worst month this year... but somehow i expect that

Close to best month which was May. But I started about a year ago.

Compared to July 2015:
Size of the port: +51%
Income: -8%

During that time I reached top tier. I changed my gears from semi-pro to pro. Quality of my files have definitely increased.

I don't know why I still in this business. 

It sounds like you are at the point where you need to look at macro sites and sell there. It just doesn't make any sense now to invest in better equipment and improve your skills and stay in microstock. 

Best month this year.
I uploaded a new photo (editorial) that sold the day I uploaded it and one or more times a day since then which was nice, though the big jump in earnings came from SOD sales and not that image. It's just nice to see new images selling steadily. My main focus has always been outside microstock, but for certain images, including some American editorial subjects, SS is my best choice for stock.

It sounds like you are at the point where you need to look at macro sites and sell there. It just doesn't make any sense now to invest in better equipment and improve your skills and stay in microstock. 

I started to upload to Alamy and Getty. But I got tired of Alamy's upload system very quickly. I get better RPI and RPD at Getty. But due to some of their rules (cannot delete files, cannot modify keywords, etc.), I hesitate to send them more files.

July turned out to be my 2nd best month this year. But that only happened in the last few days, when 3 large SODs came in. Before that, it was a complete bust. Go figure!

It's the second best month in this year for me as well, but how is it compared to July 2015?

I only do footage and at SS I have had the exact same amount in $ in the last 4 months!
It is really strange, if the month starts well and I reach that sum, then I don't get anymore uploads. If the month starts very poorly, I have a big increase in the last week, just enough to reach the same exact total

Seems SS has become a fixed income source for many 

no big sod, as i said , it disappears almost 2 years ago.
it was as stockastic said, these big sod that rescued us each month from a disaster month.

july, again reach the same download total but earning is 50% less

does that mean ss has decreased the prices per dl ,etc??? can anyone tell me???
how do you reach the same download plateau for the past months
but end up with so much less $$$$ in earnings?

new images? increased upload  but dls is dismal in percentage to what was uploaded.
most of the earnings are from images undiscovered and the usual sellers.
you no longer need to can feed the beast to increase earnings

the mystery is my download number always stay the same (+- 10)
ie. say your dl monthly is 3160 , it comes in total  3158, 3159, 3163,3156,etc..
and they say there is no flip switch???

Worst July since 2014

Diabolical down 50% plus. Have around 22000 files there and I really feel this is it with SS. We keep blaming the search but I am not sure anymore. Could very well be and against all odds they are losing buyers?
Like some others I will also upload much more to Getty.

red-  for many of us , yes ! but still someone(s) keeps saying it's his best month ever

getty? you not fear their no deletion rule???
i am afraid of anything connected to istock,really!!! once beaten twice shy and now ss is
waiting with a pole shoving and lubrication job...

Diabolical down 50% plus. Have around 22000 files there and I really feel this is it with SS. We keep blaming the search but I am not sure anymore. Could very well be and against all odds they are losing buyers?
Like some others I will also upload much more to Getty.

How do you guys upload to Getty?

I'm really glad I'm not alone. July 2016 has been the worst earnings month in several years. June was bad not not as bad as July. I'm bracing myself for August as Monday doesn't seem to be going very well so far ...

The only Macro site I know is Alamy. I took my 3 best sellers off micro and listed them on alamy (exclusive) and not one download yet.

i am looking at the worldwide listing of summer vacation, and it is mostly july to sept.
although we need not to refer to that since here, we are all from around the globe
so we all know when it is vacation time.

we will see if august is still vacation time, or a return to better earnings.
maybe all of you from your country can chime in on this to tell us if you think
ss earnings is down 50% due to summer vacation
or as gyllens says ... losing buyers.

Worst month since 2010.
My sales were already falling steadily but then took a real dive back to almost nothing towards the end of June and haven't picked up again.

I've been doing this since 2008 and never have experienced this kind of downfall - it isn't just a summer month. Looks like I may have to go back to web/graphic design within the year...

Sounds like I'm not alone. I usually make my min. about halfway through the month; but this July I barely squeeked under the wire at the last minute.

Surely people who have been around for years can easily compare to previous Julys / whatever ?

Here is my July yearly comparisons. I showed a steady climb from July to July (except 2009), as long as I was uploading. In 2012, I stopped uploading, so naturally sales would decline. Is the decline solely because I haven't been uploading? I doubt it. I am thinking that the larger drop from 2013 to 2014 is partly because of changes on SS's end, too...you know, the general decline in sales that everyone has been talking about. Glean from it whatever you will.

Quote from: ShadySue on August 01, 2016, 13:38

Surely people who have been around for years can easily compare to previous Julys / whatever ?

