MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: PROStalkFatagopher on October 17, 2015, 06:00
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
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Congratulations.
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
I wish many others will follow you.
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
I wish many others will follow you.
Me too. Less competition is always good.
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
Respect!
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And where are you selling and making money now?
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Now what?
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maybe in the classic way...customers companies/wedding/commercials/catalogues etc etc
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But then you are no longer a stock artist. Stock is a genre of it's own.
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
Well, i guess that not you are those who pulled your portfolio from microstock, but the sales potential of your images did it.
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I'm down to Stocksy (which I don't consider microstock) and self-marketing.....left iStock a couple of years ago and Shutterstock last month.
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I think many of us are heading that way. There just isn't the return on investment any more.
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I quit submitting over a year ago. The final straw for me was a bunch of goofy rejections at SS. The next time they announce a royalty cut or a giveaway - no matter how they try to spin it - I'm closing the account. I'll leave my small portfolio up at Alamy and GL.
There are just so many better ways to spend time than jumping through hoops for a company like SS, which has steadily and systematically devalued photographic work.
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I quit advertising!
Here's how you do it:
1. Miss your umpteenth flight to L.A. to shoot yet another bad commercial because you're still jet lagged from the red eye you took back from L.A. two days before, but you had to fly back because you had 100 things to do at the office and nobody would cover for you.
2. Call your partner from the airport to tell him you missed your flight, you'll miss the day's casting, you've had it and you're not doing this any more.
3. Each time someone from work calls to convince you to come back, laugh and say no thanks. Repeat five times.
That's all there is to it!
(Is there a way to make a living that doesn't suck?)
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I quit advertising!
Here's how you do it:
1. Miss your umpteenth flight to L.A. to shoot yet another bad commercial because you're still jet lagged from the red eye you took back from L.A. two days before, but you had to fly back because you had 100 things to do at the office and nobody would cover for you.
2. Call your partner from the airport to tell him you missed your flight, you'll miss the day's casting, you've had it and you're not doing this any more.
3. Each time someone from work calls to convince you to come back, laugh and say no thanks. Repeat five times.
That's all there is to it!
(Is there a way to make a living that doesn't suck?)
Congrats. That makes stock art sound easy.
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Nice to see a post like this.
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I quit advertising!
Here's how you do it:
1. Miss your umpteenth flight to L.A. to shoot yet another bad commercial because you're still jet lagged from the red eye you took back from L.A. two days before, but you had to fly back because you had 100 things to do at the office and nobody would cover for you.
2. Call your partner from the airport to tell him you missed your flight, you'll miss the day's casting, you've had it and you're not doing this any more.
3. Each time someone from work calls to convince you to come back, laugh and say no thanks. Repeat five times.
That's all there is to it!
(Is there a way to make a living that doesn't suck?)
Congrats. That makes stock art sound easy.
Yep. And I think that was Shelma's point.
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It's up to the individual what they do of course. For myself, if I was that fed up with microstock, I'd leave what was already there with whoever I was with, and just stop uploading. I'd already have put the effort into getting my images online, those images are already "in the wild" so to speak, so why not take any continuing income off them?
And in answer to Shelma's question above.
"Is there a way to make a living that doesn't suck?"
Not that I've found so far in 40 years or so. :-)
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I'm sure some people find work that is fun and easy. Maybe. I've never found it. Being a full-time photographer is hard work, too. I sometimes put in 16-18 hour days with travel. No overtime pay. No vacation. No sick days.
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
Congratulations. When I win the lottery or inherit a large sum of money I will happily join you!
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I'm sure some people find work that is fun and easy. Maybe. I've never found it. Being a full-time photographer is hard work, too. I sometimes put in 16-18 hour days with travel. No overtime pay. No vacation. No sick days.
Well, vector illustrator work involves being in front of the computer the whole day without leaving home...
I think that even doing the work you love, when you repeat it for 8-10 hours a day for years it becomes boring
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I'm sure some people find work that is fun and easy. Maybe. I've never found it. Being a full-time photographer is hard work, too. I sometimes put in 16-18 hour days with travel. No overtime pay. No vacation. No sick days.
Well, vector illustrator work involves being in front of the computer the whole day without leaving home...
I think that even doing the work you love, when you repeat it for 8-10 hours a day for years it becomes boring
I find it tough to work more than 6 hours. I don't think I could do 8 or 10 hours a day.
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I think that even doing the work you love, when you repeat it for 8-10 hours a day for years it becomes boring
+100!
Do work you love FT for long enough and eventually you will probably tire of it. Add dropping income and then you may end up hating it.
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Did anyone read all 18 comments of the OP and consider he might be pulling your leg?
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I'm sure some people find work that is fun and easy. Maybe. I've never found it. Being a full-time photographer is hard work, too. I sometimes put in 16-18 hour days with travel. No overtime pay. No vacation. No sick days.
Well, vector illustrator work involves being in front of the computer the whole day without leaving home...
I think that even doing the work you love, when you repeat it for 8-10 hours a day for years it becomes boring
I find it tough to work more than 6 hours. I don't think I could do 8 or 10 hours a day.
