MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => Shutterstock.com => Topic started by: dirkr on October 19, 2008, 11:10

Title: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on October 19, 2008, 11:10
Made it. On my first try, 8 of 10 accepted  ;D

Now how long does it take until the files can be found on the site? Doesn't seem to be instantaneous?
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: RGebbiePhoto on October 19, 2008, 11:24
Grats! We made it in our 2nd try :)

I think you have to wait 24 hours before your images go live, that's pretty standard across all sites right now.

Just remember, Shutterstock is nicknamed The Beast. You gotta feed it often!  Best to submit small numbers of files several times a week, rather than one big upload every other week. 

Good luck!
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on October 19, 2008, 11:47
Thanks for the response.
I've got several hundred files on my harddrive waiting to be uploaded. That's going to keep me busy for some time....
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: Peter on October 19, 2008, 12:01
Oh no. Another mouth eating my share of cake.

Grats! We made it in our 2nd try :)

I think you have to wait 24 hours before your images go live, that's pretty standard across all sites right now.

Just remember, Shutterstock is nicknamed The Beast. You gotta feed it often!  Best to submit small numbers of files several times a week, rather than one big upload every other week. 

Good luck!

Your comment just decreased your earnings by 1%. You make 50 more such comments and your income will drop by 50%. Helping a newbie is like a cuting the branch that you are sitting on. Hehe.

For each new photohrapher in the busines, there should be at least 3 new byers to maintain balance in universe.
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on October 19, 2008, 13:17
thanks for the warm welcome, Peter  :P
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: RGebbiePhoto on October 19, 2008, 13:43
Oh no. Another mouth eating my share of cake.

Your comment just decreased your earnings by 1%. You make 50 more such comments and your income will drop by 50%. Helping a newbie is like a cuting the branch that you are sitting on. Hehe.

For each new photohrapher in the busines, there should be at least 3 new byers to maintain balance in universe.

We don't mind competition. We have plenty of it, and it just makes us work harder to tighten up our images.

Besides, if they got into SS on their first try, they must know something.  How many tries did it take you, Peter?
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: hali on October 19, 2008, 14:30

Just remember, Shutterstock is nicknamed The Beast. You gotta feed it often!
welcome to the coloseum  ;D the beast has another meal ticket  ;D ;D
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: Peter on October 19, 2008, 14:52
I was accepted at SS at 1st time. 8/10 images. Today I have 5000+ images online.
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: takestock on October 19, 2008, 16:19
Congrats! - good for you.
Now off you go and make loads of money!
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: katinelis on October 30, 2008, 08:02
today is my lucky day :) I'm in SS :) it was my 4th attempt...

and today is allready my first sale in SS :) not so bad, I thinK  ;D
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on October 30, 2008, 08:26
Congrats!
Sales are good for me from the beginning as well.
I'm just not quite sure about the best strategy to upload. As everyone says you need to continually feed this beast, I started with small batches (five to ten) about every other day. That will allow me to have new stuff to upload for a long time (got several hundred waiting on my hard-drive), but it will of course take a longer time to build a big portfolio. Just wondering, would it be better to upload a bigger pile in the beginning to have a reasonably sized portfolio to start with or rather keep on going in small steps?
Any opinions / experiences on this?
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: stormchaser on October 30, 2008, 08:29
That's a good starting pace. You can then do an easier assessment of what's doing well. Many find that sometimes on mega batches, they can ht a cranky reviewer, then boom, almost the whole bunch shot down in flames. Get some more confidence there, analyze any rejects, and go from there.
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on October 30, 2008, 08:36
Thanks, sounds reasonable.
It is just a bit tempting to upload bigger amounts to see fast returns, but I'm holding myself back for the time.
Rejections until now have been ok, 46 approved, 18 rejected.
Does it make sense to re-submit rejected pictures (e.g. downsize to remove noise/focus problems)?
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: stormchaser on October 30, 2008, 08:59
Thanks, sounds reasonable.
It is just a bit tempting to upload bigger amounts to see fast returns, but I'm holding myself back for the time.
Rejections until now have been ok, 46 approved, 18 rejected.
Does it make sense to re-submit rejected pictures (e.g. downsize to remove noise/focus problems)?

Take a look at the rej reason, and see how it applies to your image. Usually if they reject for noise, it really is there. If the image can be fixed or improved, then yes, do resubmit. You will learn from the rejections so don't take them to heart.
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on October 30, 2008, 10:18
Thanks again. Maybe I will give it a try for some of my rejects, when I can correct what they saw.
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: stormchaser on October 30, 2008, 17:25
Thanks again. Maybe I will give it a try for some of my rejects, when I can correct what they saw.

DOn't send the rejects en masse. Do one or two, and ensure you yourself can see the differences in what you fixed. That's where the important learning is. Good luck to you  :)
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: goldenangel on November 17, 2008, 18:08
I also made it in yesterday! 8 of 10 were accepted, one rejected for keyword irrelevancy and they were right.

Today, I already had my first sale even though my pictures do not come up in searches yet.
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: AVAVA on November 17, 2008, 23:54
Congrats! That is a wonderful feeling.

You keep working and improving your craft. I look forward to watching the progression of your future work.

Best,
AVAVA
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: goldenangel on November 18, 2008, 00:36
Thank you AVAVA :) I will do my best!
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: CCK on November 18, 2008, 01:40
Congrats to all the newcomers at SS.

Feeding the beast . . . after more than a year at SS I'm still not sure how to do it. At the moment I'm uploading 5 about every second day to see if it keep things going, and I get a pattern: Every second batch I get 5/5 accepted, and every batch in between 3/5. Must be coincidence.
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: Peter on November 18, 2008, 03:25
*. Thats why my sales are lower. :D

when you get accepted, make sure you drag in 3 new buyers also to the site. hhhhh
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: MicrostockExp on November 18, 2008, 05:43
Congrats on your acceptance ! SS is indeed a good motivation  to upload regularly  because new images get downloaded a lot (or used to be  ;D).
keep us informed
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on November 18, 2008, 07:11
As I started this thread a short update after one month in:
110 images online (I try to submit batches of 5 to 10 about every other day)
About 100 sales so far.
From an RPI perspective SS instantly moved to the number one position  ;D
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: Peter on November 18, 2008, 09:04
You should apologize to us, for cuting our share of cake. Those 100 sales could be mine, if they werent yours. hhhh :D
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: dirkr on November 18, 2008, 09:50
I'm sorry  :'(



...but I intend to take more of your share in the future  ;D
Title: Re: I'm in !!!
Post by: Peter on November 18, 2008, 10:08
Apology accepted.  ;D