January 2010

70% SS   = BME      /   778 images BME prior to EL additional push up
8% StockXpert   = BME      /   424 images
8% FT     = BME      /   231 images
8% IS      =                /     42 images  (1st application for vector illustration contributor)
2% DT     =                /    236 images  Dwn 40% fm Dec but RPD rising
2% 123rf  =               /   1220 images Dwn 30% fm Dec of prior month BME
2% BigStock    =               /     526 images Progressively Dwn since acquired by SS

*Continue to explore both Raster and Vector Illustrations

-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

My BigStock sales are slow but fairly steady on a portfolio of just over 500 images. I still hope for a marketing push with Shutterstock's capital.

BigStock was my first stock site so I really would like to see SS make the acquisition work for themselves ...



-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

I've been an investor in Apple for quite some time and have followed the events leading up to today closely.

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/2968/slide_2968_41866_large.jpg

Here's what I've heard from what was shown on CNBC today:

*HD Video?
*iPhone operating system
*All existing iPhone applications will work on this
*16 to 64 Gigs of memory at each pricing level
*1 Gighz Chip owned by Apple
*10 hours of battery life (pretty amazing for touch screen I would imagine if true)
*Stripped down base unit $499 (w/o WiFi and other capabilities)
*16 GiG w/WiFi $626 32 Gig w/WiFi $749 64 Gig w/ WiFi $829 with unlimited data plans and service from AT&T for $29.99 month w/o any contract required

On a final note being a marketing and research guy I was speculating as to what Apple would call it and I ascertained the following: iTablet, iPad, iNetBook were most likely.  When iPad popped into my head I quickly thought that the Night talk show hosts would have a "hay day" with this one  

From a marketing perspective, imho, the roll-out was a smashing success. Buzz was generated, and while the stock had sold off on the immediate roll-out it "Buy the rumor ... sell the news", it popped up 10 points as soon as the "knock-the-ball-out-of-the-park" pricing was unveiled. The glass shattering sound bite was a nice touch. Prior to that there was much speculation that such a device could not cost any less than $1000.

Apple continues to trade just off its 52 wk and all time high. They just reported over 15 Billion in Revenue ... for the quarter for an all time record for them.

Whether you like it, love it, hate the name or just don't care ... this is a game changing device.

It will be interesting to see how the Apple stock prevails over the next couple of months.

-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Outside of microstock ...

I love to spend time with my wife and kids (16, 13, 4), invest, fly a private plane, traveling in general,  indoor rock climbing (I hope to expand this to outdoors in the near future), skiing, trips to Las Vegas, bargain shop at garage sales, thrift stores and flea markets, computers, technology, eating out, shopping, family vacations, studying foreign languages and always to be open to try new things.


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Today I just opened a CanStockPhoto account and have started uploading there. I hope to report my first fotosearch commission soon ...


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

I've got around $25.00 in there that I hope to get out ... but I'd rather see them pull things together.


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

I would imagine that that commercial stock images would have to be treated like any other asset in an estate  or will. The will or the estate would state who is to take possession of such assets. The actual transfer ... no therein lies the hard part as you have to get the actual agencies cooperation.

I would also imagine that it is possible stock images are often overlooked as assets or deemed not worth the effort to pursue the transfer ... especially if the value of a stock portfolio is misrepresented or misunderstood.


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

I was hoping that we'd see something as to how Shutterstock was going to give a push or cross market to the credit sales at BigStock after their acquisition of BigStock 


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Quote from: madelaide on January 12, 2010, 20:05
Not just one dead, one whose heirs presented to legalize the account.

Good Point.


-Mark

Based on data I've seen, DT seems to be aggressively marketing their subscription plan as we are seeing more and more subscription sales. Yet while RPDs drop due this, I am seeing revenue increase despite this. That would equate to making it up in volume.

Perhaps they are beginning to chip away at a tiny slice of SS market share of subs ...


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

I received the following email from SS today:

Dear Mark Payne,

Did you know that Bigstock recently joined forces with Shutterstock, the largest subscription-based stock image library in the world?

To celebrate this new partnership, we're pleased to offer Bigstock customers a 10% discount on a Shutterstock subscription. If you use a lot of images, this deal is perfect for you.

