This is where I am reporting on the results of my microstock experiments. It will probably be quite boring unless you are into this sort of thing. To get an overview of my microstock stuff go to my microstock page, and to see how to start, go to my microstock how to start page.
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Some random images from FeaturePics.com |
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I started in July with Dreamstime (DT) and had only a few files up for sale and only a few sales until the end of November when I signed up with Shutterstock (SS) and started uploading more than single digits a month. Every month I made slightly more than the previous month but at this rate it will be a long time before I reach a payout.
After about a month on SS, I passed DT in income at around $20 (with about 40 images)(DT was practically dead in December).
I signed up for iStockphoto (IS).
SS was my top earner, but less than last month without the video sale. I pass 100 images on SS.
DT had a great month with an extended license (EL) sale.
Best Month Ever (BME) overall, with over 100$ in sales.
SS continues to be the best seller, hitting another payout with the most sales in a month so far.
DT wasn't too bad, but without the EL, it was a lot below last month. I pass 100 images on DT.
IS did fairly well with only 30 images by the end of the month.
Overall, another BME.
SS has another pretty good month just shy of a payout thanks to an EL sale. I pass 200 images on SS.
DT has a poor month, frustrating. However I did finally get a payout.
IS does quite well with over twice the income of DT and only 60 images by the end of the month.
I signed up for Featurepics (FP), and made a few sales - looks promising.
Overall, another BME.
SS went down in downloads and income even with another EL sale. Frustrating.
DT is rather poor, especially considering all of the new images.
IS really sells well, doubling DT's income with less than 1/4 the images.
FP Nothing.
Overall another BME, but barely.
SS is back in form with a BME there that is enough for a payout in a single month thanks to a video sale and passing the 500$ total mark moves me from 0.25 to 0.30 per sale (a 20 % raise makes a difference)
DT has another horrible month despite passing 200 images.
IS starts out strong, but then the tap just seems to shut off. less than 1/2 of the previous month (this appears to be due to a change in their search engine). However it was enough to get a payout.
FP Nothing.
Overall, despite strong sales at SS, this is the first month since I have started that the total isn't greater than the previous month.
SS continues to be my top earner with a one-month payout.I pass 300 images there.
DT is ok.
IS is even worse than the previous month. Frustrating.
FP A few sales.
Overall another BME thanks mainly to SS. I passed the 1K total sometime near the end of this month.
Shutterstock continues to be my best seller, with another payout each month. It also appears that perhaps they have tweaked the search slightly to not favor new images quite as much, although that could be just my imagination. I pass 400 images on SS.
Dreamstime Frustrates with really poor sales and lots of rejections,I did crawl up to another payout.
IS picked up nearly to where it was in June (but with over twice as many images) - another payout just after August.
FP one sale.
Overall, BME again.
SS had strong sales plus a video sale for the BME there by a lot.
DT finally had a good month beating IS.
IS dropped again for poor sales. I pass 100 images on IS.
FP one sale.
Overall, a BME by a wide margin.
SS falls a bit, primarily due to almost no uploads I think.
DT falls slightly, but not bad.
IS goes up for a decent month, but still behind DT.
FP Nothing.
I join StockXpert (SXP) and have a few sales with very few images.
Overall it falls a bit, but still above anything before September.
SS drops a lot, not even making payout for the first time since April. I suspect that not having holiday images coupled with very little uploading finally slowed things here.
DT falls down into fairly weak territory behind IS.
IS seems to perk up at the very end of the month. It appears a search engine tweak has turned the tap back on.
FP A few sales.
SXP a few sales.
Overall another drop, but still better than anything before September.
In general, sales were pretty good for the first half of the month, and then they went down (due to holidays most likely). I started toying with vectors, but didn't make a lot of progress.
SS sales dropped the least, or at least continued through the holidays somewhat, the overall monthly total was back up a little bit. I passed 500 images on SS.
DT started out ok, but pretty much stopped for the second half leaving a disappointing total. I passed 400 images on DT.
IS started out very strong, but also plummeted for the second half. I kept my 20 per week queue full and hopefully the new files will increase sales for the future.
FP only a few sales.
SXP, They finally reviewed my new uploads, but not until after the holiday slump, so only a few more sales than last month.
Overall a slight improvement on last month.
The new year started out a bit slowly, but quickly ramped up nicely. BME at a number of sites has lead to a BME overall by quite a bit. I think the work I put in in late November and December, the new camera, and the new pricing scheme at IS have all raised things a bit. Hopefully this happy trend will continue.
SS sales were fairly strong and steady with one EL and 2 video sales (at new reduced prices), BME for income and BME for number of downloads.
DT had sporadic but decent sales with one file reaching level 3 my average per sale was up. only a few $ short of a BME
IS had good sales and higher return due to new higher prices. All of the uploading over the last 2 months seems to be helping too, BME.
FP - one lonely sale
SXP - still very slow review times, but some of the December uploads are selling - BME (although still new)
Overall a BME by a nice margin.
February was a short month, although not as short as it usually is. In any case, things weren't as good as January.
SS BME in terms of number of sales, but with no "special" sales, it wasn't so great for $ (#3 overall).
DT had less sales than last month, and more of them were subscription, so rather disappointing (#4 overall).
IS was pretty good, but not as good as last month #3 overall.
SXP a little better than last month, BME, but lower return per image.
FP one sale, weak.
Overall, #2 return (beat previous #2).
I had high hopes for March, and it did ok, but not as well as I'd hoped. I participated in the "300-600 dl challenge" on SS having been in the middle of that range the previous month. I started out slowly and didn't really pick up steam until the last week. I submitted 100 images of which 78 were accepted there. I also kept the IS queue full. Perhaps the Easter week (and my no Easter images) contributed to the slow sales.
SS A strong finish saved this from being a disaster month here, #4 in DL,#5 for $. I passed 600 images online.
DT sales were sporadic, but BME for $, #2 for total DL. Passed 500 images online.
IS BME in $, tied for #2 in DL (by 1), my first IS EL, maybe all the painful uploading is finally paying off.
SXP BME for DL, but with 1/2 sub sales, the end result was a poor showing. Their reviews were very slow, so most of my new uploads were not reviewed.
FP first month in a while with 0 sales. lame
overall, #2 return with many new images uploaded.
April was a good month with BME overall as well as at each of my biggest 3 sites. I think the start of the month benefited from all of the "challenge" uploading from March. I also uploaded a fair amount this month which helps.
SS: A very strong start with regular uploading led to a strong finish. Week 3 downloads were a bit slower, but I still notched up a BME for DL and total $. One EL and one video sale helped put things over the top.
DT: sales were fairly strong, with a good number of higher $ sales, led to a BME for $, and tied for BME for DL. I had a fairly high acceptance rate, which was nice.
IS: BME in $ and DL, My return per image is falling slightly, but keeping the queue full is increasing my images enough to offset that.
SXP: #3 for DL and #2 for $, with over 300 images, this is pretty disappointing.
FP: 2 sales. better than nothing, but barely moving
overall, BME return with many new images uploaded.
I am looking forward to the price increase at SS and the new subscription model at IS to come into effect in May.
May saw a decrease from April's BME, but not as much as I feared at the midpoint. I managed to pass even 100 numbers of images accepted on all sites. The price increase at SS and the new subscription model at IS came into effect in May, the 10% increase for me at SS makes a difference, but I didn't get any subscription sales at IS.
SS: Much slower than April at the start, but a price increase helped, as well as 5 video sales. It ended up being only a few $ short of a BME. Passed 700 images accepted.
DT: sales were fairly strong at first, but then things slowed down somewhat. Passed 600 images online.
IS: My return per image continues to fall, but keeping the queue full is increasing my images nearly enough to offset that. The subscription program started at the end of the month, but I had no subscription sales. Passed 300 images accepted.
SXP: BME for DL and $. Over 400 images accepted, although the acceptance/rejection seems arbitrary and random by review batch, often nearly 100% acceptance or over 50% rejection.
FP: 2 sales. better than nothing, but barely moving with over 1000 images accepted.
Overall, a number 2 return with many new images uploaded - first I thought it was the start of the summer slump, but since things generally picked up at the end of the month, perhaps it was something else.
June sales were down a bit again, but still decent. Uploads were down a bit too.
SS: Good sales, plus some video subscription sales resulted in a BME for $ (barely) and #2 in DL.
DT: There were some strong sales runs, but some weak runs resulted in a drop.
IS: There was a big drop at IS in the middle of the month which resulted in another drop there.
SXP: Very weak sales at SXP, disappointing.
FP: 1 sale. better than nothing.
