Author Topic: Is E+ proving to be benificial? (Read 13038 times)

malamus · « **on:** July 13, 2012, 10:45 »

Hello.

I had decided to keep all of my images available at the lowest price possible a while back because I thought Istock would be killing sales by increasing the price. Much time has passed since then and I would be gratefull of your opinions/results in adding images to the E+ collection.

Should it only be for images that you feel worth the extra?
Has anybody had positive results from making all their files E+ (less DL more £)?
Does it work best to make you best sellers E+ or are they best sellers because they are kept to a low price point etc…

Hopefully this will guide me in maximising my profitability at IS.

Thank you

Lagereek · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2012, 11:18 »

It was beneficial, at least in the beginning but since then the best match is so screwed up, nothing seems beneficial anymore.

rimglow · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2012, 11:36 »

Beneficial to me. I moved all of my best sellers to E+, and those are still the ones that get downloaded the most. I think at the dirt cheap prices buyers are getting, a few dollars more isn't a deal breaker. Especially at the big advertising agencies, where thousands of dollars are poured into a campaign.

Wish I could add more.

Gannet77 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2012, 13:03 »

Very beneficial - certainly my DLs have reduced year on year, though whether that is due to my elevating files to E+ or just a result of other factors I cannot tell - but I do find I am making a lot more in royalties.

As for which files to choose, I go for the best sellers, which are not necessarily the ones I think are the best images. But you do need to bear in mind that if they are fairly generic there may be competition from cheaper files, either independent or regular Exclusive, so best check before committing to the six month lock in.

lisafx · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2012, 13:39 »

I'm non-exclusive, so no E+, but my P+ images are doing very well. I'd say more than half my sales are of the + images, even though they are only a small fraction of my total portfolio.

I selected mine by sorting my port by DL/mo and filling my slots with the best sellers. Only exception was a few simple isolations with lots of competition which I though were better left in the regular collection.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2012, 13:41 »

from last 20 sales 13 are P+

rimglow · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2012, 13:43 »

Wait, I'm not exclusive. I meant P+.

LesHoward · « **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2012, 14:09 »

I'm not exclusive. I put my best sellers in P+ and they have continued being my best sellers. I don't think the increased price is an issue with buyers - they're the same price or less than an exclusive file the same size.

Because of the six month lock-in I keep a few P+ slots available to use when a new good seller comes along.

Freedom · « **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2012, 14:17 »

Definitely beneficial.

Lagereek · « **Reply #9 on:** July 13, 2012, 14:24 »

Same here, not exclusive, I also meant P+. in any case thats what see but not overwhelmingly. In fact, I dont really care about IS anymore, its going to TS anyway so when I upload, I upload with TS, etc, in mind.

Freedom · « **Reply #10 on:** July 13, 2012, 14:33 »

The OP is exclusive. He can opt out of TS, if he likes.

Zerkalo · « **Reply #11 on:** July 15, 2012, 08:06 »

I am also interested in this topic, however only E+ since I am exclusive. Maybe exclusives can give their opinion.

ShadySue · « **Reply #12 on:** July 15, 2012, 08:09 »

Quote from: Zerkalo on July 15, 2012, 08:06

I am also interested in this topic, however only E+ since I am exclusive. Maybe exclusives can give their opinion.

Like anything else, someone else's experience won't necessarily be yours, as it depends on portfolio, popularity and opposition on the site and strange, unfathomable factors.

whimsikewl · « **Reply #13 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:08 »

Quote from: ShadySue on July 15, 2012, 08:09

Quote from: Zerkalo on July 15, 2012, 08:06
I am also interested in this topic, however only E+ since I am exclusive. Maybe exclusives can give their opinion.
Like anything else, someone else's experience won't necessarily be yours, as it depends on portfolio, popularity and opposition on the site and strange, unfathomable factors.

I am exclusive and probably like many others, I have been moving more and more images to E+ in hopes to profit when these are moved to Getty's Stockbye collection. My E+ downloads have increased quite a bit, although hard to tell if that makes up for potential losses from less sales overall. It is nice to make $15 for a medium download, so that is a definite plus.

I've noticed that the E+ files have been given a definite best match boost. The first two pages of my portfolio best match sort is now loaded with E+ files. This worries me that with so many exclusives having huge portfolios - many with 6 to 20 thousand files - there are going to be tons of E+ files rising in the searches. When one file moves up another one has to move down. This could kill off a lot of my non E+ files that are borderline successful.

