Quote from: modviz on May 15, 2013, 00:33

Quote from: stockmarketer on May 14, 2013, 23:54
The code is this: figure out what buyers want, and a way to give it to them with as few costs (equipment, time spent, etc.) as possible.   Anyone can do what I'm doing... I'm nothing special in terms of skills, but maybe just in how I look at the market.

Can we see your portfolio?

Hi All,

Just wanted to report back. I don't know if they are paying attention but the day after posting how my sales were plummeting at ShutterStock the very next day I had a $131 day. Maybe it was just a bad three weeks but I am keeping my eye close to the numbers to see. Hoping sales pick up like they used to be SS has always been my best return per image and the straightest shooters at the carnival.

Cheers,
Jonathan

it appears that all my older stuff is selling but nothing of the new images - weird...

Quote from: anthonycorreia on May 12, 2013, 14:28
Hello all,
At Shutterstock, we perform regular tests of small modifications to search.   Those tests are typically released to limited segments of the overall customer population. If a test wins over time – which typically means that the changes have demonstrably increased the total number of customer downloads – then the resulting improvements are accepted and deployed. 

Search testing and analysis is a continuous process of small improvements that generally won't result in dramatic swings in search. Changes are carefully tested and evaluated to make sure that the overall effect on customer downloads and/or purchases is a positive one.

Customer demand, content differentiation, keyword quantity and quality, global holidays, seasonality and other factors can affect an individual contributor's day-to-day earnings.  We recommend allowing a little time before evaluating the effect on your personal portfolio. 

Sincerely,
Anthony Correia
Director, Contributor Success
Shutterstock|Bigstock

How long is "a little time", as my SOD's and OD's have gone down about 35% since the start of May (and subscription downloads about -20%). 
As Jonathan R. said, this is the first time for such a significant change in Most Popular search.   How long are we supposed to sit and watch sales go down before we are allowed/supposed to complain/panic ?

I'd give it at least 30 days before starting a full on panic.  It's only the 17th day of May and the start of May is usually slow, with all the May holidays in Europe.

Yes, May can have a slow start, but then this should be a general trend over all sites.  For me, the first half  of May is up for Fotolia, DST and DP, down just a bit for IS and CAN, 35% down for SS and status quo for all other sites  (I never count the EL's).

I'm having a normal to good month at SS.

Quote from: fotografer on May 17, 2013, 15:12
I'm having a normal to good month at SS.

Things normal here as well... first 17 days of May 2013 the same as first 17 days of May 2012 almost to the dollar.

I simply cannot figure out this new "most popular".  Looking at my own port, sorted by MP, the top images are not my most popular images at all.  Since the MP re-mix, my files that sold on a daily basis jumped to page two, and other files jumped ahead.   

I've always thought that MP meant :  best selling images compared to number of days on-line.  Well, right now, that is certainly NOT the case with my images.  As a result of this re-mix, a customer has no way of knowing what the REALLY best-selling images are (while this is easily checked at DST, FT and IS).

Also, if in a few days/weeks the old MP is re-established, then my bestsellers will no longer be bestsellers, as they have skipped a month of sales and lost their place.

First I thought that SS simply raised the importance of the days-on-line in the algorithm, but on the other hand, I can see many old (unpopular) files sell a few times.   

Do not know if its significant or not? but ever since they started this rotation or whatever they might call it. My sales have shot at least 40% up at IS and DT, still with a good earning at SS. There are similar reports over at SS.
They call in a forever going experiment??  not much comfort is it? an experiment, fair enough but this experiment seem to have a negative effect on most peoples earnings. Not good.

Quote from: falstafff on May 23, 2013, 08:47
Do not know if its significant or not? but ever since they started this rotation or whatever they might call it. My sales have shot at least 40% up at IS and DT, still with a good earning at SS. There are similar reports over at SS.

I guess that's proof of one of the benefits of exclusivity: spreading the risk.
Congrats about your 40% up on iS - the people I correspond with, and me, are having a grim month there.

Reminder to everyone that it's a UK Friday-Monday holiday this weekend, BTW. I think some other countries also have the Monday, maybe not the Friday.

In the US Monday is one of the biggest holidays of the year with almost everyone off so sales here probably will be slow starting Friday afternoon and continuing through Tuesday morning.

Yep Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start to summer.

And over the next two weeks depending in what State you are in Schools will be ending the year.

Quote from: ShadySue on May 23, 2013, 09:17
Reminder to everyone that it's a UK Friday-Monday holiday this weekend, BTW. I think some other countries also have the Monday, maybe not the Friday.

Friday is not a UK holiday either according to their govt website.

To give a context I'm in the 4500-6000 dls/month level on SS. This month has been all over the place. A lot more variation than I am used to. Should end okay, down on expectations but up on last year. I don't like the unpredictability though.

A lot could also be down to the way vectors have been getting reviewed in the last few weeks/ months. Nothing for a month then your whole queue gets reviewed, meaning you can't trickle uploads. Difficult to keep customer focus when you have nothing new for them for a month, but boosts in dls when you get a load reviewed all at once. I don't like not being able to plan my uploads for holidays etc. due to the unpredictability of this process.

Tricky to disentangle this from the most popular search shift.

Hi All,

Just wanted to report back that after a very slow beginning to my SS month it has picked back up and is closing out at usual returns for the month. Just thought i would share the positive return of sales. I hope others are seeing the same results.

Best,
Jonathan

Happy for you Jonathan, but I'm afraid I'm not following the same trend :  down 20% compared to April, and down 15% compared to last year's May (and my port is constantly growing).  Especially the SOD's are way down.

Whatever they've done they've killed my port completely.  May has been way below everything in terms of dl's and revenue.

Not feeling the buyers love that's for sure.

Up 30% over last May, should be right about the same as April 2013. I guess some people aren't hurt by whatever is or isn't going on. My most popular actually are the recent most popular. I'm hard pressed to find anything wrong. Maybe next month?

But I tend to compare month last year to month this year, not concurrent months. It makes better sense, since sales vary by time of the year. If June is better than last June, I'm happy. I have no expectation that June will be better than May.


cleaning up with Microstock

Sales have been down over last year for the last two months and I am not seeing the recovery I had hoped for after the site went down for a forced maintenance last Friday.

Thanks for the promised update Jonathan

Thanks to several SOD's this week, my May dollars are the best ever for any May and brings this month up to the highest payout this year.  I need to wait till tomorrow to get an accurate figure, but right now my RPD is running just under $1.00.  Total number of sales, however, is down from last May by roughly 15%.  Month started extremely slow, but seems to have picked up, for me at least, over the past two weeks.

Not much comfort to those who are still struggling, but perhaps it means there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Let's hope so anyway.