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Author Topic: Not a single sale for three weeks  (Read 18595 times)

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MRommens

« on: April 13, 2017, 09:29 »
0
A month ago was my first ss payment, nice!

Januari and Februari were good months, with some od's
Since three weeks i sold nothing, for me this is a unusual long period without sales
Is there someone else experiencing such long period withou sales?
My port contains around 150 images:
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/photosis?language=en


« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2017, 09:55 »
+5
A month ago was my first ss payment, nice!

Januari and Februari were good months, with some od's
Since three weeks i sold nothing, for me this is a unusual long period without sales
Is there someone else experiencing such long period withou sales?
My port contains around 150 images:
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/photosis?language=en

Gentle suggestion, quit and look for a better job.

« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2017, 11:11 »
+7
Photosis:  Try selling sand in the Sahara dessert and you'll probably get same results.

Find out what customers need, or find out how you can offer something unique. Then you'll see sales coming your way.

« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2017, 11:44 »
+2
Very few of your images have commercial value. Everyday photos are dime a dozen...anyone with a decent phone can take it and use it in their blog. Why do they need to buy these type of photos? Maybe pick better subjects?

« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2017, 01:26 »
0
Agree with too low commercial value. + I'd add more editing to the photos, more description of titles and more keywords.

langstrup

« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2017, 03:37 »
0
Photosis:  Try selling sand in the Sahara dessert and you'll probably get same results.

Find out what customers need, or find out how you can offer something unique. Then you'll see sales coming your way.

Hey buddy  ;D

« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2017, 09:31 »
+2
I'm not a photographer, but here's my 2 cents:

1. Use more descriptive titles. Use more keywords to describe your images.
For instance, your image 'tree trunk' could be titled 'cross-section of a tree trunk showing annual age rings', with added keywords such as 'age', 'cross-section', etc.
2. Try to create more conceptual images, pictures that tell a story.
3. Try to shoot from more captivating angles, make use of copy space in your compositions.

MRommens

« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2017, 10:56 »
0
I'm not a photographer, but here's my 2 cents:

1. Use more descriptive titles. Use more keywords to describe your images.
For instance, your image 'tree trunk' could be titled 'cross-section of a tree trunk showing annual age rings', with added keywords such as 'age', 'cross-section', etc.
2. Try to create more conceptual images, pictures that tell a story.
3. Try to shoot from more captivating angles, make use of copy space in your compositions.
Thanks (and also the others), for your critism!
I thought, images with short title are better findable and less good keywords make them more important (so a higher rank in search algoritms).

« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2017, 12:04 »
0
A month ago was my first ss payment, nice!

Januari and Februari were good months, with some od's
Since three weeks i sold nothing, for me this is a unusual long period without sales
Is there someone else experiencing such long period withou sales?
My port contains around 150 images:
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/photosis?language=en
You need also much 1.more images for every day sale or 2.just couple really best seller

« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2017, 17:37 »
+5
Good keywords are important, but you need to think about what constitutes a good keyword. For example, you have pictures of train tracks, but you don't say what city or country that's in. For many buyers, getting something local will be important - so do that for outside shots that are clearly in a particular place, but don't do it for studio shots or textures where it has no relevance. This shot is just labeled "city" - but there's nothing to say which!! You might get more sales if you added city and country to the keywords (and probably to the title)

Never put multiple places on one shot - there's a lot of that on SS with tropical beaches that I think people justify by saying that it could be the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Seychelles, etc.

Shutterstock has over 134 million images and you have such a tiny portfolio and subjects that relatively low demand that I'm not surprised you're seeing gaps in sales.

For a number of your images, a little more care when taking them would yield a more salable result. As an example, the flag in this image is hanging limply in such a way that you can't really see the flag at all. If you waited for some wind to blow the flag a little so you could see it better, it'd be more useful.

« Reply #10 on: April 14, 2017, 18:05 »
+1
A month ago was my first ss payment, nice!

