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Author Topic: Self-Hosted at 14.6 - top 5  (Read 32991 times)

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Ron

« on: October 03, 2013, 10:23 »
+20
Well there it finally is. Self-Hosted    14.6 top 5 result.

We finally managed to get more than 50 votes, and self hosted is now registered on the poll. What a result.

I assume people will take notice now.

Everyone selling via Ktools, Smugmug, Symbiostock and other self hosted outlets can be proud of themselves. We did it, and how. What a result that is. I am thrilled to see self-hosted beating all agencies except for the big 4.

I am hoping we will see more people consider self-hosted. If its Ktools, Smugmug, Symbiostock, etc, etc, it doesnt matter, just do it. The return is so much more satisfying than any sale from an agency, for me it is anyways.

I know a few people said when self-hosted would show a result they would consider Symbiostock as a good option. Its time to get on board guys :)

Congratulations to all who made this happen. Great achievement, be proud.


« Reply #1 on: October 03, 2013, 11:37 »
+3
Awesome!  ;D Every month, I kept wondering if this going to be the month where it gets enough votes. Well, I guess it was the month. Thanks everybody that voted and that took the effort to make a site for themselves.

« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2013, 11:50 »
+1
...

Congratulations to all who made this happen. Great achievement, be proud.

+1

And what a jump! I didn't expect to see Self-Hosted on 5 right away. Great! ...and we are not that far from Top Tier, actually  ;D

« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2013, 11:58 »
0
ok but how many sales is people having with self-hosted sites ?

Ron

« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2013, 12:05 »
+3
ok but how many sales is people having with self-hosted sites ?

I dont know, I can only speak for myself, I didnt get a lot of downloads, but my RPD is $16. I am having monthly consecutive sales, and with only a few sales per month, its my 2nd/3rd earner. And that is only after 3 months of starting my own site.

« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2013, 12:07 »
+1
ok but how many sales is people having with self-hosted sites ?


more than:

123RF 12.2 arrow   
 DepositPhotos 9.5 arrow   
 Alamy 8.1 arrow   
 Pond5 7.7 arrow   

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Low Earners
 Bigstockphoto 6.6 arrow   
 Envato 6.2 arrow   
 Canstockphoto 5.5 arrow   
 Veer 4.7 arrow   
 GLStockImages 2.2 arrow   
 Zoonar 1.6 arrow   
 YayMicro 1.3 arrow   
 PantherMedia 1 arrow   
 Stockfresh 1 arrow   
 FeaturePics 0.9 arrow   
 MostPhotos 0.9 arrow   
 Cutcaster 0.8 arrow   
 Crestock 0.7 arrow   
 ClipartOf
 Stocksy
 RevoStock
 VectorStock
 Clipcanvas
 SignElements
 ImageVortex
 PhotoCase
 PhotoSpin
 ClipDealer
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 Pixmac
 DrawShop
 PhotoKore
 photaki
 Stockami
 The3dStudio
 PocketStock
 Vivozoom
 StockPhotoMedia
 ViscoImages
 Imagegate
 Macrografiks

Ron

« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2013, 12:13 »
0
I think Xanox meant downloads.

« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2013, 12:15 »
-6
.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 09:32 by Audi 5000 »

« Reply #8 on: October 03, 2013, 12:29 »
0
To get these results with 50 respondents you could have 1 person say $2500 and 1 person say $1500 and 48 people say $0.   14.6x$5 is $73 average, total earnings for 50 people would be $3650.  I think cthoman and sjlocke might be inflating the results.  From what little I've seen it seems a lot of people aren't even covering the cost of hosting their sites.  That said, I guess it's good that at least 50 people are trying to license their work without an agency.

Thanks for the compliment, but... My numbers from last month were under $300, so I'm definitely not propping it up all that much.

« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2013, 12:31 »
-10
.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 09:32 by Audi 5000 »

Ron

« Reply #10 on: October 03, 2013, 12:38 »
+20
Seriously tickstock, cant you for once just share in the joy? You downtalk everything. Its really getting old now. Why even bother commenting on stuff you are not part of, whatsoever.

« Reply #11 on: October 03, 2013, 12:42 »
+2
Im really happy to see this. It should encourage many artists to at least try it.

And just in time for my next workshop on stock photography on Sunday :)

« Reply #12 on: October 03, 2013, 12:42 »
+3
.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 09:32 by Audi 5000 »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #13 on: October 03, 2013, 12:46 »
+2
With 20,000 vectors?  It's hard to believe that the average is $70 then.
It probably could be that the people who would be early adopters of self-selling  would be people who know that they have a personal buyer base, therefore not so surprising.

« Reply #14 on: October 03, 2013, 12:52 »
+2
The one caveat to take home is that for the most part, self-hosted sites are owned by highly successful, established portfolios. Someone with 150 images making $75 per month at the micros probably isn't going to find self-hosting to be profitable once monthly fees are considered. I don't have the stats to back it up but I would guess almost everyone contributes to the Top 4, whereas the self-hosted category is probably heavily weighted toward large, successful portfolios. So it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison because the less successful ports bring down the overall numbers of the Top 4. What would be more interesting would be to see how sites and self-hosting compare by looking at similar tiers of overall earnings per month.