Here is my July yearly comparisons. I showed a steady climb from July to July (except 2009), as long as I was uploading. In 2012, I stopped uploading, so naturally sales would decline. Is the decline solely because I haven't been uploading? I doubt it. I am thinking that the larger drop from 2013 to 2014 is partly because of changes on SS's end, too...you know, the general decline in sales that everyone has been talking about. Glean from it whatever you will.

freefall, .. shame!

but the things is , cathy, it's not a decline in sales as you say.
i get the same number of downloads each month . ..but the $ amount drops.
so, ss is not losing sales. it's the $ that ends up in my pocket that keeps dropping
while the sales (downloads) remain consistent.

how do you explain that?  either i am not getting my share of the commissions
or ss is keep a larger part of it. i am lost in figuring the answer.

My July earnings are mostly flat with a smaller modest portfolio. One question I have genuinely been wondering about. Since so many contributors are seeing such a drastic reduction in sales and earnings why is the MSG SS contributor earnings graph line showing a fairly significant spike in earnings for July.

Could it be more newbies reporting sales since SS has dropped their entrance requirements? Or is it that some contributors are doing much better while some are doing worse due to changing search algorithms? Or some other entirely different reason?

freefall, .. shame!

but the things is , cathy, it's not a decline in sales as you say.
i get the same number of downloads each month . ..but the $ amount drops.
so, ss is not losing sales. it's the $ that ends up in my pocket that keeps dropping
while the sales (downloads) remain consistent.

how do you explain that?  either i am not getting my share of the commissions
or ss is keep a larger part of it. i am lost in figuring the answer.

That right there. IMO

Quote from: Brightontl on August 01, 2016, 13:47

Can anybody explain me this theory of constant earnings month after months, regardless of files uploaded or seasonal shifts.
It certainly defies logic. Is the a big brother watching and making sure we earn the same exact amount month after month?
OTOH, what about if someone stop uploading? Will he keep earning exactly the same amount for the rest of his life?

If you look at my chart, the answer is no, if you stop uploading you don't keep earning the same amount for the rest of your life. Unfortunately.

Almost like they put a cap on how much a person can earn, and you never go over that cap. If you do, they jimmy the numbers so it all comes out below your cap and they keep the rest. Of course that sounds like tinfoil hat material when I type it, but frankly I don't have much faith in any large company nowadays. And no one will ever convince me that what I just said IS paranoia, and NEVER happens. Companies cook the books all the time.

- echo - in red
you explain it better than i could.
and no, it's not paranoia
and yes, they do cook the books...

but of course, there will always be someone coming in to tell you it's not true
because there's a little block head / fan boy somewhere in every community 

Worst month since Dec 2012!
Big sudden drop in July 2016, almost 30% less $$$ than June 2016!
There's no natural reason for this! I'm sure SS did some drastic change which resulted in such a great loss of income for most of the contributors in top earning tier! 

I'm up slightly from last July. I've been contributing for 4 years now. BTW, all agencies up marginally from last July except P5 and 123rf. They're down marginally. I shoot a wide range of subject matter.

July 2016 is 22% less then July 2015, and 40% less then July 2014  It very bed!!!



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July 2016 is 22% less then July 2015, and 40% less then July 2014  It very bed!!!



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your best works come with spam in the titles, sorry couldn't resist..  those SS "spammy titles" emails are so fresh in my memory

For me SS had the fewest DLs in July since August of 2011.  Clip sales kept revenue from being a disaster.

I've hardly uploaded anything during the past 1.5 years so that might have something to do with it.

My sales were pretty flat, but I have come to accept this kind of thing from Microstock.  As many out there, I just don't see this as sustainable, but for some reason I keep contributing.  What other marketing can I do with my images that requires so little effort on my part?  Nothing really.

Quote from: angelawaye on August 01, 2016, 12:34

The only Macro site I know is Alamy. I took my 3 best sellers off micro and listed them on alamy (exclusive) and not one download yet.

I hope you have them RF on Alamy and not RM - once you've sold them on the micros you can't sell them as RM on Alamy or anywhere else, because you have no idea how they are being used.  If someone thinks they are getting exclusive use and then they find it all over the place they could sue you.

Not strictly true. You can't have a file RF anywhere and RM on Alamy at the same time, as per the Alamy contract; but an official Alamy rep posted on here that if your file was previously RF, and you remove it from all RF outlets, you can list it RM on Alamy. However, in the very rare occasions that a buyer might want exclusivity, Alamy will contact you and you must inform that it previously sold as RF.

If they are RF on Alamy then you also can sell them on the micros so there is no need to be exclusive.  It is safer to leave your best sellers on the micros and just put new images exclusive on Alamy.  However, I think you will be disappointed at sales volume on Alamy.

Sadly, I have to agree with you about sales volume on Alamy. 