With a Shutterstock 25-A-Day subscription, you'll have access to a library of over 9 million high-quality, royalty-free images. That means more choices, stronger designs, and greater savings.

Shutterstock subscribers enjoy:

Flexibility. Shutterstock adds tens of thousands of images a week spanning a vast array of subjects, so your options are endless.
Convenience. Sign up for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 1 year. Subscription pricing makes it easy to plan your budget.
Quality. Shutterstock images come from top photographers and illustrators around the world, and there's no extra charge for high-resolution files.
Purchase a 25-A-Day Shutterstock subscription and begin downloading today. Simply enter coupon code SB310 during checkout to receive a 10% discount on any Standard License plan. Visit www.Shutterstock.com to get started.

We hope you'll take advantage of this special offer at Shutterstock, and you'll continue to use Bigstock for your individual royalty-free image needs.

Best regards,

The Bigstock and Shutterstock teams




-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Still buggy   

We are currently trying the "beta" pro version. Updates are pushed out to it periodically. It does certain things well, other things not so well, and somethings have placeholders in the interface but are yet to be implemented.


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com
 

Quote from: PowerDroid on January 11, 2010, 18:23
Here is a response from Dreamstime:

"Thank you for contacting us. We would need the proper legal documentation that the account rights were given to the other person. This can only be done after a death has taken place."
Kind Regards,
NAME
Customer Service Manager

MY FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:
"So, just to clarify, you would require a will or some other legal document that explicitly states that it was the deceased's intent to change the account information into the intended survivor's name?
Does this routinely happen?"

ANSWER:
"Yes, we would need the supporting legal documents for this, such as a will.  In the history of Dreamstime, it has only happened once so far."
Kind Regards,
NAME
Customer Service Manager

I am assuming that the "once" was Robert "The MIZ" who had a large portfolio there. I have always been curious as to what happened to his portfolios. At one point prior to his death I even recall his suggesting he'd sell all of his images to someone for something like 35K ...

I am curious if anyone knows how it was handled or if it was kept a private mattter ...


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Quote from: PowerDroid on January 11, 2010, 12:09
Agreed on the importance of regularly adding new material to keep showing up near the top of searches.  It's a necessary strategy.

But for most of us that's what it is, a strategy, rather than the goal.  In the stat spreadsheets I keep, I care about my port size only in the sense that it's a multiplier in hitting my revenue goals.  Port size x RPI = Revenue.  I have a revenue goal in mind, I upload a few images a day, and I carefully watch my RPI as the key determining factor of whether I'll reach my goal.  As an analogy, think about your day job... do you benchmark how many days you worked and celebrate when you've hit 100 work days for the year, 200, 300?   Now, of course I enjoy producing images for microstock and don't really want to compare it to a grind, but I have a daily quota to hit and it's my expectation that a month from now I'll have 60 more images, and two months from now I'll have 120 more images, etc.  I'm not excited when I meet my upload quotas, but instead I'm excited to see the movement in RPI if there's any... and in fact I'm thrilled when it remains constant... that tells me I'm uploading intelligently.  Looking at the count of new images just tells me I'm uploading.

Therefore I'd find it most interesting to see a thread about people tracking their RPI rather than how many images they've uploaded.  Does everyone's RPI slip over time?  Who has bucked the trend and how?  

Powerdroid,

Keeping what you said in mind, I imagine you would have to agree that if RPI were the variable X, no matter what amount X is, it will equal more revenue as a multiple of  a portfolio of 7400 images such as Peters, rather than a portfolio of 400 images if the RPI is equal. I agree that when RPI is falling  ... it is a trend worth investigating ... and I know a thing or two about trends  

While 300, 400, 500 images etc are just tiny milestones along the way on the journey, it is a goal of mine to continue grow my abilities, continue to increase my revenue stream, increase my RPI and grow gross and profit margins whenever possible.


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Quote from: PowerDroid on January 10, 2010, 14:35
I also wonder about the focus on racing to increased port size as quickly as possible.  Of course, that's a goal for all of us, but I care most of all about RPI.  So I wonder if the race to get to 700 has had the desired effect on revenue growth or if you're oversaturating subjects you already have well covered and are cannibalizing your own sales?  Not a knock on you, as I haven't looked at your port... but on the widespread desire to grow port size at any cost, rather than focusing on the more important factors of diversity, uniqueness, and yes, quality.

