Author Topic: POLL: How many agencies do you contribute to? (Read 17244 times)

luissantos84 · « **on:** February 23, 2012, 17:00 »

this won´t be the poll of 2012 but I believe it may be interesting to see if contributors are looking for more income beside the top 5 agencies, please vote

lisafx · « **Reply #1 on:** February 23, 2012, 17:23 »

I'm on 15 now, counting Alamy. I still make 90% of my income from the top four, though. Some, like Depositphoto, Photodune, and Veer, are doing okay. Then there are sites like Crestock and StockFresh that just seem dead, dead, dead.

w7lwi · « **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2012, 18:53 »

Currently eight including Alamy. Three in the top tier, two in the middle tier and two in the low earners, plus Alamy. Considering adding Deposit Photos. Is DP worthwhile?

luissantos84 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2012, 19:44 »

Quote from: lisafx on February 23, 2012, 17:23

I'm on 15 now, counting Alamy. I still make 90% of my income from the top four, though. Some, like Depositphoto, Photodune, and Veer, are doing okay. Then there are sites like Crestock and StockFresh that just seem dead, dead, dead.

don´t use the "dead" word, they might get you like CC did with me

(how sad...)

thanks for sharing Lisa, I believe I am over 30, basically if I am not shooting/editing for any reason (lazyness, etc) I am looking for more revenue, majority doesn´t take off or take like 2 years to a payout

some are nice surprises like iSignstock, at this moment I am uploading to 4 "new" agencies, all seem to have potential, will see that later (I am talking about agencies that are willing to do the submitting job)

will keep posted the intervenients of this post

p.s: 84% from top 5 agencies (2011 totals)

luissantos84 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2012, 19:45 »

Quote from: w7lwi on February 23, 2012, 18:53

Currently eight including Alamy. Three in the top tier, two in the middle tier and two in the low earners, plus Alamy. Considering adding Deposit Photos. Is DP worthwhile?

sure it is

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #5 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:08 »

I checked 7-10, but I don't upload everything, regularly, to all of them. If an agency can't manage to make regular sales out of 500 files that I know sell, then I don't bother uploading more - Pixmac is in that category, for example. BigStock is too, but I had assumed I'd see sales at a similar level to what I had in the past there, and that meant I uploaded about 1,200 images there, but am not uploading more as it's a waste of time, IMO.

I don't try every new site, but I am on the lookout for something that may end up toppling the current crop of bloated, greedy agencies that are overdue for their comeuppance

I had hopes for PhotoDune, but it slowed down a lot after the initial surge of sales. I had hopes for Stockfresh because of Peter's track record, but sales are so slow I don't see any reason to upload more.

lagereek · « **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2012, 01:16 »

I upload to 7 agencies. I am registered with more but not active. These seven include the big 4 and 3 in the middle tier. In RM, RF, its Getty and Alamy.

havent got the time for any more, besides, I believe in, better to produce utter quality, rather then quantity.

Paulo M. F. Pires · « **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2012, 07:43 »

As "stock rookie" shooting mostly what I like, I'm working with 18 agencies ( including Alamy and a private one ) , and will evaluate which ones will prevail, when hit 2 years of work ( + - Oct 2012 ).

Probably will keep those that I can easily feed up with my type of work, with regular income.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2012, 08:55 »

thanks for sharing everybody!

Eireann · « **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2012, 10:11 »

9 here.
Well... 10 actually.
A few days ago I started with 'All You Can Stock' - but at the moment I only have 20 images there. I plan to upload the rest though, so, yes, 10.
I had 1 more on my list - Panthermedia, but their upload system drove me mad, so I gave them up after a few tries.