One of the great things about working at home and setting your own deadlines is the ability to work when you like. Since summers are slow for microstock anyway, that's when I cut back my work substantially. But in bad weather or the depths of winter I'll work 12 hours a day drawing and uploading. Maybe next summer I'll work harder...
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My earnings are down 20% this year. And my port is about 20% larger than it was last year. VERY discouraging, so the OP's feelings are dead on with me.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. What's the future of microstock if every contributor starts seeing 20% reductions year after year, despite pouring many hours every day into this?
Not only will experienced microstockers give up, but why would a newbie even start? If new uploads don't sell anywhere, a newbie must see no reason to put time into this if there's no ROI.
Which leaves the hobbyists, those who are just happy to put their pictures online, and if they make a sale, it's gravy. These can't be the contributors the agencies want. They certainly won't attract buyers. (I'm sure there are talented hobbyists out there, just like the odd singer on karaoke night surprises you with genuine talent, but they are the exception.)
I used to see microstock through rose-colored glasses and I couldn't envision a future where it would all go down in flames, but my glasses are now shattered and I feel blind. I can't see the future anymore, and I can't see a reason to do this much longer. Like the OP, I may need to rub my eyes, face a different direction and find something more rewarding to do with my time.
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...find something more rewarding to do with my time.
I have the same feelings. Forget about the production cost, this cannot even compensate your time now. So it is definitely the time to find something more rewarding to do with our time.
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...find something more rewarding to do with my time.
I have the same feelings. Forget about the production cost, this cannot even compensate your time now. So it is definitely the time to find something more rewarding to do with our time.
Most of my time has been with video in the last year. I haven't shot a still production in at least a year except when I am in the midst of a video shoot and I snap a still "just to have it" to upload. I upload my travel pics and that's about it. But I have stopped buying props, setting up weekend still production shoots, researching still concepts, current affairs, etc. But the crowdsourcing is so vast across all micros that I don't think it will really matter what I do. For every one of me there will be 50 others willing to take my place for a penny download.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
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Perfectly worded, Paulie.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
I raised my prices three weeks ago and have already made more in those 3 weeks than I did in any month previously with my own site. By a factor of 4-5 times as much.
I think you have the right idea. I'll be raising my prices further. They're clearly not high enough yet.
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I removed my work from micros last year finally (slow process started in 2013 and even late 2012), some useless files left on SS.
Now I upload only to macro agencies, self pricing agencies, my own website (direct sales) and POD sites and I set up my pricing up to $300. Do I regret? Have no reason as I doubled my income in the first 6 months after the change! I sell less, but I'm more happy with results...
As Paulie said, micro was good to learn the base elements.
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Did anyone read all 18 comments of the OP and consider he might be pulling your leg?
+1
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I removed my work from micros last year finally (slow process started in 2013 and even late 2012), some useless files left on SS.
Now I upload only to macro agencies, self pricing agencies, my own website (direct sales) and POD sites and I set up my pricing up to $300. Do I regret? Have no reason as I doubled my income in the first 6 months after the change! I sell less, but I'm more happy with results...
As Paulie said, micro was good to learn the base elements.
That is fantastic news.
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Did anyone read all 18 comments of the OP and consider he might be pulling your leg?
+1
Of course he's lying, that's what he does.
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Shelma1 you need to check your meta tag description for your site
It still says 9.99 etc
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Shelma1 you need to check your meta tag description for your site
It still says 9.99 etc
Ok, great. Thanks for the heads up. None of the buyers noticed, I guess. ;)
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No problem
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Did anyone read all 18 comments of the OP and consider he might be pulling your leg?
+1
Of course he's lying, that's what he does.
Even if it's a joke it's a great topic.
People complain constantly around here about micro revenue falling, bad agency deals, and on and on. There are plenty of opportunities out there. If micro doesn't bring money or happiness, do something else that does.
I believe having your own site can have a huge amount of opportunity if you have even a simple business plan. If you have no plan or the plan is "upload all of my images to my site and expect sales" it's the wrong plan.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
I raised my prices three weeks ago and have already made more in those 3 weeks than I did in any month previously with my own site. By a factor of 4-5 times as much.
I think you have the right idea. I'll be raising my prices further. They're clearly not high enough yet.
That's great to hear and I think is a good example that buyers are willing to pay more for the right image. Or right personalized service. Or easier buying experience. Or whatever the reason was. Buyers will pay more if you add value and give them a reason to. Everyone will have different limits for what a buyer is willing to pay for their work.
I keep on increasing my prices and my sales volume and overall revenue continues to go up. I haven't hit the ceiling yet. And prices need to keep going up to justify the massive costs it takes me to create the images.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
I raised my prices three weeks ago and have already made more in those 3 weeks than I did in any month previously with my own site. By a factor of 4-5 times as much.
I think you have the right idea. I'll be raising my prices further. They're clearly not high enough yet.
That's great to hear and I think is a good example that buyers are willing to pay more for the right image. Or right personalized service. Or easier buying experience. Or whatever the reason was. Buyers will pay more if you add value and give them a reason to. Everyone will have different limits for what a buyer is willing to pay for their work.
