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Author Topic: Goodbye Shutterstock  (Read 53346 times)

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SpaceStockFootage

  • Space, Sci-Fi and Astronomy Related Stock Footage

« Reply #50 on: October 12, 2016, 00:03 »
+2
I could be wrong, but going on the stats... I guess you could say that if the amount of content in your portfolio has increased by 61% in the last 12 months, then you can expect a 21% increase in sales. On average.

I'm sure someone better than me at 'the math' can figure out what kind of increase/drop you can expect if you've had less than a 61% increase. And it's pretty clear that if you've not uploaded anything over the year, then you're going to have a bit of a drop in sales.

I could be wrong, maths was never my forte.   


axon_guru

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« Reply #51 on: October 12, 2016, 01:13 »
0
I dont think people leave SS as such they leave their portfolios but dont upload.=

That's exactly what I'm doing.

My older images still sell on SS, but newer ones die there. So now, all my newest images are going to Adobe and Dreamstime, where they do sell.

If you don't upload them they will never sell. Perfect plan. Then you can say, sales are down on SS, because you don't give them new files?

That's right. If you don't upload new images, perhaps you can at least update the old images with better keywords so that they match the user's current search trend. Think of it as SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If you still have old unsubmitted ones from the past, it is worth giving a try again. AxonGuru can simply the process with auto-tagging that saves your time.

« Reply #52 on: October 12, 2016, 01:31 »
0
I could be wrong, but going on the stats... I guess you could say that if the amount of content in your portfolio has increased by 61% in the last 12 months, then you can expect a 21% increase in sales. On average.

I'm sure someone better than me at 'the math' can figure out what kind of increase/drop you can expect if you've had less than a 61% increase. And it's pretty clear that if you've not uploaded anything over the year, then you're going to have a bit of a drop in sales.

I could be wrong, maths was never my forte.
Yep pretty much correct and for so called newbies its not hard to increase your portfolio from 100 to 161 much tougher to go from 10,000 to 16,100 and 25,921 the following year if it continues! On the positive side for new uploaders some older files at least may become obsolete. So you can either run like a demented hamster on a wheel  or improve the quality/marketability of what you submit...or both!
« Last Edit: October 12, 2016, 01:37 by Pauws99 »

SpaceStockFootage

  • Space, Sci-Fi and Astronomy Related Stock Footage

« Reply #53 on: October 12, 2016, 01:38 »
+4
I dont think people leave SS as such they leave their portfolios but dont upload.=

That's exactly what I'm doing.

My older images still sell on SS, but newer ones die there. So now, all my newest images are going to Adobe and Dreamstime, where they do sell.

If you don't upload them they will never sell. Perfect plan. Then you can say, sales are down on SS, because you don't give them new files?

That's right. If you don't upload new images, perhaps you can at least update the old images with better keywords so that they match the user's current search trend. Think of it as SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If you still have old unsubmitted ones from the past, it is worth giving a try again. AxonGuru can simply the process with auto-tagging that saves your time.

So instead of having keywords like 'snazzy, groovy and far out'... you could have 'lol, yolo, fam and peng' instead? Ya get me?

On a side note... do you contribute to any threads where AxonGuru doesn't simplify the process?

« Reply #54 on: October 12, 2016, 02:13 »
0
Images I uploaded to SSTK in the last 6 months represent 6% of my portfolio but only 3% of the sales for the period. In previous years, that balance was reversed.

We can all speculate on market conditions and Shutterstock's reasoning for doing what they do but, bottom line, it's no longer viable for me to sit under the table and wait for them to drop crumbs my way.

« Reply #55 on: October 12, 2016, 02:27 »
0
What . is this discussion all about? If somebody does not like peanuts any longer, he or she should just stop eating them. Thats all. Why do spend all this time to explain the hundred reasons for???
What is Shutterstock all about? God Father for microstockers?

« Reply #56 on: October 12, 2016, 02:38 »
+3
What . is this discussion all about? If somebody does not like peanuts any longer, he or she should just stop eating them. Thats all. Why do spend all this time to explain the hundred reasons for???
What is Shutterstock all about? God Father for microstockers?

It's more along the lines of "I like peanuts, but someone suddenly changed the taste and now they taste awful".

« Reply #57 on: October 12, 2016, 02:46 »
+1
I dont get the point for saying goodbye here,
After the fotolia acquisition by adobe, it seems shutterstock has also started many marketing campaigns.

I see shutterstock advertisements everywhere now. Right now sales in shutterstock is not super bad, I hope there marketing strategies will slowly bring them on track.

« Reply #58 on: October 12, 2016, 02:50 »
+1
I'm sure most people have good reason to complain about SS but I'm also wary of a few that have very small portfolios or have only uploaded what SS already has in vast quantities and have then spent years complaining about low earnings.  Why they waste their time doing that baffles me.  I have great sympathy for people that worked really hard at this but there's some in this thread that expected a lot more than was ever realistic.

« Reply #59 on: October 12, 2016, 02:51 »
+2
What . is this discussion all about? If somebody does not like peanuts any longer, he or she should just stop eating them. Thats all. Why do spend all this time to explain the hundred reasons for???
What is Shutterstock all about? God Father for microstockers?

