MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Shutterstock.com => Topic started by: yuliang11 on May 09, 2013, 20:32
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I noticed all my most popular files have changed ranking dramatically with a sudden drop on sales too. Files that are first page are now 4th page and those 4th are now back to 1st page. Anyone experiencing this ?
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I noticed all my most popular files have changed ranking dramatically with a sudden drop on sales too. Files that are first page are now 4th page and those 4th are now back to 1st page. Anyone experiencing this ?
Hmm. There does appear to have been a major shuffle in the 'Popular' order with more weight given to best-selling newer images.
Being as it only appears to have happened in the last few hours it is clearly way too early to determine the overall or long-term effect on sales. It should be a zero-sum effect for SS but obviously could affect individual contributors very differently.
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No changes att all for me. Are you sure?
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I've noticed it too.
My laptop "most popular" is different, sometimes VERY different from my desktop "most popular". Very odd since both computers are on the same connection....The laptop is Windows 7. The desktop is XP. Both are Chrome.
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I don't see any changes in terms of Most Popular but I do see on Relevant and quite a big one, file from 1st page is lost, gave up after 25 pages ???
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My best seller which was once in the #1 or 2 position and has slowly been slipping since it was removed from "relevant" by a search change went from line 2 to line 4. Another that is #1 (for an obscure search) is still #1.
It has been a good day for me, and I did notice a bunch of old old images sold today, so who knows exactly how they are stirring the search.
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No change here. Sales are still down compared to a month ago or something.
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I noticed all my most popular files have changed ranking dramatically with a sudden drop on sales too. Files that are first page are now 4th page and those 4th are now back to 1st page. Anyone experiencing this ?
Hmm. There does appear to have been a major shuffle in the 'Popular' order with more weight given to best-selling newer images.
Being as it only appears to have happened in the last few hours it is clearly way too early to determine the overall or long-term effect on sales. It should be a zero-sum effect for SS but obviously could affect individual contributors very differently.
Right, i think i've been hit. 30% sales drop. Fingers crossed and hope it will be back soon :-\
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ugh lower until I have a BDE
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I can also confirm a shuffle of the most popular images with preference to the newer successful sellers.
SS probably wants to have fresher, successful content at the top of the search results rather than longstanding top sellers.
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I can also confirm a shuffle of the most popular images with preference to the newer successful sellers.
SS probably wants to have fresher, successful content at the top of the search results rather than longstanding top sellers.
I can't confirm your theory but do agree that SOMETHING changed. Being an older, not so successful seller, I guess it does support your theory. ??? 8) ;D
ED: PS; I don't have any pictures of tops. ;)
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How much of it is due to ex istock exclusive content? They might be trying to show more of the newer content
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.
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Nothing changed here. Sales are back to normal as well the last two days. I do have an image in the Say Cheese lightbox on SS at the moment, but its not making a whole lot of difference.
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Lettuce hope that they have not fallen prey to the algo-peddlers to FT of previous years.
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How much of it is due to ex istock exclusive content? They might be trying to show more of the newer content
Maybe 1 or 2%.
i think its probably closer to 5-10% of all recent content. 80% of the rest of the content doesn't contribute too much on the downloads side. What really matters is where these images end up weeks after upload. If they are good solid sellers, they will take up valuable space at the front pages where the majority of the downloads occur. Also, these new image content will be proven sellers. The first images i uploaded to SS were my best sellers from istock. Why waste time uploading an image that never performed halfway decent. Even if there are only 50 that dropped the crown, you can easily have 50,000 solid proven images now competing with the rest of the library within a very short period of time. Increased competition is most likely the reason some long time SS contributors are seeing less downloads.
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How much of it is due to ex istock exclusive content? They might be trying to show more of the newer content
Maybe 1 or 2%.
i think its probably closer to 5-10% of all recent content. 80% of the rest of the content doesn't contribute too much on the downloads side. What really matters is where these images end up weeks after upload. If they are good solid sellers, they will take up valuable space at the front pages where the majority of the downloads occur. Also, these new image content will be proven sellers. The first images i uploaded to SS were my best sellers from istock. Why waste time uploading an image that never performed halfway decent. Even if there are only 50 that dropped the crown, you can easily have 50,000 solid proven images now competing with the rest of the library within a very short period of time. Increased competition is most likely the reason some long time SS contributors are seeing less downloads.
I think the idea of a change comes from seeing "different" downloads rather than "fewer" downloads.
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How much of it is due to ex istock exclusive content? They might be trying to show more of the newer content
Maybe 1 or 2%.
i think its probably closer to 5-10% of all recent content. 80% of the rest of the content doesn't contribute too much on the downloads side. What really matters is where these images end up weeks after upload. If they are good solid sellers, they will take up valuable space at the front pages where the majority of the downloads occur. Also, these new image content will be proven sellers. The first images i uploaded to SS were my best sellers from istock. Why waste time uploading an image that never performed halfway decent. Even if there are only 50 that dropped the crown, you can easily have 50,000 solid proven images now competing with the rest of the library within a very short period of time. Increased competition is most likely the reason some long time SS contributors are seeing less downloads.
I think the idea of a change comes from seeing "different" downloads rather than "fewer" downloads.
True. I was just including the "fewer" downloads from another forum post with long time SS contributors complaining and wondering why they were getting fewer dls. IMO, lots of recent actions from SS is to accomodate the exclusives who dropped their crowns and this might be one of the actions to boost "new image best sellers". Other examples are model/property release changes recently. These actions are to make it less time consuming for contributors with hundreds and thousands of images to upload their work. I almost forgot to add the longer wait for approvals especially in vectors.
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no change for me too.. as far as i could search and see
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It was a big shuffle for my images but I don't know how it will affect sales. I've seen a shuffle like this a few times in the last few months but it has only ever lasted a few days. Perhaps they are tweaking their search or perhaps they are giving new images a chance to make their mark before they go back to the old system again (like they seemed to do the other times).. the images that rose in the new search will then have a better standing in the old search.
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I don't know if it's related or not, but my sales have been abysmal on SS this entire month. You know things are whacky when Sunday sales are the highest of the entire week. I haven't had a month this bad since the first year I signed up (2006).
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Been with them since 2008. Worst month ever so far.
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Hello all,
At Shutterstock, we perform regular tests of small modifications to search. Those tests are typically released to limited segments of the overall customer population. If a test wins over time – which typically means that the changes have demonstrably increased the total number of customer downloads – then the resulting improvements are accepted and deployed.
Search testing and analysis is a continuous process of small improvements that generally won’t result in dramatic swings in search. Changes are carefully tested and evaluated to make sure that the overall effect on customer downloads and/or purchases is a positive one.
Customer demand, content differentiation, keyword quantity and quality, global holidays, seasonality and other factors can affect an individual contributor's day-to-day earnings. We recommend allowing a little time before evaluating the effect on your personal portfolio.
Sincerely,
Anthony Correia
Director, Contributor Success
Shutterstock|Bigstock
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nice reply but again contributors will have to handle once more a change, we are getting used after so many bright decisions from most agencies, so yep will take this one, the next one and after JUST make sure the RPD keeps climbing for the agency of course! ;D
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Hello all,
At Shutterstock, we perform regular tests of small modifications to search. Those tests are typically released to limited segments of the overall customer population. If a test wins over time – which typically means that the changes have demonstrably increased the total number of customer downloads – then the resulting improvements are accepted and deployed.
Search testing and analysis is a continuous process of small improvements that generally won’t result in dramatic swings in search. Changes are carefully tested and evaluated to make sure that the overall effect on customer downloads and/or purchases is a positive one.
