Author Topic: How are sales going? (Read 21207 times)

Artist · « **on:** July 24, 2012, 00:42 »

Hello, how are the sales going in shutterstock.
For me its been 6days since files got approved. Sales have gone a lot down for me. How are they going for you all??

nicku · « **Reply #1 on:** July 24, 2012, 01:12 »

SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

Wim · « **Reply #2 on:** July 24, 2012, 01:29 »

Up every month, even in this so called "summer slump"
Search bugs don't seem to affect my sales much, one day I'm selling new images, other day old images.

Good luck lad!

Update: Had BDE yesterday so all good here.

kuriouskat · « **Reply #3 on:** July 24, 2012, 04:02 »

Wish I could say the same. My sales are falling since the changes to the search, dispute constant uploading and approvals. I have been building month on month for four years, and now I'm back to where I was a year ago. Nothing new is selling - I've had about 80 images approved in the last week and about 3 subs sales from them - seriously wondering whether it is worth all the effort anymore.

Very disheartening

wut · « **Reply #4 on:** July 24, 2012, 04:08 »

Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12

SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

That's not the case for over a year

nicku · « **Reply #5 on:** July 24, 2012, 04:35 »

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:08

Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12
SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

That's not the case for over a year

Like KuriousKat says.... some rules are not applying for everyone...

wut · « **Reply #6 on:** July 24, 2012, 04:43 »

Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 04:35

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:08
Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12
SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

That's not the case for over a year

Like KuriousKat says.... this is not applying for everyone...

Yeah well, it depends on the quality of photos you're uploading. It's better to UL 8 good shots than 80 rubbish shots (not saying at all his were rubbish, but that could be the case and usually is)

kikkerdirk · « **Reply #7 on:** July 24, 2012, 04:50 »

Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12

SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

My experiences in regard to the impact of uploading new content is totally different. I had several periods where I didn't upload for two months and it didn't have any impact on my sales at SS.
It's the feed the beast myth! I've got an article on it called "new content rules"
http://biginmicrostock.com/pages/advanced-microstock-selling/new-content-rules.html

kuriouskat · « **Reply #8 on:** July 24, 2012, 05:12 »

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:43

Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 04:35
Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:08
Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12
SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

That's not the case for over a year

Like KuriousKat says.... this is not applying for everyone...

Yeah well, it depends on the quality of photos you're uploading. It's better to UL 8 good shots than 80 rubbish shots (not saying at all his were rubbish, but that could be the case and usually is)

Not saying all his were rubbish......but usually is the case! Thanks for that, Wut

Firstly, the images were accepted by Shuttterstock, so are reasonable quality. Secondly, the same images are selling quite well elsewhere, I am only noticing the decline on Shutterstock.

I haven't suddenly dropped my standards, something has changed at SS. If I had uploaded 80 new images a year ago I would have seen DLs from them as soon as they hit the database. CGartist, I suggest you read the SS forums, as it will give an insight into a lot of the problems many contributors are experiencing.

wut · « **Reply #9 on:** July 24, 2012, 05:16 »

Quote from: KuriousKat on July 24, 2012, 05:12

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:43
Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 04:35
Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:08
Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12
SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

That's not the case for over a year

Like KuriousKat says.... this is not applying for everyone...

Yeah well, it depends on the quality of photos you're uploading. It's better to UL 8 good shots than 80 rubbish shots (not saying at all his were rubbish, but that could be the case and usually is)

Not saying all his were rubbish......but usually is the case! Thanks for that, Wut

Firstly, the images were accepted by Shuttterstock, so are reasonable quality. Secondly, the same images are selling quite well elsewhere, I am only noticing the decline on Shutterstock.

I haven't suddenly dropped my standards, something has changed at SS. If I had uploaded 80 new images a year ago I would have seen DLs from them as soon as they hit the database. CGartist, I suggest you read the SS forums, as it will give an insight into a lot of the problems many contributors are experiencing.

Please read it correctly

. And for the second part, as in usually is, I meant generally, with most ppl

kuriouskat · « **Reply #10 on:** July 24, 2012, 05:31 »

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 05:16

Quote from: KuriousKat on July 24, 2012, 05:12
Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:43
Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 04:35
Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:08
Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12
SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

That's not the case for over a year

Like KuriousKat says.... this is not applying for everyone...

Yeah well, it depends on the quality of photos you're uploading. It's better to UL 8 good shots than 80 rubbish shots (not saying at all his were rubbish, but that could be the case and usually is)

Not saying all his were rubbish......but usually is the case! Thanks for that, Wut

Firstly, the images were accepted by Shuttterstock, so are reasonable quality. Secondly, the same images are selling quite well elsewhere, I am only noticing the decline on Shutterstock.

I haven't suddenly dropped my standards, something has changed at SS. If I had uploaded 80 new images a year ago I would have seen DLs from them as soon as they hit the database. CGartist, I suggest you read the SS forums, as it will give an insight into a lot of the problems many contributors are experiencing.

Please read it correctly . And for the second part, as in usually is, I meant generally, with most ppl

That's OK then. As long as we are clear that all my images are super-amazing and deserved to be constantly downloaded!

On a more serious note, I agree that there are a lot of very average images, so it will of course depend on the quality and variety of images uploaded. However, reading the SS forums will confirm that many very talented contributors are suffering a decline in sales. This is not just about hobbyists with small ports, complaining that they are not getting payouts every month.

