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Messages - cthoman
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426
« on: August 11, 2014, 00:02 »
Hi Gbalex,
Thanks. You're absolutely right. Actions *do* speak louder than words. And the fact is, our team is one of the few teams out there right now in external forums, in international forums, traveling to different countries to speak to contributors, sponsoring big events, nurturing international communities and encouraging connectivity between artists, creating grant programs, and bringing contributors in for product research to hear their opinions and act on them. We're making more investments in contributor education and community than ever before.
There has been very little active moderation in the Shutterstock forums over the years and it's reasonable to moderate forums. Leaf does it here. We're going to do it in our own forums. There are plenty of threads where people have expressed their opinions and thoughts in a constructive way.
Best,
Scott
I actually do applaud Shutterstock for their effort in this aspect. At the same time, I declined my invitation to one of these interviews because I didn't see the point. The one thing I really want from Shutterstock is higher royalty percentages/RPD, and it doesn't seem like that is really on the table. So, I didn't see the point in discussing it. Maybe, I was wrong, but I guess the line is always open if things change.
427
« on: August 09, 2014, 11:13 »
i shoot , then i eat.
I think that is called hunting.
428
« on: August 08, 2014, 10:24 »
30% dl increase, 42% collection growth = 9% fewer sales per image, therefore you need to grow your portfolio 9% per quarter (about 40% per year) just to stand still, if my arithmetic is any good.
assuming all images sell the same. If you upload images that sell more than 99% of the others then you will see growth even if you don't upload as many as you suggest.
The challenge 'simply' lies in uploading something better than the rest 
I would have agreed with you a before they made search changes and the buyers were free to choose content. If buyers do no see your content they can not buy it, which is exactly why some of us have seen huge drops in income.
Portfolio size is kind of a weird conundrum. It almost seems like you hit a market saturation for your images at a certain portfolio size. After that, you just kind of maintain or grow or shrink slowly.
429
« on: August 07, 2014, 09:37 »
Sales have been pretty normal. Maybe, a little down from last year, but not outside the realm of normal fluctuations.
430
« on: August 06, 2014, 13:07 »
I like what I do too, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to get more to do it. Especially when you have seen that will people will actually pay more for it.
I agree 1000%
I suggest you start your own stock site and make the Big Bucks!
I assume you were joking, but the thought has crossed my mind. I suppose if my personal site ever got big enough, I'd consider it more seriously. I've never been overly ambitious or greedy though, so it probably wouldn't be more than a handful of contributors.
431
« on: August 06, 2014, 11:46 »
it's important to have a positive attitude in this business with all the ups and downs.
otherwise your going to blow away eventually .
True
If you dont like what your doing, do something else
its not that hard to figure out
I like what I do
I like what I do too, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to get more to do it. Especially when you have seen that will people will actually pay more for it.
432
« on: August 06, 2014, 09:15 »
I'd say the reason for complaining is to inform others that you don't always have to take what is given to you and you can influence what the agencies do for the better. After all, it's a business relationship not a job with a boss. My advice to you would be to listen to other contributors because one day their issues could be your issues. Things change quickly around here and micro is very young.
433
« on: August 05, 2014, 10:09 »
...Seriously, am I missing something? Is it my eyes? My computer?...
I actually do see some compression artifacting in the stop sign, but in both versions. I don't get how one is better than the other. There are some flaws, but they both have the same flaws.
I got a rejection like this from iStock once and there are artifacts in almost all rasterized vectors. It is tough to tell where they draw the line on what is acceptable/normal. I can see where confusion can arise.
434
« on: August 04, 2014, 13:59 »
I had a solid month too which is always nice in the summer.
435
« on: August 04, 2014, 12:22 »
Thanks Shelma1, here are the royalty rates:
https://stockafe.com/appendix-a/
I find it sad that "Why bother?" seems to be my most asked question in stock. It's disappointing to constantly be underwhelmed by new offerings.
436
« on: August 02, 2014, 11:12 »
I'm not sure who sells video, but I know Shutterstock and Dreamstime have decent referral programs.
437
« on: July 31, 2014, 20:04 »
Yes.
438
« on: July 30, 2014, 11:13 »
NO
Shouldn't that be na na na na... Batman!?!?
439
« on: July 29, 2014, 13:48 »
You guys made my day! Thanks to you I have the best week ever in micro stock.
I want to give everyone at P5 a hug!
Congrats. So, what is the story with Pixmac? Are they closing it? It seems to still exist, but mostly just redirects to Pond5.
440
« on: July 28, 2014, 16:30 »
Why post at the end of a 7 year old thread?
I'm a little behind on my bookkeeping. My July 2007 Fotolia numbers were terrible. Did anybody else have the same? 
441
« on: July 28, 2014, 11:43 »
...there is no way I can work with the upload system as is. Having to copy and paste the title, description into every image, one by one, as well as having to change all my keyword lists from a semi-colon to a comma, the limited length of title, the keyword (tag) limit of 20, the almost invisible watermark... There's just no way.
I would contact them about IPTC integration. These guys add new things to the site all the time. They might be receptive to adding IPTC importing functionality.
In the meantime, maybe just add an extra buck to your prices to cover the time spent copying/pasting. If you're uploading stuff that's also on Shutterstock, you can copy keywords from there, their system converts semi-colon-separated keywords to comma-separated.
