Those numbers are very, very good, congrats!

I agree that I have an advantage because of my old bestsellers. But that only works in established genres, like greeting cards.

I don't have that advantage for people for instance or mock up rooms or food in general etc...

So for new themes I need to work my way through the grind.

I still believe you can increase your income faster than you expect, especially with a good push in video.

The main thing is to be determined and to keep uploading good content.

If what you say is true, then in 12 years, when I might slowly start to retire, my income from Adobe should be much higher than today.

Of course it is difficult to predict for such long timeframes, but there is a lot of life in the stock market and I believe the industry will still see a lot of growth.

eta:

I believe if I had uploaded the same old istock files in 2018 instead of 2013, I would still be where I am today.

Seasonal images need around 3-4 years to really get picked up.

So if I had uploaded in 2013, left it all to be then came back dec 2023 to start uploading again...I think the results would be the same.

Cannot test it of course.

thank you,and yes I am certainly sure that in 12 years your earnings will be more than today.

you can earn more as the years go by,although many believe that the microstock is over,I don't think so,you just need to continue working and diversifying a lot,not always doing the same thing,same genre.

my growth percentages are not bad,but unfortunately I think it will take me another 4 years before I can have an acceptable income from Adobe,so when I have reached my 10 years as a contributor.

unfortunately,as I was saying,4 years now weigh like a huge stone,if instead I was 30 years old,It would be a walk in the park to wait 4 years!

anyway no,I don't think you would be at the same point if you had started in 2018 like me,but thanks for the answer and for your point of view,I'm very pleased to read it.

Quote from: Injustice for all on July 21, 2024, 11:17
yes,what I want to wait for is the last quarter of the year...

no need to wait (and last qtr may have always been significantly different from other) --> keep a running average of the last 3 completed months - then you'll aways be able to compare a current quarter vs 1 yr, etc ago

Quote from: Injustice for all on July 21, 2024, 12:00
I'll put it simpler and ask you a question,a question aimed at those who have had an Adobe account open for at least since 10 years:

"In your opinion,if you had opened your account in 2018,despite having the same portfolio you have today,perfectly identical,would you earn the same as what you earn today?"

I don't think anyone can answer yes,but let me know what you think if you want.

I think yes. Most of my sales come from a handful of bestsellers, and some of them I uploaded in 2018-2020 (stopped uploading quality content in 2020 - so no newer data). Which for me proves the point that you can still have relatively recent bestsellers.

Quote from: cascoly on July 21, 2024, 20:14

Quote from: Injustice for all on July 21, 2024, 11:17
yes,what I want to wait for is the last quarter of the year...

no need to wait (and last qtr may have always been significantly different from other) --> keep a running average of the last 3 completed months - then you'll aways be able to compare a current quarter vs 1 yr, etc ago

thanks for the advice,for a comparison with last year it is actually better,because a single month can actually be deceiving,an average of 3 months is better.

however the point here is simple,I need to see an improvement and I need to see it within this year at the latest.

the work I am doing and have done this year is certainly many steps ahead of the work I was doing before 2021,so it is time that I started to see a certain difference,if I don't see it it means that it will take longer than expected.

like I said,I can't afford to waste too much time,simply because I still don't have much ahead of me,not like if i was 30 years old.

I'm certainly not old,but I'm no longer young enough to afford to wait another 4/5 years or more before seeing a more substantial profit,and the situation in general doesn't allow me to.

Quote from: mike123 on July 21, 2024, 23:38

Quote from: Injustice for all on July 21, 2024, 12:00
I'll put it simpler and ask you a question,a question aimed at those who have had an Adobe account open for at least since 10 years:

"In your opinion,if you had opened your account in 2018,despite having the same portfolio you have today,perfectly identical,would you earn the same as what you earn today?"

I don't think anyone can answer yes,but let me know what you think if you want.