Overall, a number 4 return, perhaps this is the start of the summer slump.
July sales were mixed, but still decent. Uploads were down quite a bit too.
SS: decent sales, plus one video subscription sales resulted in a 5th best month. I pass 800 images.
DT: There were some strong sales runs leading to a BME in sales and $.
IS: One EL and sporadic sales produced a 3rd best month at IS, I pass 400 images online.
SXP: 3rd best month at SXP, but with all the new images it was disappointing.
FP: 2 sales. better than nothing.
123RF: a new site, without a lot of time or images I'll reserve judgement.
Overall, a number 4 return (beating last month), DT and IS managed to offset the drop at SS.
August sales were generally lower. I had relatively few uploads too.
SS: Lowest sales since last Nov in number, a few on demand sales and the higher return at least kept me over the payout for the month. Worst month this year.
DT: Not bad, the new pricing and levels seem to be a good thing. I pass 700 images online.
IS: Middle of the road sales at IS.
SXP: BME at SXP, I cancelled subscriptions mid month due to concerns over the Jupiter image licenses and prices. I pass 600 images for sale.
FP: 3 sales. I reached my first payout at FP.
123RF: I am still reserving judgement, but not a total waste of time.
Overall, the second worst month this year, and not too good. Mainly due to a big drop in SS.
Things started out pretty poorly, but I uploaded a fair amount in the second half of the month and I experienced a nice surge of downloads in the last week or so.
SS: A very slow start of the month, but a few OD and a video sale kept things looking ok until the surge at the end of the month brought things up (5th best).
DT: BME, but it seems to start and stop oddly, with a final sub surge at the end.
IS: Another BM change at IS seemed to bring sales to a halt, but a nice surge in the last week (another BM change?) resulted in a BME for return. I sold my first subscription there (a medium for 0.95).
SXP: BME in earnings at SXP, I had subscriptions turned off all month, and got 1 XXL sale.
FP: 4 sales? all in a row = BME (but still not much).
123RF: BME, but with a lot of new files. I am still reserving judgement, but not a total waste of time I hope.
Overall, the end of the month surge with strong showings by the top 3 as well as solid performances at the bottom resulted in a surprise BME by a narrow margin.
Things started out strongly, and I continued uploading throughout the month.
SS: Finally a month with decent sales throughout (lots of uploads at the end of Sept through this month). My first ELs since the price rise helped too. I passed 900 images online. BME by a lot for $, but tied for BME for sales.
DT: BME, with more higher level sales. It still seems to be inconsistent with days of no sales followed by a busy week. BME in $, tied for BME for sales. I pass 800 images online.
IS: BME, Sales were inconsistent here too, but many strong days and few 0 sales days resulted in the BME.
SXP: BME by a squeek. They had problems with a site update. I had subscription on all month, but there were some issues with Photos.com and Jupiter subs sales which were "fixed" with a drawn out buggy fix. BME for $, tied for sales (there are probably a few more sub sales that will be reported in Nov). I pass 700 images online.
FP: 2 sales.
123RF: BME, but with a lot of new files, the RPI went down a lot. I am still reserving judgement, but not a total waste of time I hope. I get 600 images online.
Overall, a very strong performance at SS with strong showings everywhere else resulted in a definitive BME.
Not a bad month, except for IS. I uploaded fairly regularly throughout.
SS: decent sales throughout the month and near the end I managed to move up to the next level (.36 per regular DL now). However I wasn't able to match last months fantastic levels either in DL totals or $ (only one video, no EL's) # 4 for $
DT: sales continue to be sporadic, but the return per sale is slowly inching up. A decent month.
IS: The BM change near the end of Oct and any subsequent changes hammered me. Sales dropped over 50% down to levels not seen since last year. IS came in behind DT and SXP for the first time in ages for DT and ever for SXP. In fact I made more money in my 3rd full month on IS with under 10% of the total images online.
SXP: BME by a long shot. Lots of sub and regular downloads plus one higher priced Photos.com pay per download put SXP above DT and IS for the first time. Some of the DL recorded in this month were from October.
FP: 3 sales including one full sized panoramic for a BME (better than 123RF).
123RF: BME, but just barely. I have gotten most of my 2008 back images up there. I have over 700 images online.
Overall, a strong performance everywhere but IS resulted in a #2 month.
Not a bad month over all, especially the first 2.5 weeks before the usual holiday slowdown. The image that seemed to sell the best, especially at SS was one of fireworks. I uploaded fairly regularly except for the last 10 days or so.
SS: not all that good a total number of DL (3rd worst for the year) - because things dropped off a lot after the 23rd, but settlement from an illegal use of image (calendar), higher return, as well as OD and a video sale made it the second best for $. I pass 1000 images online at SS.
DT: sales were quite strong for the first half of the month and continued sporadically to result in a BME for $, and a middling month for DL.
IS: It appears that they slowly fixed some of the BM problems, but not until the holiday slowdown was well into effect. I still almost equaled last month in the first half of this month. Lots of smaller sales this month for a slightly below average return compared to the rest of the year (which is much poorer return per image than last year.
SXP: #2 for return, not a bad month at all despite a drastic slowdown at the end.
FP: 1 sale at the end to keep from getting a goose egg.
123RF: slightly below previous months, sales seemed more sporadic.
Overall, a strong performance at DT and SS and some recovery at IS helped result in a #2 month.
Overall I submitted enough images to just about double my portfolio, and depending on acceptances I did about that everywhere. I also started uploading to 123 RF and quickly got most of my more recent photos submitted there. I didn't quite double my total income from 2007 to 2008, but it was close, with SS and DT the main sites falling short. As usual I had some breaks submitting images while I was out on adventures, but none of them were long enough to really drop earnings much, and at least DT continued to steadily increase as they raised prices and levels throughout the year.
My biggest disappointment this year was IS where I kept my upload queue full almost the entire year and greatly increased my number of images there (from 172 to 536). My RPI continued to fall but the new images generally kept the income heading upwards until a drastic BM change at the end of Oct that really crushed sales and dropped my income back to below where it was with less than 10% of the number of images. Hopefully they have gotten away from this latest change and earnings can rise back up more in line with my total number of images.
Not a bad month over all. I uploaded fairly regularly except for the last 10 days or so when I wasn't able to get to the internet easily.
SS: a really poor total number of DL (I have to go back to May 2007 for a lower month) - but the total return wasn't too bad because of the higher return, some video sales, on EL, and the OD sales.
DT: sales were quite strong resulting in a BME for $, and DL.
IS: It appears that some of the sales are coming back, but slowly - about average for last year.
SXP: #2 for return, not a bad month at all although a lot more of the sales were subscription.
FP: 1 sale.
123RF: Sales are picking up, BME for sales and $..
Overall, a strong performance at DT and ok at SS and some recovery at IS with no serious decreases helped result in a #2 month.
February is a short month, but I still got my second best total. This is mainly due to an EL at IS and DT.
SS: a lot more DL - but the total return was lower because almost all were Sub sales.
DT: sales were quite strong resulting in a BME for $, the one EL made a big difference. I pass 900 images.
IS: It wasn't a particularly good month except for one day with 8 sales including a big EL. The total was less than 1$ short of a BME.
SXP: Lower than the previous 3 months for return, with even more subscription sales, mainly at Jupiter.
FP: 1 sale.
123RF: Sales are slowly picking up, BME for sales and $. I pass 900 images.
Overall, a strong performance with ELs at DT and IS and ok at SS resulting in a #2 month.
Not bad, but down a bit from Feb without the ELs. 1.48X March 2008 sales.
SS: Less DL - but the total return was higher because of more higher value sales. I pass 1100 images online.
DT: sales were quite strong resulting in a number 2 for $. Especially good considering the previous month had an EL.
IS: It wasn't a particularly good month. RPI continues to drop here although it was the most sales in the last 5 months. I pass 600 images online.
SXP: Lower than the previous 4 months for return, with even more subscription sales. I pass 1000 images online.
FP: 2 small sales.
123RF: Number 2 month for sales and $.
Overall, a strong performance at DT and SS and ok at the others resulting in a #3 month.
Not bad considering I spent most of my time out and about and not uploading pics, but down a bit more for the lowest month of the year.
SS: Less DL - a lot less DL 100 less than any month this or last year - but the total return wasn't a total disaster because of on EL and decent OD sales.
DT: sales weren't bad resulting in a number 3 for $.
IS: It wasn't a particularly good month except for week three when BM 2.0 went live. This gave me false hopes.
SXP: decent return, with even more subscription sales. I pass 1000 images online.