I keep on increasing my prices and my sales volume and overall revenue continues to go up. I haven't hit the ceiling yet. And prices need to keep going up to justify the massive costs it takes me to create the images.
I was thinking I had to compete with micro prices. But now I see I should really be competing with macro prices. Some people are willing to pay $500 for my vectors on Shutterstock. I think that's the direction to go in. Thanks for your advice here.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
I raised my prices three weeks ago and have already made more in those 3 weeks than I did in any month previously with my own site. By a factor of 4-5 times as much.
I think you have the right idea. I'll be raising my prices further. They're clearly not high enough yet.
That's great to hear and I think is a good example that buyers are willing to pay more for the right image. Or right personalized service. Or easier buying experience. Or whatever the reason was. Buyers will pay more if you add value and give them a reason to. Everyone will have different limits for what a buyer is willing to pay for their work.
I keep on increasing my prices and my sales volume and overall revenue continues to go up. I haven't hit the ceiling yet. And prices need to keep going up to justify the massive costs it takes me to create the images.
I was thinking I had to compete with micro prices. But now I see I should really be competing with macro prices. Some people are willing to pay $500 for my vectors on Shutterstock. I think that's the direction to go in. Thanks for your advice here.
You have some really nice work.
For illustrators you folks have the opportunity to create whatever you can come up with and make it as unique as you want. The more unique the more of a reason a buyer would buy from you. And if you create your own brand and only make your images available through you then you have full control of your prices. Some buyers are willing to pay for the right image. I have better chances of selling one image for $500 than 500 images for $1.
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I was thinking I had to compete with micro prices. But now I see I should really be competing with macro prices. Some people are willing to pay $500 for my vectors on Shutterstock. I think that's the direction to go in. Thanks for your advice here.
That's exactly how I felt before, too! And then I realized what amount of unimaginable crap micro agencies are still accepting every day, and also raised prices on my own website. And seriously, regardless if OP's post is truthful or not, pulling my port from many places where my stuff is sold for subscription pennies alongside someone's phone snaps did cross my mind. One thing for sure, I will be extremely selective to where I submit my new content.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
How do you market your site? Is that a big expense for you?
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
How do you market your site? Is that a big expense for you?
Marketing hasn't cost me anything. I've spent most of my time on search engine optimization and in the past month I started to promote it through social media. I'm planning to test paid search with Google, Facebook and maybe Twitter starting in the next couple weeks.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
How do you market your site? Is that a big expense for you?
I'd also like to ask how you get your site discovered by buyers when they are Google searching, assuming a lot of expert SEO but a lot of this takes a long time to learn, I can't write code and don't have the time available to learn. The idea is you want to come up on the front page of Google when a buyer searches for stock footage or stock video of....whatever you have for sale and beyond. That's my problem right now, have nearly 30,000 clips on P5, building up on SS and VB and have a website up which links customers to all three sites my content is on but it needs to get under the nose of every buyer, this is the world wide web, this is a large customer base but how to get my content under their noses so they can at least have a look at it.? Starting to think that maybe SEO should be my priority instead of filming new content, I already have a fully stocked store.
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My earnings are down 20% this year. And my port is about 20% larger than it was last year. VERY discouraging, so the OP's feelings are dead on with me.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. What's the future of microstock if every contributor starts seeing 20% reductions year after year, despite pouring many hours every day into this?
Not only will experienced microstockers give up, but why would a newbie even start? If new uploads don't sell anywhere, a newbie must see no reason to put time into this if there's no ROI.
Which leaves the hobbyists, those who are just happy to put their pictures online, and if they make a sale, it's gravy. These can't be the contributors the agencies want. They certainly won't attract buyers. (I'm sure there are talented hobbyists out there, just like the odd singer on karaoke night surprises you with genuine talent, but they are the exception.)
I used to see microstock through rose-colored glasses and I couldn't envision a future where it would all go down in flames, but my glasses are now shattered and I feel blind. I can't see the future anymore, and I can't see a reason to do this much longer. Like the OP, I may need to rub my eyes, face a different direction and find something more rewarding to do with my time.
Newbies will start and some will do well because they are thinking and shooting stuff we are not thinking to do, it's like any other startup, it's called disruption. I do agree on the point about the hobbyists, in TV news their home videos shot on cell phones is not considered broadcast quality and hundreds of TV cameraman have been laid off because of it, it's free content and broadcasters no longer have standards.
Heck, the stock agencies will not allow any of my shots that have camera movement, had a nice one rejected the other day, ice storm vis nice moving shot starting on the end of a broken tree and up and along the area of destruction, a 30 second walking shot and it was rejected and I was told to.....use a tripod.
I wanted to reply back and remind them it's 2015 and styles have changed, yes we need stuff shot properly but also different styles as well, someone is gonna make a mint one day by starting up a stock agency that allows for stuff like that.
For the record I generally prefer to be locked off on tripod and shoot "properly" but it's what our customers want that matters most.
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I've mostly quit microstock. I still have a few hundred images left down from a couple thousand and haven't submitted anything new for a couple years.
I remember not long after I first started micro in 2007 how I used to check several times an hour and would get so excited watching the sales downloads and earnings go up. I thought at that time there was huge potential and that I could retire on this at some point. Today I really don't even bother to check the micro earnings anymore.