Customer demand, content differentiation, keyword quantity and quality, global holidays, seasonality and other factors can affect an individual contributor's day-to-day earnings. We recommend allowing a little time before evaluating the effect on your personal portfolio.
Sincerely,
Anthony Correia
Director, Contributor Success
Shutterstock|Bigstock
Thanks Anthony,
Appreciate the "confirmation." I do not think most of us are complaining; just discussing the fact that "another" search engine is "experimenting."
Analyzing is an ongoing activity for us, the contributors, just as "experimenting" is constant with you Our Sellers. :-\
Let's hope we all benefit. :D
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
Yes. shareholders my friend. Shareholders. Nothing else matters. Yet some people here thought this was the ultimate micro stock agency.
Bit shortsighted I would say.
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
Yes. shareholders my friend. Shareholders. Nothing else matters.
Yes new shareholders with small ports that do not generate much income seem to be the happiest about these new search changes. Never mind the many people who used to believe in SS. These are the same people who were instrumental in SS's success. I am talking about the real people who used their own funds to buy tens of thousands of camera & studio equipment, not to mention software, props ect. so that they could work hard year after year to provide SS with quality content.
Over the years they worked hard to produce images and vectors that would reach the top50 so that they could feed their family. They made a good income because they worked hard for years and their families depend on that hard won income to eat and pay their mortgages/rent.
Now SS turns their back on the very people who assured success for those working for SS. We made it possible for SS's employees to enjoy good incomes and perks such as gym memberships, massages, free breakfasts, free drinks and weekly pizza parties.
Maybe they should come to breakfast, lunch and dinner at some of the houses they are robbing of shelter and food so that they can reduce cost of sale and bring up RPI sold.
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
Yes. shareholders my friend. Shareholders. Nothing else matters.
Yes new shareholders with small ports that do not generate much income seem to be the happiest about these new search changes. Never mind the many people who used to believe in SS. These are the same people who were instrumental in SS's success. I am talking about the real people who used their own funds to buy tens of thousands of camera & studio equipment, not to mention software, props ect. so that they could work hard year after year to provide SS with quality content.
Over the years they worked hard to produce images and vectors that would reach the top50 so that they could feed their family. They made a good income because they worked hard for years and their families depend on that hard won income to eat and pay their mortgages/rent.
Now SS turns their back on the very people who assured success for those working for SS. We made it possible for SS's employees to enjoy good incomes and perks such as gym memberships, massages, free breakfasts, free drinks and weekly pizza parties.
Maybe they should come to breakfast, lunch and dinner at some of the houses they are robbing of shelter and food so that they can reduce cost of sale and bring up RPI sold.
Wow that is the best post I have ever seen anywhere! I'm sharing this with every graphic artist I know! thank you! I printed this post out and it is now on my studio wall. thank you again!
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Gang, Shutterstock is a store, and we are its suppliers.
The needs of any store's customers change over time, and if the store wants to thrive, it is constantly watching how its customers shop, and it will give more shelf space / better shelf space to the stuff that is in demand AT THIS MOMENT, not what was selling well five years ago.
Should the store worry about whether its top suppliers from five years ago can afford to buy new equipment or even feed its workers' families? Come on, chaps, this is business. Let's all think like business people. No one owes us any special treatment for being best sellers "back in the day." If we're no longer supplying product their customers need right now, you can't expect them to give us special treatment.
Shutterstock is doing the best it can to serve its customers' needs, and that's good for US as much as it is good for THEM. It's in our interest that Shutterstock does well, don't you think?
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
Yes. shareholders my friend. Shareholders. Nothing else matters.
Yes new shareholders with small ports that do not generate much income seem to be the happiest about these new search changes. Never mind the many people who used to believe in SS. These are the same people who were instrumental in SS's success. I am talking about the real people who used their own funds to buy tens of thousands of camera & studio equipment, not to mention software, props ect. so that they could work hard year after year to provide SS with quality content.
Over the years they worked hard to produce images and vectors that would reach the top50 so that they could feed their family. They made a good income because they worked hard for years and their families depend on that hard won income to eat and pay their mortgages/rent.
Now SS turns their back on the very people who assured success for those working for SS. We made it possible for SS's employees to enjoy good incomes and perks such as gym memberships, massages, free breakfasts, free drinks and weekly pizza parties.
Maybe they should come to breakfast, lunch and dinner at some of the houses they are robbing of shelter and food so that they can reduce cost of sale and bring up RPI sold.
Fantastic post!!!!! you nailed it to 110% turning their back on contributors is exactly what they are doing. Going the IS way ofcourse. Just look what happend.
Downhill race from now on. Muddy, sticky and watery. Its public knowledge whats posted here, so everyone will know. Bad PR indeed.
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
Yes. shareholders my friend. Shareholders. Nothing else matters.
Yes new shareholders with small ports that do not generate much income seem to be the happiest about these new search changes. Never mind the many people who used to believe in SS. These are the same people who were instrumental in SS's success. I am talking about the real people who used their own funds to buy tens of thousands of camera & studio equipment, not to mention software, props ect. so that they could work hard year after year to provide SS with quality content.
Over the years they worked hard to produce images and vectors that would reach the top50 so that they could feed their family. They made a good income because they worked hard for years and their families depend on that hard won income to eat and pay their mortgages/rent.
Now SS turns their back on the very people who assured success for those working for SS. We made it possible for SS's employees to enjoy good incomes and perks such as gym memberships, massages, free breakfasts, free drinks and weekly pizza parties.
Maybe they should come to breakfast, lunch and dinner at some of the houses they are robbing of shelter and food so that they can reduce cost of sale and bring up RPI sold.
Fantastic post!!!!! you nailed it to 110% turning their back on contributors is exactly what they are doing. Going the IS way ofcourse. Just look what happend.
Downhill race from now on. Muddy, sticky and watery. Its public knowledge whats posted here, so everyone will know. Bad PR indeed.
Sounds like we've just elected our new union leader.
Just so we're clear. We're going to ask for pensions, right? We're going to demand that if we have images that sell well today, we expect to be supported by the agencies even when our old images stop selling, regardless of our ability to create new images that sell, correct?
When customers no longer want to download our images, and the agencies stop giving our ports preferred treatment as top sellers, we will view that as "robbing us of shelter and food."
First order of business for our union... let's meet with the old-school professional photographers who accused microstock of robbing them of shelter and food, and see what they did to hang on to their old way of life. Their complaints and accusations must have worked well for them.
Because that's only fair, right? Anyone who doesn't adapt to change should be supported forever by the people who used to buy or sell their work. Just want to make sure I'm reading you correctly, if you're going to be representing my interests.
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
Yes. shareholders my friend. Shareholders. Nothing else matters.
Yes new shareholders with small ports that do not generate much income seem to be the happiest about these new search changes. Never mind the many people who used to believe in SS. These are the same people who were instrumental in SS's success. I am talking about the real people who used their own funds to buy tens of thousands of camera & studio equipment, not to mention software, props ect. so that they could work hard year after year to provide SS with quality content.
Over the years they worked hard to produce images and vectors that would reach the top50 so that they could feed their family. They made a good income because they worked hard for years and their families depend on that hard won income to eat and pay their mortgages/rent.
Now SS turns their back on the very people who assured success for those working for SS. We made it possible for SS's employees to enjoy good incomes and perks such as gym memberships, massages, free breakfasts, free drinks and weekly pizza parties.
Maybe they should come to breakfast, lunch and dinner at some of the houses they are robbing of shelter and food so that they can reduce cost of sale and bring up RPI sold.
Fantastic post!!!!! you nailed it to 110% turning their back on contributors is exactly what they are doing. Going the IS way ofcourse. Just look what happend.
