Thanks for consolidating the threads.

~ Eli
www.GraphicGravy.com

Ever since I started as a vector micostock artist, I've always heard that certain sites reward you in search results when you submit new content. I'm going to put that to the test.

I submit to 20 vector sites, from big ones to small ones, and have had steady growth in my sales over the past year. As for new content, I have been adding about 30-50 new vectors each month.

Here's my experiment: I am not going to submit any new content (vectors) for 6 weeks. I want to see if it negatively affects my sales. I haven't submitted any new content this past week, and I'm planning on not submitting any during March. I realize that it is risky... What if it DOES affect my sales? Well, than I'll start submitting again in April, and do another experiment to see if sales go up again.

I have been very lucky and very blessed with my microstock sales. I'm not trying to brag, but just give a little perspective for my experiment. I have between 1000 - 1500 vectors on each of the 20 sites I submit to, and in January, my monthly microstock income was my best yet. You can see my sales rankings on my site, at graphicgravy.com. The income is high enough that it won't sting too bad if my sales drop a bit from this experiment. I think it will be worth it, and hopefully the findings from my experiment will be a good source of traffic to my site.

Before I did this, I wanted to check and see if anyone has done this before? I don't want to risk my sales for no reason if a lot of people have already tried this, and shared their results.

Thanks!
~ Eli
www.graphicgravy.com

That's great  to hear that others are experiencing recent success at Can Stock! I wonder what they are doing to increase sales and customer traffic. Has anyone seen a surge in their advertising or marketing efforts?

This is an interesting subject and probably should be in a separate thread.  I just wanted to comment that:
Doesn't uploading to CanStock, Dreamstime, Fotolia, Shutterstock, offer the same potential to cannabilize sales ... or, at least dilute the sales?

I stopped worrying about that a while ago. I submit my vectors to over 20 sites, and my top 10 sites have continued to improve in sales over the past year. My personal opinion is that people looking for files don't "price shop" a specific image at different sites. My opinion comes from years of my experience as a graphic designer and BUYER of microstock. If I find an image I like and need, I buy it then. I don't check on 13 other sites, hoping to find the same image at a better price.

BTW, I'm new to this forum, and have been really impressed with how welcoming and respectful everyone one is in what can be a competitive and cutthroat marketplace. It is fun to see how threads evolve.

~ Eli
www.graphicgravy.com

Is anyone else using picWorkflow.com? I've been using it for about a month now, and like it so far. It doesn't seem to be a huge improvement over what iSyndica was offering, but I'm just glad to have a bulk syndication option again.

I'm am 99.99% a vector-only artist, and submitting vectors has been pretty easy so far.  I like how submitting vectors is simple, and that you even CAN submit vectors. I haven't submitted any photos with them, but I'm sure its just as easy (if not easier) than vectors.  It is 1� per syndication/upload (same as iSyndica was). There are no startup costs, so it is very affordable. When I signed up, there was a promo to get a few free credits, but I'm not sure if they're still offering that.

Here's what I like and don't like so far. I like how easy it is to add microstock sites to syndicate to. It is also fairly easy to add metadata and keywords. It took a bit to figure out their process, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy. I don't really like that they don't have stats yet, but it looks like they're working hard on that. I don't like how picWorkflow makes you pay extra to store files there for an extended period of time. Currently, files will "expire" soon after you add them to your picWorkflow account, unless you pay a small fee to keep them there. I think it is "fair" that they make you pay for this, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. 

Overall, it is definitely comparable to what iSyndica had going, and hopefully they will keep adding features and improving. Their customer support has been much better than iSyndica, and that fact alone is a great indicator that they will continue to be successful and provide great value to us microstockers.

What are the things you like about picWorkflow? What are some tips you have to get the most out of their product?

~ Eli
www.graphicgravy.com

Hello. I know this is a question best asked on the vector forum, but I figured there are a lot of photogs who ALSO do vectors.

I've been able to find a TON of "top 10" and "bestseller" list for photography microstock, but not many for vectors. I've found that the best selling photo sites are NOT always the best for vectors.

I've been using PicWorkFlow for my vectors, and really like it. They offer a lot of sites, and I want to add new vector sites to sell my portfolio, but am not sure which new vector sites to add.

Here are my top 10 selling vector sites:
1. Shutterstock
2. iStock
3. ClipartOf
4. Vectorstock
5. Fotolia
6. Graphic Leftovers
7. iClipart
8. Veer
9. Canstock
10. Deposit Photos

For some reason, Dreamstime and BigStock have really declined for me over the past few months. They were in my top 10,  but have dropped out.

What are a few more sites I should be uploading vectors to?

THANKS!
~ Eli

Bob,

Sounds cool! Do you support vectors?

Thanks,
Eli

I love Clipartof. I am a 100% vector artist, and I've had my work there for about 2 years.

Last month I made $250 there, and my BME there was just over $500. In October, Clipart of was my third best vector microstock site! I detail my monthly vector sales at http://www.graphicgravy.com

Review time IS slower than other sites (like others have mentioned), but the personal service is unmatched. Jaime is great. I know she is swamped, so if you can't get ahold of her (and your work is really good) I wouldn't give up trying to contact her.

~Eli

I've found that for the same file, the VECTOR version outsells the plain raster version by far. I stopped uploading the raster versions b/c they hardly sold at all. Less hassle, same amount of money.