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Messages - BalkanskiMacak
76
« on: January 29, 2019, 08:14 »
For 2018: DP represented 2% of what I made on SS, and the RPI was 4% of what I made on SS.
I'm still wondering why I'm keeping DP actually... If you want to expand, I would definitely advice you to try most of the other agencies before DP (apart maybe from CanStock and 123RF)
77
« on: January 14, 2019, 08:38 »
Definitely not my highest earner. However, when I look at the stats, it's not that bad. It's my 4th highest revenue generator (after SS, IS and Alamy), even though the three highest earners have way higher numbers. If I look at the RPI, it's the 5th one (Adobe does better, but my portfolio is smaller there, as I mainly upload Editorial content). Furthermore, it is probably the platform that has the most stable RPI, which is a pretty good sign for future developments.
So, as a low earner, I definitely advice to give it a try, without spending too much time, and without expecting huge return.
78
« on: October 19, 2018, 12:56 »
I am frequently spotting sales via profimedia, it is one of Alamy's distributors for Central and Southeastern Europe. As told previously, pretty long to pay, they are legitthough, but I don't remember having got more than 5$ per sale from these guys.
79
« on: July 20, 2018, 07:01 »
After careful review, weve concluded that the overall quality and accuracy of keywords we receive with imagery submitted using StockSubmitter does not meet the high standards we require.
Wait, this is great news. iStock mentions high standards for keywording, it means they finally stopped with their efficiency-arguable and time consuming "keyword disambiguation", I guess it means as well all the keywords will be taken in account on a file, technically implying there are no more "invisible keywords"... oh... wait...
80
« on: June 14, 2018, 17:47 »
Well, I saw, over the past year, some revenue increase, making it the second highest in the grow of the low earners... Then, I got a careful look at the stats: they are now accepting more or less anything, so the RPI is actually extremely low, the worst of the platforms I'm on... When even 123RF is better, then it's maybe time to consider leaving the boat!
Why does RPI matter?
because it's the main KPI, the one that determines how much I gained per image, and if is it worth for me to spend time uploading pictures on the platform
81
« on: June 14, 2018, 09:26 »
Well, I saw, over the past year, some revenue increase, making it the second highest in the grow of the low earners... Then, I got a careful look at the stats: they are now accepting more or less anything, so the RPI is actually extremely low, the worst of the platforms I'm on... When even 123RF is better, then it's maybe time to consider leaving the boat!
82
« on: June 14, 2018, 09:21 »
Unbelievable that anyone can even consider uploading one version of this bookcase let alone 2,599 pages of duplicates.
I cannot understand what is going on, I have had files rejected recently for being similar and they are not anywhere near this crap.
It really makes me wonder if its worth carrying uploading to SS.
Well, it all depends on your numbers. I am definitely not sure this portfolio makes any profit, due to the low quality. I often wonder if SS is worth it looking at the low quality of some stuff on it, and then I remember it's my highest microstock source of revenue, and the second RPI, so I continue...
83
« on: June 11, 2018, 07:11 »
back in the 1990's, a video cost about $250 or more. photos cost $100.
the prices dropped, and they will continue to do so. now you can get videos for $5 and photos for 50 cents or less.
every time a new photo or video is uploaded, leading to an increase in supply, the end result will be a decrease in pricing unless there is a matching increase in demand.
prices will fluctuate upwards if a company drops SD/NTSC, HD, etc, but that is only going to happen once per company, it could be in the distant future. if a company suddenly decides to dorp all of its HD content, the overall price in the market for videos will go up. but a company can only do this once.
it is like yuri says. if you don't like falling prices, you shouldn't be in the business (his words not mine).
You make complete sense. It's time for 95% of us to move onwards and upwards to better things outside of the stock game. I blame the contributors who can't help themselves by posting about their sales and success, thereby encouraging the competition that will force many of them out.
So... are you saying that we shouldn't let anybody know when we're satisfied by our results? Well, too bad for you, but I think there is definitely still room for more people, if you manage your business properly. When I calculate the revenue generated per hour of work, it's still something definitely profitable, even if less than other works from my clients. So, yes, news like this 1.50 sales are preoccupying, but there's no reason to blame people who are satisfied of their results.
84
« on: May 30, 2018, 11:01 »
YEP, agree. One of my old students is gonna go for it.
It definitely sounds like an idea I should work on as well. And given the amount of corporations in the world, it will take a long time before the opportunities will be exhausted, and the market saturated!
85
« on: May 30, 2018, 02:56 »
I think that your all kinda forgetting that for the most part these images just get used for some social media thing or websites ... They don't really need to be publication quality if they're just going to be forgotten in 3 days ... and consumers don't really care if it's grainy or a bit soft. Especially if at the intended resolution it's not going to be noticed. We might as well just jump on the bandwagon and upload everything we see.
After Reading the entire thread with some good stuff. By all. Im going with this above. I just left the SS forums after 55,651 Posts and 13 years and for the 4th and seriously Last time Because it Just got dumber every day and I just couldn't look anymore at the work people were submitting and asking me to critique. I wrote this and I totally believe it. Such a shame. But It is true.
"It's pretty clear to me that if I want sales or, anyone else wants sales you need to go to any large super market or Drug store and Take a picture of every Product on the shelves, then go outside and take every snapshot of a Business storefront ,Car or person doing anything it doesn't matter really, with and without there Kids and be sure to watch for Local Car shows and take 4 shots of each Car ...go take a 1000 or More a day that require little or no Processing and submit everything regardless of any creative skill or Planning or expense whatsoever as editorial Of course. all It would take is 3 Months and you would have 900 Pages of SO CALLED "Todays" "Perfect Stock" get a few friends to help and bam.....Done.And I mean IE...."Todays Perfect Stock" That has a shelf Life of a few Months or until they change the search or algorithm. Thats what this is now My friends. "Oh and don't forget to do some stupid Instagram filters to show your cool", Trendy And 'with it" And if ya get a rejection any rejection Just submit it many more times. That is if you get a Lucky day where the upload works.LOL
The question is: if this is selling, why not doing it? After all, it does not compete with high quality pictures, given we are talking here about some niche markets, and, according you what you write, there is a return on investment, maybe for a short time, but pretty good compared to the amount of time and work provided...
86
« on: May 30, 2018, 02:49 »
It's obvious here that there are many (who are probably doing well) looking at life through SS tinted glasses. Sales have stopped dead for no reason for a few days THIS IS NOT NORMAL !!!!!!! THIS IS MANIPULATION OF THE ALGORITHMS.
Several things:
SS (probably) doesn't manipulate individual algorithms. However, they are frequently modifying it, which is understandable. Tbh, I would pay a lot to know how to be always on first position, as I would be able to earn even more money. Therefore, the algorithm remains secret, but time passing by, several criteria start to become obvious, thus leading SS to change it, even slightly. Furthermore, it is a good way to experiment parameters that could be more profitable. It lacks of transparency, but at least it prevents spam and algorithm bombing.
Seen from the point of view of someone who has been managing webadvertisement accounts, I don't see it shocking. Even on mid businesses, with several hundred sales a month, there were huge differences, day after day. Furthermore, there are business specifics you don't always understand. Coming back to SS, for instance, I have noticed over the past months that most of my sales will occur during the middle of the month. Knowing the fact that I have uploaded pictures of various topics during this time, I can't explain it, but I don't call this a trend, and, in some case, seasonality.
To summarize, I see as well pretty impressive stalls (-70% sales between the first and the second half of March, for instance), they are pretty stressful, but I don't see them as an issue, as long as the mid term and long term indicators remain positive.
One last thing: if there were a conspiracy I could believe in that could explain most of the irregularities, but that I haven't been able to prove, it's the theory that SS is trying to hide technical issues impacting the sales record adjusting the revenue afterwards with SOD's and other "adjustable" rates. Over the past months, I have noticed indeed that every drop in sales that was due to an official (or non official) issue on the website was followed by one or several SOD's of higher rates that I could not track. I have no proofs of it, maybe it's just my need for order, but it's not that impossible, given that I have done it in another field of webmarketing, working for a platform dealing with digital inventories.
What would you say to someone that gets the basic same amount of sales 7 days a week for the Last 3 Months Give or take 1/2 Images. Lucky?
No, just that your sales are stable...
87
« on: May 24, 2018, 10:30 »
Actually, I noticed it as well, but I noticed too that some files from a few months ago are getting dowloads now, so I guess they changed their algorithm to reduce the frenshness parameter.
On another subject, I got a lot of bulg purchases, more than before, so they must have done something about this as well.
In the end, like most of the people, I didn't see a huge change in the dynamic.
88
« on: May 19, 2018, 12:11 »
Never mind the stats, lets see your portfolio.
Well, making money out of microstock is actually much more about stats than portfolio...
89
« on: May 17, 2018, 06:21 »
Also, why so many other people suddenly experiencing an unusaly sudden drop in sales ? This thread for instance ? Again, this is abnormal and beyond our control.
Actually, not that many people complained on this thread. I remember the last time we got a serious issue on SS (probably in March, when the sales appeared on the map, but not in the reports), there certainly two to three times more reports on the forum. In any case, you will see it much more people complaining here about the lack of sales than people telling they are satisfied by their sales level. It's a forum, so most of the people will actually share their problems, but it does not mean the problems are general. As told before, not having sales in the beginning of May isn't that abnormal, due to the national holidays. In some European countries, there are up to 3 days off in two weeks (the 1st and 2nd of May, plus the 9th of May), resulting in the economy seriously slowing down. Therefore, I wasn't that preoccupied by the results. From what you are saying, you are experiencing a bad month, it is upsetting, but it does not look abnormal for the moment. There may be new competitors on your niche, a seasonal issue, or a business issue. That being said, as others were mentioning, there is still another issue, the fact that, on most of the cases, the RPI is decreasing. It is a slow trend, but all my stats, monthly, quarterly and yearly, are showing it...
90
« on: May 16, 2018, 09:45 »
It's obvious here that there are many (who are probably doing well) looking at life through SS tinted glasses. Sales have stopped dead for no reason for a few days THIS IS NOT NORMAL !!!!!!! THIS IS MANIPULATION OF THE ALGORITHMS.
Several things: SS (probably) doesn't manipulate individual algorithms. However, they are frequently modifying it, which is understandable. Tbh, I would pay a lot to know how to be always on first position, as I would be able to earn even more money. Therefore, the algorithm remains secret, but time passing by, several criteria start to become obvious, thus leading SS to change it, even slightly. Furthermore, it is a good way to experiment parameters that could be more profitable. It lacks of transparency, but at least it prevents spam and algorithm bombing. Seen from the point of view of someone who has been managing webadvertisement accounts, I don't see it shocking. Even on mid businesses, with several hundred sales a month, there were huge differences, day after day. Furthermore, there are business specifics you don't always understand. Coming back to SS, for instance, I have noticed over the past months that most of my sales will occur during the middle of the month. Knowing the fact that I have uploaded pictures of various topics during this time, I can't explain it, but I don't call this a trend, and, in some case, seasonality. To summarize, I see as well pretty impressive stalls (-70% sales between the first and the second half of March, for instance), they are pretty stressful, but I don't see them as an issue, as long as the mid term and long term indicators remain positive. One last thing: if there were a conspiracy I could believe in that could explain most of the irregularities, but that I haven't been able to prove, it's the theory that SS is trying to hide technical issues impacting the sales record adjusting the revenue afterwards with SOD's and other "adjustable" rates. Over the past months, I have noticed indeed that every drop in sales that was due to an official (or non official) issue on the website was followed by one or several SOD's of higher rates that I could not track. I have no proofs of it, maybe it's just my need for order, but it's not that impossible, given that I have done it in another field of webmarketing, working for a platform dealing with digital inventories.
91
« on: April 30, 2018, 07:33 »
Given that a considerable amount of my work is being sold in Northern America (Where Labour Day is on the 3rd of September), I usually don't have a sensitive decrease of my earnings on this period, at least nothing statistically significant
92
« on: April 29, 2018, 09:17 »
Let's have a look at the stats (these are the stats from the 20th of March till the 20th of April, taking in account IS earnings from the previous month. Not the most accurate in terms of performance, but it still gives an idea of the dynamic):
Earnings: +20%
Uploaded pictures: +4% (-21% pictures uploaded compared to previous month)
Income excluding the big 2 (IS &SS): +25%
In a nutshell, a pretty good month, even taking in account the portfolio increase. I still get concerned by the sustainability of this growth, given IS is performing unusually well (+116% earnings on Q1-2018 compared to Q4-2017 for a 20% portfolio increase), but April seems to follow the general positive trend my portfolios started in 2018, with only 123RF showing bad signs.
it's not sustainable and will only slow. till there is chance to earn money more people will enjoy and upload per week will soon double. so no. there is no hope.
Thanks for your note of optimism. However, the niches where I'm well positioned are still pretty much unoccupied, and there are several others that I am identifying. More people will upload, but very little people actually do it properly and on a regular basis. So, unless your plan is to be positioned on isolated vegetables or business people, you may find plenty of opportunities. Let's never remember that only 17000 people, last year, had a portfolio superior to 1000 files on SS, it's not that much. When I was referring to the sustainability of this growth, I was referring to the fact that you can't reasonably expect your quarterly earnings to double every three months (especially when your portfolio does not increase that much). Apart from this, when I look at my results over the past years, I still see a pretty steady and regular growth on the long term, without actually increasing my workload. So, for a hopeless situation, it's still not that bad. i am not saying that it will be the same forever, but there's still money to make, so let's continue. the day everything will be locked... well, I will find something else, but for the moment, the opportunities are present.
93
« on: April 28, 2018, 11:58 »
Let's have a look at the stats (these are the stats from the 20th of March till the 20th of April, taking in account IS earnings from the previous month. Not the most accurate in terms of performance, but it still gives an idea of the dynamic):
Earnings: +20%
Uploaded pictures: +4% (-21% pictures uploaded compared to previous month)
Income excluding the big 2 (IS &SS): +25%
In a nutshell, a pretty good month, even taking in account the portfolio increase. I still get concerned by the sustainability of this growth, given IS is performing unusually well (+116% earnings on Q1-2018 compared to Q4-2017 for a 20% portfolio increase), but April seems to follow the general positive trend my portfolios started in 2018, with only 123RF showing bad signs.
94
« on: April 26, 2018, 06:59 »
I tried a few months ago to put for sale higher resolutions (cca 50% higher resolution than previously)
Conclusion:
-no significantly higher sales
-much longer upload time
-more space use on my disks
I'm not saying it does not work at all (maybe for a few commercial extended licenses, it could be a good strategy), however, it's a big lottery with a very unsure return on investment...
95
« on: April 24, 2018, 09:42 »
Regarding my results, things are going pretty well: almost doubled my income since last year on Q1...
Seeing microstock as an homogeneous supply is a mistake, as there are plenty of markets within the sector.
As I was saying before, yes, there are a lot of pictures, but often badly managed, duplicates, bad shots, etc.
Identify the niches that will be profitable for you, and then you do everything to fill it as much as you can, then you find ways to reduce costs, and you may develop it.
Furthermore, I would add that the supply is not that serious. On another topic here, there was an interesting info that can be used as an example: there were (last year) less than 18000 accounts on SS with more than 1000 files for sale. In a nutshell, it means that not that many people are actually doing microstock on a medium and high scale level. If we remove some cheap vectors and illustration producers (that can't produce a decent work on large scale), yes, it means there is still some space.
To summarize, saying that there are no opportunities on microstock because there are a lot of suppliers would be the same as saying that there are no opportunities on the textile selling market on the internet (or any other E-Commerce activity) because the competition is enormous... it is simply not true
96
« on: April 24, 2018, 08:43 »
Terrible month on 123RF as well, plus the fact that the review of editorial pictures has stopped almost 3 months ago... I'm starting to wonder if there's still somebody behind the website, or if rats are deserting the ship...
97
« on: April 24, 2018, 05:41 »
It's amazing how many refer them as "buyers" as they were your next door neighbor, when they are big graphic designer agency accounts for the most part. Usually many graphic designer share the same company account and buy in bulk account owned subscription.
These companies are far from shopping around for cheaper price (accounts are usually playing with several thousand dollar budgets / month). They search for the best and MOST images constantly. That's why you guys doesn't make a dime at your dollar store photo agency that just open you're calling "low earners" and where your portfolios has more assets than sales.