Downhill race from now on. Muddy, sticky and watery. Its public knowledge whats posted here, so everyone will know. Bad PR indeed.
Sounds like we've just elected our new union leader.
Just so we're clear. We're going to ask for pensions, right? We're going to demand that if we have images that sell well today, we expect to be supported by the agencies even when our old images stop selling, regardless of our ability to create new images that sell, correct?
When customers no longer want to download our images, and the agencies stop giving our ports preferred treatment as top sellers, we will view that as "robbing us of shelter and food."
First order of business for our union... let's meet with the old-school professional photographers who accused microstock of robbing them of shelter and food, and see what they did to hang on to their old way of life. Their complaints and accusations must have worked well for them.
Because that's only fair, right? Anyone who doesn't adapt to change should be supported forever by the people who used to buy or sell their work. Just want to make sure I'm reading you correctly, if you're going to be representing my interests.
Ahhhhhhh! great post but you forgot the dole que. :)
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Gang, Shutterstock is a store, and we are its suppliers.
The needs of any store's customers change over time, and if the store wants to thrive, it is constantly watching how its customers shop, and it will give more shelf space / better shelf space to the stuff that is in demand AT THIS MOMENT, not what was selling well five years ago.
Should the store worry about whether its top suppliers from five years ago can afford to buy new equipment or even feed its workers' families? Come on, chaps, this is business. Let's all think like business people. No one owes us any special treatment for being best sellers "back in the day." If we're no longer supplying product their customers need right now, you can't expect them to give us special treatment.
Shutterstock is doing the best it can to serve its customers' needs, and that's good for US as much as it is good for THEM. It's in our interest that Shutterstock does well, don't you think?
;) You are talking to a few of the suppliers, who over a large number of years consistently supply large numbers of NEW improved content THAT SELLS and their numbers are down drastically. They are on the front page searches precisely because they can produce content that customers want.
Take a good long look at what is showing up on the first page of new searches. I will leave the who, what and why to private discussions.
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Again, Shutterstock will do what proves to serve its customers' needs the best. (Yes, in turn this will serve shareholders as well, as a properly run business should.)
If your great-selling images are removed from front pages and customers buy less from Shutterstock, you can be sure Shutterstock will readjust and you'll be back in front. But if Shutterstock's adjustments results in MORE downloads, then the stuff they shifted in front of yours sold better than yours, and the best-selling stuff SHOULD be front and center, no matter who created it.
It's good business, really, pure and simple.
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Again, Shutterstock will do what proves to serve its customers' needs the best. (Yes, in turn this will serve shareholders as well, as a properly run business should.)
If your great-selling images are removed from front pages and customers buy less from Shutterstock, you can be sure Shutterstock will readjust and you'll be back in front. But if Shutterstock's adjustments results in MORE downloads, then the stuff they shifted in front of yours sold better than yours, and the best-selling stuff SHOULD be front and center, no matter who created it.
It's good business, really, pure and simple.
;) Do you work for SS or own large quantities of stock, you seem to fear Union organizers lurking in every corner.
Smart companies support merit and when they don't they quickly lose the very thing that made them a success.
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Again, Shutterstock will do what proves to serve its customers' needs the best. (Yes, in turn this will serve shareholders as well, as a properly run business should.)
If your great-selling images are removed from front pages and customers buy less from Shutterstock, you can be sure Shutterstock will readjust and you'll be back in front. But if Shutterstock's adjustments results in MORE downloads, then the stuff they shifted in front of yours sold better than yours, and the best-selling stuff SHOULD be front and center, no matter who created it.
It's good business, really, pure and simple.
Thats fine. I have no problems with that. However they do not need the suppliers to participate. Do they? I mean we are expendable. Right? since as you put it, " they do not provide"
I have not been at the MSG for long but I have been shooting stock for almost fifteen years. Dont you see? this whole thread, posts, comments and so on. What does it remind you of? ......... the epic fall of another well known micro agency of which you surely can not defend.
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;) Do you work for SS or own large quantities of stock, you seem to fear Union organizers lurking in every corner.
No, but I took a few business courses in college, and just remembering the 101 stuff. As for unions, I used to be in one. I support them in general, as long as they don't get in the way of a business adapting to the laws of supply and demand. When that happens, they are a lead weight pulling a company down into an abyss.
Smart companies support merit and when they don't they quickly lose the very thing that made them a success.
Smart companies constantly test new products and watch customer feedback, and are nimble to meet customers' needs better than any of their competitors. From where I sit (on the outside, not inside) this is exactly what SS is doing.
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;) Do you work for SS or own large quantities of stock, you seem to fear Union organizers lurking in every corner.
No, but I took a few business courses in college, and just remembering the 101 stuff. As for unions, I used to be in one. I support them in general, as long as they don't get in the way of a business adapting to the laws of supply and demand. When that happens, they are a lead weight pulling a company down into an abyss.
Smart companies support merit and when they don't they quickly lose the very thing that made them a success.
Smart companies constantly test new products and watch customer feedback, and are nimble to meet customers' needs better than any of their competitors. From where I sit (on the outside, not inside) this is exactly what SS is doing.
Test new products? what are we talking about? Ketchup, mustard, spam? ::)
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Again, Shutterstock will do what proves to serve its customers' needs the best. (Yes, in turn this will serve shareholders as well, as a properly run business should.)
If your great-selling images are removed from front pages and customers buy less from Shutterstock, you can be sure Shutterstock will readjust and you'll be back in front. But if Shutterstock's adjustments results in MORE downloads, then the stuff they shifted in front of yours sold better than yours, and the best-selling stuff SHOULD be front and center, no matter who created it.
It's good business, really, pure and simple.
Thats fine. I have no problems with that. However they do not need the suppliers to participate. Do they? I mean we are expendible. Right? since as you put it, " they do not provide"
A good number of us are buyers as well sellers. It has been demonstrated @ another site that we don't buy from stock companies that do not treat us or our fellows fairly. So yes companies quickly become expendable when they do NOT treat their suppliers fairly.
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Thats fine. I have no problems with that. However they do not need the suppliers to participate. Do they? I mean we are expendible. Right? since as you put it, " they do not provide"
Companies need suppliers to participate in supplying stuff that sells. Companies don't need suppliers who supply stuff that doesn't sell.
If your stuff sells great, it should get great placement. If your stuff sells OK, it should get OK placement. If your stuff sells little to none at all, it should be pushed to the back or dropped altogether.
Blank CDs used to sell by the boatload, getting prominent placement on the endcaps at Target, Best Buy and similar stores. When times changed and they stopped selling, what happened? They slowly moved from the endcaps to spots down the aisle, and in many stores now, they're gone completely. Did these stores forget how much those CD suppliers supported them in the past? Should they still give those companies prominent shelf space to recognize those past contributions? If those blank CD companies didn't adapt and put out another product that Target customers want today, they don't deserve the shelf space.
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A good number of us are buyers as well sellers. It has been demonstrated @ another site that we don't buy from or stock companies that do not treat us or our fellows fairly. So yes companies quickly become expendable when they treat their suppliers fairly.
This is what I don't get... how are you not being treated fairly?
SS is testing to make sure the pics that used to be good sellers are still good sellers. If it turns out that different pics sell better, then they are doing a better job serving the needs of their customers.
Should their priority be to support the needs of suppliers over customers?
These tests are the ultimate fairness. The cream will rise to the top, no matter who produced it -- the veterans who sold well in the past, or the rookies with new ideas. I'm certainly not saying all the "cream" will be produced by rookies... people who have been at this a long time, and taking careful notes along the way, should be adept at sensing the changing needs of customers. Theoretically, SS is treating everyone equally here... elevating stuff that may be popular among its customers but otherwise might not get seen because the veterans have been getting all the limelight.