I believe there's still potential in micro for the image factories who can pump out images by the tens of thousands. I only have time to create a handful of images a day and the return isn't there anymore so it no longer make sense for me. I also believe there's still opportunity in macro for the right images with the right agencies.
I've been focusing on my own website and am excited again. I'm no longer concerned with ambiguous royalties. I get 100%. I set my own pricing of dozens or hundreds of dollars instead of a few dollars or a few cents. I have control over my copyright and where my images are used instead of unclear or even unannounced partnering deals. I get renewal revenue for when the license the customer purchased expires instead of perpetual no limits usage.
I'm thankful to micro for giving me the opportunity to learn the business. But time to move on.
How do you market your site? Is that a big expense for you?
I'd also like to ask how you get your site discovered by buyers when they are Google searching, assuming a lot of expert SEO but a lot of this takes a long time to learn, I can't write code and don't have the time available to learn. The idea is you want to come up on the front page of Google when a buyer searches for stock footage or stock video of....whatever you have for sale and beyond. That's my problem right now, have nearly 30,000 clips on P5, building up on SS and VB and have a website up which links customers to all three sites my content is on but it needs to get under the nose of every buyer, this is the world wide web, this is a large customer base but how to get my content under their noses so they can at least have a look at it.? Starting to think that maybe SEO should be my priority instead of filming new content, I already have a fully stocked store.
Yes, the idea is the higher you show up in Google search for relevant terms, the more traffic, the more buyers. People usually only look on the first page or two of search results and then will refine their search if they're not finding what they need.
Also, are you trying to drive traffic to your site? If so you have the linking idea backwards. You should be using other sites to link to your site. Backlinks are one of the more important things Google looks at to determine the relevance of your site. Linking to other sites from yours is promoting them, not really you. When they get to that site they now can wander off and possibly find someone else's video they like better than yours.
Yes, SEO is extremely time consuming to learn and implement as a strategy. But without it chances are nobody will find your site or files. I've been studying it for around fifteen years.
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the problem with microstock is that high-cost-productions and highly creative unique work shouldn't be there. People should think twice what to upload there and what not that would be enough.
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stockmarketer, I feel the same way as you. It is very frustrating to spend lots of time and money on new work and making even less. Right now, I have decided I will only upload to SS. I am not going to upload new content to 123 or Dreamstime anymore. Every month it gets worse and worse even after adding new content every month. Last October 2014 was fantastic but I will make less than half this October 2015.
I can't sleep at night because of the stress of microstock and the decreased sales. Very frustrating. I really don't want a 9-5 job though so I will have to hang on to SS earning for as long as I can...
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
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Marketing hasn't cost me anything. I've spent most of my time on search engine optimization and in the past month I started to promote it through social media. I'm planning to test paid search with Google, Facebook and maybe Twitter starting in the next couple weeks.
Hey, send us your FB page to like.
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That will never be a good idea...
Even if you do not do anything you'll get some money in long basis terms...
If you've done it microstock wouldn't be you primary source of income..
I could never permit myself to quit... That's actually MY LIFE AND MY PASSION AT THE SAME TIME...
Anyway good luck...
But we alll know that there's no othet way to make such a money with our images in othet environments...
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the problem with microstock is that high-cost-productions and highly creative unique work shouldn't be there. People should think twice what to upload there and what not that would be enough.
Is the correct answer ;-)
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That will never be a good idea...
Even if you do not do anything you'll get some money in long basis terms...
If you've done it microstock wouldn't be you primary source of income..
I could never permit myself to quit... That's actually MY LIFE AND MY PASSION AT THE SAME TIME...
Anyway good luck...
But we alll know that there's no othet way to make such a money with our images in othet environments...
Are you using the word passion in it's old meaning I.e. suffering?
If your passion is for uploading and categorizing images to be sold for pennies then go for it but the stock photography industry is not limited to microstock nor do you have to sell through the agencies to be a part of it.
You can quit microstock and still make a living in stock photography. It's the people that vow they'll never quit that, in a way, gives the agencies their power. No matter what they do to us we take it cause we're just so passionate.
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Is is true American photographer earns 5k $ per wedding? i can live with 20 weddings per year :)
why bother then with MS.
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I think there are a very small number of wedding photographers who can make $$$$$ I think it has more to do with marketing and interpersonal skills than anything else - which rules me out ::)
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Isn´t the average income for a photographer around 20 000 dollars in the US?
If everyone could make 5k per wedding it would be a superpopular job.
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How much cost wedding photographer per wedding in usa? in my country is 1000€-1500€ average ( 16 hours wedding, 2-3 day processing)
I think there are a very small number of wedding photographers who can make $$$$$ I think it has more to do with marketing and interpersonal skills than anything else - which rules me out ::)
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Here in Germany many people try not to spend more than 500 euros for the wedding photographer - if they hire one at all and not rely on "Uncle Harry and his expensive camera". I am always trying to convince people to get a pro.
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Isn´t the average income for a photographer around 20 000 dollars in the US?
If everyone could make 5k per wedding it would be a superpopular job.