FP: a goose egg.
123RF: worst month of the year for $, but not by much.
Overall, poor performance at SS and a decent performance at DT, SXP, and IS and ok at the others resulting in about a #7 month.
May had a lot of weekends and a few holidays which probably didn't help. In addition I didn't upload a lot of images. The trend continues down a bit more for the lowest month of the year, big drops at SS and DT but a nice jump at IS for a BME there.
SS: Less DL - a lot less DL I have to go back to 2006 with less than 100 images for a month with less total downloads. A few OD and a video sale kept it from a complete disaster. Still, pretty sad and SS dropped into number 2 position for a full month for the first time.
DT: sales numbers were ok, but the return per sale dropped a lot for a disappointing showing. (too many sub and extra small sales) lowest month of the year for $.
IS: BM 2.0 seems to be allowing my files to be found, this was by far my BME for $ here, and IS was number one for the month for the first time.
SXP: Almost my worst month of the year. Lots of sub sales.
FP: One sale - just puttering along.
123RF: 3rd best month of the year for $, but almost second.
Overall, poor performance at SS, DT, SXP, and BME at IS resulted in a number 8 month.
June was a good month, My BME. Mainly due to a lot of ELs at SS and a BME at IS
SS: not a lot of DL - but more ELs than ever before. This put my monthly results at #1 for the year and #2 ever.
DT: sales were 2cd worst for year.
IS: BME for $ and sales here, nice.
SXP: worst month of the year for $ and sales.
FP: nada.
123RF: 2cd best month of the year for $ but close to 3 and 4.
Overall, good high end sales at SS, and a BME at IS resulted in a BME.
July showed a big drop from June's BME. IS seems back to normal and SS continues to have less sales than it used too.
SS: not a lot of DL - levels this year are more like bad months in 2007 than 2008, luckily higher $ sales do happen.
DT: pushed last month out of the second worst for year slot - poor.
IS: back to ok - #4 for year.
SXP: #2 for the year for $ and sales.
FP: nada again.
123RF: down a lot for $ and dl - worst month of the year.
Overall, poor to mediocre performances everywhere resulted in my worst month for the year so far
Another drop to a new worst month of the year - still better than August 2008. DT announced lowering commissions, and FP lowered theirs too - a sad and worrying trend.
SS: The most DL in 4 months, but not a lot of higher $ sales so $ totals were poor.
DT: Poor sales and low RPD mean the worst month of the year. A few last minute sales saved it from being really really horrible though
IS: Just slightly worse than last month, with a lot more sales. #2 in sales and #5 in $.
SXP: Worst month of the year for $ and sales.
FP: one sale.
123RF: tied for 3rd in dl and second to worst in sales.
Unfortunately I passed last month for a new worst month of the year. The trend seems to be lower returns per downloads with more sub and smaller sized sales.
It seems like the summer slump is over.
SS: 5th best of the year (or 5th worst), but more in the upper tier with one EL.
DT: Back up to 4th best for year. They have changed the commisions a bit there, but it is too early to tell how much it will hurt.
IS: BME for $, tied for sales - ahead of SS for most of the month, one EL. I pass 700 images here. Some images that have been dead for months are starting to sell again.
SXP: BME for $ and sales.
FP: nothing.
123RF: Worst month for $, #4 for downloads - lots of subs. I hit 1100 images here.
With 2 BME and good performance by SS and DT this is my 3rd best month just a bit behind Sept 2008. The 2 ELs helped a lot.
On news that SS has acquired Bigstockphoto I sign up there, but only upload a few files by the end of the month and don't have any sales.
Middling - #5 for the year, so a bit disappointing
SS: #2 for downloads but 4th worst of the year for $ with very little higher priced downloads and lots of regular sub sales.
DT: Down to 5th best for year. The return per sale was up a bit but the number of sales down.
IS: down to 4th for $, it seemed sort of off and on.
SXP: #2 for $ behind last month's BME.
FP: nothing.
123RF: #2 for $, #1 for downloads - lots of subs.
BSP: 1 sale - still getting started there
Somewhat disappointing as last Oct was my best month of 2008, but still ok.
Poor - #3 worst for the year, so disappointing.
SS: #4 for downloads and $ with an EL and a fair number of OD sales, especially at the end of the month. I pass 1300 images.
DT: Down to worst for the year for $ and #. The return per sale and the number of sales were both way down.
IS: down to 3rd worst for $ and 6th worst (or best) for #, it seemed sort of off and on, but mostly off for the end of the month.
SXP: #3 worst for $ and lowest for DL (I suppose that means less subs). They finally pulled the plug on photos.com sales, which cut the subs revenue a lot. Also the owners are now funneling other traffic to IS, not SXP. I pass 1200 images.
FP: one sale.
123RF: #6 for $, tied for #3 for downloads - lots of subs. It also seemed to dry up at the end.
BSP: 3 sales - still getting started there
SS was the one bright spot, but still disappointing as last Nov was my third best month of 2008, and I did worse this year but still ok.
I was pretty active in the beginning of the month with good sales. As usual, sales dropped off dramatically before Christmas for the rest of the month. The start of the month was good though.
SS: #2 for downloads and 3 for $.
DT: #1 for $ and #6 for downloads. The return per sale was up a lot. I pass 1100 images online.
IS: #4 for $ and #5th DL.
SXP: worst for $ and lowest for DL. It looks like it is getting killed.
FP: 2 sales.
123RF: #3 for $, tied for #10 for downloads - not very many subs. It also seemed to dry up at the end. I pass 1200 images.
BSP: 5 sales - still getting started there
Overall it was my 3rd best month of the year and 4th of all time.
Overall did better in 2009 than 2008, but SS and FP were lower.
I went out of the country in early Jan for a few months and didn't upload or even check stats for a while.
SS: Just below average for a 2009 month, but more downloads.
DT: Well above the 2009 average. The new higher DT pricing combined with new levels helped. I don't think the commisions have been lowered completely yet.
IS: Below the average for 2009.
SXP: Much better than Dec, with a fair number of higher priced sales.
FP: 2 sales.
123RF: A big drop.
BSP: 10 sales - it looks like it is picking up.
Overall it was just barely above the average for 2009.
Once again I was out of the country and did not do anything. February is a short month, so less days for sales.
SS: Just below average for a 2009 month, but more downloads.
DT: Slightly below January.
IS: Slightly below January.
SXP: Ok sales before they pulled the plug on this site.
FP: 6 sales - more than the last 11 months of 2009 - a nice surprise.
123RF: Slightly above January.
BSP: 6 sales - maybe it isn't picking up after all.
Overall it was below the average for 2009.
I returned from abroad and started uploading around the middle of the month.
SS: Pretty good download numbers plus 2 ELs made this a good month. I pass 1400 images online.
DT: An ok number of downloads, but lots of subs and extra smalls resulted in an RPD (return per download) of .90 and a poor month.
IS: A good number of sales and one EL made this a good month. I pass 800 images online.
SXP: RIP I won't get any more sales or report on this site anymore
FP: 1 small sale - I guess Feb was just a fluke.
123RF: Slightly above the average for last year. I hit 1200 images online.
BSP: 13 sales - and a BME there (for what it is worth).
Strong sales at SS and IS made this a good month overall.
Not such a good month - possibly due to Easter and spring break.
SS: Pretty good download numbers and a decent amount of OD sales, but no EL or video sales - 2cd best for $ for the year, #3 for DL.
DT: BME for DL #, lots of subs and extra smalls and level one sales (now get 30%) resulted in another low RPD (return per download) and a poor month.
IS: A good number of sales.
FP: 1 small (tiny) sale.
123RF: decent #, but poor $.
BSP: back down again, but I pass 700 images online.
Overall decent sales at SS and IS, but not as strong as last month. WM of the year so far and it would be the second worst month last year.
Not such a good month - possibly due to lots of weekends among other things.
SS: Pretty good download numbers and a decent amount of OD sales, and 2 video sales.
DT: Down all over, really poor with long gaps of no downloads and plenty of subs and extra smalls and level one sales resulted in another low RPD (return per download) and a poor month.I pass 1,200 images online.
IS: sales numbers and totals were down, although I had one good week. I was projected to go up a level, but came up short.
FP: 2 sales.
123RF: a very poor month.
BSP: really poor this month, but I pass 900 images online.
Veer: started in with their "dash for cash" program - almost no views and no sales though.
Overall decent sales at SS and ok IS, everywhere else was either really bad or insignificant.
WM of the year so far.