@w7,
Deposit Photos worth uploading?
Absolutely, yes. Go ahead, it's easy and sales keep on growing. Well worth it.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2012, 10:18 »

Quote from: Eireann on February 24, 2012, 10:11

I had 1 more on my list - Panthermedia, but their upload system drove me mad, so I gave them up after a few tries.

actually they are quite better now, you can pick the all batch, copy the main keywords and then again the all batch only click the rights box and the last into 30%, you don´t need to change or add anything else

Druid · « **Reply #11 on:** February 24, 2012, 13:38 »

I upload to 12, but like many who have replied one or two are really not worth the bother ie. Crestock and Cutcaster so have just about stopped uploading to them. I'm still waiting for my last upload to Crestock (4 weeks ago) to be reviewed so haven't bothered uploading any since complete waste of time and effort.

rubyroo · « **Reply #12 on:** March 08, 2012, 01:48 »

10 for me.

I had a moment recently (when 123RF announced their upcoming commission cut) where I thought maybe I should spread my port further and abandon my cautious ways together with any sense of loyalty, but I think for now I'll stick with these. At least I know they're well-established companies with reputations to consider, and they're also reliable payers.

I still feel nervous and wary about trusting and joining brand new agencies. Perhaps as their stories unfold a little longer I'll change my mind, but for now, what I have will do for me.

eyecandy · « **Reply #13 on:** March 08, 2012, 07:18 »

Only 4 so far. :/ It is super confusing with all the different uploading systems....

Thumbs up for those who can manage it!

ShadySue · « **Reply #14 on:** March 08, 2012, 07:26 »

Alamy (RM), iStock (RF); quite enough for me ATM, though I'm still considering other RM outlets.

RacePhoto · « **Reply #15 on:** March 08, 2012, 14:08 »

Can someone figure out how this correlates to the charts on the right? Might be very interesting.

I'm thinking agencies vs income, but the big question would also be, how many images.

Example: Panther has an 8 rating. $8 a month. We don't know if that's 30 people with 1000 images or 100 people with 50 images?

Do the people who are only on 6 or less agencies also people with low image counts? So the bigg collections are spread out everywhere and bring in better returns, while someone with under 500 images might find having 25 agencies, a waste of time.

I don't know, but it would be interesting. I don't know if Leaf's annual survey can put this data together in any way? Kind of agencies ranked by number of images and number of agencies? Not just "how much to you make" but how many images do you have. Or for those who keep track, agency RPI.

But then the bigger question, is it illustration or photos. Do you shoot models or sliced vegetables. Is it a hobby with some fairly poor Microstock content (that would be me) or very serious with selective, very best images, which would be a bunch of the top people who read here.

Whatever, it's not as easy as How Much from what agency (survey on the right) or How many agencies. It's much more complex. The data needs to be somehow combined to make some sense of it.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 08, 2012, 14:29 »

Quote from: RacePhoto on March 08, 2012, 14:08

Can someone figure out how this correlates to the charts on the right? Might be very interesting.

I'm thinking agencies vs income, but the big question would also be, how many images.

Example: Panther has an 8 rating. $8 a month. We don't know if that's 30 people with 1000 images or 100 people with 50 images?

Do the people who are only on 6 or less agencies also people with low image counts? So the bigg collections are spread out everywhere and bring in better returns, while someone with under 500 images might find having 25 agencies, a waste of time.

I don't know, but it would be interesting. I don't know if Leaf's annual survey can put this data together in any way? Kind of agencies ranked by number of images and number of agencies? Not just "how much to you make" but how many images do you have. Or for those who keep track, agency RPI.

But then the bigger question, is it illustration or photos. Do you shoot models or sliced vegetables. Is it a hobby with some fairly poor Microstock content (that would be me) or very serious with selective, very best images, which would be a bunch of the top people who read here.

Whatever, it's not as easy as How Much from what agency (survey on the right) or How many agencies. It's much more complex. The data needs to be somehow combined to make some sense of it.

I agree, you have some good points, I believe that the quantity ain´t important once only a small % of it will sell, in my case from 3530 pictures at SS only 2305 sold at least once, so I believe even if you have a small port but a high % of it selling well it might be worth contributing to some smaller agencies (sure the worth is relative), its a lot better to shoot more stuff (better if possible) and submit than just upoading "everywhere".. in the end you are basically spending your time and what/how you would be spending it if you werent uploading/submitting.. I believe after a while you will understand what were worth or not..