July turned out to be my 2nd best month this year. But that only happened in the last few days, when 3 large SODs came in. Before that, it was a complete bust. Go figure!

and if those sales came a few days later it would have made Aug look better --
this is why comparing this jul to 2015 isn't really meaningful  - when a few SOD,EL make the difference between a good and bad month, the only real way to compare current earnings is by looking at 3 or more months at a time

and using the first few days of a month to predict the month's total is only valid if you have a consistent, stable pattern of sales; for most of us, the pattern is more likely to be a sawtooth than a straight line

for me  this year is about 1% better than 2015, but 2015 was 18% better than 2014,

but my jul comparisons with 2015 and 2014 show  +10% and -15% , since jul 2015 was not a great month and jul 2014 had some particularly good EL sales - so the monthly sales don't track well with yearly averages

comparing 2015 rolling averages for  3 months and 6 months, 2016 shows -7% and +1%
for 2014, the numbers are -1% and +7%

so, while closer, even 3 or 6 mo rolling averages don't predict annual earnings very well - the input data is just too noisy

conclusion -- don't pay a lot of attention to daily or even monthly totals or comparisons, but rather track longer terms trend

and more importantly, YOUR mileage WILL vary

I wrote them and asked them about this though:
"Hello, My name is Angela and I am a contributor. I want to sell some RM exclusive photos but they were once sold as RF on Shutterstock and Dreamstime. Is it okay to delete them from those sites and then list them as RM? Do I have to wait 30 days or anything?

They replied:

"Hi Angela
That wouldn�t be a problem neither there will be a waiting period, you can just delete them immediately from the other sites and upload at Alamy straight away.
Hope this helps.

Cheers
Jaideep
Member Services

So I'm confused now ... I thought if I removed them it was okay ...

They have clearly told you that you can upload them to Alamy as soon as they are removed from all RF sites (be careful, that includes partner sites, and word on msg in the past is that some partner sites can take months and a lot of pursuing before files are removed). Nothing confusing.
I'm actually surprised that they can be sold as RM-exclusive, though. I thought the only advantage of RM-exclusive was that if someone wanted exclusive rights, they wouldn't have to contact you to ask about any previous sales, as they have the record of sales. But that's the word you got, so there you go.

in terms of DLs amount was not too bad ....but in incomes is -50%...but i've to say that i haven't upload good and interesting pictures for a while now...the ones that i expected to sell are selling normally

I've hardly uploaded anything during the past 1.5 years so that might have something to do with it.

I don't think that matters, because (based on my experience) new stuff doesn't sell. Images uploaded two years ago and earlier still do. New ones apparently die the moment they're uploaded.

Quote from: Lana on August 02, 2016, 09:09

Quote from: Tara on August 02, 2016, 08:18

July 2016 is 22% less then July 2015, and 40% less then July 2014  It very bed!!!



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your best works come with spam in the titles, sorry couldn't resist..  those SS "spammy titles" emails are so fresh in my memory

Those was my research in last ten days to try to increase sales. And those are not my best works.


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May be it works. When a word appears multiple times in a title, it may boost the image search ranking under that particular word. That's why SS don't want contributors to spam titles. Aren't you afraid to publicly accept that you spam titles intentionally? SS might be watching. Anyway, best of luck with your research 

gyllens, you are only allowed to remove like 100 per 90 days, so you will be deleting those 3000 images over a span of 7.5 years,

http://www.shutterstock.com/contributorsupport/articles/kbat02/Submitter-Terms-of-Service-version-8

  Right I didnt think of that. They must have changed it somehow I'm sure at one stage you could deactivate files but no more. Oh well then I have little option but to remove 200 of the best sellers over a span of six months then because at the moment any uploading or waiting for a change of the algorithm is futile.

Thanks for the info.

i have read it again, and i think they actually say you can remove 100 images in any 90 day period, so you can remove 33 images per month, still takes you 7.5 years. maybe write them an email asking if you can speed it up. feels like they're holding you for ransom

Actually if you read it, it states:
e. You may remove Content from your account at any time, provided that in any ninety (90) day period, you remove no more than (i) 100 items of Content; and (ii) 10% of your Content, whichever is greater.

good point, i was struggling with that as well, haha

Quote from: Microstockphoto on August 04, 2016, 15:39

gyllens, you are only allowed to remove like 100 per 90 days, so you will be deleting those 3000 images over a span of 7.5 years,

http://www.shutterstock.com/contributorsupport/articles/kbat02/Submitter-Terms-of-Service-version-8

  Right I didnt think of that. They must have changed it somehow I'm sure at one stage you could deactivate files but no more. Oh well then I have little option but to remove 200 of the best sellers over a span of six months then because at the moment any uploading or waiting for a change of the algorithm is futile.

Thanks for the info.

The TOS says you can remove 10% of your content or 100 images in 90 days, whichever is greater, so you should be able to remove 2200 right away, and then wait 90 days to delete the other 800. 

EDIT: I posted this before I saw similar posts - agree the "and" in there is confusing, but IMHO you can delete 2200 right away, and then you'd have to wait 90 days to delete the other 800.