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Author Topic: This month's sales  (Read 129857 times)

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Suspect

« Reply #50 on: October 30, 2021, 13:26 »
+2
Everest, 'As suggested I think it is much wiser move to medium or macro stock'

I am only aware of Stocksy, Arcangel and Trevillion which I assume are 'macro' stock.

Do you know of any others, and which ones are 'medium' stock?

Thanks.


« Reply #51 on: October 30, 2021, 14:17 »
+2
Deb, you have thoroughly embarrassed me . But let me try to explain.

First of all, if we are modest its because we know you dont have to be talented to do well in microstock. You just have to know the ropes.

The other thing is that people like Mihai, myself, Doug Jensen, and remember Iain Campbell with the great model release video port? - are just a few people that come to mind. The common thing is that we all started about the same time - around 2012 to 2013. Why is this important? For one thing, it was a great time to start. There was still quite a bit of competition back in those days, which is important because you need that in order to keep upping your game.

On the other hand, the people who started before us were used to easy street. Back in the beginning when a good stock pic went to the top of the search - it stayed there (forever) depending solely on how many dls it had. So, when things got tough, a lot of them were not willing to change.

When we came along, was the time SS first changed their algorithm and boy did that hurt a lot of people. But the newcomers like us, learnt from it. Also, I remember having all these arguments with Lauren at the time about what sold and what didn't. I started getting 1,000+ DLs on SS a month, and he was trailing behind me, but we still had these arguments. Long story. The older group were not willing to change.

The other thing about the people I know who started then and did well, was we learnt from reviewers rejections. They were even tougher back then, and it was another thing that made or broke you.

And thirdly, we played to our strengths, and we got better and better at knowing how to use them for microstock. Mihai of course is an engineer and brilliant at technical stuff, I come from a business and graphic design background, Iain started off as a model and then learnt video from one of the top video contributors in the industry at the time. Doug had a strong background in video.

So, the question is, can it still be done again if you start today? I know its getting more and more difficult.  SS pulling the rug out of people's feet with their rates restructure has made it even worse. But there is still money to be made with new uploads, and ways to get around all the low subs I have found. And it all comes back to what you shoot, and how to be just that bit different to the rest of the crowd.

So in a nutshell: Play to your strengths, always check with what's already on the database, don't shoot what everyone's shooting, keep learning, keep improving your skills, keep upping your game, and do research. In fact there's heaps and heaps of subject matter that I find every day that is popular on social media and not well covered on the microstock databases.**

And dont listen to all the complaints. It will bring you down. Productivity and negativity don't go well together.

And finally, always remember you are not competing against a million other contributors. You are only competing with those who shoot the same subject matter as you - or rather, those who have the same keywords as you. Puts it all in perspective then.



ETA: ** This is important because advertisers know they have to follow social media trends to sell their products to them - and we (as the stock providers) are there to provide them with that content. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! lol

Dear Annie,
i agree with every single word you wrote!
this is exactly what i do and...it works!
In the meantime, October 2021 is my BME (since 2010)
(but i'm not a photographer, 2d/3d illustrations and animations)

« Reply #52 on: October 30, 2021, 15:50 »
+2
There are a few others. Adobe premium, Offset, Pond5 setting your prices (basically for video),FilmSupply, plainpicture,...

Everest, 'As suggested I think it is much wiser move to medium or macro stock'

I am only aware of Stocksy, Arcangel and Trevillion which I assume are 'macro' stock.

Do you know of any others, and which ones are 'medium' stock?

Thanks.

wds

« Reply #53 on: October 30, 2021, 18:43 »
0
There are a few others. Adobe premium, Offset, Pond5 setting your prices (basically for video),FilmSupply, plainpicture,...

Everest, 'As suggested I think it is much wiser move to medium or macro stock'

I am only aware of Stocksy, Arcangel and Trevillion which I assume are 'macro' stock.

Do you know of any others, and which ones are 'medium' stock?

Thanks.



There is no anecdotal data on these sites. Yes, they charge more for images, but how much do contributors make compared to:

 - the "glory days of stock" say 25 years ago?
 - the "glory days of microstock" say 10+ years ago?