Wim · « **Reply #11 on:** July 24, 2012, 05:48 »

Quote

On a more serious note, I agree that there are a lot of very average images, so it will of course depend on the quality and variety of images uploaded. However, reading the SS forums will confirm that many very talented contributors are suffering a decline in sales. This is not just about hobbyists with small ports, complaining that they are not getting payouts every month.

True

wut · « **Reply #12 on:** July 24, 2012, 05:53 »

KuriousKat: And another thing, a couldn't even be talking about your sales, since you're anonymous

I guess you don't notice that if you're not affected. I know exactly how you feel, it's the same thing when I got those crazy rejections at SS, when they rejected 50%+ of the batches for no reason (they were accepted elsewhere and usually also at SS a few months later). Or when I got an image that sells at least 10 times a day on SS+FT (it sold way over 20x yesterday for example) rejected at IS, where in fact those type of shots are my best earners and sometimes earn me more than at all other sites combined. I just know you lost a grand on a single photo, but hey, that's life...

kuriouskat · « **Reply #13 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:03 »

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 05:53

KuriousKat: And another thing, a couldn't even be talking about your sales, since you're anonymous

I guess you don't notice that if you're not affected. I know exactly how you feel, it's the same thing when I got those crazy rejections at SS, when they rejected 50%+ of the batches for no reason (they were accepted elsewhere and usually also at SS a few months later). Or when I got an image that sells at least 10 times a day on SS+FT (it sold way over 20x yesterday for example) rejected at IS, where in fact those type of shots are my best earners and sometimes earn me more than at all other sites combined. I just know you lost a grand on a single photo, but hey, that's life...

I think that's the case - you don't notice until it happens to you. Earlier this year, some on the forums were complaining, and I just thought they needed to upload more/improve standards/find a new angle, etc. as my sales were just great! Now, I am at the opposite side of the fence and understand what it feels like. I stand to drop a good few hundred dollars on SS this month and, comparing to the last 4 years, this is not just a summer slowdown.

wut · « **Reply #14 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:05 »

Quote from: KuriousKat on July 24, 2012, 06:03

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 05:53
KuriousKat: And another thing, a couldn't even be talking about your sales, since you're anonymous

I guess you don't notice that if you're not affected. I know exactly how you feel, it's the same thing when I got those crazy rejections at SS, when they rejected 50%+ of the batches for no reason (they were accepted elsewhere and usually also at SS a few months later). Or when I got an image that sells at least 10 times a day on SS+FT (it sold way over 20x yesterday for example) rejected at IS, where in fact those type of shots are my best earners and sometimes earn me more than at all other sites combined. I just know you lost a grand on a single photo, but hey, that's life...

I think that's the case - you don't notice until it happens to you. Earlier this year, some on the forums were complaining, and I just thought they needed to upload more/improve standards/find a new angle, etc. as my sales were just great! Now, I am at the opposite side of the fence and understand what it feels like. I stand to drop a good few hundred dollars on SS this month and, comparing to the last 4 years, this is not just a summer slowdown.

Just go exclusive with IS and don't worry about it

kuriouskat · « **Reply #15 on:** July 24, 2012, 06:19 »

Haha, you would have to save me from the funny farm if I have to go through their upload process for my whole portfolio!

gbalex · « **Reply #16 on:** July 24, 2012, 07:16 »

Quote from: KuriousKat on July 24, 2012, 06:03

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 05:53
KuriousKat: And another thing, a couldn't even be talking about your sales, since you're anonymous

I guess you don't notice that if you're not affected. I know exactly how you feel, it's the same thing when I got those crazy rejections at SS, when they rejected 50%+ of the batches for no reason (they were accepted elsewhere and usually also at SS a few months later). Or when I got an image that sells at least 10 times a day on SS+FT (it sold way over 20x yesterday for example) rejected at IS, where in fact those type of shots are my best earners and sometimes earn me more than at all other sites combined. I just know you lost a grand on a single photo, but hey, that's life...

I think that's the case - you don't notice until it happens to you. Earlier this year, some on the forums were complaining, and I just thought they needed to upload more/improve standards/find a new angle, etc. as my sales were just great! Now, I am at the opposite side of the fence and understand what it feels like. I stand to drop a good few hundred dollars on SS this month and, comparing to the last 4 years, this is not just a summer slowdown.

Sorry to see you are having problems, however it is nice to see you willing to share your objective viewpoints based on two different sets of experience on SS.

Contrary to what some would claim, there are submitters that are experiencing serious issues, while the majority are not. If SS were serious about fixing the numerous issues they would have them solved by now. I am beginning to wonder if SS ever intends on making the playing field level for everyone.

kuriouskat · « **Reply #17 on:** July 24, 2012, 08:27 »

Quote from: gbalex on July 24, 2012, 07:16

Quote from: KuriousKat on July 24, 2012, 06:03
Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 05:53
KuriousKat: And another thing, a couldn't even be talking about your sales, since you're anonymous

I guess you don't notice that if you're not affected. I know exactly how you feel, it's the same thing when I got those crazy rejections at SS, when they rejected 50%+ of the batches for no reason (they were accepted elsewhere and usually also at SS a few months later). Or when I got an image that sells at least 10 times a day on SS+FT (it sold way over 20x yesterday for example) rejected at IS, where in fact those type of shots are my best earners and sometimes earn me more than at all other sites combined. I just know you lost a grand on a single photo, but hey, that's life...

