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Messages - Jo Ann Snover

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5901
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Sales have tanked big time
« on: November 17, 2011, 14:02 »
I think that I saw more than a few video contributors complaining of big drops in sales, plus one person here talking about going independent for video and seeing much better sales elsewhere. I don't know anything about iStock video, but to the extent that video played a big role in your income, that might be one of the issues for you. If you look at the huge complaints from iStock vector contributors it does appear that sometimes one medium is hurting more than the site overall. I think the vector folks have been asking the same questions about what's up and if/when anyone at iStock plans to do anything about it.

Those whose sales are currently doing well obviously credit their great skill and hard work for that and therefore will be looking for it to be your fault that these changes have happened to you. I wouldn't argue the toss as it's tantamount to a discussion about religion and won't change anyone's mind.

I do think that when you see very strong performers and big guns (Nico blue and Sean - sjlocke - come to mind) struggling with drops in income even as their portfolio has grown, it suggests that there are some changes in the buyer patterns that we've seen in the past at iStock. There have been months worth of sales threads talking about erratic performance as well as drops overall.

My decision was to return to independence because I had lost confidence that if iStock did sort anything out, it would apply to me. I think there's a small subset of those people who used to be very successful there who can continue to be (Vetta/Agency heavies being the likely candidates). Leaving exclusivity really sucked, but I'm glad I did as I'm still confident it was the right thing for my type of work.

5902
Dreamstime.com / Re: DT Subscriptions Update
« on: November 17, 2011, 13:24 »
So do we start a betting pool on what levels will generate extra subscription royaltiesin the future?

I read this as hinting that getting 70 cents for a level 3 subscription and $1.05 for level 5 may be history. That'd be a shame, but as long as the level of subscription downloads stays low-ish, using them as a boost to the prices for files purchased with credits would still be there as a sweetener to the yucky taste of subscriptions (from a contributor's point of view).

5903
If SS is acquired by another company, things would probably get worse for contributors, but otherwise I can't see why Jon Oringer and company would suddenly take a turn on the dark side. They've been successful for a while and other than a rather poor track record on answering contributor support requests, and the blow up over taxes for non-US contributors (which I wasn't part of, but recall some real heat in these forums) you can't really fault them much.

Let's hope H&F stays well away :)

5904
123RF / Re: Tips to Increase your Images Exposure
« on: November 16, 2011, 19:32 »
Thanks - depressing how little actually works!

I thought I'd found a way around it - from my monthly download list, if I clicked on an image that showed up a lot it took me to that image's page from where I had a link to "Fave" the image. That doesn't work either.

The first one I clicked seemed to set some state that all subsequent images had a link that said "Faved" as if I'd already faved all those images too. If I go back to the interface where I can view the tab for images I've faved, there aren't any - not even the first one got added to my faved list.

What's the point of posting suggestions that we fave our images to improve sales if none of the tools actually work?

5905
123RF / Re: Tips to Increase your Images Exposure
« on: November 16, 2011, 19:16 »
The interface in the area where you pick your faves appears to be broken. There is supposed to be a sort either by image number (age, effectively) or number of downloads. The first appears to work and the second produces some different order which doesn't reflect actual downloads at all.

I'd like to Fave some of the images that (a) sell well on other sites and (b) sell well at 123rf, but I don't see any way to get a view of my portfolio sorted in download order (preferably with the number of downloads for each image showing). Is the download sort known to be broken and on a list to be fixed. I use Firefox 7.0.1 on a Mac if that makes any difference.

5906
Last November was my best month ever (and 2010 I earned more than I had in any prior year). I don't think I'm going to beat that this year, so you could say that things are going poorly.

On the other hand, my sales are generally rising month by month at the other sites (Stocckfresh appears to have died completely though, in terms of sales, and I may die before Veer reviews my last several batches of images!). With iStock sales being so poor - for a month that has been the biggest in every prior year going back to 2005 - it certainly doesn't help. So far this month, SS is 37% higher than IS (and on track for a BME at SS). DT is doing well, but the volume just isn't as high. It's on track for a BME for November and I still don't have my whole portfolio up (their upload limits and severe restrictions on how many from a series they'll take have cut things a bit; and except for the last couple of weeks I've been maxing out the full weekly quota of 140)

I viewed switching back to being independent as an investment in my portfolio's future, so although it cost me in the short run to do this, (a) I think I'd have had a hard time this year even as an exclusive given how the majority of other diamonds in the October thread have reported their drops and (b) watching growth in income on other sites is a positive sign - I'd rather be at a slightly lower income level on a growing site than a slightly higher one on the way down.

I'm happy with how things are going, given the circumstances, but if you would judge the situation by 2011 income alone, then you wouldn't view this as a win.

Not a short answer, but it's the best overview I can manage given that I'm not going to put my lifetime stock earnings on a public forum :)

5907
Shutterstock.com / Re: I wonder who they're aiming this at
« on: November 16, 2011, 17:41 »

If you have IPTC data embedded, uploading 1000 images on SS, DT and FT wouldn't take a day!