You only tend to hear about the top 1% not those working for days on photoshop and still being criticised by the bride and groom for not turning Shrek and Fiona into Cinderella and Prince Charming.
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still being criticised by the bride and groom for not turning Shrek and Fiona into Cinderella and Prince Charming.
;D
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I quit advertising!
Here's how you do it:
1. Miss your umpteenth flight to L.A. to shoot yet another bad commercial because you're still jet lagged from the red eye you took back from L.A. two days before, but you had to fly back because you had 100 things to do at the office and nobody would cover for you.
2. Call your partner from the airport to tell him you missed your flight, you'll miss the day's casting, you've had it and you're not doing this any more.
3. Each time someone from work calls to convince you to come back, laugh and say no thanks. Repeat five times.
That's all there is to it!
(Is there a way to make a living that doesn't suck?)
Become a rent seeker at the top of the pyramid.
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I work in advertising and I do microstock on the side. There will always be bad days, but for the most part I like both. The advertising pays well and the micro stock just provides a bit of extra cash.
For most of us contributors, microstock was never going to be a way to get rich. It's the dollar store model: sell a lot of items at really, really, really low prices. You're not getting paid what your work is worth, but you knew that going in.
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
If you really quit, why to waste more time persuading others? Now you even don't get pennies.
Good luck with more dignified and lucrative pursuits.
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How much cost wedding photographer per wedding in usa? in my country is 1000€-1500€ average ( 16 hours wedding, 2-3 day processing)
I think there are a very small number of wedding photographers who can make $$$$$ I think it has more to do with marketing and interpersonal skills than anything else - which rules me out ::)
A wedding in Italy cost from 1000 to 5000 Euro, depend by the name of the photographer and from the region, but 2-3 days of processing means that you a are a photoshopper and not a photographer...
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and buying 50.000€ bmw is not too much?
Here in Germany many people try not to spend more than 500 euros for the wedding photographer - if they hire one at all and not rely on "Uncle Harry and his expensive camera". I am always trying to convince people to get a pro.
album with 100 images and dvd with movie and 200-500 images, it must be done well.
A wedding in Italy cost from 1000 to 5000 Euro, depend by the name of the photographer and from the region, but 2-3 days of processing means that you a are a photoshopper and not a photographer...
[/quote]
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and buying 50.000€ bmw is not too much?
Different people/cultures/countries have different priorities.
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Something is happening. Last month, I earned more on Alamy than on Shutterstock, and this month seems to go in the same direction. That has never happened before. Very far from it actually.
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Is is true American photographer earns 5k $ per wedding? i can live with 20 weddings per year :)
why bother then with MS.
Those are words of a person that are NOT ACTUALLY LIVING of microstock.
I would never give up earning what I earn just for the concept "I don't want to give away my works or pennys"... that's a child way of thoughts...
We ALL KNOW then you sell images for pennies... but you sell HUNDREDS OF THEM.. and that makes MONEY...
Tell me where else I can sale HUNDREDS OF IMAGES DAILY and I'll be glad to here you....
I've never been as satisfied as with microstock... But I know that only a few can live with this and the days coming are even HARDERS... but I'll keep upload my vectors till I'll earn twice or more of a normal job... that's my thought...
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
You came to a forum about microstrock with people who work microstock to say, you don't do this. Makes no sense.
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
You came to a forum about microstrock with people who work microstock to say, you don't do this. Makes no sense.
Made perfect sense to me. :-)
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My income from MS is 150% from my regular salary, probably i earn more then you, on every page i upload i have to digit sales on workday, so dont tell me about earnings, ok?
MS is very hard to have new ideas every day. it is hard to work.
Is is true American photographer earns 5k $ per wedding? i can live with 20 weddings per year :)
why bother then with MS.
Those are words of a person that are NOT ACTUALLY LIVING of microstock.
I would never give up earning what I earn just for the concept "I don't want to give away my works or pennys"... that's a child way of thoughts...
We ALL KNOW then you sell images for pennies... but you sell HUNDREDS OF THEM.. and that makes MONEY...
Tell me where else I can sale HUNDREDS OF IMAGES DAILY and I'll be glad to here you....
I've never been as satisfied as with microstock... But I know that only a few can live with this and the days coming are even HARDERS... but I'll keep upload my vectors till I'll earn twice or more of a normal job... that's my thought...
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
You came to a forum about microstrock with people who work microstock to say, you don't do this. Makes no sense.
What? I did do microstock for years! Obviously you haven't been paying attention.
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
If you really quit, why to waste more time persuading others? Now you even don't get pennies.
Good luck with more dignified and lucrative pursuits.
Hehe! Wow are you going to defend getting pennies? Well good luck to you too. You must be some Shutterstock/Istock goon or whatever..
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
You came to a forum about microstrock with people who work microstock to say, you don't do this. Makes no sense.
What? I did do microstock for years! Obviously you haven't been paying attention.
Good for you and good luck!
Less competition for the rest of us, who enjoy the ride, while simultaneously pursuing more lucrative endeavors.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
I wish many others will follow you.
Me too. Less competition is always good.