It's not idea, for sure, but it might be worthwhile to spend an hour with it, upload whatever you think might sell, and see how it goes for a month or two. Hopefully in the meantime they get IPTC importing going. If enough people ask for it, they might add it.
Not a bad idea. I might have to send them an email too. That was the big thing holding me back from submitting more was the time it took to submit an image.
442
« on: July 28, 2014, 10:34 »
Sounds like it's a case of a designer using a stock graphic and not knowing the limitations of the license. But the company is very responsive and respectful. They offered to buy the rights to the graphic or stop using the logo, and it looks like we will be able to come to terms on a deal to transfer rights to the image to the company.
So a good outcome on this one. Glad to be able to resolve it privately and directly with the company.
Good to hear.
443
« on: July 26, 2014, 08:57 »
1,415 image portfolio * .50 per month on average = $16,980
$16,980 divided by 1,523 images licensed (based on your landing page on Dreamstime) = $11.15 per licensed image at Dreamstime?
So between Dreamstime and Shutterstock, your gross earnings over the past year has been $21,192? Good for you! That's just shocking to me.
You lost me here. Where did the $.50 per image at Dreamstime come from?
444
« on: July 25, 2014, 15:19 »
My back of the hand calculation of my portfolio and knowledge about my friend's portfolio is that we both average about $0.50 per image per month. Thus 200 images might be the number your looking for. The 20/80 rule definitely holds. Most don't sell, but a few sell well.
Wait....are you and your friend really making $6 per image per year? (.50 per image per month x 12 months)
So based on that info, my 5,000 image portfolio should be making $30,000 per year? I don't think there are many folks out there that can say that.
Those numbers don't seem unreasonable, although the per image value does tend to decrease as you create more images. Unless, you are fairly meticulous about making high value images. I know I'm not. I like the scattershot approach better.
445
« on: July 25, 2014, 09:52 »
Is anyone in micro profitable anymore?
I assume many people are (probably not as many as there should be though). It doesn't take too much to cover my operational expenses. The time part is kind of tricky because I can work a lot on stock one week and none the next. Or, I could stop working on stock all together and probably make the same amount. I still enjoy doing it though. That said, it would be nice to get paid more per sale at most sites. That would make everything so much easier.
446
« on: July 25, 2014, 09:19 »
100$ for coffe in US is normal i think....it's US Niko
If you buy it from the grocery store, it's only a few bucks a month. I posted a similar question yesterday and all I got is a tip to invest in drawing lessons....
Improving your skills is never bad advice. A good work ethic and practice are probably some of the best career advice I could give. It's hard to give advice to new people because results can vary wildly. Also, asking strangers about their specific finances would probably get mixed reactions anywhere you go. That said, a lot of info is shared here. The poll to right is a decent place to start, so is the year end survey on the MSG blog. Still, results will vary and it comes back down to jumping in and seeing how it works for you.
447
« on: July 24, 2014, 18:50 »
I fell like some of you guys are beating around the bush. The fact is, none of you would be in the microstock business if you did not anticipate how many images you would need to upload to make X, and what kind of images you need to upload to reach that goal.
I'm not talking about exceptions where one uploads 100 images and gets 0 sales because he has no clue what he's doing. I hope that's not the case, because if there are some folks who aren't making money from 100 images, they shouldn't be selling stock. Selling stock is a business, and in any business model you make predictions, those predictions are based on what you already know about the industry, and practical side of business, based on those two factors you anticipate what you need to do to reach your highest potential. The usual suspects who claim microstock is like a blind-folded person throwing darts at a bulls eye, are blowing smoke. Microstock is not art in the pure sense of being art. It is about supply and demand rather than art, because it is not done for art's sake, its done to make money. Sure, better quality stuff is in more demand, and I suppose those guys who already been with microstock long enough, know the gist; what sells, what to expect, what not to do, what has been overdone, where the shifts are happening. In this sense nobody, who is actively pursing microstock, is doing it blind-folded.
So, since some folks like to speak for other people, I want to ask you, how many images did you upload to reach your first $100 a month goal?
I don't think most of us can realistically answer your question. When I started back in 2006, I probably only needed 10 images to make that. I doubt that would work as well today just starting out.
448
« on: July 24, 2014, 16:32 »
You could always start making your own coffee. I have no idea how many images though. My guess would be 50-500.
449
« on: July 24, 2014, 11:32 »
Steve I would bet that those images are particularly successful with their headlines and descriptions. I would bet it is less about the image itself and more about being found. The concept that buyers aren't coming in via google is simply incorrect. The buyers are there but most self hosted sites can't get their images found which leads to the myth that there aren't any buyers. Look at your better selling images on the smaller sites. Odds are those images show high in the google results.
This would be my guess too. Sometimes, you just strike lightning with a particular phrase that shows up in searches. Either it isn't covered well or just something is unique about how it is on your site.
450
« on: July 24, 2014, 10:35 »
This is what scares me so much. Shutterstock is where almost everyone is making a large majority of their money. For me they are about 12-15% but that is still a good paycheck and would seriously hurt if I were to lose it. My percentage is relatively small in comparison and yet I am as vocal as I can be to try to protect it from predatory policies. If I were more invested in SS I would be scared to death of DPC and its successors.
With people complaining about 123RF, Deposit Photos, Istock and Fotolia (DPC), that certainly doesn't leave much else except Shutterstock.
I know that is why I seem kind of grouchy most of the time. Because there aren't very many places that I don't have complaints about.
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