Author Topic: November Stats (Read 16984 times)

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #25 on:** December 01, 2012, 14:50 »

Quote from: Poncke on December 01, 2012, 14:42

Quote from: WarrenPrice on December 01, 2012, 14:06
Congrats JoAnn, very encouraging.
But, I'm not. My month that started strongly faded.
BS and DT were up -- especially DT -- but SS let me down.

Nearly 3 months of anticipation and Can Stock still hasn't sold an image for me. $:-\$
Your photos are probably overqualified for CanStockPhoto. Submit crapstock and your sales will fly

Ha!

As I can make sense of it, it appears that illustrators do best at CanStock. I really like Duncan and what he's done over the years, but it's a shame they can't be at the top of the middle tier.

And thanks for the congratulations. I think my conclusion is that, for me anyway, leaving exclusivity was a good move. When I look at the November stats thread on IS, it's painful to read. That could have been me...

gostwyck · « **Reply #26 on:** December 01, 2012, 15:10 »

Quote from: jsnover on December 01, 2012, 14:50

I think my conclusion is that, for me anyway, leaving exclusivity was a good move. When I look at the November stats thread on IS, it's painful to read. That could have been me...

Indeed! Having said that it is possible that we might still be making more money as exclusives ... although the future trend is certainly worrying. I'm glad I don't have that decision to make anyway.

Congratulations on your (likely) BME and great detailed write-up.

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 01, 2012, 15:49 »

Overall 2nd BME (after February). BMEs on SS and CanStock, 2nd BME on 123. DT and FT just over their averages for the year, others below average. Had a sale on featurepics for $2 commission, had one on Alamy for $1 and after 50% commission netted me 50 cents. First half of the month was great and trailed off the past 10 days so expecting December to be slow.

Elenathewise · « **Reply #28 on:** December 01, 2012, 15:55 »

Submitting to microstock agencies since 2005, over 10,000 images in portfolio.

Comparing to November 2011:

Shutterstock - down 8%
Istockphoto - up 3%
Fotolia - down 48 (!) %
Dreamstime - down 10%
123rf - up 16%

tab62 · « **Reply #29 on:** December 01, 2012, 16:13 »

I might take a part time job at the Golden Arches (McDonald's) to supplement my income

dbvirago · « **Reply #30 on:** December 01, 2012, 16:33 »

Another BME at SS and a BME overall, beating my last BME from way back in November on '09 - and that had income from StockXpert, so this is with one less agency.

crowman · « **Reply #31 on:** December 01, 2012, 16:39 »

Small time exc. contributor to iStock:

Nov: 2011 59 dls
Nov: 2012 9 dls

Through Nov 2012 seeing a 13 percent reduction in $$ compared to 2011

best match $$ 2012: March
best match $$ 2011: June

best match dls 2012: Jan
best match dls 2011: Sep

Mantis · « **Reply #32 on:** December 01, 2012, 17:30 »

Quote from: jsnover on December 01, 2012, 14:50

Quote from: Poncke on December 01, 2012, 14:42
Quote from: WarrenPrice on December 01, 2012, 14:06
Congrats JoAnn, very encouraging.
But, I'm not. My month that started strongly faded.
BS and DT were up -- especially DT -- but SS let me down.

Nearly 3 months of anticipation and Can Stock still hasn't sold an image for me. $:-\$
Your photos are probably overqualified for CanStockPhoto. Submit crapstock and your sales will fly

Ha!

As I can make sense of it, it appears that illustrators do best at CanStock. I really like Duncan and what he's done over the years, but it's a shame they can't be at the top of the middle tier.

And thanks for the congratulations. I think my conclusion is that, for me anyway, leaving exclusivity was a good move. When I look at the November stats thread on IS, it's painful to read. That could have been me...

Do you think that the traction you're experiencing is simply related to your transition? Lisafx is not reporting great growth in the face a great uploads, but you are. I suspect that you're excellent work is starting to filter through all of the unknowns and gaining steam. Happy for you.

leaf · « **Reply #33 on:** December 01, 2012, 17:41 »

Quote from: Elenathewise on December 01, 2012, 15:55

Submitting to microstock agencies since 2005, over 10,000 images in portfolio.

