Wowza!  I guess all these months I thought the ThinkStock earnings were reflected in the partner program earnings at iStock and we took payouts there.  So I haven't even been checking my StockXpert earnings page until today.  I feel pretty dumb, but also like I found a pile of cash on the floor.  I'm going with the elated feeling.

What's the consensus on how much these are inflated due to the glitch?  My balance is $2,892 with apparently $2,517 of that showing up today.... and yes, I'm seeing duplication on some, but not all of those downloads.  Very weird.  Anyway, I requested a payout of $2,892, so we'll see what happens.  I'll probably end up with several hundred bucks I guess, which is several hundred richer than I felt earlier today.

Thanks to everyone who responded about how long they've been at it and their port size.  I think this kind of info is really enlightening, in terms of getting a general sense of where the dreaded wall is.  Yes, everyone is different, but there does seem to be a trend here...

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THE 3-YEAR CLUB
Myself - port size about 1,500 - steady growth, maintaining straight trendline from day 1 - not IS exclusive
PixelsAway - port size about 2,000 - still growing, steady growth - not IS exclusive

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THE 5-YEAR CLUB
Gostwyck - port size ? - rose fairly steadily for just over 5 years, peaking in March then decline - not IS exclusive
FD-Regular -  port size 1,000 - hit the glass ceiling in 2008 - not IS exclusive
LisaFX - port size ? - rose steadily for about 5 years and only this year have started to decline - not IS exclusive
jsnover - port size 2,500 - still seeing steady growth - IS exclusive

-------

Could it be that the dreaded wall typically appears around 4 to 5 years in and after you hit about 1 to 2 K images?  (But some at this for less time but also with 1K or 2K ports are still growing, so port size itself may not be a factor).

And further, could IS exclusivity be a key to breaking through the wall?  I've always cringed at the idea, and don't see myself seriously considering it anytime soon, but this is definitely worth collecting more stats.  

How about you?  What's your story?  Copy the above info, put yourself in one of the groups or start a new one, and we'll see if this trend continues or falls apart.

BME here as well.  About a 17% increase over Oct, which had been basically flat to Sept (probably due to 10 weekend days in Oct).

So I'm about three years in and haven't hit the wall yet.  My trend line has been pretty straight since the beginning. What I'm wondering is... where is the wall?  Those of you in gostwyck's shoes, lamenting big decreases over the past year despite big increases in port size, how long have you been at this?  

As you post your November results, please include how long you've been at microstock -- maybe even port size as well.  It does seem to be a trend that the longer you've been at it, and the larger your port is, the more disappointed you're likely to be with your current numbers.  I don't mean for this to turn into philosophizing as to why it happens -- we know all about the increasing competition, and the phenomenon of cannibalizing our own sales when we run out of uncovered topics... I'm just curious if we can document roughly when the wall is likely to come down, separating the newbies on the rise, from the vets on the decline.

Nothing more than a deluded, self-serving manifesto from a pro photog who fears his days are numbered.  

Zack, and anyone else predicting doom for microstock (which I'll define in general terms as "selling images for a very low price") needs to examine these two key questions:

1. As time goes on, will people still need images?  Communication around the globe is becoming more visual, not less so.  More and more, people will rely on images to convey their messages.  This is a trend that will not suddenly reverse itself.

2. As time goes on, will people be willing to may more or less for those images?  There's also no turning back from the trend of communicators expecting images to match their messages for a lower and lower price.  Will that price ever become zero?  Maybe, but there will need to be a way to compensate image creators for their work, or image creation will grind to a halt, and the rising demand for images (see point 1) will ensure there's a market for this work.

You put these two points together, and it should be clear that microstock -- or something similar that supplies images to buyers for a very low price -- will continue in one form or another for a very long time.

Quote from: gejam on November 19, 2010, 17:54
As long as you focus on quality, you won't see as big a decline in your sales.

You almost got it.  But it's "As long as you focus on MARKETABILITY and UNIQUENESS you won't see a big decline in your sales."

I started out with a projection similar to what the OP described, and I'm well into my third year right along the very same trend line as my first few months.  I don't lose sleep wondering how to increase the quality of my uploads, but rather dreaming up topics that may have high demand but aren't being copied to death every day. That's the marketability aspect.  Before you say, "but if those images sell well, then they'll be copied," that's when the second key point comes in: uniqueness.  Create your shots in a manner and style that's difficult to duplicate, and conveys the core message of the image better than anyone else.  Focus on those two missions, and do them well, and you'll not only maintain that trend line, but perhaps even lift it.  That's been my experience anyway.

