MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: tan510jomast on April 14, 2009, 21:22
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it's now one year for me as a micro stock contributor for a couple of sites.
i haven't really worked hard at it until last november when the winter in halifax really got nasty. it forced me indoors, so instead of going suicidal, lol.. i applied my energy to increasing my portfolio. it is now close to 160 for dreamstime, and some others, which is impressive for me who has only been producing something like 20-40 images for 7 months, lol.
subs are picking up at Stockxpert this month, almost one per day. although no one seems to be reviewing my new images there. not sure why, as the old reviewers used to approve my images within hours.
anyway, that's not why i am here. i want to know from you old timers, if there is going to be a slow down from now till summer. if so, do you still continue to upload new images , or do you generally take the summer off and then start again come fall.
reason i ask this is that my own photographic business starts to get busy from hereon, and i won't have much time to make stock photos if any. but if it's necessary, i will apply a little reorganization to keep making more images for microstock, but only if there is going to be sales. if not, it would be best for me to also slack off till fall.
what's your expertise on this?
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There is a small dip in the summer months but I am sure it is worse if you stop uploading. It seems to be worse for some people than others, we all have such different portfolios and I suppose those with lots of summer vacation photos might do better.
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I've only been doing this for one year so I might be wrong but I would imagine that images that are going to be used in autumn will sell between now and early summer.
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"I want to know from you old timers, if there is going to be a slow down from now till summer" ?
Iīm not sure I understand you correct, but why would it be a slowdown from NOW til summer? Donīt you meen slowdown IN summer? Maybe due to the crisis, though. And with a small port, you never know what happens :)
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keep making more images for microstock, but only if there is going to be sales
My advice is to build your portfolio not for instant sales, but for long term sales. Forget about seasonal slowdown: the more high quality pictures you have in your portfolio the more sales you will get.
For me, the only season one should not miss is Christmas where sales can increase a lot between october and december if you have the right portfolio. This is the only seasonal trend I take into account.
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Last year I didn't really experience summer slowdown. My best month on few agencies was june, but my port is small, and last year it was even smaller of course.
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August is dead. I mean, just expect a slow month. It's vacation season that month. The rest of the summer has always been pretty steady. BME all around for me last month, but this month is a little down probably due to the holiday last week.
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Looking at last year, I saw growth from March on, except for June, which dropped a bit from May.
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shoot ! (no pun intended) ;D
so it seems i HAVE TO get re-organized and continue uploading.
hey cool people, cheers.
Looking at last year, I saw growth from March on, except for June, which dropped a bit from May.
you said "drop a bit from May"... which does not mean "go dead",right?
so i gather there is still need to keep uploading.
keep making more images for microstock, but only if there is going to be sales
My advice is to build your portfolio not for instant sales, but for long term sales. Forget about seasonal slowdown: the more high quality pictures you have in your portfolio the more sales you will get.
For me, the only season one should not miss is Christmas where sales can increase a lot between october and december if you have the right portfolio. This is the only seasonal trend I take into account.
i hear ya araminta .
cheers all !
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you said "drop a bit from May"... which does not mean "go dead",right?
so i gather there is still need to keep uploading.
I always upload. That doesn't mean if I stopped for a few weeks things would "go dead".
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June, July, & August are generally accepted to be slow. It's gotten to be a cliche in fact.
You can still get sales, but for four years I have been at this summer is slower than Jan-May, and of course Sept - mid Dec. are the boom times.
However with great weather and lots of sunshine summer is a time I generally try and beef up my portfolio so I will have plenty to upload in the Fall.
Who knows - there are rumors the economy is in recovery, so we may see a resurgence of sales this summer. Might as well be optimistic :)
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tan, there could be a slowdown due to the Easter break and the Spring break, which could have triggered your reaction to think so. but summer isn't quite here yet. also, it may be summer on your side of the pond but in other parts of the globe it isn't. as others pointed out, you should not time your uls with sales. keep submitting.