(FWIW, I'd put myself in the veteran camp... the recent changes have resulted in different pics in my port selling better, but my total sales have been about the same.)
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Hi All,
Just wanted to concur with everyone here my ShutterStock sales that have been solid ( within $100 a month for years, averaging about $1400-$1500 a month ) have taken a dramatic drop for the first time ever this month, sad to see the best of Micro following the pack. ShutterStock was the one micro agency that gave me hope in this model of stock, now ...they can talk about adjustments but this one was a doozie.
Cheers,
Jonathan
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sad to see the best of Micro following the pack.
Following the pack as in sales going down, or as in sticking it to contributors?
I'm assuming you mean the former... as there is zero evidence to suggest SS is engaging in anti-contributor shenanigans as we've seen at sites such as IS and FT.
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A good number of us are buyers as well sellers. It has been demonstrated @ another site that we don't buy from or stock companies that do not treat us or our fellows fairly. So yes companies quickly become expendable when they treat their suppliers fairly.
This is what I don't get... how are you not being treated fairly?
SS is testing to make sure the pics that used to be good sellers are still good sellers. If it turns out that different pics sell better, then they are doing a better job serving the needs of their customers.
Should their priority be to support the needs of suppliers over customers?
These tests are the ultimate fairness. The cream will rise to the top, no matter who produced it -- the veterans who sold well in the past, or the rookies with new ideas. I'm certainly not saying all the "cream" will be produced by rookies... people who have been at this a long time, and taking careful notes along the way, should be adept at sensing the changing needs of customers. Theoretically, SS is treating everyone equally here... elevating stuff that may be popular among its customers but otherwise might not get seen because the veterans have been getting all the limelight.
(FWIW, I'd put myself in the veteran camp... the recent changes have resulted in different pics in my port selling better, but my total sales have been about the same.)
You make me laugh ;D been sitting here reading your stuff and my word, you do sound as if you are on the SS payroll. Lets be open, frank and honest, shall we. SS is doing exactly what is expected of them. Trying desperately to find a way to satisfy the shareholders. Manipulating the search for quick and speedy gain. Thats all.
Here is something interesting for you. My wife is a fairly wealthy woman and stock-broker, she actually lobbied for this media and so far its a big flop as far as dealers look upon it, not private individuals, there is a difference I believe. Thats her words and she is a senior dealer since twelve years.
I mean come on. This is just another IS beginning. A downhill race.
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Hi All,
Just wanted to concur with everyone here my ShutterStock sales that have been solid ( within $100 a month for years, averaging about $1400-$1500 a month ) have taken a dramatic drop for the first time ever this month, sad to see the best of Micro following the pack. ShutterStock was the one micro agency that gave me hope in this model of stock, now ...they can talk about adjustments but this one was a doozie.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan! you just underlined it all. :)
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SS is doing exactly what is expected of them. Trying desperately to find a way to satisfy the shareholders. Manipulating the search for quick and speedy gain. Thats all.
Yes, exactly as they should. Shouldn't every company want to increase its profits as quickly as possible, as long as it's not doing anything illegal or unethical? (You'll say SS is being unethical with these changes, but how so? Because your stuff is selling less?)
Here is something interesting for you. My wife is a fairly wealthy woman and stock-broker, she actually lobbied for this media and so far its a big flop as far as dealers look upon it, not private individuals, there is a difference I believe. Thats her words and she is a senior dealer since twelve years.
Actually, I don't find this interesting. How does this prove your point? If I were investing, I'm not sure I'd invest in any micro -- SS or otherwise -- as I think there are many more changes coming soon for this industry and the big players today may not be the big players (or even still around) tomorrow. Do you still think I work for SS?
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Hi All,
Just wanted to concur with everyone here my ShutterStock sales that have been solid ( within $100 a month for years, averaging about $1400-$1500 a month ) have taken a dramatic drop for the first time ever this month, sad to see the best of Micro following the pack. ShutterStock was the one micro agency that gave me hope in this model of stock, now ...they can talk about adjustments but this one was a doozie.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan! you just underlined it all. :)
Yes, he underlined that sales for many people are down. That settles it.
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Hi All,
Just wanted to concur with everyone here my ShutterStock sales that have been solid ( within $100 a month for years, averaging about $1400-$1500 a month ) have taken a dramatic drop for the first time ever this month, sad to see the best of Micro following the pack. ShutterStock was the one micro agency that gave me hope in this model of stock, now ...they can talk about adjustments but this one was a doozie.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan! you just underlined it all. :)
Yes, he underlined that sales for many people are down. That settles it.
You are trying to hard; to not be invested in some way stockmarketer.
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Hi All,
Just wanted to concur with everyone here my ShutterStock sales that have been solid ( within $100 a month for years, averaging about $1400-$1500 a month ) have taken a dramatic drop for the first time ever this month, sad to see the best of Micro following the pack. ShutterStock was the one micro agency that gave me hope in this model of stock, now ...they can talk about adjustments but this one was a doozie.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan! you just underlined it all. :)
Yes, he underlined that sales for many people are down. That settles it.
You are trying to hard; to not be invested in some way stockmarketer.
Aren't we all "invested in some way"?
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Hi All,
Just wanted to concur with everyone here my ShutterStock sales that have been solid ( within $100 a month for years, averaging about $1400-$1500 a month ) have taken a dramatic drop for the first time ever this month, sad to see the best of Micro following the pack. ShutterStock was the one micro agency that gave me hope in this model of stock, now ...they can talk about adjustments but this one was a doozie.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan! you just underlined it all. :)
Yes, he underlined that sales for many people are down. That settles it.
You are trying to hard; to not be invested in some way stockmarketer.
Aren't we all "invested in some way"?
You beat me to it, dave. Absolutely I'm invested in SS' success. I'm earning quite a bit from them month in and month out. I desperately want SS to stay relevant and grow as much as possible. I'm encouraged by their explanation of the recent changes. That's a business on top of its game, and I'm glad to see its commitment to doing whatever it takes to meet its customers' needs. Any business that is going to blindly push its tried-and-true contributors' work to the top without seeing if there's other even better stuff (in the eyes of its customers) is one doomed to fail.
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Its like I am seeing Gostwyck write those comments but then the name is different.
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I'm trying hard to understand what any of this debate means. Is there a recommended action? Is this reaching any conclusion?
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I'm trying hard to understand what any of this debate means. Is there a recommended action? Is this reaching any conclusion?
I think both sides have decided "someone on the Internet is wrong" and we're furiously typing away trying to sway hearts and minds. Just like all good web debates.
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Its like I am seeing Gostwyck write those comments but then the name is different.
Yes I remember him and a few other really staunch die hard SS supporters. Its gone all quiet now. Deflated actually. To be honest. I earn quite a bit from SS, well over a thousand dollars a month but when we finally get a long awaited answer from the SS administration telling us that we are victims of some sort of experimentation or whatever. How can one possibly support that.
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My sales are just average, nothing changed, but adding new stuff changes nothing for me. I around the same earnings for months now whilst adding about 70 images per month.
But I agree that experimenting with live portfolios shouldnt be done. Whatever the outcome may be.
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experimenting with live portfolios shouldnt be done. Whatever the outcome may be.
The guy supplying blank CDs to Target probably said the same thing... "taking my stock off the endcaps should not be done... whatever the outcome may be." He thought Target was to blame for the fact that customers didn't want blank CDs anymore.
