But how does prestige translate into sales?

Prestige by itself won't necessarily translate into sales since even run-of-the-mill historic sites can be highly profitable depending on a number of factors such as supply/demand/life cycle/technicals, etc. However, sticking with the point about UNESCO, such rubber-stamp seal of approval, in my opinion, gives such historical/natural sites a higher standing than others, regardless if deservedly or not. Nat Geo, Travel guides (such as Lonely Planet), travel blogs, airliner ads/magazines, etc love featuring such sites and of course mention the label.

There's always a danger with speaking generally since there are so many exceptions and I don't want this response to be too long. Venice and its Lagoons is listed as a World Heritage Site (Ref 394), but a quick search will indicate that such images of Venice are oversupplied. I've been there 3 times and came back with 100s of images which rarely sell.

There are many sites which are deservedly world-class but few people have heard of them since perhaps they don't receive the coverage they deserve. It's like the the whole "if a tree falls in a forest does it make a sound" riddle. In the travel stock world it's more like "if nobody has heard of it, will it sell?" An argument can be made to put it in a specialist agency and not on micros but that's another matter.

Therefore, selecting to capture such sites and within a budget may translate into sales. Next onto the budget.

I suspect not enough to finance a photo-taking trip to some of those new sites.

I'm fortunate that I spend quite a bit of time in Italy which is the country with the highest number of World Heritage Sites (55). I'm in Milan and within a 300km basis I can relatively easily and at low cost reach one of at least 20 sites on a day-trip, perhaps even more than one.

For those who live in the Midwest of the US, for example, it's not so easy, of course. Vast distances and huge costs. All depends where you live. Here's a link to the UNESCO site listing all the locations by country via an interactive map.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/interactive-map/

It's nearly impossible to justify huge expenses for images that end up on micros. I suspect a trip to Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia won't come cheap and you'll get awkward questions by immigration officers on your return to the US.

I recently published an article on UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This is in light of UNESCO this month adding 19 new locations:

http://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2018/07/05/unesco-world-heritage-sites/

Further to the comments above, save for some catastrophic event, local authorities have a legal obligation to to preserve such sites, therefore such images should have a long shelf life.

Most relevant is that supposing you have some quality images of one or more of the 19 new locations. I would predict that the value of such images (even if done at mediocre standard) have gone up considerably owing to the popularity of these world heritage sites. Eventually demand would taper off as the buzz fades away and more visitors snap away. Here's the complete list of new entrants (link to full list of sites on link above):

Aasivissuit � Nipisat in Denmark
Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia
Ancient City of Qalhat, Oman
Archaeological Border complex of Hedeby and the Danevirke, Germany
Caliphate City of Medina Azahara, Spain
G�bekli Tepe, Turkey
Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region, Japan
Ivrea, Italy
Naumburg Cathedral, Germany
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries, Republic of Korea
Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region, Iran
Thimlich Ohinga Archaeological Site, Kenya
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, India
Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains, South Africa
Chaine des Puys � Limagne fault tectonic arena, France
Fanjingshan, China
Chiribiquete National Park � �The Maloca of the Jaguar�, Colombia
Pimachiowin Aki, Canada
Tehuac�n-Cuicatl�n Valley: original habitat of Mesoamerica, Mexico
 
I was recently in Tarragona, Spain and managed a nice shot of the Roman Amphitheater, as part of the Archaeological Emsemble of Tarraco - UNESCO World Heritage Site. Maybe has a chance as only 286 similar images on SS. Did some time lapses and real time footage there as well.



 

Each country has different rules...

they might have a vast discount at Alamy

True, Alamy may be cheaper for some types of licenses. All depends, but no point worrying about it. I noticed Alamy recently disabled right-click Google Image Search (perhaps to stop potential buyers from searching), anybody else notice that or is it my PC?

Quote from: Brasilnut on March 21, 2018, 14:45
I've put together a detailed review of Addictive , including a short Q&A with Founder and CEO, Victor Torres:

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2018/03/21/addictive-stock-brutally-honest-review/

It's been a little while since your last post, how is it going submitting with them? 

I decided not to submit to them for now. I'm already image-exclusive with Robert Harding and getting some regular sales. No point going exclusive with another agency to complicate matters.

should I leave the previous versions up there, or delete them first? Anyone else have any experience of this? I know there are certain agencies that won't accept variations on a single image so obviously for those I'd have to delete first.

I've got a bunch of images from 2012/2013 which are just embarrassing. Once in a blue moon I get a sale.

So I would just leave them and then re-shoot with better technicals. Buyers don't really care about your portfolio, they're looking for a specific image 99% of the time.

Good luck

Still life concepts appear to be the easiest to copy, so it makes sense for such artists to keep their cards close to their chests.

I suppose that I'm fortunate that much  of my portfolio consist of time sensitive breaking news and travel editorials which are difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. Therefore, I've been quite open about which are my best sellers and why.

I have a blog with an ebook so for me promoting is part of the game.

For selling print on demand, it appears that to achieve regular sales,  promoting is a necessary evil.

Alamy allowing RF editorials was, in my opinion, a rare occasion when "exciting news" was good for the contributors.

https://www.microstockgroup.com/alamy-com/rf-editorial-coming-to-alamy!/

Here's some of my first experiences dipping my toes in footage (timelapse), in a blog post.

www.brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2018/05/28/update-on-creating-profitable-time-lapse-footage/

Any comments/tips/feedback would be appreciated while I learn the ropes.

Best regards,

Alex

I'll upload to them but won't waste one extra minute in their silly controlled vocabulary.

Remember they only pay 15% on non-exclusive.

May I ask what your incentives are for writing such an article?

Do you make money from ads?

Do you just think it's fun to write?

Do you think that footage buyers read those articles and will rush to buy your clips?

Do you think you earn too much and want to invite thousands of competitors to copy your clips by showing that you can make thousands of dollars?

I think you scared him away! These are valid questions and my guess is that it's a nice outlet to share knowledge with others. After all, this can be a lonely business, spending hours and hours post-processing, keywording, etc.

There's money to be made with YT ads but really 1,000 views for $1 isn't worth it.

Sure, some people can easily copy his best-sellers. Sometimes it's best to keep cards close to the chest.

Nice videos, well-presented. Hope he puts together more of them. 

Has anybody here ever had any awkward instances of situations when your model-released commercial images were used in a potentially "sensitive way"?

I just published a blog post highlighting two of my images:

www.brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2018/05/20/important-considerations-for-model-released-stock-shoots-sensitive-uses/

Best regards,

Alex