RacePhoto · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2012, 14:43 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on March 08, 2012, 14:29

Quote from: RacePhoto on March 08, 2012, 14:08
Can someone figure out how this correlates to the charts on the right? Might be very interesting.

I'm thinking agencies vs income, but the big question would also be, how many images.

Example: Panther has an 8 rating. $8 a month. We don't know if that's 30 people with 1000 images or 100 people with 50 images?

Do the people who are only on 6 or less agencies also people with low image counts? So the bigg collections are spread out everywhere and bring in better returns, while someone with under 500 images might find having 25 agencies, a waste of time.

I don't know, but it would be interesting. I don't know if Leaf's annual survey can put this data together in any way? Kind of agencies ranked by number of images and number of agencies? Not just "how much to you make" but how many images do you have. Or for those who keep track, agency RPI.

But then the bigger question, is it illustration or photos. Do you shoot models or sliced vegetables. Is it a hobby with some fairly poor Microstock content (that would be me) or very serious with selective, very best images, which would be a bunch of the top people who read here.

Whatever, it's not as easy as How Much from what agency (survey on the right) or How many agencies. It's much more complex. The data needs to be somehow combined to make some sense of it.

I agree, you have some good points, I believe that the quantity ain´t important once only a small % of it will sell, in my case from 3530 pictures at SS only 2305 sold at least once, so I believe even if you have a small port but a high % of it selling well it might be worth contributing to some smaller agencies (sure the worth is relative), its a lot better to shoot more stuff (better if possible) and submit than just upoading "everywhere".. in the end you are basically spending your time and what/how you would be spending it if you werent uploading/submitting.. I believe after a while you will understand what were worth or not..

Nice work, and in case some think otherwise, nice survey, fun reading. I just wonder about the nuances of the details sometimes.

Yes I could remove about half of my images on SS and make my RPI skyrocket without risking more than a dollar in sales over the next year. Some are so bad, I'm still asking myself two things: 1) What Was I thinking? 2) Why did they accept it?

When you or someone else does this over again, do we have to count partners, so one account at FT is really 18 sites. (just kidding) LOL Was this specifically ONLY microstock sites. So people can leave out Getty, Corbis, Alamy, and that one that calls us LVSI (whatever?). You need more definitions and rules. And oh yes, go past 10! Try 15, 20 and over 25. I think you'll be surprised that some people are easily on over 25 and very active. It's almost the essence of crowd-sourcing and real microstock, to be everywhere possible!

I think Leaf said any site on the right needs 25 votes to appear. That's something else people can watch as an indication of how many people do ?

luissantos84 · « **Reply #18 on:** March 08, 2012, 14:45 »

its 50 votes

wut · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2012, 14:59 »

Quote from: lisafx on February 23, 2012, 17:23

I'm on 15 now, counting Alamy. I still make 90% of my income from the top four, though. Some, like Depositphoto, Photodune, and Veer, are doing okay. Then there are sites like Crestock and StockFresh that just seem dead, dead, dead.

I'm on 10 and Alamy. But just until NY or so, when I suddenly got the urge to sign up to a few more. I'm sorry I did, a lot of time wasted, just like Lisa I get roughly 90% from top 4, even more if I discard Alamy. CS was surprisingly good last month though, the rest were bringing me just peanuts or even less, just getting a few sales. The worst of all is BS, complicated UL process and pathetic returns. PD was, just like jsnover mentioned good for a few days after I uploaded half of my port over there. DP is going nowhere, I've been with them for six months or so, just stagnating from the 2nd month on, sales are very low. I don't upload to 123RF because of recent events, that made me puck in my mouth, although they are still my #4 earner (when the cuts become effective, they won't be anymore, even if I get to 45% since they're usually just 20$ ahead of DT). And that's that, a short summary of my performance at non big 4 agencies

RacePhoto · « **Reply #20 on:** March 08, 2012, 16:49 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on March 08, 2012, 14:45

its 50 votes

OOPS! Make that fifty. Sorry for the weak memory.

