:30 »
0
Well I read the forum over there ..not many there...and I might add I couldn't figure out how to post a reply even though i was logged into my account...so I guess I just put it on here.
The gold collection sounds great but I don't know if that is what micro stockers want. Alot of them only do micro stock and if they do macro stock now they are probably already on those other agencies you mention. That really isn't the right anwer but you are on the right track. If you are already on a macro site I wouldn't consider that exclusive.

You are now forcing me to think fast - I planned that before this story about coop started...
Maybe some solution for microstockers may be that you already suggested with exclusivity on some time frame... But, that time frame is quite short if it is under 6 months as Keith said... If you want to have comparative advantage as coop group and to punish some sites who run unfair policy, you must consider all your new images waiting even more than 6 months before you upload them on other sites. Also it is clear that in 15 days and even more after you upload some image it finds first interest in this industry... So, you will be exclusive with say 5 - 10 sales before you go non-exclusive with your image... Again, that image will probably be charged more than after you take it down from exclusivity... So, plan and logic say no less than 6 months image exclusivity is enough.

I already asked and no one answered: Who has guts to not upload to SS or iStock for 6-12 months?

So, your call about that...

I do agree the six month or even longer sounds right, but if I started making sells off the exclusive image I doubt that I personally would want to add it to another site. As for rather I got the guts to quit uploading to SS or iStock for 6 months...that is a hard answer since they are two of my biggest earners. I don't make enough to live off of but there are those microstalkers that depend on those sites for their income and would proubably not consider that, but if they started getting an exclusive collection started up on another site and continued to upload to it then even while uploading to the other sites, when the collection gets sizable enough I think you would see them being more likely to lean more towards the exclusive. There has to be strict policies in place about the exclusive so they aren't uploading that same content to other sites. How that would work I don't know.

Milinz

« Reply #219 on: May 06, 2009, 14:31 »
0
That's good Elena. Featurepics is very easy agency to work with (easy upload, no categories...), and their support is always helpful, and I like the ability of making your own price for your photos. There is no typical subscription system, and that's good too.


Hi dude!

Do you think making the prices on Featurepics for microstock images widely spread to all agencies is smart move or you will be ok with some normal price of that image with normal commission?

What is the point is double crossing buyers on agencies where you can set your prices while that same images are sold on all other places?

Milinz

« Reply #220 on: May 06, 2009, 14:35 »
0
....
....

I do agree the six month or even longer sounds right, but if I started making sells off the exclusive image I doubt that I personally would want to add it to another site. As for rather I got the guts to quit uploading to SS or iStock for 6 months...that is a hard answer since they are two of my biggest earners. I don't make enough to live off of but there are those microstalkers that depend on those sites for their income and would proubably not consider that, but if they started getting an exclusive collection started up on another site and continued to upload to it then even while uploading to the other sites, when the collection gets sizable enough I think you would see them being more likely to lean more towards the exclusive. There has to be strict policies in place about the exclusive so they aren't uploading that same content to other sites. How that would work I don't know.

I don't decide about that - but I think it is the only way to do it!

How to control? That is tough... But there is coop... so they all can take care about each other...

« Reply #221 on: May 06, 2009, 14:36 »
0
Using an existing agency sounds more feasible, of course, if an existing agency would consider doing this, which I doubt. I also doubt that contributors who live from this would consider not uploading to already established agencies. It would be good to hear opinions of some of those on this.

« Reply #222 on: May 06, 2009, 14:41 »
0
"BTW, getting an agency such as Zymm, FP or CutCaster involved is not a bad idea.  Since they already have an existing infrastructure, they could easily build the central search site, provide artists with an API to hook into the searches,"

This kind of API can be modified to meet Authors' needs.

http://www.featurepics.com/API/API.aspx

JSON format is very easy to implement.
Just a very small javascript function.

Milinz

« Reply #223 on: May 06, 2009, 14:41 »
0
Using an existing agency sounds more feasible, of course, if an existing agency would consider doing this, which I doubt. I also doubt that contributors who live from this would consider not uploading to already established agencies. It would be good to hear opinions of some of those on this.

I am sure in month or two you will be able to become exclusive on Featurepics in some time frame! That is good idea to have exclusive images or even series in 6months and up to 5 years...

Limiting some good images upload to that unfair agencies and changing traffic to other place would be quite hit into face for Slave Masters...

« Reply #224 on: May 06, 2009, 14:45 »
0
Limiting some good images upload to that unfair agencies and changing traffic to other place would be quite hit into face for Slave Masters...
I agree, but only if this is done by a significant number of important contributors.


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
97 Replies
30636 Views
Last post May 17, 2009, 01:53
by travelstock
89 Replies
32021 Views
Last post April 25, 2011, 04:52
by admin
10 Replies
4726 Views
Last post January 22, 2014, 19:24
by cascoly
19 Replies
9391 Views
Last post May 23, 2014, 07:21
by Maximilian
0 Replies
628 Views
Last post January 23, 2024, 12:58
by Shuttershock

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors