A follow up..

I just uploaded three images at once... all different subjects, so I uploaded all together and planned to go back and add categories afterward... they were all approved before I went back to put the categories in... couldn't have been more than 5 or 10 minutes.  Way to go, StockXpert!

I don't have a problem at Fotolia.  In fact, I can predict when they won't like an image... though it rarely happens to me there.

On the other hand, iStock baffles me.  In a single day, Dreamstime approved an image and liked it enough to make it an Editor's Choice, and a few hours later iStock rejected it for not being up to their standards.  That proves to me how subjective reviewers -- particularly IS reviewers -- can be.

When submitting to iStock, I try to look over my recent submissions to see what types of shots they approve or reject, and submit images from the same series or in the same style as my accepted pics, but they frequently get rejected for quality reasons... and their quality is exactly the same as other recently approved shots.  Argh!

Here is Shutterstock's reply to the question... starting to look like the agencies are in agreement on this issue:

"Thank you for writing in.

Your portfolio may be transferred over to a beneficiary. Mention that in your

Will and have that reviewed and approved by a lawyer.

When it comes time, your beneficiary would approach us with the necessary
paperwork for account transfer to take place. Please be aware that
Shutterstock does honor the instructions of Estate representatives."

Best regards,

NAME
Shutterstock Support

For me, January has been pretty strong... if it holds, it should be my BME.  I'm seeing the opposite of some of the trends pointed out here.  SS has been somewhat flat for me the last few months, but I've seen strong growth at IS, FT, DT and even StockXpert.  The ones that matter little (123, BigStock, CanStockPhoto) have been flat, and I've recently decided to stop uploading to CRE and VEER, but none of this has hurt me.  I think the strategy that is paying off for me has been adding to the diversity of my subject matter over the past month or two... I noticed that I was falling into the trap of repeating subjects that seemed to sell best for me, so I refocused in areas that I hadn't hit before, and those have been selling well, on top of continued sales of my previous top sellers.  I'd advise anyone currently experiencing a period of stalled sales to try this strategy to spark some new life in their portfolios.

Here is a response from Dreamstime:

"Thank you for contacting us. We would need the proper legal documentation that the account rights were given to the other person. This can only be done after a death has taken place."
Kind Regards,
NAME
Customer Service Manager

MY FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:
"So, just to clarify, you would require a will or some other legal document that explicitly states that it was the deceased's intent to change the account information into the intended survivor's name?
Does this routinely happen?"

ANSWER:
"Yes, we would need the supporting legal documents for this, such as a will.  In the history of Dreamstime, it has only happened once so far."
Kind Regards,
NAME
Customer Service Manager

Agreed on the importance of regularly adding new material to keep showing up near the top of searches.  It's a necessary strategy.

But for most of us that's what it is, a strategy, rather than the goal.  In the stat spreadsheets I keep, I care about my port size only in the sense that it's a multiplier in hitting my revenue goals.  Port size x RPI = Revenue.  I have a revenue goal in mind, I upload a few images a day, and I carefully watch my RPI as the key determining factor of whether I'll reach my goal.  As an analogy, think about your day job... do you benchmark how many days you worked and celebrate when you've hit 100 work days for the year, 200, 300?   Now, of course I enjoy producing images for microstock and don't really want to compare it to a grind, but I have a daily quota to hit and it's my expectation that a month from now I'll have 60 more images, and two months from now I'll have 120 more images, etc.  I'm not excited when I meet my upload quotas, but instead I'm excited to see the movement in RPI if there's any... and in fact I'm thrilled when it remains constant... that tells me I'm uploading intelligently.  Looking at the count of new images just tells me I'm uploading.

Therefore I'd find it most interesting to see a thread about people tracking their RPI rather than how many images they've uploaded.  Does everyone's RPI slip over time?  Who has bucked the trend and how? 

This is a question worth posing to get clarifications, at least to the bigger sites.  Maybe I'll shoot off a question to the admins at SS, IS, DT and FT to ask them that if a contributor dies, can the spouse log in and update payment information into his/her name and update the social security number and other pertinent info.  It would really bother me to think they might prevent this.  I have come to see my microstock revenue as a sort of secondary life insurance that would provide a nice dividend for my family at least for a little while after my death.

I also wonder about the focus on racing to increased port size as quickly as possible.  Of course, that's a goal for all of us, but I care most of all about RPI.  So I wonder if the race to get to 700 has had the desired effect on revenue growth or if you're oversaturating subjects you already have well covered and are cannibalizing your own sales?  Not a knock on you, as I haven't looked at your port... but on the widespread desire to grow port size at any cost, rather than focusing on the more important factors of diversity, uniqueness, and yes, quality.

My current feelings on the sites, ranked from my favorite to least favorite...

1. Istock... I'm fairly new there, but it's already clear that when I get a decent sized port there, this will be far and away my top earner... highest RPI by far
2.  SS... still my top earner in total revenue, by far. 
3. DT... despite the recent changes, it delivers a very good RPI for me... it's not third best in downloads but does very well in RPI.
4. FT... closely behind DT for me.  Quantity of downloads is increasing very nicely.
5. StockXpert... despite all the turmoil and uncertainty, it is still performing well and is far above my number 6...
6. BigStock... slow but steady... I wish my revenue growth would be more tied to my portfolio growth
7. 123RF... same feeling as BigStock
8. CanStock... every time I think about dropping them, I get a Fotosearch commission of about $20 or $30... I'm getting about two or three of those a month... will have to keep uploading to them

Recently stopped uploading to Crestock and Veer, but will keep my ports open and watch the sales.  If I see a surge at either, I'll resume uploading.

For me, 123 is about the ONLY site that has NOT shown consistent growth since I started 14 months ago.  It petered out last fall and has been flat ever since, despite daily uploads.  Even CanStock is likely to overtake it on my chart, making 123RF #8 of the 8 sites where I actively upload.

When I passed a certain threshold and I considered my microstock income to be meaningful, I created a list of instructions and passwords for my wife to log in to each site and request earnings as they accumulate.  I assume as long as she is able to do so, I won't need to state anything legally in a will, but maybe there's more to consider.  Would anybody challenge my wife's ability to log in to my accounts and request PayPal payouts? Hmmmm.... maybe I need to consult an attorney after all.

I have been waiting since Dec 22 for paypal.

Same here... I have been waiting for payment since Dec 22... also PayPal.

No SS ELs for me yet today, but still hoping.

As for the start of the year so far, I'm very encouraged.  Jan 1 and 2 were very slow as expected, but Jan 3 -- a Sunday -- brought me sales similar to a weekday, my best Sunday ever, more than doubling my prior best Sunday.... and no ELs on SS or any other site... lots of normal downloads across the board.

As for today, Monday Jan 4... my sales seem to be picking up right where the week before Christmas left off, which was my BWE.

So far, 2010 looking great!