I think yes. Most of my sales come from a handful of bestsellers, and some of them I uploaded in 2018-2020 (stopped uploading quality content in 2020 - so no newer data). Which for me proves the point that you can still have relatively recent bestsellers.

Thanks for your point of view.

of course you can have best-sellers,and I must also say that I also sell quite a bit of new content,but unfortunately the sales system keeps me stuck on a certain level of growth.

that is,in my opinion,I can only increase earnings up to a certain point,which is decided by various factors,by the sales system.

this is my impression,and it is also logical to think so,because otherwise how can we all sell?it is obvious that there is a mechanism that regulates sales,once I have sold my "share" I go offline,unless perhaps a customer is looking for something particular that only me or a few have in the portfolio.

so I don't believe that the exact same portfolio can earn the same thing if it started 5 years later,obviously the same exact portfolio if started in 2013 earns more than an identical portfolio started in 2018.

I really don't see evidence for any system that is holding a port down.

You can easily see it with the people who are celebrating great sales from their ai images, who sell much better than their original port.

But the reason is simply that the ai content is visually so much better than what they were producing themselves.

Better lighting, better models, better composition.

If you have what customers need, you get the sales.

It is up to you, but I find this belief that Adobe will not allow you to grow your income to be a very negative attitude.

And that is inspite of already significantly increasing your income.

My own port moves up and down very, very drastically depending on wether I have good content for the month or not.

From as low as 8000 I went up to 250, for just one day, last year.

This year I am moving between 7200 to 1600 and now around 3500-4200, which is much better than last year this time.

If you offer content that is missing and needed, why should any Adobe ,,system" hold you down?

That is not in the interest of Adobe.

They serve the customers, not the producers.

It is up to you, but perhaps consider a more positive outlook.

I do understand the concern - will it all work out financially.

In that we are in the same boat.

Cobalt,I think you don't understand anything of what I mean.

and I never said "Adobe will not allow you to grow your income"

I think exactly the opposite.

Adobe is the only agency that allows you to grow over time,but this growth is clearly regulated in a certain way.

I think you have a slightly oversimplified view of how sales work.

you think that what you produce is unique and inimitable,but that's not the case.

we all produce content that can be sold,what you do is no different from other hundreds of thousands of contributors,and therefore sales are managed by a system,it must be this way and it is right that it is this way.

regarding the missing contents you clearly didn't read what I wrote properly or perhaps I explained myself poorly.

then I don't understand why you think I'm negative?I'm extremely positive,it's clear that you don't know what the real problems are,but it's obvious,since you can afford to spend thousands of euros on Midjourney,what on earth do you want to know about real problems?

anyway no,you misunderstood,I have nothing against Adobe,and I perfectly understand why some things have to work in a certain way,and in reality you should already know this,but apparently you are not able to understand this either! 

while I really can't understand why you have to attack me and accuse me of a negative attitude,and you put things in my mouth that I didn't say,just because you didn't understand them,when I have always been polite,respectful and kind to you,I really don't understand this.

However,don't think you know things others don't know,we all know that missing content sells.

consider yourself lucky that you started more than 10 years ago and that you can afford to invest money in the microstock.

Looks like everything I wrote came out wrong. I have zero intention of attacking you.

I admire greatly what you do and I apologize for any offense caused.

But yes, I have no idea of what kind of management system of sales you speak of.

I really don't get it.

I did start uploading in 2013, but...those were 1300 files.

What is 1300 old files in a sea of millions?

I believe the new content sells because I spend a lot of time on research and never upload everything.

But perhaps that strategy is wrong.

I have cut down a lot on paying for ai.

It is still pay more than 100 dollars a month, but a lot less than last year. My prompts have improved.

It is cheaper than my studio. Thinking of giving that up, but we will see.

For the rest of the year the focus is on processing old video, in addition to some daily ai.

I believe that video has the best future.

