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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: PixelsAway on September 22, 2008, 08:20

Title: my iStock earnings and best selling pictures
Post by: PixelsAway on September 22, 2008, 08:20

In my recent Pixels Away blog post I reviewed earnings and best selling pictures during my 9 months with iStock:
http://www.pixelsaway.com/C911796005/E20080909084854/index.html

Here is a graph showing number of files in my portfolio, downloads and earnings:


(http://www.pixelsaway.com/art-pix/portfolio-is.gif) (http://www.pixelsaway.com/C911796005/E20080909084854/index.html)

I am uploading new pictures within iStock weekly limit with the acceptance rate about 70%, but I see a clear plateau in the number of downloads starting in May. September doesn't look better than August.

I wonder if it is a general trend or I really need to think about some changes in my portfolio.

I am going to do a similar analysis for SS and DT.

Title: Re: my iStock earnings and best selling pictures
Post by: MicrostockExp on September 22, 2008, 08:31

Nice post Marek,  I have only few pics on IS selling regularly, some never came out....
Here is my post about my first pic caught in fire at IS

http://microstockexperiment.blogspot.com/2008/09/first-flames-at-istockphoto.html

Title: Re: my iStock earnings and best selling pictures
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on September 22, 2008, 08:41

Perhaps your plateau is due to your advertising your most successful images, which people have since duplicated and are selling en masse?

Title: Re: my iStock earnings and best selling pictures
Post by: yingyang0 on September 22, 2008, 08:53

Quote from: PixelsAway on September 22, 2008, 08:20

I am uploading new pictures within iStock weekly limit with the acceptance rate about 70%, but I see a clear plateau in the number of downloads starting in May. September doesn't look better than August.

I wonder if it is a general trend or I really need to think about some changes in my portfolio.

It appears that your earnings have grown at roughly the same rate as your portfolio and have not plateaued. I'm not seeing the problem.

Title: Re: my iStock earnings and best selling pictures
Post by: araminta on September 23, 2008, 07:07

I'm in microstock business for two and half years now and I've also spent quite a lot of time trying to make nice graphics to analyse my sales.

My conclusion now is that there are too many factors which do impact sales and it is quite useless to try to know the impact of a single or a few factors.

Put your efforts in making more and better pictures: this is the key to success  :)

Title: Re: my iStock earnings and best selling pictures
Post by: PaulieWalnuts on September 23, 2008, 07:27

Quote from: sjlocke on September 22, 2008, 08:41

Perhaps your plateau is due to your advertising your most successful images, which people have since duplicated and are selling en masse?

Perhaps. But what's to stop people from going to your easily accessible portfolio on IS and doing the same thing?

Title: Re: my iStock earnings and best selling pictures
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on September 23, 2008, 09:21

Nothing, but advertising the fact doesn't help any.