PowerDroid,

I agree 100% when it comes to the fact that the number of images does not matter. I would not be happy if I grew my portfolio to 1000 images and had nothing to show for it.  I have had multiple BMEs at SS and many other sites in the last six months ... so yes I am happy with the results. On the other hand the volume numbers do matter when it comes to keeping a SS portfolio active. If there are similar newly uploaded images in one's submission then that refreshes the sort by newest first. Rather than having a cannibalizing effect, I submit that frequent uploading of your specialized topics ALLOWS your image in a particular topic a fighting chance to show up in the newest section for your competing keywords in the growing millions of photos online. It is then ... that there is cross-pollenization across your portfolio to similar older images that are discovered. At least for the subscription plans ...

I also submit that it is important to have breadth in ones portfolio as well as depth when it comes to the type and number of images in ones portfolio. As far as quality is concerned I am making an effort to work on higher quality images in addition to those that start to sell well that I can create quickly. I am starting to add vectors to my portfolio as my illustration skills develop further ...

Thanks for the discussion 

-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Quote from: donding on January 09, 2010, 22:36
How are your sales with that many uploads?

I looked at your portfolio and noticed the five dollar bill. I'm surprised they let you put that on there. I had a problem with some of the stock sites (can't remember if they were one of them) saying they couldn't put a full image of currency on the web because of counterfiting. You can put a partial image just not a full one.

donding

My sales have been steadily increasing with my having had multiple BMEs at SS in the last six month. My December was $2.00 short of topping my November BME so I am very happy there.

Regarding the U.S. Five Dollar Bill and other currency, I had a couple of flat money images that were approved prior to their changes to their upload policies for these kinds of images. So I guess for now the images out there will continue to earn until they make a policy of removing images of this type that were previously accepted as SS.

Back on topic. What kind of upload pace do you maintain per week to maintain your sales own volume at SS ?

-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

I just had my 700th approval at Shutterstock and set a personal best for myself with 100 approvals achieved at SS in less than two weeks. I hope to be able to maintain this pace for a couple of weeks. I have another small batch always ready to upload as soon as one is reviewed.

-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

*I would like to suggest that this link be used for those that would like to keep track of and report their 100th, 200th, 300th etc. and beyond upload milestones for their submissions to SS. I would find being able to draw some comparisons for SS helpful similar to how we compare with the gauges here on MSG for Dreamstime and IS ...

Possible computer error on the part of SS's tracking system  ?


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Quote from: lisafx on January 02, 2010, 00:50
Here are mine for December:


Compared to my totals for 2009:

From your charts I can see at least one of the reasons of why you would be on the exclusive fence Lisa  ...

-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Strong first half of December led to another BME overall despite slowing sales near Christmas holiday 

  55% SS                 = $1.00 off a New BME (640 images)   no ELs but several OD sales
  12% IS                  = BME                       (   39  images)   growing sales
    8% 123rf              = BME                      (1034  images)   spike up 3x average sales volume
    8% FT                 = BME                        (202   images)   w/ EL
    6% DT                 = BME                        (225   images)
    6% StockXpert                = BME                      (  301  images)   lots of jupiterimages sales
    5% All Other: MP, BigStock, FP, Yay
    0% CS, ZM



-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

I am hoping to get accepted for 3rd party sales at Yay ...


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Was Lucky Oliver in 2009?


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Zymmetrical is announced closing ...

http://www.microstockgroup.com/zymmetrical-com/zymmetrical-is-now-closed/


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Best of luck to everyone !


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com

Quote from: mwp1969 on December 02, 2009, 20:25
Nov. 9th Update:

Overall      15550
7 Day          9180
Online Files:  119
Sales:             71


*Dec. 2nd Update

Overall     15450
7 Day         7300
Online Files: 189
Sales:           79

-Mark

*Jan 1st Update

Quote from: mwp1969 on December 02, 2009, 20:25

Overall      15150
7 Day          6860
Online Files:  202
Sales:             88


-Mark
http://markwpayne.wordpress.com