Not a good month, although I uploaded a good number and bought a nice new lens to play with (100mm F2.8 macro)
SS: Pretty good download numbers and a few OD sales, and 2 video sales = not so great $, but ok. I pass 1500 images online
DT: DL # way down, bringing the RPD back up to a good level, but overall a very poor showing - WM of the year.
IS: Started out really badly for the first 1/2 of the month. The second 1/2 was ok, but the final results were a WM of the year (barely). I did advance to "silver cannister" meaning I can upload another 5 a week now. Another 7500 downloads and I'll be gold (and going exclusive could conceivably start to make some sense).
FP: 1 sale.
123RF: A good start to the month, but then an ok ending, 2cd best for year. I pass 1300 images online.
BSP: Sporadic, but much better than last month's pathetic showing. I pass 1000 images online.
Veer: I managed to upload a lot of images under the "dash for cash". Hopefully many of those will be accepted once they work their way through the queue. I did start getting views and even a few sales in the last week.
Overall the small players came back a bit more, but not enough to overcome the drop at SS or the pathetic showing at DT. WM of the year so far.
Finally a good month, even though I was mostly playing for the second half (which was good too)
SS: Tied for best DL of the year and #2 $ for the year. One EL, 2 video, and some OD sales really helped.
DT: DL # second worst for the year and the $ number 3 for the year. I pass 1300 images online.
IS: Good, especially with an EL to spice things up. Tied for # 2 in dl for the year and #1 for $ in fact it is my BME there for $.
FP: 2 sales.
123RF: tied for worst for the year in DL, second worst in $.
BSP: 4th worst in DL, 3rd worst in $.
Veer: I managed to upload a lot more images under the "dash for cash". Hopefully many of those will be accepted (400 so far, so I am in the money there). A few sales.
Overall SS and IS had good showings and DT wasn't completely in the basement. The result was my BM for the year and # 4 in all time.
Not as good as July.
SS: 2cd worst for year so far in $ and DL. I pass 1600 images online.
DT: DL # third worst for the year and the $ number 3 for the year.
IS: Back down to blah. Worst Dl and 2cd worst in $.
FP: 4 sales.
123RF: best of year in $ and DL.
BSP: Tied for second in $ and DL.
Veer: A few more "Dash for cash" images have been accepted, but more are still in the queue. A few more sales (about the BSP level).
Overall the good returns at BSP and 123RF were easily offset by poor showings at the bigger sites. The result was # 5 for the year.
Another pretty good month.
SS: best month for year so far in $ but not DL. #3 month ever in $ . Two EL sales and lots of OD sales make it so.
DT: DL # is ok and the $ is second worst for the year. The RPD plummets due to lots of subs and other low priced sales.
IS: The numbers were about the same blah as last month except for one EL makes it a good month here. They make some horrible announcements and I stop uploading. Basically next year my commission percent will drop to 16%, which is quite a bit lower than their already painfully and insultingly low 20%.
FP: 7 sales, second best for the year - beating BSP and Veer sales.
123RF: 3rd best of year in $ but much lower for dl.
BSP: Tied for second in DL, but 6th in $.
Veer: They finally finished the Dash for Cash reviews and if I include this it makes this easily the BME (by a factor of 3) otherwise sales weren't very good.
Overall the good returns at SS and IS were enough to lift this to a good month (#3 for the year). If I include the VR dash for Cash it is easily my all time BME. I am not sure how to deal with those though. The announcement by IS was very troubling and frustrating though. I can only hope that many buyers leave them for places that offer a decent % to the artists.
An ok month.
SS: #5 $ but #8 for DL. #3 month ever in $ - Mostly OD dl made things decent.
DT: DL # is ok but the RPD is a bit better making it #4 for $ for this year.
IS: The DL numbers were about the same blah as last month , but no EL so #8 for the year.
FP: 4 sales.
123RF: 3rd best of year in $. I pass 1400 images online.
BSP: Second in DL, but 6th in $. I pass 1100 images online.
Veer: Not bad - beating 123, BSP, and FP.
Overall it was the 5th best month of the year, but a little disappointing.
2 agency BME and other decent returns yields a BME (the first since June 2009).
SS: BME for $, but a fair bit off of my BME for DL back in 2008. ELs, videos, and OD made it up. An especially strong start to the month really kicked things off well. I pass 1700 images online
DT: DL tied for #3 $ were #3 for $ for this year. I pass 1400 images online.
IS: Slightly up $ were at #4 for the year, sales totals update only sporadically there now.
FP: BME for FP with an EL sale and some others early in the month, nothing later. Still this site was #4 this month. NICE.
123RF: 5th best of year in $, BMY for DL.
BSP: Tied for second in DL, but tied for first in $.
Veer: disappointing, my lowest site this month #2 for sales, #4 for $.
Overall it was the best month of the year and BME for me (not counting the Dash for Cash $)
Quite good until the 23rd, then pretty slow but an ok month overall.
SS: 5th best for $ and 6th for DL. Considering the slow end of the month and no ELs, not bad.
DT: DL were #3, $ were #5 for $ for this year. About average for there.
IS: Slightly down, $ were at #4 for the year, sales totals update only sporadically there now and there are many other site issues.
FP: BME for FP with an even better EL sale and some others. This site was #2 this month (at least partly because the other sites were pretty average - weak. NICE for FP.
123RF: 9th best of year in $, 7th for DL. Disappointing.
BSP: Tied for second worst in DL, but 9th in $.
Veer: disappointing, my lowest site this month worst full month for sales, #5 for $.
Overall it was an ok end to the year thanks to the EL at FP.
Best year so far for total $.
SS had more $ and DL than 2009, and more $ but less DL than 2008. Lots of OD sales help a lot.
DT started out well but then the commission reduction hit and brought everything down a lot. Things have come back to a slightly higher level but still below 2009 levels but above 2008.
IS started out ok and improving slightly 'til they made their announcements of commission cuts and I stopped uploading. Since then things have been a bit lower. Slightly below 2009 but well above 2008.
FP 2 EL sales the last months really helped things out here, otherwise slow but fairly steady. Much better than 2009 or 2008, but 2009 was lower than any other year there.
SXP was killed off by Getty in Feb - sad. I miss the revenue there.
123RF was worse than 2009 but better than 2008 in DL and $.
BSP - this was the first full year there, not very good.
Veer half a year. Pretty low for DL and $ except for the Dash for Cash which was quite good.
Overall the download revenue was slightly down from 2009 (less than the SXP amount for a good month would have been though) but the Veer DFC made it greater. I produced somewhere over 400 images to upload to the sites, more than the 330 I made in 2009 and less than the nearly 700 I produced in 2008.
Hopefully in 2011 FP can continue to get ELs, DT can recover some momentum, SS can continue to grow, and 123, BSP, and Veer can get going. I don't have a lot of hope for IS since they seem committed to lowering commissions to new lows. I'd like to see their buyers go somewhere that pays us reasonably.
Started out a bit slow but then picked up a bit by the end, especially at SS.
SS: No ELs or video sales but more DL than any month since Nov 2008 (perhaps because I uploaded a lot of new images?) and a pretty good $ return (would have been 4th best of 2010). I pass 1800 images for sale.
DT: One of my worst months here in a while, low sales, low RPI. I pass 1500 images for sale.
IS: The new lower royalties kicked in the 11th. IS has been plagued with site problems. a lousy month with no real optimism there although a flurry of sales the last 2 days saved it from being the worst month in ages.
FP: No ELs but a few decent sales.
123RF: not bad.
BSP: Pretty poor (my lowest site this month).
Veer: It picked up again with an EL and some other sales - BME here not counting the DFC.
Overall it was an ok start to the year thanks to SS, 123RF, and Vr but it is sad to see the commission cuts at IS (and at Fotolia too - one of the reasons I don't submit there). Hopefully it isn't the start of the second round of commission cuts.
A good month in general, especially at SS.
SS: No ELs or video sales but more DL than any month since Nov 2008 beating Jan 2011 and a pretty good $ return (my 3rd best month of all time here).
DT: Nearly double January for $, back on track.
IS: Up marginally from January.
FP: Another EL makes it a good month.
123RF: BME for $.
BSP: better than Jan.
Veer: BME here not counting EL sales or the DFC.
Overall it was a good month, my second best ever. I also started submitting to CSP, so hopefully that will contribute. It seems that perhaps maybe just maybe this business is coming out of the recession doldrums (or my hard work is starting to pay off?)
BME!, especially at SS.
SS: BME beating my previous high of Nov 2010, 2cd best for DL (to Oct 2008)
DT: BME, for sales and $ with a high RPD. Beat out my previous high of Dec 2009.