Januari and Februari were good months, with some od's
Since three weeks i sold nothing, for me this is a unusual long period without sales
Is there someone else experiencing such long period withou sales?
My port contains around 150 images:
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/photosis?language=en

Nice little portfolio which appears to be on the right track for someone just starting out in stock photography.  All the advice given by others is correct - you need a larger portfolio, bright attractive images, some copy space where appropriate.

My own experiments suggest, as you say, that a short concise description gives better search placement for the 'relevancy' search.  Ten words or less ensures good relevancy placement for those words.  The 'popular' search appears to be based on the actual keywords used by buyers, and you can see these keywords in the 'insights - top performers' menu.

There is no evidence to suggest that fewer keywords results in better placement, however I have personally reduced my keywords in recent upload batches and found a better sales ratio for those new uploads.  However this might be coincidence.

« Reply #11 on: April 14, 2017, 23:48 »
+2
Maybe pick better subjects?

There can be some subjectivity with regards to deciding which subjects are interesting and which are not. There's someone on another microstock photography forum who has some unusual views on what constitutes interesting subject matter. According to this guy:

Wildlife is not interesting
Boats are not interesting
Naval warships are not interesting
Plants and trees are not interesting
Mushrooms are not interesting
Planes are not interesting
Vehicles are not interesting
Waterfalls are not interesting
Road signs are not interesting
Construction is not interesting
Cities are not interesting (both daytime images and night / time exposures)
Monuments are not interesting
Beaches are not interesting
Food is not interesting

Gosh, in my 20+ years of photography, I honestly thought that those subjects had at least some appeal. I guess I was wrong.



dpimborough

« Reply #12 on: April 15, 2017, 02:42 »
+4
Maybe pick better subjects?

There can be some subjectivity with regards to deciding which subjects are interesting and which are not. There's someone on another microstock photography forum who has some unusual views on what constitutes interesting subject matter. According to this guy:

Wildlife is not interesting
Boats are not interesting
Naval warships are not interesting
Plants and trees are not interesting
Mushrooms are not interesting
Planes are not interesting
Vehicles are not interesting
Waterfalls are not interesting
Road signs are not interesting
Construction is not interesting
Cities are not interesting (both daytime images and night / time exposures)
Monuments are not interesting
Beaches are not interesting
Food is not interesting

Gosh, in my 20+ years of photography, I honestly thought that those subjects had at least some appeal. I guess I was wrong.

Microstock is full of blowhards with all the gear and no idea

They get a few images up and think they are experts

« Reply #13 on: April 15, 2017, 02:53 »
+4
Maybe pick better subjects?

There can be some subjectivity with regards to deciding which subjects are interesting and which are not. There's someone on another microstock photography forum who has some unusual views on what constitutes interesting subject matter. According to this guy:

Wildlife is not interesting
Boats are not interesting
Naval warships are not interesting
Plants and trees are not interesting
Mushrooms are not interesting
Planes are not interesting
Vehicles are not interesting
Waterfalls are not interesting
Road signs are not interesting
Construction is not interesting
Cities are not interesting (both daytime images and night / time exposures)
Monuments are not interesting
Beaches are not interesting
Food is not interesting

Gosh, in my 20+ years of photography, I honestly thought that those subjects had at least some appeal. I guess I was wrong.
Any thing is "interesting" if you shoot it well that's why photography is an art.....whether its commercially viable is a different question. All of those can be in my view but the competition in those most of areas is intense. Many do have the advantage of being low cost unlike many "lifestyle" images with model, studio, prop etc cost. These can produce seemingly big returns but with high cost.

« Reply #14 on: April 15, 2017, 09:58 »
+1
Photosis:  Try selling sand in the Sahara dessert and you'll probably get same results.

Find out what customers need, or find out how you can offer something unique. Then you'll see sales coming your way.