Quote from: helix7 on November 16, 2010, 21:20

Quote from: stockmarketer on November 16, 2010, 21:09
Start a spreadsheet.  In one row put your current portfolio size...

The problem with the spreadsheet and projected earnings is that for most people this is a business of diminishing returns. I wish I could say that with 300 images I earn $X.XX, so with 600 images I will earn double that amount, but it just doesn't work that way. If I could double my portfolio in one day, and do it with current, relevant, commercially in-demand images, then sure maybe I could accurately predict that my earnings would double. The problem is that over time, images become dated, fall out of favor with buyers, and just generally depreciate in value. While we're working hard to increase the size of our portfolios, old images are becoming less and less profitable. And on a long enough timeline, no one can out-pace the diminishing earnings of the older images.

I guess it's something that will work for some and not others.  I've been able to keep at roughly the same growth rate for multiple years now, so I'm riding right along my projected goal line.  Not sure what the secret is, aside from meeting my daily quota, keeping an eye to the market to look for new marketable topics, and running my operation like a business.  I think diiminishing returns happens if your images are not unique, either in comparison to growing competition or your own new images.  You have to stay fresh, not duplicating content and cannibalizing your own work, and stay three steps ahead of copycats by constantly seeing new topics that they haven't spotted yet.  

How about this for motivation...

Start a spreadsheet.  In one row put your current portfolio size, the average daily earnings (just a rough estimate  -- not your best day or your worst day, but somewhere in between), and a cell that divides earnings by portfolio size.  This is the row representing TODAY.

On the next line, add two images to the portfolio size, multiply it by the earnings/port size number and see how much those two images add to your daily take.  This is the row that represents TOMORROW.

Now add a row for a week from now, then a month, then 3 months, then 6 months, then a year, 2 years, 3 years, etc.  Hopefully you see the growth that is possible by just keeping the nose to the grindstone and adding new images to your portfolio everyday.  It's a great exercise, particularly when it feels like your daily work isn't moving the needle.  

Of course, as time goes by you'll need to go in and adjust your daily average number to keep the sheet realistic.  And many will tell you that we don't know what the future will bring for microstock.  Could be a bigger market, could crash and burn, or the agencies could cut our commissions down to 1 cent/download.   All you can do in predicting the future is use the facts you know.

You could go further and use that projection as a trend line on a chart of your real numbers.  This is the type of spreadsheet I keep, and it's a great help in keeping me focused on my goals.

I think many people didn't get my point.  I'll put it a different way...

There's three different images you can create and submit:

1. Those that you enjoy producing

2. Those you have reason to believe will sell

3. Those you believe will sell, and you just happen to enjoy producing

If you want a portfolio that generates good sales, aim to spend your time producing the third type.  But since those types of shots are the toughest to figure out, backfill with the second type.  Avoid the first type unless you're truly in this just for fun and don't care if you get a single sale.

Let's be honest.  You're either doing microstock for enjoyment or profit. 

To anyone now yelling, "No, I do this because it's personally rewarding"...  Really?  You find joy hunched over the computer for hours... retouching, keywording and uploading photos that you fear won't sell?  You would rather do that than spend time with loved ones or on a favorite pastime?  Let's not kid ourselves.  We all have dollar signs in your eyes, or we wouldn't be so obsessed with microstock.

Don't get me wrong.  You can learn to enjoy putting profit first.  Aim to find subjects that buyers actually want and put your creativity to work in adding a fresh spin on those topics.  You'll find this is rewarding both financially and creatively.

On the flipside, you will not succeed financially if you place top priority on what you enjoy creating and assume that people will eventually find your works of art and buy them on their artistic merits.  Not going to happen, unless some marketable concepts slipped in by accident.

Don't trust anyone who suggests that following your heart will lead you to a pot of gold.  Check out their stats to see if it's working for them, then come back to reality and focus on creating marketable images in a manner you find creatively fulfilling.

The bulk of the responses here -- targeting the mouse photo as the most problematic -- show why most people fail at microstock.  Most submitters don't have an awareness as to what gives a photo real commercial appeal.

It's NOT about technical perfection.  Setting aside the technical quality of the shots, the mouse shot is the one that has the most potential.  It's the one that has drama.  It's the one that SAYS SOMETHING.  There's probably several concepts going on there -- "catching someone's attention,"  "thrill of the hunt," etc.   (I'm not saying that this is technically a good shot -- maybe it would get in, or maybe you need a few more stabs at it to get the composition just right -- but that's the direction to go for sure.)

