Adobe doesnt care about stock regardless of how much of the percentage they get. They have the best sales and pay to lure you in, then bury you in rejections so you spend more time editing which leads to you spending monthly subscriptions to their software. Thats their goal. Free profit with no work or labour as cost to them. I'm noticing a pattern where the better your images are for quality and catagory for past sales, the more bogus rejections and longer review wait times you get. I think AI images is an excuse. The more images you sell, the more work they have to do processing payments meaning more cost to them in labour. I think they want garbage images that dont sell as long as you keep paying for their software subscriptions to make them. Their higher payouts keep you coming back.
My existing port sells regularly but good luck adding to it. No more building a sales strategy for growth or adding seasonal images. Having no control over your own portfolio makes it all pointless. Maybe a lower payout agency like Shutterstock would at least be useable for potential growth in the future.

everyone has their opinions,I see it completely differently.

first of all I really don't think that the rejections are a ploy by Adobe to make you subscribe to the software,also because Adobe gives the software away to the contributors,with the contributor bonus program,and if they really wanted to,they would make us all pay for the software,instead they choose to help us grow and make ends meet with the stock,also because I'm sure it's more convenient for them,both for sales and to have more material for AI training.

I clearly see that with Adobe Stock it is a give-and-take for mutual growth,it is a completely different agency from all the other agencies.

If I were 30 years old,and I know what I know now,I would start working with Adobe as an exclusive,even without an exclusivity program,because it is the only agency that allows you to grow over time,the only one where growth is guaranteed over time,as long as you continue to work consistently.

Unfortunately my problem is another,time.

as far as I'm concerned,for someone else it's maybe different,my annual growth is too slow,and this leads to too much time.

if instead I was 30 years old,even with this slow growth,once I reached 40 I would have a nice full-time salary that I can have in Italy,and once I reached 45-50 I am more than sure that with Adobe Stock I could earn well,unfortunately I don't have 30 years old,this is my problem,so I hope to accelerate my growth,or I will be forced to revise my plans.

I previously worked with several agencies,now only Adobe and I will continue as an exclusive on Adobe,if you believe that with Shutterstock you would have more opportunities for growth,I can only wish you good luck!

as regards the review times,everything is normal for me,up to now all the contents have been reviewed within the established timeframe of 8 weeks.


P.S. the forum is very slow,yesterday I tried to login but then I gave up,while now,I was waiting to log in and in the meantime I made a coffee,then while I was loading this page I had already finished the coffee! 

someone do something if possible because the forum it's too often very slow,too slow,and I often give up on posting because I don't have all this time to waste...remember?time is my problem! 

the situation is out of control and it's really a mystery why giant agencies do anything concrete about it,perhaps because it doesn't change much for them and it's a useless job for them,however for me it remains a mystery that the agencies don't care of something like this,when they could very easily solve this problem to the benefit of everyone.

thanks for the info Alex!

Quote from: Injustice for all on August 01, 2024, 04:43

Quote from: pires128 on August 01, 2024, 03:35

Quote from: cobalt on July 31, 2024, 18:03

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.

2018! i had a 'friend' that worked as a reviewer on SS at that time, and he made me want to start with stock photography. also he taught me all he knows (since he was also one of the top 3 contributors from brazil, where i live. also brazil had only 2 reviewers that time). the reason i have many files and 'low' sales is because when i started i had the genius idea of shooting every flower/dog/tree i see. Lol.

you started the same year I started!

I started badly,because I had terrible hardware and I took photos with an old iPhone 6! 

today I have a better situation,I improved hardware and equipment both indoors and outdoors,but there is still a lot to invest.

you have a larger portfolio than mine,in the first 3 years of production I was very slow because my hardware didn't allow me to produce quickly.

thanks for sharing!   

@Pete

it's true,it's all unpredictable,but above all with a lower income it's easier to obtain higher percentages.

I agree with everything you wrote without a shadow of a doubt,and also the fact that probably even the law of diminishing returns is applicable in microstock,an increase in production does not necessarily lead to an increase in earnings,and/or it is not possible to quantify this increase.

I agree with all this,but this does not take away the fact that I have to double or almost double my sales for the next 4 years to hope to continue,or otherwise I certainly cannot continue to produce and work in this way,I have I need to see more concrete results and also I need to start earning more in a short period,I can't wait another 8 years to have a decent income.

4 years is the max time I can wait,and it will already be very difficult for me to wait these 4 years,so I have to see more concrete results from now.