Hey buddy  ;D

Yo!  8)

« Reply #15 on: April 15, 2017, 17:12 »
+6

Wildlife is not interesting
Boats are not interesting
Naval warships are not interesting
Plants and trees are not interesting
Mushrooms are not interesting
Planes are not interesting
Vehicles are not interesting
Waterfalls are not interesting
Road signs are not interesting
Construction is not interesting
Cities are not interesting (both daytime images and night / time exposures)
Monuments are not interesting
Beaches are not interesting
Food is not interesting

Allow me to rephrase:

Poor quality photos of

Wildlife are not interesting
Boats are not interesting
Naval warships are not interesting
Plants and trees are not interesting
Mushrooms are not interesting
Planes are not interesting
Vehicles are not interesting
Waterfalls are not interesting
Road signs are not interesting
Construction are not interesting
Cities are not interesting (both daytime images and night / time exposures)
Monuments are not interesting
Beaches are not interesting
Food are not interesting


I make more than a few grands/month from a port made of less than 1k assets (containing some of the above categories)

My advice is: curate your uploads and focus on quality not quantity!

« Reply #16 on: April 16, 2017, 01:05 »
+1
focus on quality not quantity!

Agreed. That's my approach too. I have very small ports on a bunch of different agencies and I have made sales with many of the same subjects listed above - with some images selling multiple times. Ive also won a few photography competitions and sold photographs in exhibitions with many of the same kinds of subject matter. Last photo I sold in an exhibition went for $700 though I didn't get the money on that occasion - the funds went to a charity.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2017, 09:25 by dragonblade »


dpimborough

« Reply #17 on: April 16, 2017, 13:30 »
+6
But there is one big fat problem while you concentrate on producing a few high quality images they are just drowned under the un-ending sludge being accepted by SS

« Reply #18 on: April 17, 2017, 04:42 »
+5
But there is one big fat problem while you concentrate on producing a few high quality images they are just drowned under the un-ending sludge being accepted by SS

My bestseller in SS is a photo of one of the most popular summer destinations in Europe - Mallorca, the photo was uploaded in December and is now in the top 10 popular images, when you search for the location, it sells almost every day, apparently it hasn't been drowned by the other junk uploaded :)

dpimborough

« Reply #19 on: April 17, 2017, 15:37 »
+1
But there is one big fat problem while you concentrate on producing a few high quality images they are just drowned under the un-ending sludge being accepted by SS

My bestseller in SS is a photo of one of the most popular summer destinations in Europe - Mallorca, the photo was uploaded in December and is now in the top 10 popular images, when you search for the location, it sells almost every day, apparently it hasn't been drowned by the other junk uploaded :)

Good for you ~ 1 photo uploaded in December give it until this December and see if it's still on the first page for popular

« Reply #20 on: April 17, 2017, 17:47 »
0
Stuff doesn't get removed from the first page of search (other than newest first) by the flood of new images, it never gets there in the first place. Stuff gets removed from the first page by search changes. (and search changes, glitches, and lucky stunning images get images onto the first pages).

I had a 3 or 4 year run on the first page for one image - sure I had a good image, but it was an indexing glitch that got my image there (mine was indexed right before a 4 day gap with no new images indexed so it had that long on the first page of new images). That was enough to get it onto the first or second page of most popular and it stayed there until a search change made it disappear (at least through page 30). I think it is around page 3 or 4 now and went from over a sale a day average to more like a sale a month.

Search location is huge in this business and we can only change some of the things that effect image placement.

« Reply #21 on: April 17, 2017, 23:59 »
+1
on the other hand popularity does not guarantee sales
I have a page 1, top 20 image in DT that has sales once per two months now, the sales were very good when I uploaded it though

« Reply #22 on: April 18, 2017, 11:06 »
+6
Maybe pick better subjects?

There can be some subjectivity with regards to deciding which subjects are interesting and which are not. There's someone on another microstock photography forum who has some unusual views on what constitutes interesting subject matter. According to this guy:

Wildlife is not interesting
Boats are not interesting
Naval warships are not interesting
Plants and trees are not interesting
Mushrooms are not interesting
Planes are not interesting
Vehicles are not interesting
Waterfalls are not interesting
Road signs are not interesting
Construction is not interesting
Cities are not interesting (both daytime images and night / time exposures)
Monuments are not interesting
Beaches are not interesting
Food is not interesting

Gosh, in my 20+ years of photography, I honestly thought that those subjects had at least some appeal. I guess I was wrong.