I think that's the case - you don't notice until it happens to you. Earlier this year, some on the forums were complaining, and I just thought they needed to upload more/improve standards/find a new angle, etc. as my sales were just great! Now, I am at the opposite side of the fence and understand what it feels like. I stand to drop a good few hundred dollars on SS this month and, comparing to the last 4 years, this is not just a summer slowdown.

Sorry to see you are having problems, however it is nice to see you willing to share your objective viewpoints based on two different sets of experience on SS.

Contrary to what some would claim, there are submitters that are experiencing serious issues, while the majority are not. If SS were serious about fixing the numerous issues they would have them solved by now. I am beginning to wonder if SS ever intends on making the playing field level for everyone.

I am wondering if the Skype Interviews, that SS are setting up with some contributors, will provide an opportunity to discuss some of these issue?

lisafx · « **Reply #18 on:** July 24, 2012, 09:05 »

My sales numbers at SS are holding steady, but the income is way down. I had been getting EL's almost every day for several months, and now hardly any ELs, so that inevitably had an effect on income. Whatever they had been doing to promote ELs, I wish they would start doing it again

stockmarketer · « **Reply #19 on:** July 24, 2012, 09:30 »

Quote from: lisafx on July 24, 2012, 09:05

My sales numbers at SS are holding steady, but the income is way down. I had been getting EL's almost every day for several months, and now hardly any ELs, so that inevitably had an effect on income. Whatever they had been doing to promote ELs, I wish they would start doing it again

+1

It is really strange what happened with ELs. I can track the wave as lasting from September 22 through about April 13. Before this period I got one or two ELs a month. Then something happened on Sept 22 and I started averaging one or two every DAY. There would be a few weird gaps when they stopped completely, such as the second half of February, then they came roaring back. But ever since April 13, I have gone back to one or two a month. If SS was testing something with ELs over those 8 months or so, I hope they've crunched the numbers and determined it was a huge success and they need to roll that campaign out again, this time making it permanent.

Wim · « **Reply #20 on:** July 24, 2012, 10:04 »

From 1 or 2 a month to 1 or 2 a day? that just doesn't sound right mate, this shift is too dramatic.
From 56USD to 840USD worth of EL's in a month?

wut · « **Reply #21 on:** July 24, 2012, 10:09 »

ELs are down, way down for me too, but SODs and triple SODs are on the rise, subs as well (ODs are about the same as last month) so it's good overall.

tab62 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 24, 2012, 10:13 »

If I go exclusive to IS will I get 12c instead of 8c on my pics? Not a bad deal! 50% increase in revenue!

stockmarketer · « **Reply #23 on:** July 24, 2012, 10:22 »

Quote from: Wim on July 24, 2012, 10:04

From 1 or 2 a month to 1 or 2 a day? that just doesn't sound right mate, this shift is too dramatic.
From 56USD to 840USD worth of EL's in a month?

That's exactly right. I think Lisa alluded to seeing similar dramatic changes when SS was running its campaign, or whatever was happening to drive EL sales. I went from under $100/mo in ELs to some months around $1,000. So it was quite a bummer when it all stopped.

traveler1116 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:09 »

Quote from: tab62 on July 24, 2012, 10:13

If I go exclusive to IS will I get 12c instead of 8c on my pics? Not a bad deal! 50% increase in revenue!

It will be much higher, 600% not 50%. 46 cents is the lowest you should get at the lowest level (4 credits)($.46 per credit)(25% lowest royalty level)=46 cents. Also your RCs will about double so many people would be at a higher level as an exclusive than you would be as an independent. (XS prices go from 1 to 4 when you go exclusive so those would quadruple).

stockmarketer · « **Reply #25 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:22 »

Quote from: traveler1116 on July 24, 2012, 11:09

Quote from: tab62 on July 24, 2012, 10:13
If I go exclusive to IS will I get 12c instead of 8c on my pics? Not a bad deal! 50% increase in revenue!
It will be much higher, 600% not 50%. 46 cents is the lowest you should get at the lowest level (4 credits)($.46 per credit)(25% lowest royalty level)=46 cents. Also your RCs will about double so many people would be at a higher level as an exclusive than you would be as an independent. (XS prices go from 1 to 4 when you go exclusive so those would quadruple).

The problem is IS just doesn't sell like it used to. If I took this month's IS sales as an independent and quadrupled them for the commission increase, the number would still be only one third of my total tally counting all agencies.

OK, maybe I'll get better exposure as an exclusive? Double that figure again. Take this month's IS earnings x 8, and I'm still only at about 70% of my total July earnings as an independent.

IS exclusivity just doesn't make financial sense.

flashon · « **Reply #26 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:26 »

Quote from: lisafx on July 24, 2012, 09:05

My sales numbers at SS are holding steady, but the income is way down. I had been getting EL's almost every day for several months, and now hardly any ELs, so that inevitably had an effect on income. Whatever they had been doing to promote ELs, I wish they would start doing it again

I wish the same.
ELs are way way done comparing to a couple months ago...

luissantos84 · « **Reply #27 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:29 »

Quote from: traveler1116 on July 24, 2012, 11:09

Quote from: tab62 on July 24, 2012, 10:13
If I go exclusive to IS will I get 12c instead of 8c on my pics? Not a bad deal! 50% increase in revenue!
It will be much higher, 600% not 50%. 46 cents is the lowest you should get at the lowest level (4 credits)($.46 per credit)(25% lowest royalty level)=46 cents. Also your RCs will about double so many people would be at a higher level as an exclusive than you would be as an independent. (XS prices go from 1 to 4 when you go exclusive so those would quadruple).

when you turned out exclusive you got a 600% increase in your iStock earnings? I was thinking the raise should be at the 300%

traveler1116 · « **Reply #28 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:31 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on July 24, 2012, 11:22

Quote from: traveler1116 on July 24, 2012, 11:09
Quote from: tab62 on July 24, 2012, 10:13
If I go exclusive to IS will I get 12c instead of 8c on my pics? Not a bad deal! 50% increase in revenue!
It will be much higher, 600% not 50%. 46 cents is the lowest you should get at the lowest level (4 credits)($.46 per credit)(25% lowest royalty level)=46 cents. Also your RCs will about double so many people would be at a higher level as an exclusive than you would be as an independent. (XS prices go from 1 to 4 when you go exclusive so those would quadruple).