Anyway. This forum really doesn't display much good info/insights anymore 
I don't know how it works for graphic design, but it's far from being the only business using pictures. In most of the cases, at least for photos, the firm will need some disposable image, in low or medium resolution, to illustrate something, in an acceptable quality. That being said, they will look for the best deal, between the size of the portfolio and its price, and get one, maybe a few contracts, but will definitely not browse for hours to get a picture among others, except if they are looking for something specific, where they will actually agree on some much higher price. That is what I have definitely seen working in marketing. Quality is a parameter, but not necessarily the main, especially when the image is just a part of a greater project.
98
« on: April 24, 2018, 05:14 »
About the algorithm, the attitude of SS isn't completely stupid.
If we take the issue from their point of view, they need to give incentives to everybody. Buyers want good content, if possible various, in order not to look too ridiculous.
To satisfy this demand, SS will need suppliers: experimented ones whose pictures are solid values, that have been generating good revenues for a lot of time. But these photographers need incentives to publish new content, and new challengers need as well to get their chances, in order to motivate them to increase their supply.
Therefore, SS needs to constantly adjust two parameters, that we could call interestingness and freshness, that are very often contradictory. If you favour interestingness, new contents won't have their chance to generate revenue, as old pictures with proven records will take it all. If you favour freshness, you are not sure of the quality.
From what I have observed over the past months, SS has constantly played on this, and I'm not sure they will stop, as they constantly need to incentive both the old and new content.
I have to admit it's a pretty unpleasant feeling when I see my daily revenue decreasing by 60% in less than a week, but it's still a situation that is preferable to many other platforms. IS, in comparison, is overly focusing on interestingness. If you get lucky, one or two photos will get a few sales after their upload, and these few pictures, basically, will make most of the revenue. It's cool when it's working, but it's definitely less stable than SS.
ss need to clean database of poor shots and bad keyword. is not possible keep on like this.
Seen from SS point of view, I would bet it's mainly a question of Server costs. Apart from this, as long as their algorithm is able to find the best matching pictures, having too many pictures isn't such a big deal, given that they are additional potential supply for clients. Then, from a contributor point of view, SS focusing on quality could be a good thing... only if two conditions are met: -the royalties increase, because quality takes time, especially in editing, and therefore costs money to produce -they hire competent, and well trained people, to reviez the work, to avoid having frivolous rejection reasons, like mistaking a bird as dust, or requesting a model release for a picture of an animal. Will Shutterstock evolve in this direction? I heavily doubt...
99
« on: April 23, 2018, 05:27 »
Your article is exactly what I feel about IS.
I am dreaming about dropping them and their infamous 2 cents sales. However, in my earnings reports, IS is along with sales level for me).
The solution I've found? Well, reducing the time spent on editing. The appearance is still looking ok, I still have sales, but I'm saving time that I can reuse on something more constructive.
100
« on: April 22, 2018, 10:54 »
About the algorithm, the attitude of SS isn't completely stupid.
If we take the issue from their point of view, they need to give incentives to everybody. Buyers want good content, if possible various, in order not to look too ridiculous.
To satisfy this demand, SS will need suppliers: experimented ones whose pictures are solid values, that have been generating good revenues for a lot of time. But these photographers need incentives to publish new content, and new challengers need as well to get their chances, in order to motivate them to increase their supply.
Therefore, SS needs to constantly adjust two parameters, that we could call interestingness and freshness, that are very often contradictory. If you favour interestingness, new contents won't have their chance to generate revenue, as old pictures with proven records will take it all. If you favour freshness, you are not sure of the quality.
From what I have observed over the past months, SS has constantly played on this, and I'm not sure they will stop, as they constantly need to incentive both the old and new content.
I have to admit it's a pretty unpleasant feeling when I see my daily revenue decreasing by 60% in less than a week, but it's still a situation that is preferable to many other platforms. IS, in comparison, is overly focusing on interestingness. If you get lucky, one or two photos will get a few sales after their upload, and these few pictures, basically, will make most of the revenue. It's cool when it's working, but it's definitely less stable than SS.
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