Quote

Well, I don't think I'll be offering any exclusive files so I won't have to worry about that.  Perhaps I could keep a spreadsheet with the file name and then list which sites accepted or rejected the shot.

I find that a spreadsheet to keep track of uploads is a very good idea. I have one spreadsheet with multiple tables (microstock, midstock, macro, monthly breakdown etc.).
I found thumbnails better than filenames. I insert thumbnails vertically, and agencies horizontally. A green field means the photo has been accepted, yellow- pending, blue - it is earning (with the amount), and orange means it has been rejected at the given site.
This doesn't cost much work, once the formulas are ready, just pasting the thumbnails and updating the stats periodically, and it gives a nice & quick overview of what has been accepted where and what profit it makes.

How do you post thumbnails in an Excel Spreadsheet?  Right now I am just putting in the image filename but most sites don't record the filename so I'm constantly flipping back and forth looking them up.

I got the same rejection on my first batch at StockXpert, the second one went through without issues, and so far they accepted 120 of 126 submitted files. 

In my opinion worth to try again. 
Beats me why my initial submission got rejected - I used photos that both Shutterstock and Istock were happy with.

Granted, most of my pictures are scenery shots, but they're nice and I get a lot of d/l's on SS.  I will try again in a month and see how it goes.

I use program called sitecopy which sync folder on your local drive with remote directory on ftp site. Each site might have a different definition so I am pointing some sites to folder containing 2MPix files and other to 4MPix files. I run a script which uploads to each site sequentially when all sites are processed just move whole batch of files to archive folder. As you see each of my batches might have to sizes of files. I generaly keep both in archive in case of enrolling to new site and then I start uploading from batch 1.

I only keep track of what I uploaded. I cannot tell what was accepted on which site cause it's post-FTP processing.

I don't know if that system would work for me because I use one computer to process my pictures and another computer to upload them.  I use a USB drive to transfer in between the two computers. 

well some people keep individual stats for each picture.. if you have more than 100 pictures or get 100's of sales a day that soon gets to be FAR too much work.

I don't keep track of sales per pic... just sales per day per site and then get averages and such from there.  I also don't keep track of what was accepted rejected on each site (although that might of been nice to know)

This is what i do to keep organized.
I edit a batch of 50 or more pictures and put the ready jpgs in a folder called batch 01, or batch 02 etc. 
The tiffs i just stockpile all together in a tiff folder.

Then i have a folder for each stock site, and paste a shortcut to the batch 01, or batch 02 folders in each stock sites folder (if that made sense).. that way i can see which batches need to be uploaded to which site while not having 10 version of the same file on my hard drive.

When i upload a batch to a site (I upload all 50 at a time) i delete the shortcut from that sites folder.

Originally, when I was just on SS, I had a folder called NEW UPLOADS that I put pictures in that were processed.  Then I would upload the pictures and transfer them to a folder called PENDING.  After the review process, I have folders for each type of rejection and I would move them to the appropriate folder.  But now that I'm on 7 sites, that will be too much to keep up with.
My other problem is that I process and store my pictures on one computer and then put them on a USB drive and use another computer to upload them.  So, it's hard to make shortcuts, etc.

Quote from: sharply_done on April 30, 2008, 18:57

In terms of making money, it's really a Big Four followed by Small Three. You need to be uploading to DT.

As usual Sharply_done is spot on.

You really do need to contribute to Dreamstime.  Not contributing because their review time estimates aren't very useful is not very smart.  They will probably be your #3 or #4 earner overall, if you fall in line with most contributors.  They are very user friendly by my estimation.  Uploading is a breeze, commissions are strong, and admin has always been friendly and responsive in my experience.

Paula, you are obviously not a typical newbie contributor if you are getting EL sales in month #1.  With that in mind, you should be very successful once you get more images online and learn better what sells, and what doesn't sell.  Sharply_done's goal estimates are probably pretty reasonable, since you appear to have previous experience.

My advice -

* Do your best to shrug off inevitable rejections.  Every site is picky about something.
* Understand that each site has a few flaws.  But all of the Top 7 are good to work with.
* Don't worry about Review Times.  Just keep uploading, and you will hardly notice.
* Stay involved with the message boards.  It's a good place to get advice, and occasionally vent a little!

Well, I reconsidered DT and will try them again.  I just won't pay any attention to their ETR.  They're the only one that has one, that I've seen.

I am only new to stock, but not to photography.  I was very pleased with getting an EL.  The shot was from my first shoot with my present camera.

Not to be cocky, but I think I can beat that estimate.  I spend every evening processing and/or uploading pictures and usually upload an average of 25 per day at present.  Once I get through all my old pictures, that'll probably wane a bit.

I agree that in the end it doesn't matter if an image is reviewed in 2 days or a week, but at the beginning when you are just building your portfolio it is difficult to contain anxiety

For me it's not anxiety, it's feedback.  I upload about 50 pictures every other day and the sooner I know what they rejected, the better I can use that info to help me correct any post-processing issues.

In terms of making money, it's really a Big Four followed by Small Three. You need to be uploading to DT. With the exception of 123, forget about sites that aren't on the 'Big 6' list.

Here's an attainable monthly income end-of-the-year target for you:

• IS + SS: $550
• DT + FT: $275
• StockXpert + BigStock + 123: $175

... good luck!

I think I can beat that.   

123RF and Crestock make it very easy to upload there.  I'd be happier if there were more sales, but who wouldn't?

BigStock closes down their uploading about every other weekend it seems.  When they disable uploading, I don't think you can even go into your queue and assign categories & such.

The ETR at Dreamstime usually isn't that thrashed, but it is an estimate of sorts.

Well, for the time being, I'm going to not use DT.  If they're going to give an ETR, it should be remotely correct. 

So far, I feel I've done quite well on SS and enjoy their site.  And sales have been good.  I even had an Enhanced License Sale.

I've been on Shutterstock for the past month and a half and have done quite well in the short amount of time.  I already have 179 pictures in my gallery.  I really enjoy their site and the generally quick response for reviews (usually 1 business day). 
So, I decided to try another site.  I picked iStock and was told it could take up to two weeks to be accepted!  Jeesh!  But at least they were up front about it.  I had two of three images accepted so now I am uploading a new third picture to be accepted.
Next, I decided to try Dreamstime.  No acceptance period...just upload pics.  So, I submitted 37 pictures and was told the ETR was 24 hours.  Well, the next day it was still 24 hours.  The next day it went up to 175 hours!  what?  Not too impressed with them at this point. 
Today I decided to get on the other three. 
Fotolia only had the option to upload one at a time....will have to see if I can do multiple files.
Stockxpert is a bit hard for me to navigate.
BigStockPhoto is slowwwww for uploading.  I uploaded 10 pictures and it says it could take up to 20 mintues for my thumbnails to show up. 

Basically, I find it interesting how some sites are more user friendly and have faster response times, whereas other sites are not so user friendly and slow as molasses.  If it weren't for the fact that I'm out to make money, I'd just stick with Shutterstock.  It was very easy to get signed up and I don't have any problems navigating the site.