LOL!!  Some of my best selling images fall into those categories.  Hopefully people listen to this joker so I have less competition.  ;)

Personally, I think business teams and handshakes are the most boring stock photos on the planet, but they sell, so one guy's " boring" is another ones goldmine.

Shoot what you enjoy shooting, but do it WELL.

« Reply #23 on: April 18, 2017, 11:50 »
+9
anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK.

« Reply #24 on: April 18, 2017, 12:21 »
+2
anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK.

Exactly! And just to be clear: several means more than a couple ;)

This may shatter a common belief on this forum, but I know what I mean when I say that quality trumps quantity and when I advise people to curate their uploads.

Also to be clear: I have more than a "few hundred", I have almost 1,000!
« Last Edit: April 18, 2017, 12:24 by Zero Talent »

derek

    This user is banned.
« Reply #25 on: April 18, 2017, 13:19 »
+3
"anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK

Really??  well I am down about 50% since new year and I have a very high commercial value portfolio. Sorry but I dont buy that at all. Everyone I know with quality portfolios are down with the magical 40-50% and none of them are uploading including myself. Whats the point?

« Reply #26 on: April 18, 2017, 14:09 »
+3
"anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK

Really??  well I am down about 50% since new year and I have a very high commercial value portfolio. Sorry but I dont buy that at all. Everyone I know with quality portfolios are down with the magical 40-50% and none of them are uploading including myself. Whats the point?

I'm stating my own experience. You can believe whatever makes you feel happy.

I'm sharing this experience because I'm convinced that a curated collection is beneficial not only for the uploaders, but especially for customers, therefore also for me, indirectly. Even if we are competitors!

So, I'm not sharing the exact amounts, since it can be easy for someone working for my agencies to break my anonymity with a simple database query.
Anyway, I'm attaching a SS screenshot showing the number of digits earned yesterday and so far, today.
I'm also attaching a screenshot showing an approximation of my SS port size (add some videos to that)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyday is as good as these days, but these big sales come regularly and they add up. If that matters, today I also got an EL on FT, yesterday another EL on 123RF, etc.

My microstock income is roughly 2.4 times the minim wage in my state. If before doing microstock I use to get back several thousands after filing my tax return, now I'm the one paying IRS several good thousands in additional taxes >:(

So do your math, and believe what you want!

 8)

« Last Edit: April 18, 2017, 14:13 by Zero Talent »


derek

    This user is banned.
« Reply #27 on: April 18, 2017, 14:42 »
0
"anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK

Really??  well I am down about 50% since new year and I have a very high commercial value portfolio. Sorry but I dont buy that at all. Everyone I know with quality portfolios are down with the magical 40-50% and none of them are uploading including myself. Whats the point?

I'm stating my own experience. You can believe whatever makes you feel happy.

I'm sharing this experience because I'm convinced that a curated collection is beneficial not only for the uploaders, but especially for customers, therefore also for me, indirectly. Even if we are competitors!

So, I'm not sharing the exact amounts, since it can be easy for someone working for my agencies to break my anonymity with a simple database query.
Anyway, I'm attaching a SS screenshot showing the number of digits earned yesterday and so far, today.
I'm also attaching a screenshot showing an approximation of my SS port size (add some videos to that)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyday is as good as these days, but these big sales come regularly and they add up. If that matters, today I also got an EL on FT, yesterday another EL on 123RF, etc.

My microstock income is roughly 2.4 times the minim wage in my state. If before doing microstock I use to get back several thousands after filing my tax return, now I'm the one paying IRS several good thousands in additional taxes >:(

So do your math, and believe what you want!