If I don't reach my goal,I simply stop working actively,and I'll upload something maybe a couple of times a year,until I see more concrete results.

but I can tell you one thing from what I have seen,if you work consistently with Adobe,there is certainly an increase,an increase that cannot be quantified but it is there.

It seems to me that all those who have complained about a loss are because they have stopped working actively,maybe I'm wrong and that's not the case,but it seems that way to me.

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: Injustice for all on July 30, 2024, 04:44

thanks for sharing.

these are excellent results,I see that this year is going badly,maybe you stopped uploading?

However,I agree, the sales system today has a key role,because we have become so many,that everything is in the hands of the sales system.

probably the best contents are somehow selected and better positioned in searches.

the only thing I am certain of is that in microstock today you have to continue to work consistently to hope for good results.

Thanks.
I'm not sure if the numbers should be split 50/50 for the first 6 and last 6 months of the year
And the latest works always need several months to emerge from the crap.
I've been working and uploaded, but result will come in next future (I hope).
My rule was always quality, not quantity. And this strategy always paid.

what?! 

I agree,quality beats quantity,except that today quantity also counts.

I saw an example of what you say just yesterday,when I sold a content that I had made in February,and only yesterday it finally made the first sale,a content that took several hours divided into several days to make,and which in my opinion deserves much more than only one sale after 5 months.

so lately I've also been trying to focus on quantity,but my quantity can be a max of 100 contents in a week.

Here is another story (only real photos and vector illustrations):

2006      100%
2007      2316%
2008      519%
2009      296%
2010      138%
2011      140%
2012      -56%
2013      -43%
2014      -84%
2015      -71%
2016      -98%
2017      120%
2018      101%
2019      103%
2020      123%
2021      127%
2022      114%
2023      107%
2024      -4% (for half year)

Conclusion: there is no absolute rule.
More than ever today, sales happen if your ingredients match the recipes imposed by the automated subjective algorithms that choose images more than customers do. Especially since the objective sorting by new content has disappeared.

thanks for sharing.

these are excellent results,I see that this year is going badly,maybe you stopped uploading?

However,I agree, the sales system today has a key role,because we have become so many,that everything is in the hands of the sales system.

probably the best contents are somehow selected and better positioned in searches.

the only thing I am certain of is that in microstock today you have to continue to work consistently to hope for good results.

same

but yes,why not,it seems like a good idea! 

the important thing is that something is done to slow down this senseless mad rush,now the quantity you upload is becoming more important rather than what you upload.

kids making videos of how to upload 100 AI content in an hour to Adobe Stock.

I believe it's time to end it,and create the conditions for controlled,balanced and fair growth for everyone,so that contributors try to create something of quality,or at least try,instead of turning into mindless automatons!

In any case,it may be that Adobe is already doing something about it,I hope so,if so please let us know! 

Quote from: Injustice for all on July 27, 2024, 06:44

I did some calculations,and came to some conclusions.

I calculated the number of sales,because in my opinion it is the most important data,of course the earnings are what count in the end,but in the microstock the earnings can vary depending on the licenses sold,so the only thing that in my opinion can give a solid data is the sales number,this number must absolutely increase year after year if I work actively.

here is the percentage increase of the number of the sales in my first 2 quarters between 2023 and 2024:

1Q +36,2%
2Q +18,8%

I wanted to have an even broader vision,and I calculated the percentage of annual growth,even if I had always calculated the differences between years,I had never calculated the percentages in detail.

here are the growth percentages in the number of sales since 2019:

2019-2020 +60,9%
2020-2021 +62,12%
2021-2022 +22,8%
2022-2023 +110,6%
2023-2024 +27,5% (half-year)

so considering the situation in general,I think Adobe Stock can be a gold mine if you have time on your side,because I believe that we also need to make a projection into the future and see if we will then have time to enjoy the fruits of this work.

then in the end it's all subjective,it depends on what you're looking for in the microstock,I'm looking for a solid income,certainly not to become rich,but to earn enough.

so as i said,in my opinion,Adobe Stock can be a gold mine if you start at 30 years or maximum 40 years,because you still have more time,over 40 years instead,it depends on what you are able to produce,and in what quantity,because the time left to enjoy the fruits of labor is less,you simply have less time,it's not negativity,it's simply a fact,reality.

so in conclusion,as far as I'm concerned,if I can have an annual growth in number of sales of at least 80% every year for the next 4 years,in 4 years I can start to have a good income from Adobe Stock,if instead the this year's growth percentage or some of the next 4 years will be less than 80% I don't think I can continue,not actively,maybe some uploads if I feel like it a couple of times a year.

so for the moment until the end of this year I will continue consistently,and then at the end of the year I will evaluate,if I can achieve at least 80% growth in sales numbers,I will continue next year too.