IS: Up marginally again, really slow and random these days.
FP: Worst month there in a while, but still a few DL.
123RF: BME for $ pushing the bar up a little higher.
BSP: Down a touch from Feb.
Veer: Down a bit, but decent.
Overall it was a very good month, my best ever in fact. IS seems to be the one dark spot on this month, but hopefully their customers are finding my stuff elsewhere.
Another good month.
SS: A good month, with a late EL pulling things up. 3rd best month ever, 2cd for year.
DT: Started out well but then stalled in the second half. #3 for $ and DL for year.
IS: Down down down... I made more my 3rd full month at IS.
FP: A bad month compared to the last half year or so.
123RF: BME for $ pushing the bar up a little higher (thanks to an EL).
BSP: Started out really poorly but a last minute EL and a few sales made it a BME.
Veer: Some big sales (EL) made it a BME (not counting DFC).
Overall it was a very good month, with SS and Veer doing very well. DT started strong and fizzled but a number of the smaller sites had nice last minute surges to compensate. Once again IS seems to be the one really dark spot on this month, but I am hopeful that their customers are finding my stuff elsewhere.
Another good month - in fact a BME.
SS: A BME, with 2 ELs, a video sub and a good number of OD sales.. Actually it was the lowest month in the year for number of sales, but I'll take it.
DT: 2cd best for the year.
IS: Almost twice what last month was for the best month of the year. The addition of P+ sales helped.
FP: A horrible month compared to the last half year or so.
123RF: Second best for year for $, BME for DL (lots of low sales).
BSP: ok for BSP
Veer: A big drop from the previous few months and worst month of the year.
CSP (canstockphoto) - a relatively new site but better than BSP and Veer this month.
3ds (the 3d studio) another newcomer for me but pretty good sales.
GL (Graphic Leftovers) another newcomer for me - not great sales, but it helps.
Overall it was a BME, with SS doing very well and DT and IS also helping out with the smaller sites contributing as well.
Another good month, especially if the summer slowdown has started.
SS: A good month (3rd best for year).
DT: 2cd best for the year, not bad at all.
IS: Coasting along -4th for year but second lowest for DL #.
FP: back up to ok levels.
123RF: BME for $ and DL - nice.
BSP: decent for BSP - #2 for year.
Veer: Just barely above the horrible May.
CSP (canstockphoto) - Not so great this month.
3ds (the 3d studio) just one sale this month.
GL (Graphic Leftovers) another newcomer for me - a nice run one day made this one decent (BME for what it is worth).
Overall it was the 3rd best month of the year, with SS doing very well and DT and IS and 123RF also helping out with some of the smaller sites contributing as well.
BME = a good month
SS: BME with 3 EL lots of OD and plenty of regular downloads, very nice.
DT: 2cd worst for the year - a low number of sales and a relatively low RPD.
IS: A good month due to 2 good ELs - otherwise dismal.
FP: pretty low.
123RF: 3rd worst for year - not bad.
BSP: decent for BSP - #2 for year.
Veer: another slight improvement for 3rd worst month of the year.
CSP (canstockphoto): - 2cd best for the year - I guess that's good.
3ds (the 3d studio): no sales this month.
GL (Graphic Leftovers): an EL makes for a BME here.
Overall it was a BME, with SS doing very well and IS and GL also helping out with some of the smaller sites contributing as well.
BME = another good month
SS: 2nd best month with 3 EL lots of OD and plenty of regular downloads, very nice.
DT: 3rd best for the year for $ but most downloads ever - lots of level 0 and sub sales.
IS: low sales, especially in the middle of the month - 2nd worst for year. They also dropped another announcement in the form of an ASA - all non exclusive files will be moved to PP sites.
FP: back up to ok levels.
123RF: 2cd worst for year, but still not bad.
BSP: decent for BSP - #2 for year.
Veer: BME except for the DFC with some larger EL sales.
CSP (canstockphoto): - A slight improvement on last month.
3ds (the 3d studio): no sales this month.
GL (Graphic Leftovers): another EL makes for a good month (tied to BME).
Overall it was my BME thanks to SS and DT as well as strong sales at Veer and GL. I'll probably delete most of IS next month.
BME = an even better month
SS: 3rd best month with 2 EL lots of OD and plenty of regular downloads. I pass 2,000 images on SS.
DT: BME for $ but #2 for DL - It was very bimodal with low and sub sales and larger higher level sales. My highest RPD for the year, nearly double last month.
IS: 3rd best month of the year for $ but tied for 2cd worst for DL. Mostly it was just one good week. I deactivated most of my images before the new ASA took effect at the end of the month, so I probably won't get many sales there ever again unless they change their ways.
FP: pretty weak.
123RF: 3rd best for year.
BSP: #2 for $ and DL.
Veer: #2 for $ - mostly due to EL sales. They floated a low subs plan with EL subs and then changed it to a much more palatable system thanks to artists input - much much nicer than istock.
CSP (canstockphoto): BME - nice.
3ds (the 3d studio): no sales this month.
GL (Graphic Leftovers): a few sales, ok, but much less than the last few months. I pass 1,000 images online.
Alamy - supposedly a higher cost site - I had one sale for a decent amount (on the order of an EL). I also uploaded a lot more of my stuff here (passing 1,000), so hopefully things pick up a bit.
Overall it was my BME thanks to strong sales at SS, DT, IS, and Veer as well as strong sales at 123RF and CSP.
Another BME = an even better month
SS: BME for $ with 5 ELs! lots of OD and plenty of regular downloads.
DT: Very low DL but decent RPD so #5 for year. My highest RPD ever for DT.
IS: Pretty low with only 49 images left.
FP: Ok for them -3rd for year.
123RF: Low for the year, but not by much.
BSP: #5 for year.
Veer: BME for $ - mostly due to EL sales.
CSP (canstockphoto): pretty poor #6 for an incomplete year.
3ds (the 3d studio): no sales this month.
GL (Graphic Leftovers): a few sales, ok - 4th for a short year.
Alamy - My first triple digit sale - nice BME.
Overall it was another BME thanks to strong sales at SS, Veer, and Alamy as well as decent sales at DT and the others except for IS which is "dead to me".
Another good month
SS: BME for $ and DL (last BME for DL was 10-2008) lots of OD and plenty of regular downloads and a few ELs - very nice.
DT: #2 for the year (and all time).
IS: Maybe only 3 sales - the site is so bug ridden I can't tell for sure.
FP: Pretty poor - 3rd worst for the year.
123RF: #5 for the year, but not bad.
BSP: #2 for year.
Veer: 3rd for the year, not bad.
CSP #2 for the year - nice.
3ds (the 3d studio): no sales this month.
GL: Only a few sales - pretty poor.
Alamy - a few sales - so not bad.
Overall it was my second best month (although it would be a BME if you didn't count Alamy sales). SS continues to crank, although it is mostly with older images. DT, Veer, Alamy, and CSP all had pretty good months. In other news I applied to PhotoDune and started with their confusing upload process but I haven't gotten anything up there yet. IS continues to jump the shark, but they did port the first of my pics to Thinkstock. I didn't upload many images because I was busy with other things.
Another good month, especially considering the holidays.
SS: down a bit from the previous 2 months, especially in the EL department.
DT: A big drop - 3rd worst for the year.
IS: Plenty of bugs - a few sales.
FP: Ok.
123RF: BME for $.
BSP: BME for $ and dl.
Veer: 6th for the year, but still pretty good.
CSP #4 for the year, but disappointing after a strong start.
3ds (the 3d studio): no sales this month.
GL: Only a few sales - pretty poor.
Alamy - BME by a long shot with a number of sales including my largest ever.
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Overall it was my second best month. SS continues to do well. Alamy had a very good month. BMEs at 123RF and BSP were nice. Overall sales were quite good considering the month.
In 2011 I joined a number of new sites and greatly increased my uploads to Alamy. Some of the new sites appear to be doing better than others - GL seems to have the most promise. Alamy came on strong towards the end of the year and hopefully that trend continues.
This year saw the further implosion of IS as far as I am concerned. They had numerous site bugs, continue to bring in non-IS content and push it to the front of the searches, They push Independant content down in searches, and forced a new Artists Supply Agreement to move content into their Partner Program - This was the straw that got me to deactivate some 90% of my port there. I will miss the sales, but not the constant drama let alone the second or third class citizen treatment I get there. Hopefully IS can change their ways, but my expectations are awfully low.