Rubbish!

5908
Shutterstock.com / Re: I wonder who they're aiming this at
« on: November 16, 2011, 15:49 »
DT has this feature (albeit customer service has to do it for you). FT doesn't, but unless you've upset them, they may be willing to work with you.

5909
Just a note to anyone considering taking SS up on their offer: The opt out feature is great. Getting approved and doing some uploads to get a feel for SS's approval standards and desired subjects while still exclusive is an excellent idea.

One thing to consider is that you probably don't want to have a huge quantity of material uploaded and not for sale as I think it may affect the placement of your images in default (popularity) searches.

As such, while you can definitely smooth over the bumps, if you have a large-ish portfolio, you probably won't be able to flip the switch on day one of independence with all or most of your portfolio already approved on SS.

SS is very smart to promote this, but like most promotional materials, it makes things sound simpler than they really are.

And DT will disable your portfolio for you (support has to do it) so you can effectively do the same thing there).

5910
It's a false choice to suggest that your options for stock are landscape/nature/macro shots or people. There are tons of opportunities in staged still life shots for both business and lifestyle themes.

And just to reiterate what other people have said: don't try to find sites that will accept anything you chuck at them that's in focus and exposed correctly. If you want to sell your images (and if you don't, make a gallery somewhere and share it with friends) then focus on getting accepted at the top tier sites and building  your portfolio.

If you like to shoot things that don't sell as stock, then stop trying to build a stock portfolio. There's nothing wrong with that.

5911
Photos+ prices went up the same way that regular exclusive files did - XXL from 25 to 27 and XXXL from 30 to 32. It's good that they kept those two in sync, but these little price hikes seem truly bizzare. Not only that they're doing them, and doing them under the radar (no announcement), but that they bumped one size group for Exclusive plus and a different one for Photos+/regular exclusive. Regular independent files had XXL go from 20 to 22 and XXXL from 25 to 27.

I'm assuming they're more worried about their own numbers than contributors' RC numbers and that they have some data that leads them to think there's the best chance of a boost from upping the prices on these sizes, but soaking more cash out of the buyers you have - versus getting more buyers or more volume from the same buyers - seems strange to me.

5912
General Stock Discussion / Re: November, so far?
« on: November 15, 2011, 02:04 »
...I think contributors being hit particularly hard are those that have gotten used to making sales off best sellers, who began early when growth was truly exponential from year to year. the landscape has changed, the collection has grown and it's far too competitive today to be riding on the success of so few files. no matter how good they may be, there are a lot of very good files these days.

And does that explain Sean's drops, nico_blue's, johnwoodcock, ericsphotography ... (from the iStock October sales thread)? People who are contributing regularly and delivering high quality stuff. While there clearly are some people who get hit when a best seller on which they're dependent gets whacked by a best match change, that isn't the explanation for the dismal October so many contributors had.

5913
Well 50% of $2 IS more than 15% of $6......

No, $6 photographer's commission is more than a $2 commission, but some people see it otherwise.

I assume this is all hypothetical as I don't recall any conversation like this on MSG. However, the missing piece in your hypothetical is what the license terms are for $6 vs. $2. If they're the same, there's no discussion, but if you sell very limited rights for $2 versus anything-and-everything rights for $6, the lower amount may actually be more.

Print run, template uses, items for resale, etc. all can make a very big difference in what the price should be.

As far as amazon and books, I think that they're in a different phase (courtship) with suppliers - where the micros were a few years ago. As soon as the business model is established and amazon's very successful at it, I wonder if the "success of the supplier" chit-chat will survive. It's the rare business that continues to behave decently once they have all the power in a relationship.

5914
I wouldn't say everything depends on luck, although that is an element (primarily on whether an image gets good placement in default search results). Image quality, variety and having subjects that are useful (and thus in demand) are the biggies. Without seeing your files it's impossible to say whether they're of subjects that might sell once or twice a year, or whether you should expect more sales volume.

I still don't have all my images up at 123rf (I returned to being an independent in June after 3 years as an iStock exclusive) but I get regular daily sales, although at nothing like the volume of SS.

5915
iStockPhoto.com / Re: BIg best match shift?
« on: November 11, 2011, 21:35 »
I have no idea what the whole picture at iStock looks like - and I don't think any contributors do. The people who do know don't talk about it.

What I would say regarding your comment that only a small fraction post in the forums is that while it's true some people don't bother, that has always been the case. In the past, those who posted in end-of-month threads had generally much more positive tales than those who have posted the last few months.

So while it's not impossible that the bad times have just happened to hit that small portion that posts and everyone else in the top 2% (diamonds and up) are doing great, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which that vocal group is the only one seeing a downturn.

The sky isn't falling because lots of people are buying stock images. Just not at iStock.

5916
iStockPhoto.com / Re: BIg best match shift?
« on: November 11, 2011, 20:49 »
I'll be the first to admit that 100% of my portfolio is ordinary. Pretty, not edgy; normal, not unusual; recognizable, predictable stuff. That hasn't stopped it from selling (and I would argue in many cases that's why it sells as stock).