The problem is IS just doesn't sell like it used to. If I took this month's IS sales as an independent and quadrupled them for the commission increase, the number would still be only one third of my total tally counting all agencies.

OK, maybe I'll get better exposure as an exclusive? Double that figure again. Take this month's IS earnings x 8, and I'm still only at about 70% of my total July earnings as an independent.

IS exclusivity just doesn't make financial sense.

I didn't say it was best I was just correcting what tab62 said, the increase would be many times what he stated. For you maybe it doesn't make sense, I have no idea what your portfolio looks like and if you would have lots of Vetta/Agency files which can bring in alot from being mirrored at Getty. Also your PP sales would bring in 30-50% more depending on your level.

traveler1116 · « **Reply #29 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:33 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on July 24, 2012, 11:29

Quote from: traveler1116 on July 24, 2012, 11:09
Quote from: tab62 on July 24, 2012, 10:13
If I go exclusive to IS will I get 12c instead of 8c on my pics? Not a bad deal! 50% increase in revenue!
It will be much higher, 600% not 50%. 46 cents is the lowest you should get at the lowest level (4 credits)($.46 per credit)(25% lowest royalty level)=46 cents. Also your RCs will about double so many people would be at a higher level as an exclusive than you would be as an independent. (XS prices go from 1 to 4 when you go exclusive so those would quadruple).

when you turned out exclusive you got a 600% increase in your iStock earnings? I was thinking the raise should be at the 300%

Not even close there wasn't this disparity between exclusive and nonexclusive when I went exclusive. The only difference then was the royalty %, now that has widened and files cost a lot more for exclusive relative to nonexclusives. A lot has changed in the last year or two.

Wim · « **Reply #30 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:37 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on July 24, 2012, 10:22

Quote from: Wim on July 24, 2012, 10:04
From 1 or 2 a month to 1 or 2 a day? that just doesn't sound right mate, this shift is too dramatic.
From 56USD to 840USD worth of EL's in a month?

That's exactly right. I think Lisa alluded to seeing similar dramatic changes when SS was running its campaign, or whatever was happening to drive EL sales. I went from under $100/mo in ELs to some months around $1,000. So it was quite a bummer when it all stopped.

I bet! never happened to me. Income and EL's are slowly rising, never such peak/downs. I have even thought about a daily limit in my case because my sales are like clockwork even though my port is growing rapidly.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #31 on:** July 24, 2012, 11:46 »

Quote from: traveler1116 on July 24, 2012, 11:33

Quote from: luissantos84 on July 24, 2012, 11:29
Quote from: traveler1116 on July 24, 2012, 11:09
Quote from: tab62 on July 24, 2012, 10:13
If I go exclusive to IS will I get 12c instead of 8c on my pics? Not a bad deal! 50% increase in revenue!
It will be much higher, 600% not 50%. 46 cents is the lowest you should get at the lowest level (4 credits)($.46 per credit)(25% lowest royalty level)=46 cents. Also your RCs will about double so many people would be at a higher level as an exclusive than you would be as an independent. (XS prices go from 1 to 4 when you go exclusive so those would quadruple).

when you turned out exclusive you got a 600% increase in your iStock earnings? I was thinking the raise should be at the 300%
Not even close there wasn't this disparity between exclusive and nonexclusive when I went exclusive. The only difference then was the royalty %, now that has widened and files cost a lot more for exclusive relative to nonexclusives. A lot has changed in the last year or two.

it does make sense but looking at the latest reports from many indies/exclusives doesn´t look very inspiring, I believe it was a lot easier to predict the potential exclusive income before the summer of 2010, these days is very risky.. that said there are still many exclusives doing well, thinking of the ones that never post on iStock forum or here

tab62 · « **Reply #32 on:** July 24, 2012, 13:41 »

I can see why many folks are exclusive! Much better payout and only one set of standards to deal with instead of the 25 I deal with on a daily basis...

gostwyck · « **Reply #33 on:** July 24, 2012, 13:43 »

My sales at SS are projected to be slightly higher than July 2011. Nothing spectacular but in contrast every other agency I submit to will be down compared to last year.

lisafx · « **Reply #34 on:** July 24, 2012, 15:13 »

Quote from: Wim on July 24, 2012, 10:04

From 1 or 2 a month to 1 or 2 a day? that just doesn't sound right mate, this shift is too dramatic.
From 56USD to 840USD worth of EL's in a month?

Sounds right to me. I had exactly the same experience.

kuriouskat · « **Reply #35 on:** July 24, 2012, 15:34 »

Quote from: lisafx on July 24, 2012, 15:13

Quote from: Wim on July 24, 2012, 10:04
From 1 or 2 a month to 1 or 2 a day? that just doesn't sound right mate, this shift is too dramatic.
From 56USD to 840USD worth of EL's in a month?