Hmm, dear Dumc I sold last month only one image for $1,000 how many times I must sold this image on SS or any other micro stock pages? If is for $0.35 it is over 2, 850 times, hahahahaha ;) enjoy less competition and support rich people in luxury Manhattan offices ;( ;( I do not think you have lunch, drink, fun time, gym, snack, coffee and many others extras for free in photographers position ;( ...or maybe???...... ;);) ....good luck anyway
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
If you really quit, why to waste more time persuading others? Now you even don't get pennies.
Good luck with more dignified and lucrative pursuits.
Hehe! Wow are you going to defend getting pennies? Well good luck to you too. You must be some Shutterstock/Istock goon or whatever..
I'm not defending anything. However, if I decide to leave, I won't waste my time to persuade others to do the same. It sounds very much like you are lying here. You just want others to stop. Less competition is always good, as Dumc already said.
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I did it! I pulled all of my ports. No complaining about getting screwed over by these thieves. I will not be give my work out for free (that's sure how it feels) any longer.
I wish many others will follow you.
Me too. Less competition is always good.
Hmm, dear Dumc I sold last month only one image for $1,000 how many times I must sold this image on SS or any other micro stock pages? If is for $0.35 it is over 2, 850 times, hahahahaha ;) enjoy less competition and support rich people in luxury Manhattan offices ;( ;( I do not think you have lunch, drink, fun time, gym, snack, coffee and many others extras for free in photographers position ;( ...or maybe???...... ;);) ....good luck anyway
For me, it's a matter of consistent monthly income. I'll be happy if that number goes high...
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
You came to a forum about microstrock with people who work microstock to say, you don't do this. Makes no sense.
What? I did do microstock for years! Obviously you haven't been paying attention.
I quit church and stopped religion, now I spend my days going to Christian sites telling them what fools they are and how happy I am as an atheist.
I love dogs, and spend my day going to cat fancier sites, telling them how stupid they are because dogs are smarter and better companions.
You quit Microstock and come to a Microstock forum to tell us, we should do what you did.
Yes I'm paying attention, but you aren't making any sense. Hope you are happy and making money with your new market. Many of us are happy with ours and don't need you telling us how to run our life or that we should quit.
Are you paying attention to the answers? Good for you, good that you are happy and left. Leave us alone you don't run my life or my business.
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My income from MS is 150% from my regular salary, probably i earn more then you, on every page i upload i have to digit sales on workday, so dont tell me about earnings, ok?
MS is very hard to have new ideas every day. it is hard to work.
Is is true American photographer earns 5k $ per wedding? i can live with 20 weddings per year :)
why bother then with MS.
Those are words of a person that are NOT ACTUALLY LIVING of microstock.
I would never give up earning what I earn just for the concept "I don't want to give away my works or pennys"... that's a child way of thoughts...
We ALL KNOW then you sell images for pennies... but you sell HUNDREDS OF THEM.. and that makes MONEY...
Tell me where else I can sale HUNDREDS OF IMAGES DAILY and I'll be glad to here you....
I've never been as satisfied as with microstock... But I know that only a few can live with this and the days coming are even HARDERS... but I'll keep upload my vectors till I'll earn twice or more of a normal job... that's my thought...
Just 2 things:
1." Probably I earn more that you"... I say aahahaha :-D no offense ....but if you would have my monthly downloads you wouldn't quit the business... just a CLEVER thing...
2. I don't believe that just 1 pic of 1000$ sometimes can be compared to thusands of CONSTANT monthly sales... that's another OBVIOUS thing...
And again.. if you earn 150% on MS ( I DON'T BELIEVE YOU ) compared to your regular job.... you've something wrong to quit...
It's easier to BLAME someone else for a fail rather than look into ourself errors... Quit instead fight it's not a solution... as I said... just a CHILD THOUGHT...
PS: Maybe there could be some confusion with quotes and name... of course my original answer was for the makes of the post and all my exposed ideas
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Who are the thieves? The stock agencies paying pennies per image? But when you joined the business you already knew what they pay, didn't you? This is where the market equilibrium currently stands... not robbery, but the way how market works. This is how every free capitalist market works.
If your production cost is high, you might have simply been in wrong business. If someone is willing to pay $500 dollars for an image you placed in microstock, you placed it in the wrong market.
I see microstock as a place where you need to produce large quantity of images at lowest production cost possible. Don't go over $1-$3 direct cost per image, headover cost of $100-$200 per month and you surely must earn satisfactory income.
My top sellers earned me thousands, but noone would ever pay $500 for them, because they are very simple illustrations... but apparently thousands of people were willing to spend $1 or $5 to buy them rather than having to draw it themselves. Microstock is simple and cheap. Keep the production simple and cheap. No reason to leave then. :)
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My top sellers earned me thousands
Me too. But for most people those days are over. Because of over-supply.
Microstock is still a volume model. But in most cases that means the agency selling volume made up from an over-supply of photographers. Unless, like the factories, you own a considerable slice of that volume.
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It's no joke. I really quit. I'm busy working on more dignified and lucrative pursuits. Believe it or not.
You came to a forum about microstrock with people who work microstock to say, you don't do this. Makes no sense.
It does if they're a troll. They must get fed well here because they keep coming back.