It used to sell at iStock. It still does sell everywhere else. That old expression says when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not Zebras.

So, when you look at all of these snippets of data, you could conclude that buyers are morons for buying my boring ordinary images in large-ish quantities. The moron buyers have left iStock and the remaining discerning folk don't care for my chaff, but prefer the fine and un-ordinary content that the exclusive bronzes (those reporting BMEs in the October stats thread) are supplying.

Or, you could alternatively conclude that iStock's multitude of software train wrecks and policy changes in the last year or so have resulted in fewer buyers than before, and that the various futile efforts to fix this by playing with best match result in a wildly uneven sales performance from day to day and week to week.

5917
iStockPhoto.com / Re: BIg best match shift?
« on: November 11, 2011, 14:22 »
I don't think it invalidates the point, but I did check today and yesterday's sales total was actually 3, courtesy of one more sale at 11:27pm!!

5918
iStockPhoto.com / Re: BIg best match shift?
« on: November 10, 2011, 19:26 »
So iStock ends the day (I know it's not midnight Calgary time yet, but this is always quiet time) with a grand total of two downloads - what I saw today at BigStock, not known for its high traffic! That would be a slow weekend day...

Utterly pathetic.

5919
iStockPhoto.com / Re: BIg best match shift?
« on: November 10, 2011, 10:05 »
... It's like there are no sales happening from Europe and Australia.

When I check in the morning Pacific Time, there's usually a decent chunk of sales from Europe and Australia and Asia. This morning on iStock there was nothing - zero. I now have a grand total of 2 sales, I assume from the US East Coast. If it were a holiday, I think I'd see SS down, but I don't, so I guess it's just IS losing ground in certain markets

And again this morning when I checked - 0 on IS, 18 on SS and 5 on DT. I'm sure that there will be some sales on IS later, but this really does look some sort of change for sales outside the US at iStock.

5920
Crestock.com / Re: Crestock is ALIVE!
« on: November 09, 2011, 20:20 »

Masterfile bought them over a year ago, didn't they?  Back when that happened I started uploading there again in hopes sales would pick up.  If anything they got worse.  Sales at Crestock are the worst of the 14 sites I contribute to.  

These changes look positive, and are quite welcome after the royalty cuts elsewhere.  I will wait to see if sales improve before I get too excited though. 

What's new is that they're going to put Crestock content onto the Masterfile site - I thought that was something they had not previously done, but if I'm wrong, being 14/14 on Lisa's list of sites isn't much of a recommendation :)

5921
Crestock.com / Re: Crestock is ALIVE!
« on: November 09, 2011, 16:46 »
I never contributed to Crestock (not even prior to exclusivity in 2008), but if Masterfile has any reasonable sales traffic, this might make putting my portfolio there an interesting possibility.

Does anyone have any knowledge of Masterfile and an opinion of how likely this is to revive the moribund Crestock?

5922
Dreamstime.com / Re: DT subs, 33c?
« on: November 09, 2011, 11:17 »
After posting on the DT forums about this issue, Serban asked for the ticket number for the unanswered support message from 2 weeks ago about my unusual sub sale. He followed up with me and said that when someone asked for clarification before answering, the ticket fell through the cracks when the answer didn't come. He apologized and acknowledged it shouldn't have happened.

I suggested that it'd be good to have an internal flagging system for tickets that aren't answered after a certain time to catch such slip ups, but that in general I've had good experience with DT support.

Edited to add that I received a very apologetic and straightforward e-mail from the customer service rep who got the original support ticket. I've often felt that how an organization handles mistakes is in some ways more important than the fact that they occasionally make them. I'm really impressed with DT's handling of this goof. They were forthright and apologetic. Very refreshing and commendable.

5923
Envato / Re: Missing Sample Images
« on: November 09, 2011, 10:45 »
As a contributor still on the fence about whether I should add PhotoDune to the sites I upload to, this thread is not at all encouraging.

First is a rather odd approval process - a ZIP file of images? Of course I know how to do that, but does PhotoDune realize that no other agency out there does it this way? Then there's the bugs in the system - and I know that all software has bugs, but when the contributor acceptance process isn't even working, that first impressions count saying comes to mind.

Then I read the thread about FTP problems, and although there is one person at the end who had a problem free experience, the description there of having to place images in one folder, model releases in another, etc. sounded seriously in need of work. Someone at PhotoDune should become a SS contributor and use their upload process to see how to do it.

Even if I got my head around the low EL prices issue, is this site really worth uploading to?

5924
General Stock Discussion / Re: November, so far?
« on: November 09, 2011, 10:12 »
For those who see slower than expected sales at SS, do you have Christmas images? I have been having a good week at SS so far and there's a ton of Christmas stuff in the mix.

5925
Dreamstime.com / Re: DT subs, 33c?
« on: November 08, 2011, 20:23 »
If I get his meaning correctly, he's saying that it was supposed to work this way from the beginning, but it didn't. A bug/mistake was recently corrected which means they now take the cut form our royalties.

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