Sounds right to me. I had exactly the same experience.

I long for that experience!

RacePhoto · « **Reply #36 on:** July 24, 2012, 16:06 »

Quote from: wut on July 24, 2012, 04:08

Quote from: nicku on July 24, 2012, 01:12
SS is an agency that require to upload constantly in order to mantain/increase sales. is not like DT or FT

That's not the case for over a year

True, it's hard to stamp out superstition and myths like feed the beast, Monday approvals and new images get a big boost. Not any more it seems.

ps Last upload April, I'm already at BME for SS with a week to go. Just can't wait for the "good" months.

fritz · « **Reply #37 on:** July 24, 2012, 16:54 »

SS sales are not bad but IS is still doing much better before and now. Same port size on both sites

Mantis · « **Reply #38 on:** July 24, 2012, 19:47 »

Quote from: lisafx on July 24, 2012, 09:05

My sales numbers at SS are holding steady, but the income is way down. I had been getting EL's almost every day for several months, and now hardly any ELs, so that inevitably had an effect on income. Whatever they had been doing to promote ELs, I wish they would start doing it again

This is exactly my experience. I had like 6 EL's last month and only 1 this month. Income will be down a hundred bucks unless something awesome happens between now and next Tuesday (the end of the month).

steheap · « **Reply #39 on:** July 24, 2012, 20:12 »

I'm the same - normally 5 or 6 ELs a month and then this month is zero. Some $18 single sales though, but nothing like as good a month as previous ones.

Steve

djpadavona · « **Reply #40 on:** July 24, 2012, 20:19 »

EL's are way down for me too. But if I compare this year's RPD at SS to last year's, they are virtually identical due to the increase in OD and single image sales.

My revenue is up 40% through the first 7 months of 2012 over the first 7 months of 2011. July is always slow for me, but I'm on pace for a 30 to 40% increase over last July so I'm pretty happy.

EmberMike · « **Reply #41 on:** July 24, 2012, 22:33 »

I'm 3 DLs away from a BDE in total number of sales today. As you can imagine, that puts my outlook on SS in a pretty positive light

stockmarketer · « **Reply #42 on:** July 24, 2012, 23:19 »

Just surprised myself... compared July 1 - 24, 2012 to same period in 2011. I'm up 75% at SS. Can't wait until sales really hit high gears in Sept-Nov!!!

princigalli · « **Reply #43 on:** July 25, 2012, 02:41 »

Died completely for me. FT is doing much better, and IS even more. Thinking about a stop to uploading on SS.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #44 on:** July 25, 2012, 07:30 »

Quote from: princigalli on July 25, 2012, 02:41

Died completely for me. FT is doing much better, and IS even more. Thinking about a stop to uploading on SS.

1. you have 336 files comparing to 1550 at iStock
2. only at SS from the end of March (4 months)

you need to continue the uploading and give it some time, of course you wouldn´t have iStock exclusive income on a few months

Wim · « **Reply #45 on:** July 25, 2012, 09:42 »

Indeed

leaf · « **Reply #46 on:** July 25, 2012, 11:00 »

Things are holding pretty steady for me but this month when lots of sites are down, shutterstock is still on the level. They are going to contribute a higher % of my income this month than ever before (if things continue the way they are currently going).

I'm mostly eager to see what happens in the fall. There is never a point to looking at numbers in the summer - they never look as good as they should.

sharpshot · « **Reply #47 on:** July 25, 2012, 11:49 »

Hopefully their big EL buyers are on summer vacation. They were selling lots of EL's for me this year but none this month. No SOD's either, so July has bee drab for me.

djpadavona · « **Reply #48 on:** July 25, 2012, 11:55 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on July 24, 2012, 23:19

Just surprised myself... compared July 1 - 24, 2012 to same period in 2011. I'm up 75% at SS. Can't wait until sales really hit high gears in Sept-Nov!!!

Congratulations! That is sweet growth

steheap · « **Reply #49 on:** July 30, 2012, 10:39 »

Anyone know any more about the sudden drop in Enhanced License Downloads this month (assuming it is still affecting more contributors than me!)?

I plotted out my earnings from Shutterstock over the past 18 months and separated out subscriptions, on demand, EDs and single sales. I have to go back to June 2011 to find a month with zero Enhanced license downloads.

Steve

stockmarketer · « **Reply #50 on:** July 30, 2012, 15:52 »

Quote from: steheap on July 30, 2012, 10:39

Anyone know any more about the sudden drop in Enhanced License Downloads this month (assuming it is still affecting more contributors than me!)?

Steve

It is definitely not just you. Lisa and I both pointed out earlier in the thread that we both went from 1 or 2 ELs a month to 1 or 2 a day, which lasted from around Sept 2011 to April 2012, and since then we're back to 1 or 2 a month.

John W. · « **Reply #51 on:** July 30, 2012, 17:13 »

Quote from: steheap on July 30, 2012, 10:39

Anyone know any more about the sudden drop in Enhanced License Downloads this month (assuming it is still affecting more contributors than me!)?

I plotted out my earnings from Shutterstock over the past 18 months and separated out subscriptions, on demand, EDs and single sales. I have to go back to June 2011 to find a month with zero Enhanced license downloads.