Freedom · « **Reply #14 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:27 »

It's interesting you said that. I just looked at my port best match, hardly any E+ in the first page although there seems to be a boost for Vetta. Perhaps it explains why my July is so terrible. If IS is boosting E+ in best match but excluding mine, it only makes sense that my sales are down.

Quote from: whimsikewl on July 15, 2012, 09:08

I am exclusive and probably like many others, I have been moving more and more images to E+ in hopes to profit when these are moved to Getty's Stockbye collection. My E+ downloads have increased quite a bit, although hard to tell if that makes up for potential losses from less sales overall. It is nice to make $15 for a medium download, so that is a definite plus.

I've noticed that the E+ files have been given a definite best match boost. The first two pages of my portfolio best match sort is now loaded with E+ files. This worries me that with so many exclusives having huge portfolios - many with 6 to 20 thousand files - there are going to be tons of E+ files rising in the searches. When one file moves up another one has to move down. This could kill off a lot of my non E+ files that are borderline successful.

whimsikewl · « **Reply #15 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:45 »

Yes, very strange. I doubt though that they are singling out individual contribs to give or not give best match boosts. Possibly because many of my E+ images have just recently been designated as E+, they get an initial boost. Who knows. BTW, my July sales overall are pretty lousy also.

Quote from: Freedom on July 15, 2012, 09:27

It's interesting you said that. I just looked at my port best match, hardly any E+ in the first page although there seems to be a boost for Vetta. Perhaps it explains why my July is so terrible. If IS is boosting E+ in best match but excluding mine, it only makes sense that my sales are down.

Quote from: whimsikewl on July 15, 2012, 09:08
I am exclusive and probably like many others, I have been moving more and more images to E+ in hopes to profit when these are moved to Getty's Stockbye collection. My E+ downloads have increased quite a bit, although hard to tell if that makes up for potential losses from less sales overall. It is nice to make $15 for a medium download, so that is a definite plus.

I've noticed that the E+ files have been given a definite best match boost. The first two pages of my portfolio best match sort is now loaded with E+ files. This worries me that with so many exclusives having huge portfolios - many with 6 to 20 thousand files - there are going to be tons of E+ files rising in the searches. When one file moves up another one has to move down. This could kill off a lot of my non E+ files that are borderline successful.

cmannphoto · « **Reply #16 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:50 »

Quote

Quote from: Freedom on July 15, 2012, 09:27
It's interesting you said that. I just looked at my port best match, hardly any E+ in the first page although there seems to be a boost for Vetta. Perhaps it explains why my July is so terrible. If IS is boosting E+ in best match but excluding mine, it only makes sense that my sales are down.

You got to remember that what you see in the best match is NOT what others see. After Aprils HQ Update I asked a couple friends to look at my portfolio, one was a buyer and another was not, each of us saw a totally different selection of images in the best match sort.

Here is a link to that thread http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=343053&page=1

"All of these factors also affect the searches that contributors are doing as well, making it difficult for you to assess what you're seeing or to understand how it might look from the perspective of a specific customer. So bear in mind when you look at a set of results that it won't be the same across different segments. "

Freedom · « **Reply #17 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:53 »

I knew. I read all these. Just trying to figure out why my July has been so terrible.

Quote from: whimsikewl on July 15, 2012, 09:08

Quote from: ShadySue on July 15, 2012, 08:09
Quote from: Zerkalo on July 15, 2012, 08:06
I am also interested in this topic, however only E+ since I am exclusive. Maybe exclusives can give their opinion.
Like anything else, someone else's experience won't necessarily be yours, as it depends on portfolio, popularity and opposition on the site and strange, unfathomable factors.
I am exclusive and probably like many others, I have been moving more and more images to E+ in hopes to profit when these are moved to Getty's Stockbye collection. My E+ downloads have increased quite a bit, although hard to tell if that makes up for potential losses from less sales overall. It is nice to make $15 for a medium download, so that is a definite plus.

I've noticed that the E+ files have been given a definite best match boost. The first two pages of my portfolio best match sort is now loaded with E+ files. This worries me that with so many exclusives having huge portfolios - many with 6 to 20 thousand files - there are going to be tons of E+ files rising in the searches. When one file moves up another one has to move down. This could kill off a lot of my non E+ files that are borderline successful.

ShadySue · « **Reply #18 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:55 »

Quote from: whimsikewl on July 15, 2012, 09:08

I've noticed that the E+ files have been given a definite best match boost. The first two pages of my portfolio best match sort is now loaded with E+ files.