But I do share your frustration about constant uploads resulting in not much change. I used to rail against the idea that we had to "feed the beast" to keep sales up, but I've come to understand that it's simply what has to be done to maintain sales. I just compared my first thirteen days of May sales (just SS) for 2013 vs the same period in 2012. I'm up $20 for the period (which is well over $1,000... so a very tiny margin). I'm encouraged that my stuff is still selling despite the change... but I've added several hundred new images this past year and the needle has barely moved.
Still, this strengthens my conviction that this business is about constant change.... to survive you have to have a keen awareness of what customers want today, and tomorrow... what they wanted yesterday no longer matters.
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My sales are just average, nothing changed, but adding new stuff changes nothing for me. I around the same earnings for months now whilst adding about 70 images per month.
But I agree that experimenting with live portfolios shouldnt be done. Whatever the outcome may be.
Thanks. Appreciate that comment.
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Howdy again,
I don't think anyone is telling ShutterStock that they are failing or screwing anyone I think that the photographers that put ShutterStock on the map are curious why in one month ShutterStock sales are dramatically down for many of them, that is big news in the stock industry and it is always addressed when any agency takes a huge hit in one month, I believe that is what people are curious about and some maybe a bit reasonably frustrated.
It is difficult to compete in a business as an image provider if your point of sales does not steady, it does not allow you to run a clear business when you are dealing with constant readjustment to investment per image. If we cannot know from month to month what our images might make over a life time how can we be expected to continue to invest with no analysis or solid numbers to structure our cost of business.
The best selling Micro agency just showed several of their contributors the first sign of lowered sales, myself included. I think it is quite reasonable for people to discuss this issue as a concern as it has not taken place to this degree at least in the history of my relationship with ShutterStock.
The trick to being really successful in a distribution business is to cater to both your buyers and your suppliers equally. 2 cents.
Cheers,
Jonathan
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experimenting with live portfolios shouldnt be done. Whatever the outcome may be.
The guy supplying blank CDs to Target probably said the same thing... "taking my stock off the endcaps should not be done... whatever the outcome may be." He thought Target was to blame for the fact that customers didn't want blank CDs anymore.
Change is not what I am talking about, its about the fact that Anthony said they are experimenting and if it doesnt work out, they will change it back. Its the experimenting part that doesnt sound good. Your example of the CDs only applies to a certain point. You are dealing with digital goods here subject to an algorithm. If putting the CDs in the back of the store turns out to be a bad idea you can easily put them back in the front. But it doesnt work like that with an image that has now lost sales over another image that did pick up sales. The life cycle of that image is then forever changed. There is plenty proof of that around, just check the SS forum, people reported drops before and they never recovered.
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Personally my sales at SS have been fairly steady lately, although a number of bigger OD and EL sales might be propping things up.
I agree that we can't expect the search engines to never change. What we can hopefully expect is that sites don't do like IS and FT and tweak the searches to hurt broad classes of contributors (non-exclusives, emeralds...).
Every image should rise or fall on its own. Of course many factors we can do nothing about effects this too, but over the long haul those should even out.
If SS feels that old sellers need to be pushed down in the search to make room for newer images I hope they would do so gradually to decrease the wild drops that I experienced at IS regularly.
It certainly makes it harder to plan when regular sellers stop. It also makes it hard to make any headway when new images never see the light of day.
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experimenting with live portfolios shouldnt be done. Whatever the outcome may be.
The guy supplying blank CDs to Target probably said the same thing... "taking my stock off the endcaps should not be done... whatever the outcome may be." He thought Target was to blame for the fact that customers didn't want blank CDs anymore.
Change is not what I am talking about, its about the fact that Anthony said they are experimenting and if it doesnt work out, they will change it back. Its the experimenting part that doesnt sound good. Your example of the CDs only applies to a certain point. You are dealing with digital goods here subject to an algorithm. If putting the CDs in the back of the store turns out to be a bad idea you can easily put them back in the front. But it doesnt work like that with an image that has now lost sales over another image that did pick up sales. The life cycle of that image is then forever changed. There is plenty proof of that around, just check the SS forum, people reported drops before and they never recovered.
It sounds to me like Shutterstock is doing A/B testing, as evidenced by him saying that the changes are not affecting every search result. This is really intelligent marketing stuff that lets you get real-time results, gain knowledge about customer preferences at any instant, and constantly readjust based on what you learn.
You have a point that a good image can be harmed by being pushed to the background... it will see less sales during this experiment, and if the system is put back to the way it was, that image now has fewer sales than it had before, and will not (at least initially) rank as highly as it did before. But I contend that if the image is good, people will find it again, and it will rise again in the popularity ranking. To say this should never change is to never allow in fresh content, and SS will start being seen as a behind-the-times marketplace of imagery... the kiss of death for an agency.
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Sounds more like multivariate testing to me, which is used in marketing for achieving a higher conversion rate and is done in live environments. Anyhoo, whatever testing they do, it can have negative results for some and positive results for others.
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Sounds more like multivariate testing to me, which is used in marketing for achieving a higher conversion rate and is done in live environments. Anyhoo, whatever testing they do, it can have negative results for some and positive results for others.
Just like all the micros have done and still do, right? Nearly every time a change is made, someone benefits and someone loses. This is not unique to SS.
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Sounds more like multivariate testing to me, which is used in marketing for achieving a higher conversion rate and is done in live environments. Anyhoo, whatever testing they do, it can have negative results for some and positive results for others.
Just like all the micros have done and still do, right? Nearly every time a change is made, someone benefits and someone loses. This is not unique to SS.
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Sounds more like multivariate testing to me, which is used in marketing for achieving a higher conversion rate and is done in live environments. Anyhoo, whatever testing they do, it can have negative results for some and positive results for others.
Just like all the micros have done and still do, right? Nearly every time a change is made, someone benefits and someone loses. This is not unique to SS.
:o
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Sounds more like multivariate testing to me, which is used in marketing for achieving a higher conversion rate and is done in live environments. Anyhoo, whatever testing they do, it can have negative results for some and positive results for others.
For those who have no idea what you two are talking about. The sites can serve buyers content via any number of scenarios. And they can serve images based on submitter royalty rate, number of downloads per image based on keyword used to download, image date, buyer profiling, etc.
Adobe Test&Target Basics in Two Minutes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKVbtzV8DrM#)
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My sales are just average, nothing changed, but adding new stuff changes nothing for me. I around the same earnings for months now whilst adding about 70 images per month.
This is the problem I too have with SS. Despite frequent uploading, no new images seem to get regular sales (compared to the images I had accepted before November 2012).
Everyone used to say that their new images at SS always got a few downloads in the first few days and the real stars-to-be just kept on selling until they made it to the first page of 'popular'. Nowadays, that just doesn't seem to happen. Files get buried and die with excessive speed and I wonder if there hasn't been a change in the 'new' search too? Without a decent crack of the whip in 'new', there's virtually no chance that even the 'stars' will make it further up the listing.
Which brings me to the point of difference between the search in 'popular' or 'new'. If you search for something in 'popular', the chances are that almost every image on P1 conforms to the keyword used. Do the same in 'new' and there's huge numbers of pretty irrelevant 'dross' you have to get through to find something that conforms to the keyword you searched with.
Take, for example, 'garlic'. In 'popular' you get mostly images of garlic and the keywords under the individual images are ordered in importance......garlic coming first.
Go to 'new' and search for 'garlic' and you get a hotchpotch of every sort of food with 'garlic' in the keywords. Keywords in 'new' also seem to be in no particular order of importance but are alphabetically ordered (contrast with popular). IMO searching in 'new' is a nightmare for customers and a disaster for contributors now and I cannot imagine that it has always been like that. There is so much irrelevant material to wade through in 'new' that only the real diehard searcher will persevere to find the pearls.
