Let's try something different - I was thinking a list of tips on how to FAIL in this business thus a great source of information for us to share and to avoid these pitfalls. Here is my first tip on how to fail-

1. Stop submitting images-  I've heard this is the kiss of death on a lot of sites. They even lower your rankings.

Okay, I'll bite.

Tip #2:  Spend too much of your time on this Forum. It will depress you and lead you to Tip #1, above.

1) submit your work only during the weekends.
HINT: 90% chance of failure
even if your work is well-shot as always ...
the renegade weekend reviewer is sure to find something wrong with it.

NOTE: this tip  works even better to eff-up your life, ...
if..
you just broke up with your bf/gf/etc
you just got fired from your day job
your mate told you on friday night, "no tonight, i have a headache"

WAIVER:  not responsible for those with suicidal tendencies
then again, if you have been submitting to ss during the weekend
and been getting 98.6 % rejection and still alive,
you enjoy living dangerously

1-. Upload to all little crap sites
2-. Send 500 images of the same shot... all angles an frames, like movie frames.
3-. pres f5 presss f5 press f5
4-. Forum, cry, forum, cry...
5-. Only upload simple outdoors or overacting portrait photos of your girlfriend or pet... or both...
6-. Think that be accepted in shutterstock is the top

- Take a look at the most popular images and copy those.
- Watch a lot of people put hundreds of icons in one image and try to top them ("If I put TWO thousand icons in one image, people will buy MY set!")
- Do the opposite of putting every single, simple icon in one image to flood the 'Newest' search results
- Waste time uploading to iStock.
- Become an iStock exclusive.

Spend $500 on location, props and models, and many hours, on a shoot, and earn back $499, all the time boasting about how good your sales are because you make the 'right' kind of images.

Submit to microstock

1. Keep submitting images. This also seems to be the kiss of death for a lot of contributors. Doesn't matter if you have 500 images or 5,000 images, apparently there is a wall that is hit and you lose either way.

We must create a " NOT SARCASTIC Tips on how to FAIL in this business "

Me guilty

another former MSGer read this string and sent me an email to post his thoughts-

1. Stop Submitting
2. Mentor others (they will become your future competitors knowing everything about you)
3. Staying bad things about the companies on a public forum with your real name
4. Arguing about rejects with the editors
5. Being top heavy in one single category
6. Not trying new things
7. Spending too much time on forums
8. Thinking your good enough
9. Poor equipment (Point and Shoot camera)
10. Not having a BIG PICTURE Plan or any vision at all

Hit the wall.

after getting accepted by ss with 1/10 approved
invite the friends to the bar and call out, "drinks on me, i am a professional !!!"

a month later after receiving the credit card statement and the balance does not
merge with your first shutterstock payout,
go to the washroom, put your head in the can and flush !!!

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on June 27, 2016, 14:46
after getting accepted by ss with 1/10 approved
invite the friends to the bar and call out, "drinks on me, i am a professional !!!"

a month later after receiving the credit card statement and the balance does not
merge with your first shutterstock payout,
go to the washroom, put your head in the can and flush !!!

after passing the harsh test of iStock I make even less than you did on shutter- thus I just go straight to the toilet and flush myself 

Quote from: Mr Nobody on June 27, 2016, 04:26
Let's try something different - I was thinking a list of tips on how to FAIL in this business thus a great source of information for us to share and to avoid these pitfalls. Here is my first tip on how to fail-

1. Stop submitting images-  I've heard this is the kiss of death on a lot of sites. They even lower your rankings.

Actually I think you have the wrong thing at number one.
It should really be:


1. Get involved in the microstock business.

Quote from: Difydave on June 27, 2016, 15:15

Quote from: Mr Nobody on June 27, 2016, 04:26
Let's try something different - I was thinking a list of tips on how to FAIL in this business thus a great source of information for us to share and to avoid these pitfalls. Here is my first tip on how to fail-

1. Stop submitting images-  I've heard this is the kiss of death on a lot of sites. They even lower your rankings.

Actually I think you have the wrong thing at number one.
It should really be:


1. Get involved in the microstock business.

if you stop submitting you're no longer involved 

submit your work to sites that pay you 0.25c and think it is great. FAIL.

Quote from: Mr Nobody on June 27, 2016, 14:57

after passing the harsh test of iStock I make even less than you did on shutter- thus I just go straight to the toilet and flush myself 

LOL condolence to you !!!
actually ShadySue sums it all up perfectly...

Quote from: ShadySue on June 27, 2016, 11:23
Spend $500 on location, props and models, and many hours, on a shoot, and earn back $499, all the time boasting about how good your sales are because you make the 'right' kind of images.

so, morale of the story is...
if i had to do it all over again, i would just spend all my money getting drunk on alcohol , women and $ex and oh yes, rock and roll.
the money spent will at least give me satisfaction...

and i would not come to know things like (who the f*ck is this Atilla or $*b weekend-reviewer)
and i never would have to worry over (OOF, blur when viewed 100% , poor composition)...

nothing like that with S.. D.... and rock n roll 
... no worries like dirt in the sensor, noise, etc..

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on June 27, 2016, 14:46
after getting accepted by ss with 1/10 approved
invite the friends to the bar and call out, "drinks on me, i am a professional !!!"

a month later after receiving the credit card statement and the balance does not
merge with your first shutterstock payout,
go to the washroom, put your head in the can and flush !!!

Seriously, you need to pass only 1 at SS nowadays? Wow what has to world come to

Quote from: Astonished on June 27, 2016, 18:11

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on June 27, 2016, 14:46
after getting accepted by ss with 1/10 approved
invite the friends to the bar and call out, "drinks on me, i am a professional !!!"

a month later after receiving the credit card statement and the balance does not
merge with your first shutterstock payout,
go to the washroom, put your head in the can and flush !!!

Seriously, you need to pass only 1 at SS nowadays? Wow what has to world come to

I was sad to hear about that as well. I guess volume is more important to them instead of quality...

The way to FAIL at this business is to never start.
To never give 110%
To Give up After you Started
To Have A defeatist attitude
To think you're smarter than anyone else.
Realize you are dispensable.
To say bad thing in the forums. Every word is recorded forever.
You are just a small part of the BIG picture in the agency in which you belong.

Through ups and downs. I always stuck by my choice to stay exclusive with istockphoto and it has paid off for me. I upload everyday. I haven't missed a day in 9 years.

www.istockphoto.com/jodijacobson

Upload every day so your portfolio is full of content that doesn't sell.

Quote from: jodijacobson on June 27, 2016, 19:32
The way to FAIL at this business is to never start.
To never give 110%
To Give up After you Started
To Have A defeatist attitude
To think you're smarter than anyone else.
Realize you are dispensable.
To say bad thing in the forums. Every word is recorded forever.
You are just a small part of the BIG picture in the agency in which you belong.

Through ups and downs. I always stuck by my choice to stay exclusive with istockphoto and it has paid off for me. I upload everyday. I haven't missed a day in 9 years.

www.istockphoto.com/jodijacobson

I totally agree with you in every way apart from uploading every day. I spend days away from my computer by design for a reason, but I also work it and shoot as much as I can so that I have new and fresh content to add. I too am glad I am an IS exclusive. I treat it for what it is, my full time job.

PS you misunderstood the original post... it is how to FAIL but you have replied with the magical formula for SUCCESS. 

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on June 27, 2016, 19:43
Upload every day so your portfolio is full of content that doesn't sell.

Yeah, right. And 78.4% of your images have sold at least once or more- not a bad average compared to most.   

Post tips on forums to help your competition take your business

business ? what business................