Comparing to November 2011:

Shutterstock - down 8%
Istockphoto - up 3%
Fotolia - down 48 (!) %
Dreamstime - down 10%
123rf - up 16%

That Fotolia drop really is shocking.. even if we have been discussing it for the last few months in several threads. Also surprising that Shutterstock is down as much as it is. How much has your portfolio increased since 2011?

I don't have my numbers on this computer to report my stats - I'll do so on Monday morning.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #34 on:** December 01, 2012, 17:50 »

Quote from: Mantis on December 01, 2012, 17:30

...Do you think that the traction you're experiencing is simply related to your transition? Lisafx is not reporting great growth in the face a great uploads, but you are. I suspect that you're excellent work is starting to filter through all of the unknowns and gaining steam. Happy for you.

I think that Lisa has always done so much better than me - particularly at iStock - that she has a lot more to lose. She is also at FT which has apparently hammered Emeralds of late. Her portfolio is much larger and the appeal of her hunky husband and several of the older couples she shoots is huge. My portfolio is much more of a niche, and these days it's what I feel like doing (perhaps if sales keep growing I'll consider returning to consciously trying to be more commercial).

I used to describe myself (while exclusive) as part of the iStock middle class. I wasn't in the stratosphere with Sean, Lise Gagne, Abu, Amanda Rhodes, etc. but I have done better than the huge pool of contributors who never really get a decent size portfolio going.

In other words, it's much easier for me to do better in income than it is for Lisa, just as a startup can increase its revenue by 50% more easily than Apple can

And thanks for the compliment on my work...

qwerty · « **Reply #35 on:** December 01, 2012, 18:40 »

Depending on PP from Istock its looking like BME for me.

SS was 50% higher than average and a good months on DT.

If I have a good december I might beat last years earnings. I had a terrible September for what ever reason.

Fotolia has fallen off the end of the earth. Only 2% of my monthly earnings,

steheap · « **Reply #36 on:** December 01, 2012, 22:51 »

Great month for me - easily a BME with total earnings over 10% more than the previous best (October 2012). I ended the month with $2216, helped by a regular set of sales, four EDs and a $70 single sale on Shutterstock, solid sales on iStock, some nice big sales on Alamy, and a pretty good month on most of the other sites. I now have 3300 images on Shutterstock and its interesting to note that only 10 months ago in January I ended up with $400 in sales on that site - $970 this month. As usual, more graphs on my blog, but here are the headlines:

Lets hope that December continues this run - that will make for a fantastic 2012 for me.

Steve

Mellimage · « **Reply #37 on:** December 02, 2012, 04:48 »

Decent month. Not spectacular, not bad either.
Noteworthy - I had a BME at 123rf. Even though it is all small numbers. 123rf was not too far off from DT and FT - but I have only half the images on 123rf compared to DT and especially FT.

fotoVoyager · « **Reply #38 on:** December 02, 2012, 07:10 »

iStock exclusive.

Compared to previous Novembers:

2011: $ -33% DL -47%

2010: $ -50% DL -70%

2009: $ -33% DL -78%

2008: $ -36% DL -86%

Mantis · « **Reply #39 on:** December 02, 2012, 08:24 »

Every month my IS portion of sales drops. PP goes up "just" enough for me to stay at "the norm" The norm has been for the last four years at least. I hate to say it but PP has saved my can from recurring revenue dump every month. November was despicable from an IS standpoint. SS up by $75 over best month so BME there. All other sites (FT, DP, PD, CanStockPhoto, BigStock, SF, Alamy, 123) all avg, no BME's here.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #40 on:** December 02, 2012, 08:29 »

Quote from: Mantis on December 02, 2012, 08:24

Every month my IS portion of sales drops. PP goes up "just" enough for me to stay at "the norm" The norm has been for the last four years at least. I hate to say it but PP has saved my can from recurring revenue dump every month. November was despicable from an IS standpoint. SS up by $75 over best month so BME there. All other sites (FT, DP, PD, CanStockPhoto, BigStock, SF, Alamy, 123) all avg, no BME's here.

Maybe PP is going up because it's the reason regular sales are going down.