Good luck and again my apologies.

thanks and excuses accepted!

it's probably not even our fault,because it's simply easy to misunderstand with written language.

what is 1,300 old files in millions of files?

and what are 700 files in millions of files?as you know there is who earn more than you with just 700 files,try asking yourself why.

time is a crucial factor in microstock,it has much more weight than you might think.

of course if someone put hands in the pocket,with 2-3000 files in the portfolio,and then suddenly the sales disappear and someone wonders how it is possible,well this is certainly no longer possible today,because the competition has become really tough.

Before AI,it was still possible to sleep on work already done,today it is no longer possible.

for the rest,maybe sometimes I can try to explain my point of view to you in PM,maybe it's better! 

nevermind Cobalt,I know you didn't say anything maliciously. 

good luck to you too!

However,I think it is appropriate to make some clarifications.

my sales percentages for example can perhaps be deceiving.

Jan:+73%
Feb:+50%
Mar:+8%
Apr:+50%
May:-10%
June:+25%

these percentages,which are the number of sales,seem high but they are not.

50% more than a small number of sales is still a small number of sales,maybe someone sees 50% more and thinks it's a lot but it's not.

I don't make 500 sales a month,of which 50% more would be more than good,but that's not the case.

regarding the sales system,thinking that if you have the content that the customer is looking for,you make the sale,is an overly simplified vision,it's not that simple.

sell the content that the customer is looking for is only true if only you have this content,or very few contributors.

for most content however,it is all clearly managed by the sales system,if I have a Valentine's card and hundreds of thousands others have a Valentine's card,who decides which content is shown to customers?The sales system.

Yes,the best-selling contents are shown,but also the contents of contributors who need to make sales for the sales system.

What surprises me is that many of you who have much more experience than me still haven't understood such a simple thing?I find it really strange! 

as regards "changes in the algorithm", people who say that suddenly their contents that were at the top of the searches have disappeared,unfortunately this happens if you sleep on the contents already created,in reality you need to diversify a lot,as much as possible,only in this way you can ensure an increase or stability of income.

and Cobalt,I tell you honestly,I really don't know what you admire greatly in what i do,there's not much to admire! 

I hope to see better results in the near future,I would hate to abandon the microstock!

Quote from: stocky on July 18, 2024, 21:02

Quote from: tiero on July 15, 2024, 11:14

Quote from: stocky on July 08, 2024, 19:41
My weekly ranking went up a bit after the $5 Free images accepted.

Do you only create photographs or also illustrations and vectors?
Either way, it's quite an achievement these days.

Photos only. Thanks 

Thanks for your answer.

Quote from: cobalt on July 22, 2024, 07:23
...It is up to you, but I find this belief that Adobe will not allow you to grow your income to be a very negative attitude...

Since you mentioned that we can ignore forum users, I have deliberately chosen to ignore users whose posts are negative or pessimistic.

I believe it's essential to maintain a positive outlook in any endeavor. Therefore, anyone with a negative outlook is not worth listening to or interacting with.

Quote from: DanielVisuals on July 24, 2024, 05:39

Quote from: cobalt on July 22, 2024, 07:23
...It is up to you, but I find this belief that Adobe will not allow you to grow your income to be a very negative attitude...

Since you mentioned that we can ignore forum users, I have deliberately chosen to ignore users whose posts are negative or pessimistic.

I believe it's essential to maintain a positive outlook in any endeavor. Therefore, anyone with a negative outlook is not worth listening to or interacting with.

there are no negatives here,Cobalt simply misunderstood,I wasn't talking about negativity,I was simply sharing the thought that I have to see an increase in sale because otherwise I don't know whether to continue in the long term.

There is nothing strange about this and I honestly don't understand why all the fuss over something so simple.

Now Captain America has arrived and I honestly don't know what to tell you anymore! 

but it's okay,I'm used to it,even when a year ago I talked about limits on AI I was thought to be crazy,and then after 6 months people started petitioning to put limits on AI and from what I saw many signed,so my idea wasn't that crazy!