It's more along the lines of "I like peanuts, but someone suddenly changed the taste and now they taste awful".
Its more like farmers saying wow people love peanuts and we make a great profit...lets grow more peanuts its no surprise then when the price of peanuts go down. The farmer either produces better peanuts than anyone else or produces them so efficiently he can still make a profit...or grows something different.

SpaceStockFootage

  • Space, Sci-Fi and Astronomy Related Stock Footage

« Reply #60 on: October 12, 2016, 02:53 »
0
I dont get the point for saying goodbye here,
After the fotolia acquisition by adobe, it seems shutterstock has also started many marketing campaigns.

I see shutterstock advertisements everywhere now. Right now sales in shutterstock is not super bad, I hope there marketing strategies will slowly bring them on track.

I even see adverts for Shutterstock on Shutterstock! Just showed up as a banner a month or so ago... not sure if that's happened to anyone else? Could be some kind of malware I guess.


« Reply #61 on: October 12, 2016, 03:00 »
0
I dont get the point for saying goodbye here,
After the fotolia acquisition by adobe, it seems shutterstock has also started many marketing campaigns.

I see shutterstock advertisements everywhere now. Right now sales in shutterstock is not super bad, I hope there marketing strategies will slowly bring them on track.

I even see adverts for Shutterstock on Shutterstock! Just showed up as a banner a month or so ago... not sure if that's happened to anyone else? Could be some kind of malware I guess.

Shutterstock advertisements are true, but seeing shutterstock ads on their website is done by a malware or a virus, try cleaning your browser and scan your pc ... I also say do not reply to this forum or else you will inject it here too.

« Reply #62 on: October 12, 2016, 03:09 »
+1
So I was working exclusively for the microstock industry. Shutterstock alone was sending me more then enough monthly to pay my bills. Now I see the earnings are like 30, 40 % down comparing to last year, and the new images I uploaded lately, they don't sell at all, and I mean 00000! and their quality is really good, similar or even better to older ones that already sold more than 2000 times.
So I had to get another occupation, I just leave the portfolio there and will see it go to insignificant earnings in record time.  :'( it is pointless now to upload there.

So sad...

Same here brother! 0 sales on new images!

« Reply #63 on: October 12, 2016, 04:30 »
+1
My experience this month is an unprecedented free fall in sales. Anyone else?

lemonyellow

« Reply #64 on: October 12, 2016, 04:59 »
0
My experience this month is an unprecedented free fall in sales. Anyone else?

Yes, but just sales of new files are falling for me; old files are doing fine

« Reply #65 on: October 12, 2016, 06:11 »
0
My experience this month is an unprecedented free fall in sales. Anyone else?
This month OK last month excellent the one before disaster. Finding SS very variable these days

« Reply #66 on: October 12, 2016, 10:03 »
+1
I could be wrong, but going on the stats... I guess you could say that if the amount of content in your portfolio has increased by 61% in the last 12 months, then you can expect a 21% increase in sales. On average.

I'm sure someone better than me at 'the math' can figure out what kind of increase/drop you can expect if you've had less than a 61% increase. And it's pretty clear that if you've not uploaded anything over the year, then you're going to have a bit of a drop in sales.

I could be wrong, maths was never my forte.

My portfolio increased by ~45% in the last 12 months, and my sales fell by ~23%.

But that's just me. :)


« Reply #67 on: October 12, 2016, 10:08 »
+4
Shutterstock has a problem with spammers, that's in the open, but I had no idea how big the problem was.

Check the "best match" result for "arrow icon": https://www.shutterstock.com/search?searchterm=arrow+icon&search_source=base_search_form&language=en&page=1&sort=relevance&image_type=all&safe=true

Check the metadata of all the results.

Nothing new sells because spammers make it impossible for your images to be seen. But they grow the library for shutterstock, and that's what's important for them. They can show that number to the shareholders. If you make more or less, they don't care. :)

« Reply #68 on: October 12, 2016, 10:48 »
0
"Buyers? theyre not needed. Just creating more supply then demand." I don't understand this point you think if income goes down shareholders won't notice?

pauws, your other comment sort of answers your first...

Its more like farmers saying wow people love peanuts and we make a great profit...lets grow more peanuts its no surprise then when the price of peanuts go down.

having more supply than demand enables ss to continue earning while contributors continue to see less earning per dl.  not the economist major, but i think that's how prices go down.

also, the other commentor saying make better images do not hold water ...
as looking at the oversupply of apples , tomato,... on white, it is not only still increasing in number
but the earnings of old tomato, apple,.. on white is what is paying me my peanuts these days...
not my amazing super-duper creation .

microstock is not stocksy where perharps art is appreciated and might make good money (although i have not spoken to anyone telling me they make money yet in stocksy other than sean and a handful)..
still, my point is we have to realise ss is not for those high end cost in-efficient production,
it 's for zero cost boring produce on white.
in that sense, we can pat ourselves on our back and say, "oh well, at least i still make
payout (35 bucks) with my regular sales of my top selling produce on white
which i uploaded 200 years ago..."
sad consolation, but the reality is ss is not interested in great shots,...
or great contributors..
or else why replace the 7/10 admission criterion???

it's still the numbers game,... except it's no longer feed the beast that works..
but it still works ...

for ss.