Mantis · « **Reply #41 on:** December 02, 2012, 08:39 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on December 02, 2012, 08:29

Quote from: Mantis on December 02, 2012, 08:24
Every month my IS portion of sales drops. PP goes up "just" enough for me to stay at "the norm" The norm has been for the last four years at least. I hate to say it but PP has saved my can from recurring revenue dump every month. November was despicable from an IS standpoint. SS up by $75 over best month so BME there. All other sites (FT, DP, PD, CanStockPhoto, BigStock, SF, Alamy, 123) all avg, no BME's here.

Maybe PP is going up because it's the reason regular sales are going down.

That thought has crossed my mind many times, although I have no proof. I can only infer, but would be interested to hear others' perspectives. I think I recall hearing other MSG'rs saying something along these same lines.

sobm · « **Reply #42 on:** December 02, 2012, 08:44 »

why my regular sales and pp are all going down ?lol

gostwyck · « **Reply #43 on:** December 02, 2012, 08:48 »

Quote from: fotoVoyager on December 02, 2012, 07:10

iStock exclusive.

Compared to previous Novembers:

2011: $ -33% DL -47%

2010: $ -50% DL -70%

2009: $ -33% DL -78%

2008: $ -36% DL -86%

I was staggered to see you were 36% down on 2008 revenue ... then I checked my own numbers and found I too was down 17% on IS compared with Nov 2008.

That means that all the increases in credit prices, image prices, the introduction of the Exclusive collection, Vetta, Agency, E+, etc, etc ... plus you have probably more than doubled the size of your portfolio since then ... has resulted in a significant drop in income. That's insane.

leaf · « **Reply #44 on:** December 02, 2012, 10:09 »

Quote from: gostwyck on December 02, 2012, 08:48

Quote from: fotoVoyager on December 02, 2012, 07:10
iStock exclusive.

Compared to previous Novembers:

2011: $ -33% DL -47%

2010: $ -50% DL -70%

2009: $ -33% DL -78%

2008: $ -36% DL -86%

I was staggered to see you were 36% down on 2008 revenue ... then I checked my own numbers and found I too was down 17% on IS compared with Nov 2008.

That means that all the increases in credit prices, image prices, the introduction of the Exclusive collection, Vetta, Agency, E+, etc, etc ... plus you have probably more than doubled the size of your portfolio since then ... has resulted in a significant drop in income. That's insane.

Agreed. Very disturbing numbers in regards to istocks longevity. I haven't checked but I'm guessing I'm currently making at least 10x my 2008 income on shutterstock.

fotoVoyager · « **Reply #45 on:** December 02, 2012, 12:43 »

The only redeeming feature in these numbers is that despite downloads dropping by 86%, mostly I imagine because of the huge growth of libraries since then, they've managed to limit dollar losses to 36% because of the increased prices and collection diversification.

Not that I'm defending them; someone, somewhere there is making greedy, even immoral business decisions, but their approach of raising prices has saved me and others from even worse times.

gostwyck · « **Reply #46 on:** December 02, 2012, 13:15 »

Quote from: fotoVoyager on December 02, 2012, 12:43

The only redeeming feature in these numbers is that despite downloads dropping by 86%, mostly I imagine because of the huge growth of libraries since then, they've managed to limit dollar losses to 36% because of the increased prices and collection diversification.

Not that I'm defending them; someone, somewhere there is making greedy, even immoral business decisions, but their approach of raising prices has saved me and others from even worse times.

It's quite a different picture, if you'll pardon the pun, at Shutterstock. My downloads there last month were 37% higher than Nov 2008, despite the even larger increase in the library at SS. My income at SS last month was 127% higher than in Nov 2008.

SS haven't increased prices since May 2008, if I remember correctly (or lowered commissions either, come to think of it), so it shows that there is more than one way to grow a business. Or maybe not. We don't actually know if iStock have grown their business since Nov 2008. Maybe, if IS hadn't increased prices and added all those expensive 'collections', you might now be earning a lot more money from many more sales __ just like contributors at SS.

One thing that I am absolutely certain of now is that your money, as an exclusive, is on the losing horse. I believe that iStock's policies of ever-increasing prices and ever-reducing commissions by stealth (via the RC system) can only accelerate the demise of their business.

leaf · « **Reply #47 on:** December 02, 2012, 14:52 »

Quote from: gostwyck on December 02, 2012, 13:15

Quote from: fotoVoyager on December 02, 2012, 12:43
The only redeeming feature in these numbers is that despite downloads dropping by 86%, mostly I imagine because of the huge growth of libraries since then, they've managed to limit dollar losses to 36% because of the increased prices and collection diversification.