Not that it matters,but I want to try to make people understand that things are often not as they seem.

there is an old Italian song that goes like this:

"You are good and they throw stones at you.You're bad and they throw stones at you.Whatever you do,wherever you go, you will always get stones in your face. You are rich and they throw stones at you. You are not rich and they throw stones at you. There is never anything in the world that suits you and you will take stones without mercy! It will be like this as long as you live It will be like this If you work, they throw stones at you. You do nothing and they throw stones at you. Whatever you do, you cannot understand whether what you do is good or bad. You are beautiful and they throw stones at you. You are ugly and they throw stones at you. And the day you want to defend yourself you will see that you will get many stones in your face! It will be so as long as you live. It will be so."

so true! 

Current pos 4480, now 5600 files. So I am dropping, but summer is usually slow for me

Nevertheless  I am already up 70% over July 23 overall and for Adobe it is over 100%.

Also getting better at producing and uploading. I hope I can get it to a reliable 80-120 files a week. That would allow me to at least have a chance of significantly raising my income in the next 12 months.

I am getting a nice mix of first time sales from files uploaded last year, which again I find encouraging. Also more diversity, less reliance on individual bestsellers.

for me at the moment on Adobe I have 10% more sales number and 20% more earnings,compared to July 2023,but in any case I have to start calculating the quarters,as someone suggested,because comparing just one month to another doesn't give a very broad perspective.

I'm currently producing around 100 content per week,a mix of "hybrids" and "real" content,of course all hybrids are labeled as AI.

Winter is coming...although the uptick is actually because now my summer files have really started to sell, especially those from last year

Unfortunately I didn't upload much for autumn, will try to do better next year.

I am trying to add more people and while they still sell very, very, very slowly in my port, on the days many people images are accepted I am seeing an uptick in sales.

Perhaps people stock is dual use? Can be sold but also brings eyeballs to the port?

Only have 900 people files and still have great trouble getting the images I want.

Overall July 24 revenue is up by 200% over July 23 thanks to a few smaller video sales and one extended photo license.

I am very optimistic. I just need to upload so much more...

pos 3100, 5640 files, the winter files mostly sleeping

my biggest focus for the next 18 months will be people, including real photo people and video

also still busy pushing my illustrations live, but compared to anything photo sales are extremly slow. I learned a lot, it was an interesting and fun experiment

eta

some real numbers for those interested

pos 2730, lots of smaller sales

It is amazing how my mood changes with my downloads.

I hope the worst of the year is over

eta

today is really slow, must have jinxed myself

just sharing my mid-week results

That looks promising!

May I ask the size of your port?

Quote from: cobalt on August 01, 2024, 00:03
That looks promising!

May I ask the size of your port?

13k assets, from Photos, videos, Illustrations, vectors and some AI 

It is good to have a wide mix, it keeps the port more steady. Good luck with your journey.

---

Looks like at the moment I am catching an upwind.

But it can also crash down just as fast anytime.

I am seeing a lot of small sales and first ever sales, also for older content.

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel this is the effect of having more people. although the people are (not yet) selling, it attracts more eyeballs to the port.

Winter is coming...

now pos 2540

Quote from: cobalt on July 31, 2024, 09:15
pos 2730, lots of smaller sales

It is amazing how my mood changes with my downloads.

I hope the worst of the year is over

eta

today is really slow, must have jinxed myself

this is normal, since it is our main job,if it goes well we feel better,if it goes badly we feel dejected.

you're on the right path,keep going! 

Quote from: pires128 on August 01, 2024, 09:35

Quote from: cobalt on August 01, 2024, 00:03
That looks promising!

May I ask the size of your port?

13k assets, from Photos, videos, Illustrations, vectors and some AI 

thanks for sharing.

I'm more interested in knowing how long you've been an Adobe Stock contributor,if possible,thanks.

Last week was really slow, this week already looks better