Steve

Funny to see we have about the same amount of subsales and OD. Only difference is I almost always have 1 EL a month, you 3 to 4.

steheap · « **Reply #52 on:** July 30, 2012, 21:14 »

Quote

Funny to see we have about the same amount of subsales and OD. Only difference is I almost always have 1 EL a month, you 3 to 4.

Yes, it has been really good for 12 months or so with 3 - 6 ELs a month. Nothing today either, and so, unless tomorrow breaks the run, will give me a zero for July. I've done a lot more analysis of my Shutterstock portfolio since I started looking at these ELs, but will wait one more day before posting to make sure I get the full month in.

Steve

steheap · « **Reply #53 on:** July 31, 2012, 21:16 »

I finally got one EL today - so I didn't end the month with zero! It made me think about the history of EDs on Shutterstock (at least my experience). Others have talked about a sudden increase, but mine have been more stable:

This shows the percentage of the different categories of license each month from SS - goes up and down a bit, but no real changes in the past 18 months for me.
Then I looked at the growth in files and did my earnings follow suit - at first glance, not too great a picture:

However, if you normalize this and look at the earnings per download - there are signs that that is growing with time, and the earnings per online file seems pretty stable at around 20c per file per month. I guess that shows that I am not getting worse at the quality (or saleability) of my images. I'm not getting better either!

Bit more explanation on my blog, but this is the main conclusion - add more files and you make more money...

Steve

robhainer · « **Reply #54 on:** August 01, 2012, 07:44 »

I agree. It's still possible to grow your portfolio and see your earnings increase. My SS earnings since the start of the year:

steheap · « **Reply #55 on:** August 01, 2012, 10:04 »

Quote

I agree. It's still possible to grow your portfolio and see your earnings increase. My SS earnings since the start of the year:

Rob

You have a very nice return on uploaded images - probably three times better than me on Shutterstock. Do you do photos or illustrations? I'm jealous!

Steve

mtkang · « **Reply #56 on:** August 01, 2012, 10:47 »

is the total earnings mean what you got after a percentage of tax deduct?

Quote from: robhainer on August 01, 2012, 07:44

I agree. It's still possible to grow your portfolio and see your earnings increase. My SS earnings since the start of the year:

robhainer · « **Reply #57 on:** August 01, 2012, 10:49 »

Just photos. I got 5 ELs this past month, which is more than the usual 2-3. But total downloads overall was still up so I'm happy with the sales growth matching my efforts to get more uploaded. The quality of my images has also mostly improved.

I don't have a tax deduction because I'm set up as an LLC.

Edit:
I do have three video clips there that I just started doing, but they're horrible and have had no sales.

Lagereek · « **Reply #58 on:** August 01, 2012, 10:51 »

SS, is still great but something has happend, dont know what? there seems to be no search change, yet the sales are not what they used to be. There are much less ELs and SODs, this fact alone is very worrying.

lisafx · « **Reply #59 on:** August 01, 2012, 12:04 »

Quote from: Lagereek on August 01, 2012, 10:51

SS, is still great but something has happend, dont know what? there seems to be no search change, yet the sales are not what they used to be. There are much less ELs and SODs, this fact alone is very worrying.

Same here. They are still outperforming the other micros, but by a much slimmer margin than earlier in the year.

Lagereek · « **Reply #60 on:** August 01, 2012, 12:45 »

Quote from: lisafx on August 01, 2012, 12:04

Quote from: Lagereek on August 01, 2012, 10:51
SS, is still great but something has happend, dont know what? there seems to be no search change, yet the sales are not what they used to be. There are much less ELs and SODs, this fact alone is very worrying.

Same here. They are still outperforming the other micros, but by a much slimmer margin than earlier in the year.

Yes they are but its worrying somehow because the SS pattern have changed drastically, its simply not the same as only three weeks back? as I said, dont know what they have done but something has had a negative turn on SS? as far as sales that is.

gbalex · « **Reply #61 on:** August 01, 2012, 14:05 »

Quote from: Lagereek on August 01, 2012, 12:45

Quote from: lisafx on August 01, 2012, 12:04
Quote from: Lagereek on August 01, 2012, 10:51
SS, is still great but something has happend, dont know what? there seems to be no search change, yet the sales are not what they used to be. There are much less ELs and SODs, this fact alone is very worrying.

Same here. They are still outperforming the other micros, but by a much slimmer margin than earlier in the year.

Yes they are but its worrying somehow because the SS pattern have changed drastically, its simply not the same as only three weeks back? as I said, dont know what they have done but something has had a negative turn on SS? as far as sales that is.

I just did a search on one of my best selling images. The relevant search is completely wak.

The first and second page were filled with non relevant images from two members with very large ports. The images were displayed in the sequence they were shot. The second page was filled with images from one submitter with the entire set of disgusting looking and non relevant images food images that were almost identical to each other displayed in sequence.

The most popular search showed similar results. The images that actually earned a position in the most popular search via good sales were no where to be found. I guess if you want to kill best sellers while also promoting the images of a chosen few these new search results are an ideal way to accomplish that!

lisafx · « **Reply #62 on:** August 01, 2012, 17:16 »

Quote from: gbalex on August 01, 2012, 14:05

The first and second page were filled with non relevant images from two members with very large ports. The images were displayed in the sequence they were shot. The second page was filled with images from one submitter with the entire set of disgusting looking and non relevant images food images that were almost identical to each other displayed in sequence.

The most popular search showed similar results. The images that actually earned a position in the most popular search via good sales were no where to be found. I guess if you want to kill best sellers while also promoting the images of a chosen few these new search results are an ideal way to accomplish that!