Not that I'm defending them; someone, somewhere there is making greedy, even immoral business decisions, but their approach of raising prices has saved me and others from even worse times.

It's quite a different picture, if you'll pardon the pun, at Shutterstock. My downloads there last month were 37% higher than Nov 2008, despite the even larger increase in the library at SS. My income at SS last month was 127% higher than in Nov 2008.

SS haven't increased prices since May 2008, if I remember correctly (or lowered commissions either, come to think of it), so it shows that there is more than one way to grow a business. Or maybe not. We don't actually know if iStock have grown their business since Nov 2008. Maybe, if IS hadn't increased prices and added all those expensive 'collections', you might now be earning a lot more money from many more sales __ just like contributors at SS.

One thing that I am absolutely certain of now is that your money, as an exclusive, is on the losing horse. I believe that iStock's policies of ever-increasing prices and ever-reducing commissions by stealth (via the RC system) can only accelerate the demise of their business.

well stated

Poncke · « **Reply #48 on:** December 02, 2012, 15:25 »

Quote from: Poncke on December 01, 2012, 04:14

SS - BME
FT - BME
CanStockPhoto - tanked but a nice sale on the last day kind of made it ok but still sucks big time
DP - BME ~~normal, no increase in sales~~ although now over 600 images. Only 30c subs
PD - poor month
123 - BME ~~normal, no increase in sales~~ although now over 600 images
Alamy - f them
DT - f them
Zazzle - few sales
FAA - really picking up, 3 sales per month now bringing in 165$ a month on average
Pond5 - no sales but small port, not sure what to think of them

Actually, after doing the admin, 123 and DP BME in $$ as well. I had a overall BME in $$ and DLs considering only stock. Including FAA then October was my overall BME in $$.

What does concern me is that the increase of DLs has stagnated. Overall only 4 more DLs compared to October. SS BME $$ but 8 DLs down compared to October. Although the money was BME I dont like the fact that I didnt get more DLs then October. I started in March 2012 so stagnating figures after only 8 months doesnt look good.

I need to figure out why this is happening, although I believe across the board many people are agreeing November wasnt as good as it normally would perform.

Portfolio of 600-700

fotoVoyager · « **Reply #49 on:** December 02, 2012, 15:30 »

Quote from: gostwyck on December 02, 2012, 13:15

Quote from: fotoVoyager on December 02, 2012, 12:43
The only redeeming feature in these numbers is that despite downloads dropping by 86%, mostly I imagine because of the huge growth of libraries since then, they've managed to limit dollar losses to 36% because of the increased prices and collection diversification.

Not that I'm defending them; someone, somewhere there is making greedy, even immoral business decisions, but their approach of raising prices has saved me and others from even worse times.

It's quite a different picture, if you'll pardon the pun, at Shutterstock. My downloads there last month were 37% higher than Nov 2008, despite the even larger increase in the library at SS. My income at SS last month was 127% higher than in Nov 2008.

SS haven't increased prices since May 2008, if I remember correctly (or lowered commissions either, come to think of it), so it shows that there is more than one way to grow a business. Or maybe not. We don't actually know if iStock have grown their business since Nov 2008. Maybe, if IS hadn't increased prices and added all those expensive 'collections', you might now be earning a lot more money from many more sales __ just like contributors at SS.

One thing that I am absolutely certain of now is that your money, as an exclusive, is on the losing horse. I believe that iStock's policies of ever-increasing prices and ever-reducing commissions by stealth (via the RC system) can only accelerate the demise of their business.

There's no doubt I made a mistake putting all my eggs in one basket, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. It could have gone differently. I coulda beena contender.

Ah well, the beauty of this business is I still own 10,000 stock photos that I'm free to put anywhere I want. There's always next year.

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Author Topic: November Stats (Read 16984 times)

Jo Ann Snover

gostwyck

sgoodwin4813

Elenathewise

tab62

dbvirago

crowman

Mantis

leaf

Jo Ann Snover

qwerty

steheap

Mellimage

fotoVoyager

Mantis

PaulieWalnuts

Mantis

sobm

gostwyck

leaf

fotoVoyager

gostwyck

leaf

Poncke

fotoVoyager

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