In terms of revenue and percentage for 2011 the sites are ranked: (percentage rounded to the nearest %)
SS 46%
DT 14%
IS 10%
VR 9%
Alamy 6%
123RF 6%
CSP 2%
BS 2%
GL 2%
FP 1%
3ds*
SF*
PD*
*= pretty insignificant
January started slowly but picked up steam to end up decently.
SS: 2 ELs at the end of the month brought things up nicely - 4th best ever.
DT: Not many sales, but a good RPI made for a good month at D - also 4th best ever.
IS: One big EL sale made things look pretty good here - otherwise marginally better than the miserable sales I get there now.
FP: Picked up a bit, I also had a stack of refunded sales.
123RF: BME for $ and dl.
BSP: OK for BSP.
Veer: BME for DL but pretty low for $ total (the new subs plan probably has something to do with this).
CSP Pretty low.
3ds: One sale.
GL: No sales here. Sad.
Alamy - Pretty good (my 3rd best site this month). Also enough sales managed to clear so I got my first payout here. Hopefully the work I have done getting images up here will continue to pay off.
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Overall it was my third best month. SS continues to do well. DT and Alamy had good months. A BME at 123RF was nice and IS made a decent contribution. Overall sales seem to have reached a new higher plateau - hopefully I can build on that in 2012.
February started with a bang but then tapered a bit. Still it was a BME.
SS: BME and BDE (3 ELs in a day really kick things up). Things slowed down the last week.
DT: A good month, in fact my 3rd best there.
IS: Blah.
FP: Decent for them.
123RF: A good month for sales but they announced they will drop commissions for most with a redeemed credit plan in 2013.
BSP: OK for BSP.
Veer: BME for $ and DL.
CSP A bigger sale at the end brought it to good.
3ds: nothing.
GL: pretty Sad.
Alamy - a few sales - so good, but not as good as some recent months.
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PD (Photodune) pretty good sales - beating Bsp this month.
Overall it was my Best Month Ever. SS and Veer led the charge with strong performances by DT, Alamy, 123RF.
March wasn't as exciting as Feb was, but the returns were solid - especially considering the minimal uploading I did.
SS: A solid month, but more regular sub sales and only 1 EL made it only average. Things slowed down a good bit the last week.
DT: A good month, nearly a BME.
IS: very low.
FP: Decent for them.
123RF: A BME with one large sale, but the RC total wasn't 1/12 of enough to keep my 50% with the new redeemed credit plan in 2013.
BSP: OK for BSP.
Veer: BME for $.
CSP A decent month but with some long dry spells.
3ds: a few sales again - nice to see they are still alive.
GL: pretty Sad - a few sales, but now that they sell smaller sizes the returns are pretty thin.
Alamy - a few sales - so good, but not as good as some recent months.
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PD (Photodune) about half of last month.
Overall it was a solid month. Once again SS and Veer led the charge with strong performances by DT, Alamy, 123RF.
April dropped again (~ 12% less than March) with some disappointing sites.
SS: A solid month with one EL and some new $18 sales.
DT: A good month, but lower than March. DT had some search engine issues and unveiled a new plan that mostly jacked levels up but lowered commissions on level 0 and level 5 images. I had a much higher RPD but many less sales than March.
IS: Not bad considering.
FP: Only 1 sale.
123RF: An ok month but still not enough to keep my levels - the lowest for the year.
BSP: Pretty good for BSP.
Veer: The biggest disappointment - a big drop from the previous 2 months - no ELs this month.
CSP: Poor for CSP.
3ds: Same as previous month.
GL: pretty Sad - a few sales, but now that they sell smaller sizes the returns are pretty thin.
Alamy - a few sales - Better than the previous 2 months.
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PD (Photodune) up a bit, but disappointing.
Overall it was an ok month. SS and DT were the strong performers.
May was a BME
SS: Pretty poor for SS, with no ELs, but still my best earner.
DT: A good month, but barely lower than March. I had a much higher RPD but many less sales than March.
IS: Not bad considering. I have started to get a few Partner Program (PP) sales from the "Getty Family).
FP: Quite good for FP.
123RF: An good month but still not enough to keep my levels - the second highest ever there.
BSP: Ok for BSP.
Veer: Back up a bit, but still under 1/2 of the best months there.
CSP: BME for CSP - mostly due to one big sale.
3ds: nothing.
GL: pretty Sad - a few sales, but now that they sell smaller sizes the returns are pretty thin.
Alamy - a few sales - But pretty good return - my second best earner this month.
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PD (Photodune) down a bit more, disappointing.
Overall it was a BME by a tiny bit. SS, Alamy, and DT were the strong performers even if it was a pretty bad month for SS.
June was a BME by a nice margin.
SS: BME by a touch. Not for DLs, but a number of ELs and other non sub sales made it a BME.
DT: An ok month. It started out very slow but picked up a bit. The DL # was very low, but the RPI was enough to make it ok. I have to go back to June 2010 for a month with less DL. My lowest month of the year at DT.
IS: A big drop from the previous 2 months.
FP: Only one small sale at FP.
123RF: Pretty poor and definitely not enough to keep my levels - the second lowest of the year there.
BSP: Ok for BSP but still the second lowest of the year.
Veer: Back up a bit, but still under 1/2 of the best months there.
CSP: OK for CSP - mostly due to one big sale.
3ds: nothing.
GL: pretty sad - one small sale.
Alamy - A good number of sales and one big one = BME and my second best earner this month.
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PD (Photodune) down a bit more, disappointing.
Overall it was a BME by a decent margin. SS and Alamy were the strong performers and it would have been an ok but poor month with only their income.
July was a good month.
SS: An ok month.
DT: A horrible month.
IS: Another bad month.
FP: A few sales but for not much $.
123RF: Pretty poor - the worst month of the year so far.
BSP: Good for BSP - in fact a BME (BSP is pretty weak though).
Veer: A good month.
CSP: OK for CSP.
3ds: nothing.
GL: pretty sad - a few small sales.
Alamy - A few big sales = BME and my second best earner this month.
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PD (Photodune) pretty low.
Overall it was a good month thanks to SS and Alamy along with Veer.
August was an ok month.
SS: A BME with a mix of video, EL, OD, and SOD as well as regular sub sales.
DT: A decent month.
IS: Another new low - unless pp sales are amazing.
FP: A few sales for a decent amount for FP.
123RF: nearly a BME- within a few bucks.
BSP: Good for BSP.
Veer: ok to low.
CSP: Pretty poor.
3ds: nothing.
GL: pretty good for them - best for this year.
Alamy - A few sales but a big drop from the previous months.
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PD (Photodune) BME - but still pretty low - the 70% royalty week helped a lot.
Overall it was an ok month, but my 3rd worst for the year. In order of income it was SS, DT, 123RF, Alamy, Veer, BSP, CSP, PD....
September was a pretty lousy month.
SS: The best site this month, but still the second worst performance for the year.
DT: Back down again, lots of subs. Second worst for the year.
IS: Back up a bit, but still small potatoes.
FP: An EL and a few good sales make for very good for FP.
123RF: Lots of subs and little sales = worst month of the year.
BSP: poor.
Veer: ok to low = 3rd worst for the year.
CSP: worst month of the year.
3ds: nothing.
GL: one small sale = poor.
Alamy - A few sales but a big drop from the previous months.
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PD (Photodune) 3rd best for year, but still pretty low.
Overall it was my worst month of the year with lots of WMY and low sales at most sites. In order of income it was SS, Alamy, DT, Veer, FP, 123RF...
October was a good month.
SS: a BME for total sales numbers but not for total $ as I suppose there were more subs DL compared to the more lucrative alphabet soup DLs - still, a good month - my 4th best ever for $.
DT: Up almost to the average for the last 12 months. They moved a lot more images to "level 0" but raised the commission for those sales to 25%
IS: Back down a bit I think - they aren't really reporting a lot of sales, so who really knows, but still small potatoes.
FP: a few decent sales at FP.
123RF: Only barely better than the horrible previous month - saved by a good last day. Still, pretty poor and nowhere near their "doubling of sales" prediction.
BSP: a BME for a non - EL month there..
Veer: ok to low = 3rd worst for the year - a little hard to tell because they are having a problem w/ the report of sales - perhaps an EL was refunded before the sale - or not.
CSP: worst month of the year - tied.
3ds: One sale - maybe there is a pulse there after all?
GL: A few sales - pretty good for them this year. I increased the default price of my images now that they sell smaller files for lower prices.
Alamy - A BME there by a good margin - hopefully there aren't any refunds.
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PD (Photodune) BME, - beating sites like CSP this month.
Overall it was my BME - so very nice. In order of income it was Alamy, SS, DT, , 123RF, BSP, PD, ... Veer is in there somewhere around 123RF or BSP I think.