That's terrible! Can't imagine it is intentional or that it will stay that way long. Buyers will desert in droves if they can't get the search fixed.

bad to the bone · « **Reply #63 on:** August 01, 2012, 19:46 »

SS continued to perform as my best reseller, is just nearby to met my FT income, what is falling like a stone since 12 months. June was really bad, but in July they're back by Earnings and with best Average by Image. And SS have only the pictures i gave to any other agency, FT has tripple the images and most of them exclusive.
Looks like it's time to shift. How i hate this moment and this decision. When picture management takes more time and earns more profit than make good images...
Blame on you FT, you had all of my hope and support...you treat it like crap!

Lagereek · « **Reply #64 on:** August 01, 2012, 22:23 »

Yep! the RELEVANT search is completely useless! bad keywordings, spammings for years are the culprits responsible for this. Any relevancy or best match search in the micro industry is a total waste of time and before it gets any worse, I sincerely hope they do away with this search.
We DO NOT, want to go down the same road as the IS,best match, thats for sure.

Wim · « **Reply #65 on:** August 02, 2012, 02:07 »

Do buyers use Relevant search? I hope not because although my images are properly keyworded they are nowhere to be found using that search criteria.
I thought most buyers use the default, which is popular?
As far as I'm concerned Popular and New are the only criteria required in a search engine, let the images do their work.
I like what Fotolia is doing though atm, promoting new work which is needed in this huge pile of imagery.

Lagereek · « **Reply #66 on:** August 02, 2012, 02:19 »

Inexperienced buyers, etc, would use relevancy as a search, thinking thats the best alternative finding the most relevant picture for their concept and there are millions of inexperienced and first-time buyers around here. What they DONT know is the spamming and keyword problems.

I just searched "oil industry worker" know what I got? well apart from some faces of workers, the entire first page was taken up by series of refineries and without workers, just refiney buildings, thats all. Thats how ineffective this search is. Obviously the guy who took these pics, included the word "workers" and yet, NO workers. good hey? spamming.

Wim · « **Reply #67 on:** August 02, 2012, 02:36 »

One solution to this problem would be having a checkmark or menu like Panthermedia has.
Spammers could then get punished for improper keywording.

Anyway this is a sales thread, we shouldn't be discussing this in here (although it's related)

Lagereek · « **Reply #68 on:** August 02, 2012, 02:44 »

Quote from: Wim on August 02, 2012, 02:36

One solution to this problem would be having a checkmark or menu like Panthermedia has.
Spammers could then get punished for improper keywording.

Anyway this is a sales thread, we shouldn't be discussing this in here (although it's related)

Sure but thats a compromize, not a solution! the only solution is to simply remove this old fashioned search from the entire face of the earth.

nicku · « **Reply #69 on:** August 02, 2012, 02:57 »

Quote from: cgartist on July 24, 2012, 00:42

Hello, how are the sales going in shutterstock.
For me its been 6days since files got approved. Sales have gone a lot down for me. How are they going for you all??

What can i say.... I had July my BME on SS. lots of EL's and OD. Not bad...

RacePhoto · « **Reply #70 on:** August 02, 2012, 08:44 »

Quote from: nicku on August 02, 2012, 02:57

Quote from: cgartist on July 24, 2012, 00:42
Hello, how are the sales going in shutterstock.
For me its been 6days since files got approved. Sales have gone a lot down for me. How are they going for you all??

What can i say.... I had July my BME on SS. lots of EL's and OD. Not bad...

Same here. I haven't sent in anything new in months, I'm kind of busy with other photo things during the Summer. I don't track ELs as part of my sales, because I get so few. That's my own fault for what I sell. But the rest are chugging right along, making sale and adding up 33c at a time. I very happy with SS sales.

trofia · « **Reply #71 on:** August 02, 2012, 16:38 »

Quote from: steheap on July 30, 2012, 10:39

Anyone know any more about the sudden drop in Enhanced License Downloads this month (assuming it is still affecting more contributors than me!)?

I plotted out my earnings from Shutterstock over the past 18 months and separated out subscriptions, on demand, EDs and single sales. I have to go back to June 2011 to find a month with zero Enhanced license downloads.

Steve

Can you believe I have never had a Enhanched download on SS? How much do they pay for it?

I have been very active on SS since March, I have 820 images in the portfolio and over 500 sales in these months, but no ED...is that because almost my entire portfolio is made of Editorials? Why else?

Please let me know if I am making some mistake...thanks!

PinnacleAnimates · « **Reply #72 on:** August 26, 2012, 00:48 »

very bad yesterday... almost 60% down sales in yesterday.. August not going good... $:-\$

Mantis · « **Reply #73 on:** August 26, 2012, 06:26 »

Quote from: trofia on August 02, 2012, 16:38

Quote from: steheap on July 30, 2012, 10:39
Anyone know any more about the sudden drop in Enhanced License Downloads this month (assuming it is still affecting more contributors than me!)?

I plotted out my earnings from Shutterstock over the past 18 months and separated out subscriptions, on demand, EDs and single sales. I have to go back to June 2011 to find a month with zero Enhanced license downloads.

Steve

Can you believe I have never had a Enhanched download on SS? How much do they pay for it?

I have been very active on SS since March, I have 820 images in the portfolio and over 500 sales in these months, but no ED...is that because almost my entire portfolio is made of Editorials? Why else?

Please let me know if I am making some mistake...thanks!