 8)


Sorry but I dont get it!  I had a single sale the other day just before Easter at SS for 230 dollars and an EL on a saturday of all days but that still dont add up to being a money-spinner and it certainly dont mean its a brilliant site. I am still down about 50%. Four guys I know run what you call a factory with over 100K files and THEY of all people are down 40%.
Anyway if youre happy thats good and thanks for the info. :)

« Reply #28 on: April 18, 2017, 17:12 »
+4
 "Everyone I know with quality portfolios are down with the magical 40-50% and none of them are uploading including myself. Whats the point?" Well if they are not uploading what do they expect....self fulfilling prophecy is the term that springs to mind.

angelawaye

  • Eat, Sleep, Keyword. Repeat

« Reply #29 on: April 18, 2017, 20:35 »
+1
"anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK

Really??  well I am down about 50% since new year and I have a very high commercial value portfolio. Sorry but I dont buy that at all. Everyone I know with quality portfolios are down with the magical 40-50% and none of them are uploading including myself. Whats the point?

Me too. I keep uploading (not as much as before) and it is actually getting worse! I started in 2008. Made good money but I see it is ending even with a high (unique) commercial value port. This is month is looking just awful! I'm wondering how low it can go now ...

« Reply #30 on: April 18, 2017, 21:01 »
+1
anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK.

Exactly! And just to be clear: several means more than a couple ;)

This may shatter a common belief on this forum, but I know what I mean when I say that quality trumps quantity and when I advise people to curate their uploads.

Also to be clear: I have more than a "few hundred", I have almost 1,000!

Are these photos or illustrations?   Either way, you should change your screen name.  You must have talent to make that kind of bank on less than 1k images.

« Reply #31 on: April 18, 2017, 22:10 »
0
anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK.

Exactly! And just to be clear: several means more than a couple ;)

This may shatter a common belief on this forum, but I know what I mean when I say that quality trumps quantity and when I advise people to curate their uploads.

Also to be clear: I have more than a "few hundred", I have almost 1,000!

Are these photos or illustrations?   Either way, you should change your screen name.  You must have talent to make that kind of bank on less than 1k images.

Thanks! I only do photos and some videos.

Zero Talent for illustrations!  ;D

« Reply #32 on: April 19, 2017, 01:36 »
+1
anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK.

Exactly! And just to be clear: several means more than a couple ;)

This may shatter a common belief on this forum, but I know what I mean when I say that quality trumps quantity and when I advise people to curate their uploads.

Also to be clear: I have more than a "few hundred", I have almost 1,000!

I believe it. I don't spend a lot of time curating, but notice some categories sell incredibly well compared to others. I reckon you're contributing in some of those categories. They're very  competitive, but with the right content, you can get multiple downloads per day for some images.

Brasilnut

  • Author Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock & Blog

« Reply #33 on: April 19, 2017, 05:59 »
0
I agree with the above comments and would add that there doesn't appear to be too much thinking behind each of the snapshots leading to subjects which are boring, poor lighting and poor composition. To add insult to injury some of the keywording (as others have pointed out) could improve. One that stood out for me was the "city view from above" and none of the keywords mentioned where the city is!

If you look at the most popular images of Arnhem, the difference is night and day.

https://www.shutterstock.com/search?search_source=base_landing_page&language=en&searchterm=arnhem&image_type=all

Keep going, some of my early stuff is cringe worthy but i'm glad I made an effort to improve.


nicksimages

  • contact : nicksimages.com
« Reply #34 on: April 19, 2017, 07:29 »
0
everyone can get a few sales while his/her images are new on any subject.

To produce images that are downloaded again and again for long periods of time is much harder work.

If you want to get there, you have to improve. A lot.

« Reply #35 on: April 19, 2017, 08:35 »
+2
anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK.

Exactly! And just to be clear: several means more than a couple ;)

This may shatter a common belief on this forum, but I know what I mean when I say that quality trumps quantity and when I advise people to curate their uploads.