November was a more average (for this year) month.
SS: 3rd best ever for $, DL not so high - but more EL etc. bigger sales.
DT: Another poor month there - I think their "improvements" haven't helped me.
IS: Pretty pathetic - if they have reported all the sales.
FP: a few decent sales at FP.
123RF: 5th best for the year there.
BSP: 4th best for the year.
Veer: 5th worst for year, but better than Oct.
CSP: Picked up a bit, but still a little low.
3ds: nada
GL: Pretty poor.
Alamy - A last minute sale made it a decent month there 4th best for year.
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PD (Photodune) OK.
I had better than usual sales at Stockfresh and my first sales at Pond5. Hopefully they can start to contribute to the totals in a meaningful way.
Overall it was a pretty average month for the year. In order of income it was , SS, Alamy, DT, 123RF, Veer, CSP, BSP, FP, ...
Started out well, but the last week was dire (as usual) for December.
SS: Pretty middling for $ and DL for the year. It started well, but the last week was the lowest week there in 2 years (just beating the last week in Dec 2010 by 22 cents).
DT: Better than last month - probably about the new norm there since the last percentage cuts. Some good weeks and some bad weeks.
IS: Pretty pathetic - if they have reported all the sales - in fact the lowest ever there after the first partial month. (this is without the PP sales, which will be reported eventually probably)
FP: not much.
123RF: 5th worst for the year there. They definitely didn't deliver on the doubling of sales in 2012 promise.
BSP: Middling for this year.
Veer: 2cd worst for year.
CSP: Middling for the year.
3ds: nada
GL: nada.
Alamy - Middling for the year. A few nice sales.
PD (Photodune) middling for the year - down on the previous 4 months.
P5 (Pond5) Starting to show some promise now that I have a good number of pictures up there. Hopefully this trend continues.
SF (Stockfresh) not much.
Overall it was 4th worst month for the year. In order of income it was , SS, Alamy, DT, 123RF, CSP, Pond5, Veer, BSP, ...
Overall it was my BYE (Best Year Ever), so that is good, especially considering that I didn't upload as many images as I did in past years - hopefully their quality is better though. I will make comments about the sites in the order of the income from most to least (at least for the first 5 or more). SS came on strong. Old images there continue to sell but newer images don't appear to be taking off like they used to. Alamy also had strong sales although the sporadic nature of sales there makes the actual income there very variable. They will be cutting commission percentages again in 2013 too. DT started out well but then they had to drop payments and percentages again. Veer started the year strong but has faded a lot. 123RF improved on the previous year, but didn't come close to meeting their "doubling of sales" promise and I will be looking at a percentage drop in 2013 as they adopt a poisonous RC scheme. They get the biggest disappointment for the year award. CSP has become a small but steady addition to my income. The other sites are pretty small time, but most have been good for a payout or 2 over the year. New sites PD shows some promise. I have been on P5 for a while with a few videos (and no sales), but now they accept photos and I finally got a good portion of my portfolio up. It is too early to tell, but sales look promising there and the 50% commission is welcome. IS continues its slide into a low paying subs site for me with very few of my images available. From time to time they attempt to mollify their contributors, but mostly they just keep breaking things - both promises and functionality at the site.
My 2012 income was about 35% above 2011 earnings despite only increasing my portfolio about 11%. Hopefully I can manage a larger portfolio increase and an larger income increase in 2013.
I left mid January 2013 to go to SLC and then South America for a few months. Needless to say I didn't upload anything from South America although I did take a lot of pics that will hopefully someday prove lucrative. Instead of the usual report for each month I will just have an overview for Jan - March 2013
January was pretty good - in fact my #3 month ever with the sites ranked Alamy (good), SS (not so good), DT (good), Veer (good), P5 (good), 123RF (ok - with new lower royalties now), BSP (good), CSP (Good). (all good or bads are compared with historic performance of that site - so a poor performance at SS might still be way ahead of a good performance from BSP). Alamy dropped their payout from 60% to 50% or less.
February - a short month but not bad. Once again the sites are ranked... Alamy (good), SS (a little better), DT (ok), 123RF (ok), BSP (ok)... Veer really plummeted this month. BSP announced new low priced subscriptions with impossibly high numbers of sales required to get payment equal to SS. IS continued to crash and burn with a scheme where lots of images were nearly given away to be used on Google docs.
March - not so good. SS (very good - BME - with a nice higher paying runs on a series), DT (ok on a huge volume of low price sales), Alamy (huge drop), 123RF (ok). Other than SS most sites were stagnant or down.
I got back into the country but computer woes kept me from uploading 'til the end of the month.
SS: Pretty good month based on a few nice runs of higher priced sales.
DT: Pretty good month - getting very bimodal with subs and low priced little sales and the occasional larger higher level sale for good $.
IS: Pretty pathetic - the worst month ever for regular sales - including the first partial month when I had only 7 images (this is without the PP sales, which will be reported eventually probably)
FP: ok.
123RF: ok, although the RPD is falling with the new lower commissions.
BSP: surprisingly good BME- mostly due to one big sale.
Veer: Good - a number of regular $3.50 sales and a few bigger ones to go with the little sales.
CSP: Middling to poor for the year.
3ds: nada
GL: 2 small sales - definitely disappointing after their strong start.
Alamy - lowest for the year - hopefully not the new norm.
PD (Photodune) ticking along at a low level.
P5 (Pond5) only one sale - what happened here?
SF (Stockfresh) not much, but more than I had been getting.
Overall it was 3rd worst month for the year (out of 4). In order of income it was , SS, Veer, DT, 123RF, Alamy, BSP, ...
A drop from the previous months.
SS: Pretty good month.
DT: Pretty good month.
IS: Pretty pathetic - PP sales are now beating IS sales.
FP: sad.
123RF: ok, but much worse than last year.
BSP: ok.
Veer: poor.
CSP: poor.
3ds: nada
GL: poor.
Alamy - poor, but better than last month.
PD (Photodune) ticking along at a lower level.
P5 (Pond5) poor
SF (Stockfresh) poor
Overall it was the worst month for the year (out of 5). In order of income it was , SS, DT, Alamy, 123RF, BSP, ...
Another drop from the previous months.
SS: ok.
DT: still falling, but ok.
IS: really pathetic - PP sales are now beating IS sales.
FP: up a bit but still low.
123RF: still dropping. Worst month since Oct 2011.
BSP: ok.
Veer: better but still poor.
CSP: ok for them = poor.
3ds: one sale
GL: best for year - pretty poor.
Alamy - poor, horrible - much lower than all other months since regular sales started.
PD (Photodune) ticking along at a low level.
P5 (Pond5) pretty good
SF (Stockfresh) nada
Overall it was the worst month for the year (out of 6). In order of income it was SS, DT, 123RF, P5, ...
A bump up from the previous month.
SS: ok - a bit disappointing
DT: still falling, but ok.
IS: really pathetic - PP sales are now beating IS sales.
FP: ok for them = low.
123RF: a huge drop 50% lower. Worst month since July 2010.
BSP: worst month of the year.
Veer: a good month with some higher sales.
CSP: worst month of the year.
3ds: nada
GL: best for year - pretty poor.
Alamy: about double the previous 4 months average, so ok.
PD (Photodune) worst month of the year.
P5 (Pond5) back down. A few last minute sales saved it from horrible
SF (Stockfresh) low.
Overall it was the 2cd worst month for the year (out of 7). In order of income it was SS, Veer, Alamy, DT, ...
Back down to barely beating the worst month of the year.
SS: down again - disappointing. Lots of days of very poor sales and a few good ones.
DT: still falling, but barely ok.
IS: really pathetic they moved all files from P+ to even cheaper and the royalties show it...
FP: Good for them, I had a nice streak of sales.
123RF: up a little, but still horrible for them.
BSP: up a bit, ok for them.
Veer: back to poor.
CSP: 2cd worst month of the year.
3ds: nada
GL: pretty poor.
Alamy: pretty good, but the biggest sale was a distribution sale at only 30%, so that was frustrating...
PD (Photodune) barely beat worst month of the year.
P5 (Pond5) nada.
SF (Stockfresh) pretty good for them = low.
Overall it was the 2cd worst month for the year (out of 7). In order of income it was SS, Alamy, DT, BS, 123RF ...
So far ranking the sites return for me would put SS on top by a wide margin, then IS (although now dead to me), DT, Veer, much lower 123RF, SXP (now gone), and finally FP and BSP in the basement although FP has been climbing up the stairs lately.