If anyone knows for certain that 'new' used to be different, I would be glad to hear it.
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I am experiencing a "huge" drop on sales, worst in many many months. The OD and SOD are drying up completely. Not happy at all :(
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I wouldn't say I'm experiencing a huge drop in earnings, but I am down about 20% on average. And I agree that the OD, EL, and other single sales have practically disappeared.
I'm not exactly alarmed yet, but this is not something I am particularly happy about it it continues.
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ED's have slowed in last few months for me, but sales numbers keep on the rise, as do $$. Pretty much a steady, consistent growth that I'm seeing.
This month is a little lower though than the last few, but then they were BME's for me so I guess I can't hope for that every month.
I don't think it's time to panic just yet, but I do sympathise with those who have experienced more drastic falls.
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I would throw in my .2˘ but why?
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I'm not a high volume seller (~100$ in April), but having 0 sales for the entire last weekend is a huge drop for me. I also had a technical problem on the site - it constantly loaded all my pages in German.
Now it looks normal again, and hopefully the sales will catch up too.
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I wouldn't say I'm experiencing a huge drop in earnings, but I am down about 20% on average. And I agree that the OD, EL, and other single sales have practically disappeared.
I'm not exactly alarmed yet, but this is not something I am particularly happy about it it continues.
I'm the opposite, I've made more from OD than subs so far this month. Subs are well down and I'm selling mostly old stuff, hardly any newer images. A bit down overall on last month but I've had several amazing months and I don't think one slower month is a big concern.
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Yes its strange that all ODs, Els and single sales have just stopped. They must be going somewhere? but where. I can not believe buyers just overnight decide not to purchase any of these.
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I'm surprised so many people are experiencing poor sales. Things appear absolutely normal to me with earnings for this month projected to be about 18% up on May 2012.
If anything I assume my portfolio must be under-performing the average as, in their recent financial announcement, SS reported Q1 revenue to be 36% up on the same period last year. It seems unlikely that things could have fallen of a cliff since then.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1417071-shutterstock-s-ceo-discusses-q1-2013-results-earnings-call-transcript?source=email_rt_article_title (http://seekingalpha.com/article/1417071-shutterstock-s-ceo-discusses-q1-2013-results-earnings-call-transcript?source=email_rt_article_title)
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Yes its strange that all ODs, Els and single sales have just stopped. They must be going somewhere? but where. I can not believe buyers just overnight decide not to purchase any of these.
EL's are up for me with 3 yesterday and 6 in the last 6 days. SOD's are fairly average though.
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That sounds good. All I can say then is what someone in their own forum said. Certain portfolios or counties have been singled out to take down period and then it rotates back. Perhaps?
Might as well just leave it and plod on as usual. :-\
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My sales are notably down these last few days. I came here to find out what the reason might be. I hope that whatever it is - it reverts back pretty soon.
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I am experiencing a "huge" drop on sales, worst in many many months. The OD and SOD are drying up completely. Not happy at all :(
Yes its strange that all ODs, Els and single sales have just stopped. They must be going somewhere? but where. I can not believe buyers just overnight decide not to purchase any of these.
The people I know personally with the largest drops "had" a large percentage of their port on first page searches.
My OD's & SOD's were zero up until two days ago when I received one only. Until then it seemed that I was completely unplugged from anything but sub downloads.
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My sales are notably down these last few days. I came here to find out what the reason might be. I hope that whatever it is - it reverts back pretty soon.
Well, mine were down, but yesterday was back to normal, and today is above normal.
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Thanks a lot. Although this constant analyzing tend to be quite a costly affair for many of us. ::)
Agreed......and maybe his title should be investor success?
Yes. shareholders my friend. Shareholders. Nothing else matters.
Yes new shareholders with small ports that do not generate much income seem to be the happiest about these new search changes. Never mind the many people who used to believe in SS. These are the same people who were instrumental in SS's success. I am talking about the real people who used their own funds to buy tens of thousands of camera & studio equipment, not to mention software, props ect. so that they could work hard year after year to provide SS with quality content.
Over the years they worked hard to produce images and vectors that would reach the top50 so that they could feed their family. They made a good income because they worked hard for years and their families depend on that hard won income to eat and pay their mortgages/rent.
Now SS turns their back on the very people who assured success for those working for SS. We made it possible for SS's employees to enjoy good incomes and perks such as gym memberships, massages, free breakfasts, free drinks and weekly pizza parties.
Maybe they should come to breakfast, lunch and dinner at some of the houses they are robbing of shelter and food so that they can reduce cost of sale and bring up RPI sold.
Wow that is the best post I have ever seen anywhere! I'm sharing this with every graphic artist I know! thank you! I printed this post out and it is now on my studio wall. thank you again!
Your welcome and feel free to add the perks I left out. I wonder how many of us will be able to afford healthcare or retirement if these trends continue?
http://www.linkedin.com/company/shutterstock/careers (http://www.linkedin.com/company/shutterstock/careers)
Careers at Shutterstock
Other Fun Stuff: We know that the trick to keeping awesome people happy is by creating a fun, comfortable environment. This includes competitive pay for top talent, full medical benefits, plus:
free drinks & snacks
lunchtime yoga
pizza & massage Fridays
http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=5670540&trk=jobs_biz_pub (http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=5670540&trk=jobs_biz_pub)
We offer excellent employee benefits including medical, dental, vision, retirement, discounted corporate gym memberships, tuition assistance plans, and pre-tax transit check programs. Join a fast-growing company that is already a leader in this dynamic industry!
http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=5641058&trk=jobs_biz_pub (http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=5641058&trk=jobs_biz_pub)
In addition to other great benefits, Shutterstock offers competitive salaries, health and dental plans, 401K, daily breakfasts, weekly massages, discounted gym memberships, and most importantly, the opportunity to work with people who love their jobs.
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I don't see it as SS' concern whether I can afford health care, retirement, etc. (And I certainly don't begrudge them offering those benefits to their employees... looks like it's a good company that takes care of its workers.)
It's my responsibility as a business person working as a supplier to SS to be maximizing my revenue and managing my costs to allow me to support myself and my family. SS shouldn't be worrying about my own personal situation when making its business decisions. My work should be judged (promoted and sold) based on its merit (attractiveness to customers). If I'm doing a good job, I'll have enough money for health care. If not, I better have another line of income for that.
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It's my responsibility as a business person working as a supplier to SS to be maximizing my revenue and managing my costs to allow me to support myself and my family. SS shouldn't be worrying about my own personal situation when making its business decisions. My work should be judged (promoted and sold) based on its merit (attractiveness to customers). If I'm doing a good job, I'll have enough money for health care. If not, I better have another line of income for that.
I agree with you for the most part, but I have bolded the part I am a bit skeptical about, because of the prior sentence, which I have italicized.
In other words, microstock agencies have proven time and time again that there are many considerations other than your talent and hard work which affect your search placement, and therefor your livelihood.
SO FAR, Shutterstock has resisted the temptation to rig their search to artificially create winners and losers, and has provided a marketplace that is a true meritocracy. I sincerely hope they continue to do so, as I believe this has been crucial to Shutterstock's success, while others have fallen victim to their own greed. But when they begin monkeying with their search, so soon after going public and taking on shareholders, it bears watching.
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I don't see it as SS' concern whether I can afford health care, retirement, etc. (And I certainly don't begrudge them offering those benefits to their employees... looks like it's a good company that takes care of its workers.)