Also to be clear: I have more than a "few hundred", I have almost 1,000!

Are these photos or illustrations?   Either way, you should change your screen name.  You must have talent to make that kind of bank on less than 1k images.

Thanks! I only do photos and some videos.

Zero Talent for illustrations!  ;D

 :) Nice pun.

derek

    This user is banned.
« Reply #36 on: April 19, 2017, 09:25 »
0
"anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK

Really??  well I am down about 50% since new year and I have a very high commercial value portfolio. Sorry but I dont buy that at all. Everyone I know with quality portfolios are down with the magical 40-50% and none of them are uploading including myself. Whats the point?

Me too. I keep uploading (not as much as before) and it is actually getting worse! I started in 2008. Made good money but I see it is ending even with a high (unique) commercial value port. This is month is looking just awful! I'm wondering how low it can go now ...

Ha! exactly this is whats happening with long term members the more uploading the less money. I've heard the same from about 20 people being with SS and who joined around the beginning or a few years after.
My theory is that SS looks upon old members as " safe"  they can be screwed around with because theyve invested so much work during so many years that they would never leave or create any noise.


MRommens

« Reply #37 on: April 19, 2017, 13:11 »
0
Thank you all, for you comments about my port!
It is usefull to receive some critism



MRommens

« Reply #38 on: April 19, 2017, 13:17 »
0
I agree with the above comments and would add that there doesn't appear to be too much thinking behind each of the snapshots leading to subjects which are boring, poor lighting and poor composition. To add insult to injury some of the keywording (as others have pointed out) could improve. One that stood out for me was the "city view from above" and none of the keywords mentioned where the city is!

If you look at the most popular images of Arnhem, the difference is night and day.

https://www.shutterstock.com/search?search_source=base_landing_page&language=en&searchterm=arnhem&image_type=all

Keep going, some of my early stuff is cringe worthy but i'm glad I made an effort to improve.
Good point! I thougth that location info was not important (only for editorial)
you are right, my nice city view image must appear in the search results when a customer search on Arnhem (or the Netherlands).

Yesterday i uploaded 2 more Arnhem images (they appear in the Arnhem search results)

« Reply #39 on: April 19, 2017, 13:33 »
0
zero talent, are you based in italy? do you have photos of young people in your portfolio staging a criminal running?

« Reply #40 on: April 19, 2017, 13:34 »
0
If you look at the most popular images of Arnhem, the difference is night and day.

https://www.shutterstock.com/search?search_source=base_landing_page&language=en&searchterm=arnhem&image_type=all


Those are the most popular images of Arnhem? To be honest, I think a lot of those city images on the first page look pretty ordinary. Though I guess some buyers might have a use for them.

« Reply #41 on: April 19, 2017, 13:53 »
0
zero talent, are you based in italy? do you have photos of young people in your portfolio staging a criminal running?

No, I'm US based.

« Reply #42 on: April 19, 2017, 13:58 »
0
ok, there was a guy a while back on shutterstock, based in italy, he had like 500 photos but was making mad money, made like a grand per month, thought that could be you

MRommens

« Reply #43 on: April 19, 2017, 14:24 »
0
Agree with too low commercial value. + I'd add more editing to the photos, more description of titles and more keywords.
What a kind of editing do you mean?

« Reply #44 on: April 19, 2017, 16:07 »
0
ok, there was a guy a while back on shutterstock, based in italy, he had like 500 photos but was making mad money, made like a grand per month, thought that could be you
I think I know that guy. Is this the port you are thinking at?

https://www.shutterstock.com/g/ViewApart


Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


« Reply #45 on: April 19, 2017, 17:14 »
0
yup, good find

angelawaye

  • Eat, Sleep, Keyword. Repeat

« Reply #46 on: April 19, 2017, 20:53 »
0
That guy is good!


« Reply #47 on: April 19, 2017, 21:20 »
0
yup, good find

If I remember well his statements, he is doing 50% better than what I do.