For Real

« Reply #54 on: October 30, 2021, 18:47 »
+2
There are a few others. Adobe premium, Offset, Pond5 setting your prices (basically for video),FilmSupply, plainpicture,...

Everest, 'As suggested I think it is much wiser move to medium or macro stock'

I am only aware of Stocksy, Arcangel and Trevillion which I assume are 'macro' stock.

Do you know of any others, and which ones are 'medium' stock?

Thanks.



There is no anecdotal data on these sites. Yes, they charge more for images, but how much do contributors make compared to:

 - the "glory days of stock" say 25 years ago?
 - the "glory days of microstock" say 10+ years ago?

they don't. Just think the new folks today will look back at 2021 and say those were the glory days getting almost $.10 per image and $.50 per 4K video on SS!

thijsdegraaf

« Reply #55 on: October 31, 2021, 04:25 »
+1
There are a few others. Adobe premium, Offset, Pond5 setting your prices (basically for video),FilmSupply, plainpicture,...

Everest, 'As suggested I think it is much wiser move to medium or macro stock'

I am only aware of Stocksy, Arcangel and Trevillion which I assume are 'macro' stock.

Do you know of any others, and which ones are 'medium' stock?

Thanks.



There is no anecdotal data on these sites. Yes, they charge more for images, but how much do contributors make compared to:

 - the "glory days of stock" say 25 years ago?
 - the "glory days of microstock" say 10+ years ago?

they don't. Just think the new folks today will look back at 2021 and say those were the glory days getting almost $.10 per image and $.50 per 4K video on SS!

I am a newbie.
In construction you had years with a lot of unemployment and then years with a shortage of employees, so you could earn a lot.
I don't see that happening in stock. The amount of photos, illustrations on the internet is increasing. Cameras, telephones, editing equipment are getting better and more accessible to many people.
I'm sorry I didn't start sooner. But it doesn't make much sense to look back to the past, because that time won't come back.
I think everyone should decide for themselves what to do. I think the talented people can still make good money from it. And it's nice to see whether the earnings are still improving, without always thinking about the past.
I don't earn much, but I like to do it and now even earn something from my hobby (photographing and identifying insects in particular). I just don't have to buy expensive equipment especially for stock.
My biggest fear is that whether the photos will indeed be given away for free in the long run or worse (such as forum, blogs, guestbook on my website, photo sites similar to Flickr) Shutterstock or Adobe will suddenly be completely discontinued. So that everything is gone. Although I think/hope it will take some time.  :)
« Last Edit: October 31, 2021, 04:28 by thijsdegraaf »

« Reply #56 on: October 31, 2021, 04:30 »
0
There are a few others. Adobe premium, Offset, Pond5 setting your prices (basically for video),FilmSupply, plainpicture,...

Everest, 'As suggested I think it is much wiser move to medium or macro stock'

I am only aware of Stocksy, Arcangel and Trevillion which I assume are 'macro' stock.

Do you know of any others, and which ones are 'medium' stock?

Thanks.



There is no anecdotal data on these sites. Yes, they charge more for images, but how much do contributors make compared to:

 - the "glory days of stock" say 25 years ago?
 - the "glory days of microstock" say 10+ years ago?

they don't. Just think the new folks today will look back at 2021 and say those were the glory days getting almost $.10 per image and $.50 per 4K video on SS!
I have heard from some old stock photographer - "the glory days of stock" - before RF :-)


« Reply #57 on: October 31, 2021, 05:13 »
0

My biggest fear is that whether the photos will indeed be given away for free in the long run or worse (such as forum, blogs, guestbook on my website, photo sites similar to Flickr) Shutterstock or Adobe will suddenly be completely discontinued. So that everything is gone. Although I think/hope it will take some time.  :)

I don't think it will happen because a stock photo is a product like any other product in any industry. There are costs, time and knowledge invested. There are hobbyists, but there contribution to overall market revenue is small.

For Real

« Reply #58 on: October 31, 2021, 08:38 »
0
"My biggest fear is that whether the photos will indeed be given away for free in the long run or worse (such as forum, blogs, guestbook on my website, photo sites similar to Flickr) Shutterstock or Adobe will suddenly be completely discontinued. So that everything is gone. Although I think/hope it will take some time. "

I've heard five years especially if AI images go into play. Technology has changed our lives in many ways. The battery cars will take away the current service jobs that hundred's of thousands do today.