As far as ease of uploading I'd say FP, 123RF, SS, BSP, DT, SXP (RIP), and IS in the basement.
Sales go up, sales go down, sales go up more. In general, as I've gotten more images uploaded for sale at more sites, I've made more money. However there is some variability in this, and the increase has not been anywhere near linear. There is some seasonality to this business, with a bit of a summer slump (somewhat offset for me by a lot of uploading in 2007 and perhaps more summery images) and a December slump for the holidays. Weekends generally are slower, but on any given day, you could get some decent sales, especially with the sporadic nature of EL, OD, and Video sales.
SS continues to be my best seller, but almost no uploads from early Sept to late Nov 2007 seems to have hurt things by November. They continue to have fairly predictable and quick reviews. The increase to .33 and then .36 per download plus the occasional on demand and video and EL sales there help.
DT is all over the board. I often get multiple downloads one day, then a few days with nothing. They continue to reject a lot for "we have enough of these" or "not quite what we are looking for" with a queue of up to a week. Unfortunately the acceptance percentage might make a difference in where images come up in a search. Their search seems to come up with the fewest completely bogus returns though. Price increases there might be helping, although the new subscription might counteract it, and their reduction of the commission percentage really hurts things.
IS seems to be very search dependent (I suppose they all are, but they seem to make the biggest changes in the search algorithms.) Their upload process and limits are a pain, but fighting through it does seem to get more than I expect accepted, although it can take over a week, and there are plenty of rejections that I just shrug off. They are the hardest for me to predict. At first they seemed to get almost all the sales from just a few star images. Their low low percentage to photographers (20%) is frustrating. They seem to be leading the pack in raising prices though, unfortunately that is barely noticeable on the small end. If they didn't have the massive site traffic and high sales numbers they do, I think few photographers would put up with them. Someone described them as an "abusive spouse", which often sums up my feelings. They seem to be gradually shifting more and more to favor their exclusive contributors by doing things like lowering the upload limits for independents and rejecting for keywords only for independents. They also review much more quickly for exclusives and base the best match at least partly by downloads per time, which gives the exclusive images a one week head start. In Sept 2010 IS announced that they would be lowering royalty % for independents up to 25% (down to 15% for the worst selling artists). I will most likely get 16% in 2011 unless something changes. I don't think I'll upload any more images there and I might start disabling images.
FP sales are pretty weak, especially since I have the largest number of my images up there. I think it is only going to generate many sales if you send them there yourself with links. Uploading was quick and easy with 100% acceptance as long as the file isn't corrupted and the model release is attached, but lately they have switched to only letting you submit 10/day and the reviews slowly trickle along.
SXP was killed by Getty to try to send traffic to various sites where they could take a higher percent of the return, so the rest of this is merely for historical perspective... SXP has had some reviewing issues that seem to go in batches (one harsh reviewer? - ie 50% of one review batch will be rejected for soft focus), I have heard that it takes a while for images to really start selling there, so hopefully things will pick up more. They have integrated into some Jupiter offerings, which could greatly increase sales. It shows promise though, and others report it in the top few sites.
123RF is easy to upload to and fairly benign in reviewing (although random and not well explained in their rejections, often nearly everything rejected from a review batch and then near 100% acceptance for the next one). They have the option of "faving" 5 percent of your portfolio, which if done judiciously could greatly increase views and sales. I am slowly getting my back catalog uploaded there, and hopefully will start seeing the return on that effort. In 2013 they started an RC scheme to lower the amount of royalties they pay. Not only have total sales fallen off, but the amount I get per sale has gone down too. Very disappointing.
BSP is pretty easy to upload to, although a bit frustrating trying to figure out how their categories work - they are not always logical to me. They often have batch rejections for the same thing, which can be frustrating. They redid the search engine, but it still seems to be mostly popularity based. Sales for me are pretty weak. In 2013 they started selling subs - undercutting their owner SS - with a RC type scheme for how much you get paid - .25 to .38 except you need to sell 50,000 per year or something rather large to get to the upper tier. Sales are up since then, but mostly just subs.
Veer paid for uploads during their "Dash for Cash" promotion - I made a pretty good sum through that, but the sales haven't been great there yet. Hopefully they can increase their market share at IS's expense. The occasional EL sale can bring in a lot, but the subs tend to be pretty small.
sales have been enough to pay for all of my camera equipment and then some, so that is nice. Luckily I am not relying on this as my main source of income though, as I'd be hurting.
The things a submitter can control include what images are uploaded, when they are uploaded, and the keywords etc. The things that can't really be controlled are how the sites rig their search engines. This can make a huge difference, but there isn't much you can do about it other than try to include keywords, descriptions, and titles that might get your pictures found.
There has been a lot of discussion about when to upload to get favorable reviews and maximise sales, for instance having an image first show up on SS search Monday would allow the greater traffic all week a chance to download it before it gets buried by new images. These early sales might keep it from getting lost in the "most popular" search and keeps sales steady. Holiday images would need to be available as early as 3 or 4 months before hand, but a Christmas tree probably won't get a lot of action in January. Depending on how the searches work, uploading at the wrong time could make a difference.
It also might be worth stretching a batch over a few weeks rather than sending one huge pile and then letting it wait for a while before sending another. This is probably a good idea if you only have a few images for a few months on a site like SS. Doing a few every few weeks would be better. A number of small batches spreads the risk of getting a reviewer that either is feeling strict or has a poorly calibrated monitor or whatever from rejecting the entire batch. It happens from time to time, and would be particularly painful if it was a big batch. Of course sometimes you get a reviewer that seems to like all your stuff and the entire batch gets accepted, which would be great with a big batch.
I have been looking at return per photo per month, which is probably the best way to track how things are going. The numbers aren't super accurate because the number of images is changing, and I used the total at the end of the month for my calculations so this is a low estimate, but not wildly off, especially as the number of images increases. One EL or video sale, or a good month when I had relatively few files up skews the high numbers up a lot.
SS High 1.06 low .13 around .2 but falling
DT high .51 low .047 seems to be settling in around .09 +-.04
IS high 1.19 low .15 still bouncing around, but maybe around about .18
FP high .017 low 0 - its way down there, but I also have over 1000 images there.
SXP high 0.19 low 0.02, but about .04 so far.
I imagine these numbers are much higher for photographers that have more stockworthy images.
I have heard other people talk of $1 per image per month, which I suppose across the sites might be valid, especially with more stock oriented images. I heard that the old school macrostock returns were $1 per photo per year, but I have also heard per month for that. In any case, with that kind of return, someone could make a decent living even in an american city with a portfolio of a few thousand images, and in places with a much lower cost of living, it could be even easier to do well. I myself haven't seen that kind of return, however between rejections, upload limits, and frustration, I don't have all that many images on a lot of sites.
What really matters is how the images perform over time. If sales continue and even increase on sites like DT and IS where it seems to take a while for images to get found, then the lifetime earnings per image would be worth it. If not, then not. Microstock is more like "loose" nickel slot machines with fairly frequent but small sales versus the much larger jackpots on the high roller macrostock machines that happen only once in a while.
I found an outdated article on the web from 2006 or early 2007 maybe, it listed total sales and total images for Getty of $ 807 million with 90 million images = $8.96 per image per year total. I don't know what percentage the photographers got from that, but probably 50% or less, so some $4.50 per image per year or less for the photographers.
A similar analysis of the Corbis numbers were $ 251 million from 100 M images = $2.51/image/year.
Fotolia (a microstock) mentioned <$10M for 2.2M images = < $4.54/image/year ~50%? for photog
DT reported <$10M for >1M images = <<$10/image/year ~50% for photog
SS reported >$10M for >1M images = ? $10/image/year ~30%??? for photog
It would be nice to see some more concrete numbers, but this gives a general idea. I strongly suspect that there is a very uneven distribution of earnings though, with top images making orders of magnitude more than the bottom images (with little to no sales).
Well, things have changed, with falling sales from 2012 to 2016 and then an uptick in 2017. In general the long term view is bleak with supply increasing much faster than demand and the sites dropping the percentage that the artist gets and coming up with clever or at least sneaky schemes to increase their percentage. Still, things go on, and with more uploads in 2017 compared to the previous 2 years I also made more total that year than 2015 and 2016.
My 2017 sites ranked in order of sales:
Alamy (33.4%)If you are interested in seeing my portfolios, here are some links...
Pancaketom's portfolio on Dreamstime
Pancaketom's portfolio on Shutterstock
My link to greedy Istock has been removed
my photos for sale on FeaturePics
See My Portfolio @ CanStockPhoto.com