« Reply #48 on: April 24, 2017, 15:49 »
+3
Ever since I've signed up here and probably going forward over the next many years this topic has been an ongoing thing. People complaining about a lack of sales.

When in comes to stock photography or photography in general, or even life in general there's a pretty simple rule: Great work usually gives you great returns. It's really not that complicated.

« Reply #49 on: April 24, 2017, 16:27 »
+1
Normally I don't complain about bad earnings since a) there are so many variances out there and b) my works are not very commercial oriented, so no big expectations from the start. But this month is my worst in the last 24 months, 60% down compared to March '17, and 65% down to April '16. Many days with 0 downloads, sometimes even on workdays. Medium port (1100 images), regular downloads each day and flat to small increases in revenues up until this month. What happened?

I know there were Easter holidays, but not so much as to ruin monthly sales. Anybody else can report something similar this month?

« Reply #50 on: April 24, 2017, 16:34 »
+7
Ever since I've signed up here and probably going forward over the next many years this topic has been an ongoing thing. People complaining about a lack of sales.

When in comes to stock photography or photography in general, or even life in general there's a pretty simple rule: Great work usually gives you great returns. It's really not that complicated.

yes, clever umbrella statement forgetting that the drop people see is sudden and that they did have a steady income, why is my work overnight not so great anymore?

Brasilnut

  • Author Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock & Blog

« Reply #51 on: April 24, 2017, 16:36 »
+1
Quote
I know there were Easter holidays, but not so much as to ruin monthly sales. Anybody else can report something similar this month?

For the past 5 days i've only had subs which is disappointing

« Reply #52 on: April 24, 2017, 19:19 »
0
April is just a lousy month. I was in a growth phase in the previous 2 years and in both years, April showed the slowest growth. If you've been at this for a while, just look at April from the previous years.

May and June showed higher growth and July slows down a bit.

« Reply #53 on: April 25, 2017, 03:36 »
0
If you've been at this for a while, just look at April from the previous years.

That's what I did and reported above, my April 2016 was 65% higher than April 2017 so far, and I also was in a growth mode. Ok, we still have 6 days to go until the end of the month but chances are they won't correct such a slump in sales. More than 50% decrease in sales m-o-m and y-o-y is not normal and outside of ordinary and normal fluctuations, just face it.

derek

    This user is banned.
« Reply #54 on: April 25, 2017, 10:40 »
+2
Ever since I've signed up here and probably going forward over the next many years this topic has been an ongoing thing. People complaining about a lack of sales.

When in comes to stock photography or photography in general, or even life in general there's a pretty simple rule: Great work usually gives you great returns. It's really not that complicated.

Thats what we all thought and phraised. We used to say "the cream will always float to the top" we used to say " quality will always prevail",  well that lasted for about five or six years. Today my friend as you will find out quantity is the name of the game.
Quality among some 300 million files on the Internet. I think you understand.

« Reply #55 on: April 25, 2017, 10:44 »
+2
April is a disaster  >:(

« Reply #56 on: April 25, 2017, 10:51 »
0
i am seeing a turnaround since last thursday, 3 ELs since and a somewhat medium fat SOD. maybe its my turn on the carousel again


« Reply #57 on: April 25, 2017, 14:06 »
0
Ever since I've signed up here and probably going forward over the next many years this topic has been an ongoing thing. People complaining about a lack of sales.

When in comes to stock photography or photography in general, or even life in general there's a pretty simple rule: Great work usually gives you great returns. It's really not that complicated.

yes, clever umbrella statement forgetting that the drop people see is sudden and that they did have a steady income, why is my work overnight not so great anymore?

It's a numbers game and it's controlled by supply and demand. And like any other business in this world you have to stay on top of the game to be relevant. Car companies can't just design a car, put it on the market, lean back and relax till the end of days. Do you think stock photographers can do that?
« Last Edit: April 25, 2017, 14:12 by jacoblund »

« Reply #58 on: April 25, 2017, 14:15 »
+3
that doesn't answer the question and you are missing the point

« Reply #59 on: April 28, 2017, 12:30 »
+2
"anonymous poster claims to make thousands of dollars per month with a few hundred images. OK

Really??  well I am down about 50% since new year and I have a very high commercial value portfolio. Sorry but I dont buy that at all. Everyone I know with quality portfolios are down with the magical 40-50% and none of them are uploading including myself. Whats the point?