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Meanwhile in Prague, the whole company in one place enjoying their vacation ...Guess who? Pond5
Why would anyone give their files to this bunch in hope they will sell it? :o
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater)
Employee says: "I'm starting to Realize-that I have a job! Not recommended for everyone, but this one rocks! #emptychairismine - in Prague, Czech Republic."
Ha ha, just incredible ... on eternal vacation while living on our 50%.
Got to love Pond5 circus! ::)
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Meanwhile in Prague, the whole company in one place enjoying their vacation ...Guess who? Pond5
Why would anyone give their files to this bunch in hope they will sell it? :o
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater)
Employee says: "I'm starting to Realize-that I have a job! Not recommended for everyone, but this one rocks! #emptychairismine - in Prague, Czech Republic."
Ha ha, just incredible ... on eternal vacation while living on our 50%.
Got to love Pond5! ::)
Good for them! A company that pays us a fair 50% AND takes good care of it's employee's!
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Meanwhile in Prague, the whole company in one place enjoying their vacation ...Guess who? Pond5
Why would anyone give their files to this bunch in hope they will sell it? :o
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater)
Employee says: "I'm starting to Realize-that I have a job! Not recommended for everyone, but this one rocks! #emptychairismine - in Prague, Czech Republic."
Ha ha, just incredible ... on eternal vacation while living on our 50%.
Got to love Pond5! ::)
Good for them! A company that pays us a fair 50% AND takes good care of it's employee's!
ha ha... in your wild dreams amigo! My insiders told me a different story. Check out who is sitting in the first row! Be very afraid of yellow trousers! ;-)
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Meanwhile in Prague, the whole company in one place enjoying their vacation ...Guess who? Pond5
Why would anyone give their files to this bunch in hope they will sell it? :o
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154323719409972&set=p.10154323719409972&type=3&theater)
Employee says: "I'm starting to Realize-that I have a job! Not recommended for everyone, but this one rocks! #emptychairismine - in Prague, Czech Republic."
Ha ha, just incredible ... on eternal vacation while living on our 50%.
Got to love Pond5! ::)
If you don't like them, why would you sell your files in their site? Why wouldn't you market them yourself?
This is the reality in every business. I think 50% is fair enough. Start growing apples and see what happens :P
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I don't see any reason to pull all the ports. I see Microstock as a great source of passive income...you know, money you keep earning once you put in the initial investment. If you're going exclusive or selling it on your own, then I can understand, but if you pull it out of frustration, you just wasted all the hours you put in and all the time it took to move up the ranks.
Microstock has been a great source of extra income and I plan to double it by the end of next year.
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i am not quiting, whole my point was, if you earn with weddings 100.000$ per year, why bother then with MS
My income from MS is 150% from my regular salary, probably i earn more then you, on every page i upload i have to digit sales on workday, so dont tell me about earnings, ok?
MS is very hard to have new ideas every day. it is hard to work.
Is is true American photographer earns 5k $ per wedding? i can live with 20 weddings per year :)
why bother then with MS.
Those are words of a person that are NOT ACTUALLY LIVING of microstock.
I would never give up earning what I earn just for the concept "I don't want to give away my works or pennys"... that's a child way of thoughts...
We ALL KNOW then you sell images for pennies... but you sell HUNDREDS OF THEM.. and that makes MONEY...
Tell me where else I can sale HUNDREDS OF IMAGES DAILY and I'll be glad to here you....
I've never been as satisfied as with microstock... But I know that only a few can live with this and the days coming are even HARDERS... but I'll keep upload my vectors till I'll earn twice or more of a normal job... that's my thought...
Just 2 things:
1." Probably I earn more that you"... I say aahahaha :-D no offense ....but if you would have my monthly downloads you wouldn't quit the business... just a CLEVER thing...
2. I don't believe that just 1 pic of 1000$ sometimes can be compared to thusands of CONSTANT monthly sales... that's another OBVIOUS thing...
And again.. if you earn 150% on MS ( I DON'T BELIEVE YOU ) compared to your regular job.... you've something wrong to quit...
It's easier to BLAME someone else for a fail rather than look into ourself errors... Quit instead fight it's not a solution... as I said... just a CHILD THOUGHT...
PS: Maybe there could be some confusion with quotes and name... of course my original answer was for the makes of the post and all my exposed ideas
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I am not quitting. I read lot of people here telling us that they are quitting an agency. Many members here said many things about FT, DT, IS, SS, like they are going to say final bye to MS markets. In reality that never happened or happened to those who bought these stories.
In real senses and hard numbers, my portfolio is growing and so are returns. I am very happy to see the increased frequency of payouts. I work with 8-9 agencies. Every month, at least two send me the money with my 1200+ images in their ports.
I came to MS markets with long term plan and gradual growth of income. This is what exactly happening with me. I discovered that video footage market is still open and untapped in larger senses and has great potential with videos. The video market is the next big thing. I do not have right equipment to be faster with video production. But certainly, that's what I would do for sure in future. I grabbed the copy of 2015 Photographer's Market by Mary Burzlaff Bostic. This is an annual book. It has great market wisdom for anyone who wishes to sell direct.