« Reply #69 on: October 12, 2016, 11:15 »
0
Shutterstock has a problem with spammers, that's in the open, but I had no idea how big the problem was.

Check the "best match" result for "arrow icon": https://www.shutterstock.com/search?searchterm=arrow+icon&search_source=base_search_form&language=en&page=1&sort=relevance&image_type=all&safe=true

Check the metadata of all the results.

Nothing new sells because spammers make it impossible for your images to be seen. But they grow the library for shutterstock, and that's what's important for them. They can show that number to the shareholders. If you make more or less, they don't care. :)
I guess that blows the theory about needing super clever keywording strategies to get to the top. I'm surprised repeat keywords are allowed let alone seeming to add weight to the relevance

« Reply #70 on: October 12, 2016, 11:59 »
+7
I have been a shutterstock contributor sinde 2006.
I was not very good but I was challenged and did my best, so I managed to excell in a nische, but not generally.
but there was supercompetition, meaning ever more images of better quality.
I tried to compete. It lasted a couple of years.
My nische still sold, following the market.
but I was not able to expand or grow my downloads, despite whatever I came up with, more nische nische stuff or more general things.
Nothing worked. Not new files, not better files, so I gave up and left it to die in silence. It was hopeless and I lost motivation.

So now it  has died. It took more time than I expected for my shutterstock income to dry out....
5 years or something. My good earners lasted long, they went through a down load frenzy when they were new, back in the days when new content sold, and they kept giving me downloads.

Until recently, now they are fading. My income has been on a steady decline since a couple of years ago. Thats natural, when you dont upload anything new. But why should I upload new stuff that never sells, to just keep my sellers in shape. its not worth it, and it is a long time since I have found other sources of income, and stockphotograpy is not at all inspiering anymore.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2016, 12:02 by JPSDK »

« Reply #71 on: October 12, 2016, 12:05 »
0
double post
[/quote]

axon_guru

  • Save time with Axon Guru!
« Reply #72 on: October 12, 2016, 14:33 »
0
I dont think people leave SS as such they leave their portfolios but dont upload.=

That's exactly what I'm doing.

My older images still sell on SS, but newer ones die there. So now, all my newest images are going to Adobe and Dreamstime, where they do sell.

If you don't upload them they will never sell. Perfect plan. Then you can say, sales are down on SS, because you don't give them new files?

That's right. If you don't upload new images, perhaps you can at least update the old images with better keywords so that they match the user's current search trend. Think of it as SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If you still have old unsubmitted ones from the past, it is worth giving a try again. AxonGuru can simply the process with auto-tagging that saves your time.

So instead of having keywords like 'snazzy, groovy and far out'... you could have 'lol, yolo, fam and peng' instead? Ya get me?

On a side note... do you contribute to any threads where AxonGuru doesn't simplify the process?
If the buyer searchs by "'lol, yolo, fam and peng'" and the buyer downloads these resulting photos, then the contributors who do not follow the trend change will lose out the sale. Contributors are in the microstock business to make money not to argue with the market that which keyword describe the image better. Our keyword generating tool is based on image analysis and real keywords from quality stock photos. The 7 keywords required by SSTK does not usually cover all features and meanings of the images content. Otherwise, there won't be a saying "a picture is worth a thousand words." We produce 30 keywords per photo that captures many aspects of the photo that user often times ignores or can't think of on the spot. It is much easier to kick out a few incorrect keywords than to think of and type out 30 keywords.

I am most knowledgeable in the cloud, deep learning, image analysis area. AxonGuru currently supports Shutterstock, Dreamstime and Fotolia submission without using ftp. Therefore, it is no surprise that I post more in these threads where AxonGuru can actually help. If your photos are already on Google Drive, Dropbox, Smugmug, Amazon CloudDrive, the integration could not be easier.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2016, 14:58 by axon_guru »

« Reply #73 on: October 12, 2016, 15:08 »
+8
I wonder if maybe opening up a new thread, introducing your product and talking about the benefits, and having all questions related to your specific product in one thread, would be more beneficial for anyone looking to use your product. Otherwise, you are just posting your marketing spiel on a bunch of different threads where it will eventually get lost and not be of benefit to anyone, including you. Just an idea.

« Reply #74 on: October 12, 2016, 15:41 »
+2
Forgive my skepticism but how do you explain this?

Shutterstock has a problem with spammers, that's in the open, but I had no idea how big the problem was.

Check the "best match" result for "arrow icon": https://www.shutterstock.com/search?searchterm=arrow+icon&search_source=base_search_form&language=en&page=1&sort=relevance&image_type=all&safe=true

or even this? https://www.shutterstock.com/search?searchterm=tomato&search_source=base_search_form&language=en&page=1&sort=relevance&image_type=all&safe=true I see no magic "super words"


 

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