Quote from: wut on March 08, 2012, 14:59

Quote from: lisafx on February 23, 2012, 17:23
I'm on 15 now, counting Alamy. I still make 90% of my income from the top four, though. Some, like Depositphoto, Photodune, and Veer, are doing okay. Then there are sites like Crestock and StockFresh that just seem dead, dead, dead.

I'm on 10 and Alamy. But just until NY or so, when I suddenly got the urge to sign up to a few more. I'm sorry I did, a lot of time wasted, just like Lisa I get roughly 90% from top 4, even more if I discard Alamy. CS was surprisingly good last month though, the rest were bringing me just peanuts or even less, just getting a few sales. The worst of all is BS, complicated UL process and pathetic returns. PD was, just like jsnover mentioned good for a few days after I uploaded half of my port over there. DP is going nowhere, I've been with them for six months or so, just stagnating from the 2nd month on, sales are very low. I don't upload to 123RF because of recent events, that made me puck in my mouth, although they are still my #4 earner (when the cuts become effective, they won't be anymore, even if I get to 45% since they're usually just 20$ ahead of DT). And that's that, a short summary of my performance at non big 4 agencies

Yes, but remember I'm lazy and by only contributing to two agencies, I cut out the middle men and get more time to nap, for pretty much the same return.

I'm in no way advocating that everyone else should only work with SS and IS, it's just what works for me. Lazy is also known as optimizing returns, but call it what you want, two works fine and I'm happy. Adding audio to IS is entertaining. Hey car sounds, anyone need some? I uploaded some video to SS, which looks like will be growing roots and sprouting new branches, before it gets reviewed.

Waiting for the survey to hit 100! Who's holding back?

luissantos84 · « **Reply #21 on:** March 08, 2012, 16:55 »

Quote from: RacePhoto on March 08, 2012, 16:49

Waiting for the survey to hit 100! Who's holding back?

just did lol 71% contribute to < = 15 agencies

lisafx · « **Reply #22 on:** March 08, 2012, 19:32 »

Would any of those who contribute to >25 agencies be willing to share if/why they feel it is worthwhile to do that? Are you making any money on the additional 10+ agencies?

luissantos84 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 08, 2012, 20:02 »

Quote from: lisafx on March 08, 2012, 19:32

Would any of those who contribute to >25 agencies be willing to share if/why they feel it is worthwhile to do that? Are you making any money on the additional 10+ agencies?

in 2011
200$ to 250$ - canstockphoto, depositphotos, zazzle
150$ to 200$ - bigstock, panthermedia, photodune, isignstock, veer, stockxpert
80$ - mostphotos
4$ to 44$ - irockstock, superhug, crestock, featurepics, allyoucanstock, yaymicro, 3dstudio, stockfresh, scanstock, pixmac, glstock

nicku · « **Reply #24 on:** March 09, 2012, 01:03 »

Quote from: lisafx on February 23, 2012, 17:23

I'm on 15 now, counting Alamy. I still make 90% of my income from the top four, though. Some, like Depositphoto, Photodune, and Veer, are doing okay. Then there are sites like Crestock and StockFresh that just seem dead, dead, dead.

i contribute only on SS, DT,FT,1234RF,DP,CanStockPhoto.

SS,DT, FT and 123RF make over 95% of my income. why should I waste time on other agencies ( exept IS but that is a personal matter) for 5 max. 10%. that extra time i can use improving my port on the big 4.

PS i just started last week contributing on Alamy.

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How many agencies do you contribute to? (at least 1/3 of your portfolio)

Author Topic: POLL: How many agencies do you contribute to? (Read 17244 times)

luissantos84

lisafx

w7lwi

luissantos84

luissantos84

Jo Ann Snover

lagereek

Paulo M. F. Pires

luissantos84

Eireann

luissantos84

Druid

rubyroo

eyecandy

ShadySue

RacePhoto

luissantos84

RacePhoto

luissantos84

wut

RacePhoto

luissantos84

lisafx

luissantos84

nicku

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