I'm 100% behind self-hosting, but I don't want to see a bunch of smaller contributors throw a lot of money at software packages and hosting only to be disappointed. I can tell you that I make significantly more (like 6x to 10x) at Pond5, Alamy,and DT than I do through self-hosting.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2013, 12:58 by djpadavona »

« Reply #15 on: October 03, 2013, 12:53 »
+2
I could have saved a lot of typing by just quoting Shady Sue   ;D

« Reply #16 on: October 03, 2013, 12:54 »
0
...and the person I would assume is making the most by far is at $300.

Sorry to disappoint, but I've never been a big fish.  ;D My income has always been fairly spread out too.

As far as the numbers, I actually thought they would have come in lower. Maybe, at 5.5 or 6, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see it so high on the poll. So, I guess it exceeded my expectations.

« Reply #17 on: October 03, 2013, 12:55 »
0
.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 09:32 by Audi 5000 »

« Reply #18 on: October 03, 2013, 12:57 »
+4

Sorry to disappoint, but I've never been a big fish. 

From now on I request that people stop referring to each other by fish size, and simply acknowledge that we are not professionals.  :-*

« Reply #19 on: October 03, 2013, 12:59 »
+1
.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 09:31 by Audi 5000 »

Ron

« Reply #20 on: October 03, 2013, 13:07 »
0
The one caveat to take home is that for the most part, self-hosted sites are owned by highly successful, established portfolios. Someone with 150 images making $75 per month at the micros probably isn't going to find self-hosting to be profitable once monthly fees are considered. I don't have the stats to back it up but I would guess almost everyone contributes to the Top 4, whereas the self-hosted category is probably heavily weighted toward large, successful portfolios. So it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison because the less successful ports bring down the overall numbers of the Top 4. What would be more interesting would be to see how sites and self-hosting compare by looking at similar tiers of overall earnings per month.

I'm 100% behind self-hosting, but I don't want to see a bunch of smaller contributors throw a lot of money at software packages and hosting only to be disappointed. I can tell you that I make significantly more (like 6x to 10x) at Pond5, Alamy,and DT than I do through self-hosting.

I dont have a big established portfolio, and the majority of the Symbiostock network dont have big portfolios, as far as I can see. I do agree with the general point you make, but I think there are as many small contributors, maybe more, than large established portfolios.

Come to think of it now, I do wonder how dashphoto is doing

« Reply #21 on: October 03, 2013, 13:10 »
0
I think Xanox meant downloads.

well, just to have an idea, how many downloads vs number of images on sale for instance, and possibly in which industry : lifestyle, travel, whatever.

considering a Photoshelter standard account is 30$/month for 60GB of space or 50$ for 1TB  it's good to read many earn way more than the hosting costs.

the real issue is always the same : how can such a biz can scale further and how much it's gonna cost to acquire a new customer ? 10$ ? 20$ ? 100$ ?


« Reply #22 on: October 03, 2013, 13:12 »
+2

Sorry to disappoint, but I've never been a big fish. 


From now on I request that people stop referring to each other by fish size, and simply acknowledge that we are not professionals.  :-*


Dang, but I already drew this:

http://www.mystockvectors.com/Fish_Underwater_g82-Cartoon_Big_Fish_Royalty_Free_Vector_Illustration_p20.html

With 20,000 vectors?  It's hard to believe that the average is $70 then.

It probably could be that the people who would be early adopters of self-selling  would be people who know that they have a personal buyer base, therefore not so surprising.

Could be, I wonder who the mystery big sellers are.  Oh the intrigue!


My theory would be that there are a dozen or half dozen people similar to me. There are a few Illustrators out there who are likely candidates. I don't know who votes on the poll though because some of them only pop in here now and again. Then, there a bunch of people that sell one or two images a month, but they sell them for at least $10 a piece (as opposed to 50 cents a piece like at Big Stock or 123RF).

There might be a giant whale out there (does that count as a fish?), but I think it is probably just a lot of individuals having modest success growing their business.

« Reply #23 on: October 03, 2013, 13:16 »
0

I dont have a big established portfolio, and the majority of the Symbiostock network dont have big portfolios, as far as I can see. I do agree with the general point you make, but I think there are as many small contributors, maybe more, than large established portfolios.

It depends on perspective. I make roughly $400 to $500 per month from micro with about 250 to 600 images (depending on the site). That puts me well below the numbers being reported here, but most everyone on this board is successful already. The reality is that most contributors never make payout (we have heard this enough times over the years so I think there is truth to it). So my "meager" earnings probably puts in me in the top 25% of all contributors, if not better. That highly theoretical percentage is based on numbers I have read in interviews with various contributors and agency reps over the years. I'm very happy with how I am doing, but I make very little through self-hosting after costs.

« Reply #24 on: October 03, 2013, 13:22 »
0
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« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 09:31 by Audi 5000 »


 

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