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

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.

April is a disaster 

Quote from: jacoblund on April 24, 2017, 15:49

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?

Quote from: Zero Talent on April 18, 2017, 14:09

Quote from: derek on April 18, 2017, 13:19

"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!

 

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.

Identical to $230 and an EL?

April is the new December

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.

All of a sudden, Shutterstock in April was just nasty.

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