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I think we should ALL quit and ONLY be on https://www.picfair.com/ (https://www.picfair.com/).
Seriously, what are you all waiting for? There IS an alternative to being ripped off by the agencies, but still making passive money from stock.
Creative Market is also great, you keep 70% of all sales. With Picfair, you keep 100% – and you set your own prices.
What are you waiting for?
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70% of nothing is .......nothing
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lol, don't celebrate just yet...
as the previous commentor said 100% of nothing = .... (close your eyes and you can
see what you will get better!!!)
as bad as i hate ss these days, in all my years with ss,
i make more in 6 days with ss than i make in a year (s) with the other agencies.
some other agencies, i make more in one day with ss
than i make up to date with those other agencies.
as i said, close your eyes and see what you will get with those 100% commission agencies 8)
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70% of nothing is .......nothing
Yup!
Also 50% of nothing is.....nothing
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Quitting seems kind of dramatic. Unless you've got someplace better lined up to sell your existing portfolio, not sure it's worth pulling everything down.
I don't think I'll ever really quit. I might stop uploading, or stop uploading microstock and move on to something else while leaving my previous work on microstock. But it seems ridiculous that I'd ever take down work I did 7 or 8 years ago thinking I could really do any better with it somewhere else.
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I removed my work from micros last year finally (slow process started in 2013 and even late 2012), some useless files left on SS.
Now I upload only to macro agencies, self pricing agencies, my own website (direct sales) and POD sites and I set up my pricing up to $300. Do I regret? Have no reason as I doubled my income in the first 6 months after the change! I sell less, but I'm more happy with results...
As Paulie said, micro was good to learn the base elements.
What are these macro agencies in the marketing now a days that ar the top tiers which worths to upload and put self pricing?
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Following the media and all the movements around stock it looks for me that Microstock is more safe then the Macro agencies.
I take for example Alamy. They paid in 2014 around 14 million to contributors. Shutterstock paid on the same year 84 million to contributors. Alamy and Shutterstock have both the same amount of contributors. It looks obvious where the money is. Looking at the past the amount is growing every year. While on Alamy it looks like it is decreasing.
Mirco
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Following the media and all the movements around stock it looks for me that Microstock is more safe then the Macro agencies.
I take for example Alamy. They paid in 2014 around 14 million to contributors. Shutterstock paid on the same year 84 million to contributors. Alamy and Shutterstock have both the same amount of contributors. It looks obvious where the money is. Looking at the past the amount is growing every year. While on Alamy it looks like it is decreasing.
Mirco
It's decreasing because they cannot compete with micro stock. Almay has mentioned that issue in this forum and encourages contributors to upload different content on the Alamy site and not have that same content on the micros. I still make sales with my micro port on Alamy but I don't have anything unique on Alamy only.
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Following the media and all the movements around stock it looks for me that Microstock is more safe then the Macro agencies.
I take for example Alamy. They paid in 2014 around 14 million to contributors. Shutterstock paid on the same year 84 million to contributors. Alamy and Shutterstock have both the same amount of contributors. It looks obvious where the money is. Looking at the past the amount is growing every year. While on Alamy it looks like it is decreasing.
Mirco
It's decreasing because they cannot compete with micro stock. Almay has mentioned that issue in this forum and encourages contributors to upload different content on the Alamy site and not have that same content on the micros. I still make sales with my micro port on Alamy but I don't have anything unique on Alamy only.
This is very true. I have my micro port on Alamy, but do not have unique content there. I don't have enough sales on Alamy to justify making content only for them. It is a conundrum.
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I put up a few unique images on Alamy, mostly RM stuff. I think 2 of them sold. I should probably upload a few more, but I have a hard time motivating for the limited sales. Certainly I have had better return on my time putting my microstock stuff up there. I'd probably have a better return on my time making more micro stuff than doing Alamy specific things. Still, I'll be traveling this winter and I'll probably try to get some market and other shots w/ people for Alamy that wouldn't be accepted at most micros.
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I removed my work from micros last year finally (slow process started in 2013 and even late 2012), some useless files left on SS.
Now I upload only to macro agencies, self pricing agencies, my own website (direct sales) and POD sites and I set up my pricing up to $300. Do I regret? Have no reason as I doubled my income in the first 6 months after the change! I sell less, but I'm more happy with results...
As Paulie said, micro was good to learn the base elements.
Self pricing agencies? Who are these?? And about your own web, are sales better than what you get combining all ms agencies you submit to? I'm just curious cause soon i'll be leaving ms too.
died from overdrawn
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I put up a few unique images on Alamy, mostly RM stuff. I think 2 of them sold. I should probably upload a few more, but I have a hard time motivating for the limited sales. Certainly I have had better return on my time putting my microstock stuff up there. I'd probably have a better return on my time making more micro stuff than doing Alamy specific things. Still, I'll be traveling this winter and I'll probably try to get some market and other shots w/ people for Alamy that wouldn't be accepted at most micros.
About images being accepeted on micro. All images that you can make for Alamy are getting accepted now on most Micros as editorial. General images with people on the street, people doing shopping, people at a park are accepted on SS, IS, 123RF, DP and DT without problem.
Mirco
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I did quit too, same story.