It's my responsibility as a business person working as a supplier to SS to be maximizing my revenue and managing my costs to allow me to support myself and my family. SS shouldn't be worrying about my own personal situation when making its business decisions. My work should be judged (promoted and sold) based on its merit (attractiveness to customers). If I'm doing a good job, I'll have enough money for health care. If not, I better have another line of income for that.
Clearly you do not have a good understanding of the time, hard work or committed resources it takes to make a full time living from microstock. It is easy to swamp SS with snaps off your hard drive, but much harder to consistently produce images that make it to front page searches.
You either do not have many images on front page searches or you have missed this nasty round of income cuts.
Good companies do not take care of a select few while exploiting a much larger base of dedicated people who have committed untold manhours and resources to make them successful in the first place.
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Clearly you do not have a good understanding of the time, hard work or committed resources it takes to make a full time living from microstock. It is easy to swamp SS with snaps off your hard drive, but much harder to consistently produce images that make it to front page searches.
Actually quite wrong on all counts. I earn enough on ms to support a large family, but also maintain the 9 to 5 job "just in case." I'm consistently uploading images that sell. The SS search change affected my results... but previous top sellers are lower and previous underperformers are now doing better. My bottom line hasn't changed.
Lisa's points, however, are valid. SS has up until now rewarded our hard work on merit, while a few other agencies have taken steps to punish their top sellers. SS has done nothing to shake my trust in them... so far I don't see them taking the course of hostility toward their best performers. Until then, I'll support them against all ridiculous claims.
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I don't see it as SS' concern whether I can afford health care, retirement, etc. (And I certainly don't begrudge them offering those benefits to their employees... looks like it's a good company that takes care of its workers.)
It's my responsibility as a business person working as a supplier to SS to be maximizing my revenue and managing my costs to allow me to support myself and my family. SS shouldn't be worrying about my own personal situation when making its business decisions. My work should be judged (promoted and sold) based on its merit (attractiveness to customers). If I'm doing a good job, I'll have enough money for health care. If not, I better have another line of income for that.
Clearly you do not have a good understanding of the time, hard work or committed resources it takes to make a full time living from microstock. It is easy to swamp SS with snaps off your hard drive, but much harder to consistently produce images that make it to front page searches.
You either do not have many images on front page searches or you have missed this nasty round of income cuts.
Good companies do not take care of a select few while exploiting a much larger base of dedicated people who have committed untold manhours and resources to make them successful in the first place.
Maybe each of you are looking from a different point of view ... gbalex seems to be thinking as an employee while stockmarketer is assuming the position of a self-employed contractor ... Maybe???
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Clearly you do not have a good understanding of the time, hard work or committed resources it takes to make a full time living from microstock. It is easy to swamp SS with snaps off your hard drive, but much harder to consistently produce images that make it to front page searches.
Actually quite wrong on all counts. I earn enough on ms to support a large family, but also maintain the 9 to 5 job "just in case." I'm consistently uploading images that sell. The SS search change affected my results... but previous top sellers are lower and previous underperformers are now doing better. My bottom line hasn't changed.
Lisa's points, however, are valid. SS has up until now rewarded our hard work on merit, while a few other agencies have taken steps to punish their top sellers. SS has done nothing to shake my trust in them... so far I don't see them taking the course of hostility toward their best performers. Until then, I'll support them against all ridiculous claims.
Exactly. Well said. SS have clearly been working hard to grow their own business and, by default, that of their contributors. Revenue in Q1 was up 36% over the same period in 2012.
Some people in this thread need to take some personal responsibility for the performance of their own portfolios and earnings. Especially people called 'gbalex', the self-appointed leader of the non-existent microstock union.
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Clearly you do not have a good understanding of the time, hard work or committed resources it takes to make a full time living from microstock. It is easy to swamp SS with snaps off your hard drive, but much harder to consistently produce images that make it to front page searches.
Actually quite wrong on all counts. I earn enough on ms to support a large family, but also maintain the 9 to 5 job "just in case." I'm consistently uploading images that sell. The SS search change affected my results... but previous top sellers are lower and previous underperformers are now doing better. My bottom line hasn't changed.
Lisa's points, however, are valid. SS has up until now rewarded our hard work on merit, while a few other agencies have taken steps to punish their top sellers. SS has done nothing to shake my trust in them... so far I don't see them taking the course of hostility toward their best performers. Until then, I'll support them against all ridiculous claims.
Exactly. Well said. SS have clearly been working hard to grow their own business and, by default, that of their contributors. Revenue in Q1 was up 36% over the same period in 2012.
Some people in this thread need to take some personal responsibility for the performance of their own portfolios and earnings. Especially people called 'gbalex', the self-appointed leader of the non-existent microstock union.
No it is you two who have unsuccessfully tried to portray me as a union organizer.
Lets see if you two are still WhoooYahing in 6 months.
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"Lets see if you two are still WhoooYahing in 6 months. "
You mean 'Yahoo Hooing'...
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Clearly you do not have a good understanding of the time, hard work or committed resources it takes to make a full time living from microstock. It is easy to swamp SS with snaps off your hard drive, but much harder to consistently produce images that make it to front page searches.
Actually quite wrong on all counts. I earn enough on ms to support a large family, but also maintain the 9 to 5 job "just in case." I'm consistently uploading images that sell. The SS search change affected my results... but previous top sellers are lower and previous underperformers are now doing better. My bottom line hasn't changed.
Lisa's points, however, are valid. SS has up until now rewarded our hard work on merit, while a few other agencies have taken steps to punish their top sellers. SS has done nothing to shake my trust in them... so far I don't see them taking the course of hostility toward their best performers. Until then, I'll support them against all ridiculous claims.
Looks like you have covered all points and your returns continue to be idyllic.
1. You work part time but you earn enough on ms to support a "large family" on your stock income
2. You are able to consistently upload images that sell
3. The SS search change affected your results... but previous top sellers are lower and previous underperformers are now doing better.
4. Your bottom line hasn't changed.
5. You fully discount that anyone @ SS could be experiencing a downturn. Unless of course it is their own fault as a result of being poor business people who utterly fail to maximize revenue and manage costs.
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Looks like you have covered all points and your returns continue to be idyllic.
1. You work part time but you earn enough on ms to support a "large family" on your stock income
2. You are able to consistently upload images that sell
3. The SS search change affected your results... but previous top sellers are lower and previous underperformers are now doing better.
4. Your bottom line hasn't changed.
5. You fully discount that anyone @ SS could be experiencing a downturn. Unless of course it is their own fault as a result of being poor business people who utterly fail to maximize revenue and manage costs.
Almost got it all right! I work a regular full-time job that pays well and I enjoy, and I work about two hours in microstock every night, and those ms earnings have now eclipsed the full-time job. I consider myself very fortunate, but it wasn't luck... I've worked hard at it (well, two hours a day for several years) and I've figured out a thing or two about what will sell.
And on that last point... that's overstating things quite a bit. I feel for anyone experiencing a downturn. After all, with further tweaks from SS, I could be pinched next. But what I'll do if that happens is take a close look at what is or isn't selling and base future shoots and image uploads from there. That type of thinking has gotten me this far... learn from today's results and anticipate tomorrow's needs.
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Stockmarketer can count himself very lucky in being just a part time photographer. that way not much is or will be expected of him and every nickel and dime is a big bonus. :)
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Only 2 hours a day? Wow, I find that hard to believe. Sorry. If thats true you have found the perfect workflow and cracked the code to HCV images.
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"Lets see if you two are still WhoooYahing in 6 months. "
You mean 'Yahoo Hooing'...
http://www.soundsnap.com/node/37542 (http://www.soundsnap.com/node/37542)
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Stockmarketer can count himself very lucky in being just a part time photographer. that way not much is or will be expected of him and every nickel and dime is a big bonus. :)
Trust me, it's a lot of nickels and dimes, my friend. The number of hours I put in is irrelevant, if what I'm creating is in high demand. The trick is to work smarter, not harder.