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #59 on: October 31, 2021, 09:08 »
0

So my advice in a nutshell: Play to your strengths, always check with what's already on the database, don't shoot what everyone's shooting, keep learning, keep improving your skills, keep upping your game, and do research. In fact there's heaps and heaps of subject matter that I find every day that is popular on social media and not well covered on the microstock databases.

And dont listen to all the complaints. It will bring you down. Productivity and negativity don't go well together.

And finally, always remember you are not competing against a million other contributors. You are only competing with those who shoot the same subject matter as you - or rather, those who have the same keywords as you.

Also great point on the social media leads and designers follow. Of course the opposite is also true. One big circle, like a snake eating it's own tail. Trends are created from both sides, feeding off each other.

Interesting way of putting that, we are competing with people who have the same keywords, not the same images.  :) Although there are starting to be AI matches for images, using the images, I think you're right, keywords matter most for being seen, and then the images themselves.

« Last Edit: October 31, 2021, 09:13 by Uncle Pete »

« Reply #60 on: October 31, 2021, 09:32 »
+1

My biggest fear is that whether the photos will indeed be given away for free in the long run or worse (such as forum, blogs, guestbook on my website, photo sites similar to Flickr) Shutterstock or Adobe will suddenly be completely discontinued. So that everything is gone. Although I think/hope it will take some time.  :)

I don't think it will happen because a stock photo is a product like any other product in any industry. There are costs, time and knowledge invested. There are hobbyists, but there contribution to overall market revenue is small.
I guess most of the microstock photographers are hobbyists or semi pro photographers, producing 50 to 200 images a month. Some contributors are production teams that produce a huge amount every month. Guess 60% of earnings in microstock is made by production teams located in eastern Europe.

Professional photographers are not typical for microstock.
If you are running a small photography business without employees there are some costs.
Your earnings before tax - about $3000, studio rent - about 800 (small studio), equipment, insurance, energy, software, etc,.. for a small photography business there are about $4500 income a month to calculate at least.
This is easier to made with contract work.

"My biggest fear is that whether the photos will indeed be given away for free in the long run"
If you calculate the cost for running a photography business right, they are already given away nearly for free.
You can't compete with east Europe stock production teams. Taking in account to have about $4500 costs and 170 hours a month. Every hour invested should make at least $27 an hour, without model costs. Wich will take another $25 into account per model and hour. Simple productions with one model don't sell anymore. So you will need about 4 to 5 models, and a small team. For an 1/2 day shooting you must account at least about $600 of costs. This is just a half day shooting for stock.

« Reply #61 on: October 31, 2021, 15:25 »
+2
Microstock is a business model / industry. We produce goods as it is common in other industries.

When production costs become too expensive in one country, production moves to a country where these costs are lower. And if that country produces too expensively, it moves on to the next country.

In the past, textiles were produced in Germany. At some point, that came to an end. Labor costs were too high and the cost of living was too high.

Later, Greece was a country where an important part of the gross domestic product was generated by the textile industry. But that belongs to the past, too.

Today, the textiles come from Bangladesh.

I am very sure that the market-dominating producers in the future will not come from the Western industrialized nations. You simply cannot produce below the price required for the cost of living.

That's why many microstock producers had the keywording done in Asia - in India, for example - already years ago. To make a profit.

From 10 cents, for example, model photography is no longer possible here.

« Reply #62 on: October 31, 2021, 16:37 »
+2
My earnings at SS peaked in 2019 but they are continuing to improve at Adobe. This month at Adobe, I hit a new annual high - with 2 months still to go.  With any luck, I still have a shot at an all time high in 2021, across all agencies combined!

« Reply #63 on: November 01, 2021, 05:13 »
+1
At the beginning of October I passed the 10,000 downloads for this year. Just a few years ago, it took me only half a year to do that. In addition, for the first time since 2011, I'm going to make the five-figure income for the year by a relatively narrow margin.

Revenue October 2021 vs. October 2020
AS: + 54.5%
SS: - 31.5%
If I add up all 6 agencies, revenues are identical with Oct. 2020 (though I can only estimate iStock by using September numbers).