The $28 downloads are crazy unpredictable. Some months I may get 10 and some I get zilch. This month I only have one so far. It is an unknown as to why some moments in time are hot and others are cold. Hang in there, keep uploading.

Bauman · « **Reply #74 on:** August 26, 2012, 06:38 »

Quote from: PinnacleAnimates on August 26, 2012, 00:48

very bad yesterday... almost 60% down sales in yesterday.. August not going good... $:-\$

Also for me, yesterday the worst day of last two month. But August is good ...

steheap · « **Reply #75 on:** August 26, 2012, 08:09 »

Quote

I have been very active on SS since March, I have 820 images in the portfolio and over 500 sales in these months, but no ED...is that because almost my entire portfolio is made of Editorials? Why else?

I suspect your editorial focus makes a big difference. As I understand EDs, they are needed for high print runs and for resale licenses - which almost always are commercial in nature. So an editorial images tends to restrict itself to news, comment and educational purposes - not normally high print runs or resale opportunities.

Not sure that is right, but on the flip side, you probably would get more single downloads from people who just want a particular image for an article.

Steve

PinnacleAnimates · « **Reply #76 on:** October 19, 2012, 02:13 »

what a good month coming.. really very happy

lisafx · « **Reply #77 on:** October 19, 2012, 10:31 »

Yesterday was my BDE on SS.

gostwyck · « **Reply #78 on:** October 19, 2012, 11:01 »

Quote from: lisafx on October 19, 2012, 10:31

Yesterday was my BDE on SS.

Congrats! I'm having an incredible month at SS too. On target for a BME ... by a massive 28% above the previous high in March. Amazing.

lisafx · « **Reply #79 on:** October 19, 2012, 13:39 »

Quote from: gostwyck on October 19, 2012, 11:01

Quote from: lisafx on October 19, 2012, 10:31
Yesterday was my BDE on SS.

Congrats! I'm having an incredible month at SS too. On target for a BME ... by a massive 28% above the previous high in March. Amazing.

Congrats to you too! 28% up on your BME? That's impressive!

I'm not in BME territory yet, but if I have some more days like yesterday I definitely could be

gostwyck · « **Reply #80 on:** October 25, 2012, 13:21 »

BME already acheived at SS for October __ with another 6 days of the month still to come. Massive increase in OD and Single Image sales was responsible. Just wish other agencies could keep up.

ClaridgeJ · « **Reply #81 on:** October 25, 2012, 13:33 »

Brillant! better then ever.

plenty of ODs and ELs.

ruxpriencdiam · « **Reply #82 on:** October 25, 2012, 17:57 »

OK lets stir the pot and see what boils

OK rant on once more about all this BME BS!

How can this be anyone's BME if they have already had a BME at least once before? Care to explain?

At the very least it has to be your BMY not BME.

I mean if next year you have a better month then this months BME it cant be a BME because you already had a BME!

Hello!

OK rant over continue on.

Forums are slow dead and dull.

No you cannot trump your BME because you can only have one BME as is in any Business.

That is why it is supposed to be your BMY or BMTD it cannot not be ever if you have already had an ever because of the definition of ever.

See when a business is closing or selling itself out then they can go back across all of the records and then say that so and so month or year was their BME or BYE.

So until you are done and no longer a member with a port you can not have a BME until all of the books are up to date and you will no longer be doing this anymore and have removed everything for sale here.

Then you can look back at all of your records and only then can you find what is to be known as your BME.

OK on with your regularly scheduled programming.

click_click · « **Reply #83 on:** October 25, 2012, 18:05 »

Quote from: ruxpriencdiam on October 25, 2012, 17:57

...
Forums are slow dead and dull.
...

Somebody had some grouchy pie

lisafx · « **Reply #84 on:** October 25, 2012, 18:39 »

Quote from: ruxpriencdiam on October 25, 2012, 17:57

OK lets stir the pot and see what boils

OK rant on once more about all this BME BS!

How can this be anyone's BME if they have already had a BME at least once before? Care to explain?

At the very least it has to be your BMY not BME.

I mean if next year you have a better month then this months BME it cant be a BME because you already had a BME!

Took me a minute to figure out what you meant, LOL. Maybe you would be happier with BMSF? (best month so far)

But to me, it is acceptable to say Best Month Ever because it is pretty much understood that it means best month ever YET. If a better month comes along, that's your new BME. Unless you want to be really nitpicky and contentious.

ruxpriencdiam · « **Reply #85 on:** October 25, 2012, 18:43 »

Quote from: lisafx on October 25, 2012, 18:39

Quote from: ruxpriencdiam on October 25, 2012, 17:57
OK lets stir the pot and see what boils

OK rant on once more about all this BME BS!

How can this be anyone's BME if they have already had a BME at least once before? Care to explain?

At the very least it has to be your BMY not BME.

I mean if next year you have a better month then this months BME it cant be a BME because you already had a BME!

Took me a minute to figure out what you meant, LOL. Maybe you would be happier with BMSF? (best month so far)

But to me, it is acceptable to say Best Month Ever because it is pretty much understood that it means best month ever YET. If a better month comes along, that's your new BME. Unless you want to be really nitpicky and contentious.

See then it becomes BMY or BMTD.

gostwyck · « **Reply #86 on:** October 25, 2012, 18:48 »

Quote from: ruxpriencdiam on October 25, 2012, 18:43

See then it becomes BMY or BMTD.

[/quote]

Well I'd certainly vote for you as this forum's BWY.

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