So there's the real secret that the others won't tell you because they want you to fail, or because they haven't realized the secret themselves.  Concepts sell.  Pictures that practically tell a story right when you look at them.  A buyer wants your shots if they CONVEY A MESSAGE.  And the image that screams its message loudest is the one that will get downloaded, and downloaded VERY OFTEN.

Others here will tell you to give it up, that you don't have talent to frame a shot correctly, your technical skills aren't up to their level, or some other worthless criticism.  Yes, the microstocks want images that pass a technical sniff test, but most importantly, they want stuff that sells.  Focus on creating more images in the spirit of the mouse shot, and you'll get in and do well.

This forum, once a place for optimism and learning from each other, has degenerated into a place for demanding unionization, government regulation, and a general tearing down of the very people who created microstock.

Those people put their blood sweat and tears into creating new businesses that were long shots.  They invested significant sums of their own money or worked hard to secure financing.  They hired staffs, secured help from accountants and lawyers, spent significant sums on advertising, set up infrastructures (software, servers, etc.)  In every case, these business owners took a big gamble.  Some succeeded and some didn't. 

That's called capitalism.

You too are a capitalist.  You are creating a product, sending it out into a marketplace, and expecting to profit from it.  You control your destiny.  You are your own boss.  You are a grown-up.  You entered into agreements with those other capitalists, the microstock agencies, to sell your work.  They are providing a service to you, and taking between 65 and 85% of the sale price, in exchange for the marketplace they created and all the associated costs of putting your product in front of buyers, facilitating sales, and putting the money into your pocket. 

You are free to believe those services ARE or ARE NOT worth 65 to 85% of the sale prices, and have those agencies work on your behalf.  And you're just as free to say that you're better off finding another solution, maybe starting your own agency, perhaps setting up your own website to sell your own work.

You are free to raise the funds needed to start your own venture, to hire a staff, pay for lawyers, accountants, advertising, servers, programmers, etc.  Make no mistake, it's a lot of work, and it takes a lot of money to do it right.    You either have the stomach and the pockets to do what the agencies are doing, or you don't and you agree to their terms in exchange for their services.  Or you do neither and find another income stream/field of work that you believe will treat you more fairly. 

The point is: you're FREE TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE.  Don't feel stuck in one or the other scenario and complain about it endlessly.  Make a decision you feel is best for you and focus all your energies into making it the most rewarding arrangement for all involved.  Do you really feel it's right to enter into an arrangement with a business with the idea that you will both benefit, then trash that partner at every opportunity?  Please, just walk away.  Or at least stop crying about how you're being taken taken advantage of.  Are you a slave?  Just walk away.

When I set up accounts at these agencies, I knew what I would be selling was a COMMODITY.  I accepted that it wasn't much different from producing a product and getting it into WalMart and having to agree to their terms to get onto their shelves.  As long as my margins were good enough I could meet my own revenue goals, and I would feel fairly rewarded.  I've gone into this with a capitalist mentality, and perhaps that attitude has helped me do well.  Ultimately, I recognize that the microstocks have made it possible for me to make a living at this, and I think it's about time I stepped up and spoke out in their defense since no one else is.

Thank you for hearing me out.  Now you can get back to calling for a microstocker's union to protect you from the greedy pigs stealing your money.  Or get back to uploading your next batch.  Or, most likely, both.

This may not be the type of response you were looking for, but I think this type of answer will be more constructive for you in terms of an effective strategy.

What you should be re-examining is NOT which agencies will produce the greatest return for you.  Looking over your portfolios, and stats such as your downloads per image at Dreamstime, should tell you that the content you're creating is not connecting with buyers.  There's nothing technically wrong with it.  You're a good photographer.  Don't take this as a slam against your skills.  Far from it.

I think the problem experienced by many who frequent this forum is that there's a disconnect between what YOU WANT to upload and what BUYERS WANT. 

Eliminating the smaller agencies from your mix so you can focus more on the ones that could deliver a larger payoff will not get you more sales in the end.  To get more sales, you will have to upload more images that meet the needs of buyers.  Every time you're about to hit Upload on any given site, stop and ask yourself these questions:

Who will buy this?  What will it communicate for the buyer?  What goal does it help the buyer achieve?

If you can't quickly come up with a crystal clear answer to these questions, chances are you will see few if any sales for your new images. 

I hope this doesn't discourage you, or anyone else who reads it.  I'm just trying to offer helpful advice to anyone who has "hit the wall" or is not getting the desired ROI on their time spent in microstock.   The buyers are out there.  There are more than ever before.  The pie is growing, even though your slice of it may be shrinking.  Carve yourself a larger piece by doing a better job than your competitors at figuring out what buyers really want. 

Good luck!