In the past we had folks claiming 100% gains but they went from like $20 USD per month to $40 USD. I am assuming you make over $2,000 USD per month thus you're doing a great job. If you make more than $5,000 a month than I am inspired by your work and results!

i am afraid that you assume wrong! 

If I earn 2,000 USD a month I wouldn't have any problem!

that's why I will need to earn at least 80% more every year for the next 4 years.

if instead I earn 40% more every year,it will still take 8 years before I have a decent income from Adobe,and with a growth of only 20% per year it will take 16 years!

hence my considerations,this is why I absolutely must proceed with a growth of at least 80% more every year at least for the next 4 years,then this percentage can also decrease,once I already have a good income every year,I can have a growth of even 20% per year is fine.

AI images are the future of stock industry, but I wouldn't count on prices staying the same as they are now. AI content is just too easy to create and ever more buyers will resort to creating their own AI images. To counter buyer loss, Adobe will have to drastically reduce the prices, either only for AI content or for everything. In any case all contributors lose, no matter AI or not. So in my opinion there is no long term value in creating/submitting AI content.

That could even be the current Adobe's strategy behind the shorter review times for AI content: accept as many AI images as possible before they drop the prices, thus removing the incentive for contributors to submit AI content.

In my opinion it's a bit of a dramatic scenario,don't underestimate yourself,customers will always need to purchase content from expert creators who have been doing this job every day for years.

customers need our ideas for their projects,of course some customers are lost with AI,but others are added.

for me,as I have already said,real contents are reviewed before AI contents.

I also see here and elsewhere people who haven't uploaded for a long time and have immediately had every type of content accepted in a short time,why?because precisely the quantity of content already uploaded during the year can influence the review time.

in my opinion Adobe should decide to set a limit and declare it publicly,so people know that they can upload a maximum of 5000 contents per year or 300 per month or 500 whatever they want,but an established limit in my opinion creates a more fair and balanced situation for everyone,and promotes quality and reduces spam.

I know that the last thing Adobe wants to do is limit creativity,but I believe that in this case there are conditions to consider this solution.


@Wilm good one! 

Those are very good numbers.

Maybe stock is dead in other agencies but with Adobe we seem to have a winner.

indeed!in fact I'm satisfied with the results,unfortunately I started late and I'm eating my hands! 

if you work consistently with Adobe you make money,there is no doubt about this,in no other agency can you have guaranteed growth over time.

I really hope to be able to reach 80% growth in sales before the end of the year,It's difficult,but not impossible,generally for me the best months are September,October and November.

I did some calculations,and came to some conclusions.

I calculated the number of sales,because in my opinion it is the most important data,of course the earnings are what count in the end,but in the microstock the earnings can vary depending on the licenses sold,so the only thing that in my opinion can give a solid data is the sales number,this number must absolutely increase year after year if I work actively.

here is the percentage increase of the number of the sales in my first 2 quarters between 2023 and 2024:

1Q +36,2%
2Q +18,8%

I wanted to have an even broader vision,and I calculated the percentage of annual growth,even if I had always calculated the differences between years,I had never calculated the percentages in detail.

here are the growth percentages in the number of sales since 2019:

2019-2020 +60,9%
2020-2021 +62,12%
2021-2022 +22,8%
2022-2023 +110,6%
2023-2024 +27,5% (half-year)

so considering the situation in general,I think Adobe Stock can be a gold mine if you have time on your side,because I believe that we also need to make a projection into the future and see if we will then have time to enjoy the fruits of this work.

then in the end it's all subjective,it depends on what you're looking for in the microstock,I'm looking for a solid income,certainly not to become rich,but to earn enough.

so as i said,in my opinion,Adobe Stock can be a gold mine if you start at 30 years or maximum 40 years,because you still have more time,over 40 years instead,it depends on what you are able to produce,and in what quantity,because the time left to enjoy the fruits of labor is less,you simply have less time,it's not negativity,it's simply a fact,reality.

so in conclusion,as far as I'm concerned,if I can have an annual growth in number of sales of at least 80% every year for the next 4 years,in 4 years I can start to have a good income from Adobe Stock,if instead the this year's growth percentage or some of the next 4 years will be less than 80% I don't think I can continue,not actively,maybe some uploads if I feel like it a couple of times a year.

so for the moment until the end of this year I will continue consistently,and then at the end of the year I will evaluate,if I can achieve at least 80% growth in sales numbers,I will continue next year too.