The best match in your own portfolio doesn't necessarily correspond with a sitewide best match.
Also your best match isn't necessarily the same as anyone else's. Within my own port, I'd say recent uploads are weighted high, and the rest is a sprinkling of E+ and files with more than 'my' average of recent sales.
Remember that sitewide best match isn't the same for everybody. There's a debatably-useful geographic bias, and according to KelvinJay, a bias according to your 'previous sales'. There must be other factors as well.
Example, here are screenshots I've made in the last five minutes. The top two are the top of my own port sorted by best match, one logged in, the other logged out. The next two are the top of a sitewide search on 'horse', one logged in, one logged out.

BTW, can anyone find the 'horse' in that Olympic flag? Just sayin'

cmannphoto · « **Reply #19 on:** July 15, 2012, 09:57 »

Hey that is my Olympic flag from the "Equestrian" venue during the 2004 Olympics

ShadySue · « **Reply #20 on:** July 15, 2012, 10:06 »

Quote from: cmannphoto on July 15, 2012, 09:57

Hey that is my Olympic flag from the "Equestrian" venue during the 2004 Olympics

So, where's the 'horse'?

cmannphoto · « **Reply #21 on:** July 15, 2012, 10:09 »

Quote from: ShadySue on July 15, 2012, 10:06

Quote from: cmannphoto on July 15, 2012, 09:57
Hey that is my Olympic flag from the "Equestrian" venue during the 2004 Olympics
So, where's the 'horse'?

There was a couple hundred under that flag. Just following the editorial captioning rules ;-)

Your examples fits with my post above yours about what IS said about the best match results.

ShadySue · « **Reply #22 on:** July 15, 2012, 10:19 »

Quote from: cmannphoto on July 15, 2012, 10:09

Quote from: ShadySue on July 15, 2012, 10:06
Quote from: cmannphoto on July 15, 2012, 09:57
Hey that is my Olympic flag from the "Equestrian" venue during the 2004 Olympics
So, where's the 'horse'?
There was a couple hundred under that flag. Just following the editorial captioning rules ;-)

The editorial keywording rules are no different from the main collection rules. Sorry, that sort of thing just drives me nuts, especially when I've had 'nobody' pulled out of two inspections this week which had nobody in them, and panoramic composition pulled from a 'letterbox' photo.

ShadySue · « **Reply #23 on:** July 15, 2012, 10:37 »

Quote from: cmannphoto on July 15, 2012, 10:09

Your examples fits with my post above yours about what IS said about the best match results.

Yeah, sorry, I was screendumping and pasting, so you beat me to it!

whimsikewl · « **Reply #24 on:** July 15, 2012, 11:19 »

Yes I am perfectly aware of this. My post was my own personal anecdotal experience in response to the opening post that asked if E+ files are beneficial.

My own personal experience on this date at this time is that my first 100 files sorted by best match contain almost 75 E+ files, as opposed to a couple months ago when there were only about 10 E+ files on the first page, IIRC. I highly suspect that this is due to the fact that I just added about 200 files to E+. I also highly suspect that this is why I am getting more E+ downloads. So yes, for me, at this time, E+ files appear to be beneficial. Hopefully, when and if these files are mirrored on Getty, they will prove even more beneficial.

Admittedly, my surmise that E+ files are getting a best match boost, was unfounded, as applied to all contributors, since I am only aware of my own circumstances.

I am also aware that my own personal best match sort on this day will have almost no correlation with any best match search on any given keyword to any one else's best match search results.

Quote from: ShadySue on July 15, 2012, 09:55

Quote from: whimsikewl on July 15, 2012, 09:08
I've noticed that the E+ files have been given a definite best match boost. The first two pages of my portfolio best match sort is now loaded with E+ files.
The best match in your own portfolio doesn't necessarily correspond with a sitewide best match.
Also your best match isn't necessarily the same as anyone else's. Within my own port, I'd say recent uploads are weighted high, and the rest is a sprinkling of E+ and files with more than 'my' average of recent sales.
Remember that sitewide best match isn't the same for everybody. There's a debatably-useful geographic bias, and according to KelvinJay, a bias according to your 'previous sales'. There must be other factors as well.

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Author Topic: Is E+ proving to be benificial? (Read 13038 times)

malamus

Lagereek

rimglow

Gannet77

lisafx

luissantos84

rimglow

LesHoward

Freedom

Lagereek

Freedom

Zerkalo

ShadySue

whimsikewl

Freedom

whimsikewl

cmannphoto

Freedom

ShadySue

cmannphoto

ShadySue

cmannphoto

ShadySue

ShadySue

whimsikewl

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