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Only 2 hours a day? Wow, I find that hard to believe. Sorry. If thats true you have found the perfect workflow and cracked the code to HCV images.
The code is this: figure out what buyers want, and a way to give it to them with as few costs (equipment, time spent, etc.) as possible. Anyone can do what I'm doing... I'm nothing special in terms of skills, but maybe just in how I look at the market.
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The code is this: figure out what buyers want, and a way to give it to them with as few costs (equipment, time spent, etc.) as possible. Anyone can do what I'm doing... I'm nothing special in terms of skills, but maybe just in how I look at the market.
Can we see your portfolio?
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The code is this: figure out what buyers want, and a way to give it to them with as few costs (equipment, time spent, etc.) as possible.
Smartest thing I've read on the forums in a long time. Congrats for making it work for you.
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The code is this: figure out what buyers want, and a way to give it to them with as few costs (equipment, time spent, etc.) as possible. Anyone can do what I'm doing... I'm nothing special in terms of skills, but maybe just in how I look at the market.
Can we see your portfolio?
(http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/599662/134668784/stock-vector--bit-pixel-letter-acronyms-in-speech-bubbles-134668784.jpg)
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Hi All,
Just wanted to report back. I don't know if they are paying attention but the day after posting how my sales were plummeting at ShutterStock the very next day I had a $131 day. Maybe it was just a bad three weeks but I am keeping my eye close to the numbers to see. Hoping sales pick up like they used to be SS has always been my best return per image and the straightest shooters at the carnival.
Cheers,
Jonathan
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it appears that all my older stuff is selling but nothing of the new images - weird...
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Hello all,
At Shutterstock, we perform regular tests of small modifications to search. Those tests are typically released to limited segments of the overall customer population. If a test wins over time – which typically means that the changes have demonstrably increased the total number of customer downloads – then the resulting improvements are accepted and deployed.
Search testing and analysis is a continuous process of small improvements that generally won’t result in dramatic swings in search. Changes are carefully tested and evaluated to make sure that the overall effect on customer downloads and/or purchases is a positive one.
Customer demand, content differentiation, keyword quantity and quality, global holidays, seasonality and other factors can affect an individual contributor's day-to-day earnings. We recommend allowing a little time before evaluating the effect on your personal portfolio.
Sincerely,
Anthony Correia
Director, Contributor Success
Shutterstock|Bigstock
How long is "a little time", as my SOD's and OD's have gone down about 35% since the start of May (and subscription downloads about -20%).
As Jonathan R. said, this is the first time for such a significant change in Most Popular search. How long are we supposed to sit and watch sales go down before we are allowed/supposed to complain/panic ?
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I'd give it at least 30 days before starting a full on panic. It's only the 17th day of May and the start of May is usually slow, with all the May holidays in Europe.
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Yes, May can have a slow start, but then this should be a general trend over all sites. For me, the first half of May is up for Fotolia, DST and DP, down just a bit for IS and CAN, 35% down for SS and status quo for all other sites (I never count the EL's).
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I'm having a normal to good month at SS.
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I'm having a normal to good month at SS.
Things normal here as well... first 17 days of May 2013 the same as first 17 days of May 2012 almost to the dollar.
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I simply cannot figure out this new "most popular". Looking at my own port, sorted by MP, the top images are not my most popular images at all. Since the MP re-mix, my files that sold on a daily basis jumped to page two, and other files jumped ahead.
I've always thought that MP meant : best selling images compared to number of days on-line. Well, right now, that is certainly NOT the case with my images. As a result of this re-mix, a customer has no way of knowing what the REALLY best-selling images are (while this is easily checked at DST, FT and IS).
Also, if in a few days/weeks the old MP is re-established, then my bestsellers will no longer be bestsellers, as they have skipped a month of sales and lost their place.
First I thought that SS simply raised the importance of the days-on-line in the algorithm, but on the other hand, I can see many old (unpopular) files sell a few times. :-\
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Do not know if its significant or not? but ever since they started this rotation or whatever they might call it. My sales have shot at least 40% up at IS and DT, still with a good earning at SS. There are similar reports over at SS.
They call in a forever going experiment?? not much comfort is it? an experiment, fair enough but this experiment seem to have a negative effect on most peoples earnings. Not good. :)
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Do not know if its significant or not? but ever since they started this rotation or whatever they might call it. My sales have shot at least 40% up at IS and DT, still with a good earning at SS. There are similar reports over at SS.
I guess that's proof of one of the benefits of exclusivity: spreading the risk.
Congrats about your 40% up on iS - the people I correspond with, and me, are having a grim month there.
Reminder to everyone that it's a UK Friday-Monday holiday this weekend, BTW. I think some other countries also have the Monday, maybe not the Friday.
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In the US Monday is one of the biggest holidays of the year with almost everyone off so sales here probably will be slow starting Friday afternoon and continuing through Tuesday morning.
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Yep Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start to summer.
And over the next two weeks depending in what State you are in Schools will be ending the year.
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Reminder to everyone that it's a UK Friday-Monday holiday this weekend, BTW. I think some other countries also have the Monday, maybe not the Friday.
Friday is not a UK holiday either according to their govt website.
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To give a context I'm in the 4500-6000 dls/month level on SS. This month has been all over the place. A lot more variation than I am used to. Should end okay, down on expectations but up on last year. I don't like the unpredictability though.
A lot could also be down to the way vectors have been getting reviewed in the last few weeks/ months. Nothing for a month then your whole queue gets reviewed, meaning you can't trickle uploads. Difficult to keep customer focus when you have nothing new for them for a month, but boosts in dls when you get a load reviewed all at once. I don't like not being able to plan my uploads for holidays etc. due to the unpredictability of this process.
Tricky to disentangle this from the most popular search shift.
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Hi All,
Just wanted to report back that after a very slow beginning to my SS month it has picked back up and is closing out at usual returns for the month. Just thought i would share the positive return of sales. I hope others are seeing the same results.
Best,
Jonathan
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Happy for you Jonathan, but I'm afraid I'm not following the same trend : down 20% compared to April, and down 15% compared to last year's May (and my port is constantly growing). Especially the SOD's are way down.
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Whatever they've done they've killed my port completely. May has been way below everything in terms of dl's and revenue.
Not feeling the buyers love that's for sure.
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Up 30% over last May, should be right about the same as April 2013. I guess some people aren't hurt by whatever is or isn't going on. My most popular actually are the recent most popular. I'm hard pressed to find anything wrong. Maybe next month?
But I tend to compare month last year to month this year, not concurrent months. It makes better sense, since sales vary by time of the year. If June is better than last June, I'm happy. I have no expectation that June will be better than May.
(http://s5.postimg.org/7qq4wk3xj/cleaning_up_park.jpg) (http://postimage.org/)
cleaning up with Microstock ::) (http://postimage.org/)
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Sales have been down over last year for the last two months and I am not seeing the recovery I had hoped for after the site went down for a forced maintenance last Friday.
Thanks for the promised update Jonathan
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Thanks to several SOD's this week, my May dollars are the best ever for any May and brings this month up to the highest payout this year. I need to wait till tomorrow to get an accurate figure, but right now my RPD is running just under $1.00. Total number of sales, however, is down from last May by roughly 15%. Month started extremely slow, but seems to have picked up, for me at least, over the past two weeks.
Not much comfort to those who are still struggling, but perhaps it means there is light at the end of the tunnel. Let's hope so anyway.