Downloads -6.2%
So RPD actually increased slightly compared to 2020, which I would not have expected.

Suspect

« Reply #64 on: November 03, 2021, 08:19 »
0
Big EOTM slump followed by a smaller MOTM slump hot on the heels of a BOTM slump.

Lot of slumpin' going on here.

I'm having an Autumn slump, hot on the heels of a Spring and Summer slump, anticipating a Winter slump ...

For Real

« Reply #65 on: November 03, 2021, 10:00 »
+1
Big EOTM slump followed by a smaller MOTM slump hot on the heels of a BOTM slump.

Lot of slumpin' going on here.

I'm having an Autumn slump, hot on the heels of a Spring and Summer slump, anticipating a Winter slump ...

It is no longer consider a 'slump' since that indicates that things will go back to normal with higher sales  :-\

Suspect

« Reply #66 on: November 03, 2021, 10:06 »
0
Big EOTM slump followed by a smaller MOTM slump hot on the heels of a BOTM slump.

Lot of slumpin' going on here.

I'm having an Autumn slump, hot on the heels of a Spring and Summer slump, anticipating a Winter slump ...

It is no longer consider a 'slump' since that indicates that things will go back to normal with higher sales  :-\

True.  Maybe I should have said 'a never ending downward slide ...'...


Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #67 on: November 03, 2021, 10:10 »
+1
At the beginning of October I passed the 10,000 downloads for this year. Just a few years ago, it took me only half a year to do that. In addition, for the first time since 2011, I'm going to make the five-figure income for the year by a relatively narrow margin.

Revenue October 2021 vs. October 2020
AS: + 54.5%
SS: - 31.5%
If I add up all 6 agencies, revenues are identical with Oct. 2020 (though I can only estimate iStock by using September numbers).

Downloads -6.2%
So RPD actually increased slightly compared to 2020, which I would not have expected.

$10,000 for the year, you're over $1 RPD and that's a great success story as well.



« Reply #68 on: November 03, 2021, 17:34 »
0
At the beginning of October I passed the 10,000 downloads for this year. Just a few years ago, it took me only half a year to do that. In addition, for the first time since 2011, I'm going to make the five-figure income for the year by a relatively narrow margin.

Revenue October 2021 vs. October 2020
AS: + 54.5%
SS: - 31.5%
If I add up all 6 agencies, revenues are identical with Oct. 2020 (though I can only estimate iStock by using September numbers).

Downloads -6.2%
So RPD actually increased slightly compared to 2020, which I would not have expected.

$10,000 for the year, you're over $1 RPD and that's a great success story as well.



Pete, I must have expressed myself incorrectly or poorly.  My RPD is lower than $1.

I already have the 10000 Dls, but the five-digit income not yet - in contrast to previous years.

For Real

« Reply #69 on: November 03, 2021, 21:40 »
+1
then we must take back that gold metal  :-\

Suspect

« Reply #70 on: November 04, 2021, 02:22 »
0
then we must take back that gold metal  :-\

I agree, especially in light of Wilm's huge portfolio of 1300 images (on SS alone)... 
If you do better next year Wilm you can have the gold medal back  8)

« Reply #71 on: November 04, 2021, 03:16 »
0
Could I maybe get a tin medal instead?  :P ::)

Suspect

« Reply #72 on: November 04, 2021, 04:05 »
0
Could I maybe get a tin medal instead?  :P ::)

Of course, Wilm. 
You do at least deserve that for your tiny 10K+ downloads this year ..

« Reply #73 on: November 04, 2021, 05:32 »
0
Shutterstock is the only site delivering, the others are in a comatose. 

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #74 on: November 04, 2021, 12:26 »
+1
Could I maybe get a tin medal instead?  :P ::)

LOL the 10k downloads is an accomplishment and yes I misread I thought you said five figures for the first time since 2011.

In addition, for the first time since 2011, I'm going to make the five-figure income for the year by a relatively narrow margin.

Sorry gold medals can't be taken back except in cases of fraud, lies or cheating.

I agree, especially in light of Wilm's huge portfolio of 1300 images (on SS alone)... 
If you do better next year Wilm you can have the gold medal back  8)

Only 1,300 images, that's amazing.


 

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