I'm stating my own experience. You can believe whatever makes you feel happy.

I'm sharing this experience because I'm convinced that a curated collection is beneficial not only for the uploaders, but especially for customers, therefore also for me, indirectly. Even if we are competitors!

So, I'm not sharing the exact amounts, since it can be easy for someone working for my agencies to break my anonymity with a simple database query.
Anyway, I'm attaching a SS screenshot showing the number of digits earned yesterday and so far, today.
I'm also attaching a screenshot showing an approximation of my SS port size (add some videos to that)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyday is as good as these days, but these big sales come regularly and they add up. If that matters, today I also got an EL on FT, yesterday another EL on 123RF, etc.

My microstock income is roughly 2.4 times the minim wage in my state. If before doing microstock I use to get back several thousands after filing my tax return, now I'm the one paying IRS several good thousands in additional taxes >:(

So do your math, and believe what you want!

 8)


Sorry but I dont get it!  I had a single sale the other day just before Easter at SS for 230 dollars and an EL on a saturday of all days but that still dont add up to being a money-spinner and it certainly dont mean its a brilliant site. I am still down about 50%. Four guys I know run what you call a factory with over 100K files and THEY of all people are down 40%.
Anyway if youre happy thats good and thanks for the info. :)

yes but have a long good look at my stats in the OP!  and this reflects the similarity of a period of three months. It differs in cents!  wouldnt you agree that the odds of this being coincidence are astroniomical, just astronomical. I mean you have to dig really, really deep to come up with some logical mathematical explanation.

You get $230 sale every month, ELs on Saturday? Identical? I wouldn't complain about that, I'd celebrate. Easter was the 16th for those looking at dates and claims.

Well people here is another weirdo week at SS. See what you say about this one.

Monday.  43.56
Tuesday.  41.91
Wednesday. 43.11
Thursday.  43.88
Friday. 42.56

Considering I am down the usual 40% not bad I suppose but Oh dear its just so identical to the past 12 weeks. ;D

Identical to $230 and an EL?

derek

    This user is banned.
« Reply #60 on: April 28, 2017, 13:41 »
0
Ever since I've signed up here and probably going forward over the next many years this topic has been an ongoing thing. People complaining about a lack of sales.

When in comes to stock photography or photography in general, or even life in general there's a pretty simple rule: Great work usually gives you great returns. It's really not that complicated.

yes, clever umbrella statement forgetting that the drop people see is sudden and that they did have a steady income, why is my work overnight not so great anymore?

It's a numbers game and it's controlled by supply and demand. And like any other business in this world you have to stay on top of the game to be relevant. Car companies can't just design a car, put it on the market, lean back and relax till the end of days. Do you think stock photographers can do that?


You have a great port mate! happy people always sell but your execution and processing is spot on!!

« Reply #61 on: April 28, 2017, 22:54 »
+1
April is the new December ::)

« Reply #62 on: April 29, 2017, 06:01 »
0
bad April on shutterstock, almost 40 % down if we look at 2016 April.

« Reply #63 on: April 29, 2017, 09:16 »
0
bad April on shutterstock, almost 40 % down if we look at 2016 April.

good April on shutterstock, more than 40% up if we look at 2016 April.

JimP

« Reply #64 on: May 01, 2017, 08:42 »
0
Downloads count for April 2017 down 3%, earnings up 5% compared to 2016. Isn't that one of the other complaints? Everything is the same?  :)

« Reply #65 on: May 01, 2017, 09:48 »
0
All of a sudden, Shutterstock in April was just nasty.

-45% vs. Mar 2017
-39% vs. Apr 2016



 

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