So now that January 2011 is over, thought I'd take a look back to see how I've fared so far as an Independent Microstock Photographer. Since the holidays are generally a slow time of year for me anyway, I am going to consider January 2011 as my first real month as an Indpendent. Right now I have portfolios at six sites, but really just five with a decent amount of images. Keep in mind that I still need to build my portfolios on the other sites, and with a full-time job (not photography-related) and family commitments, I don't have a lot of spare time. So, that being said, I think I'm not doing too bad.
Here's how it shakes down, in order of highest earner to lowest:
iStockphoto: My actual download count for January is practically equal to what I had in 2010 but, of course, the dollars are dramatically down since I went from 35% Gold level royalties to the new "Redeemed Credits (RC)" scheme at an Independent level of 16%. However, my largest online portfolio is still here at iStock with 1,385 files so that helps as well. And, yes, I'm continuing to upload to iStock.
Shutterstock: I wasn't too excited about the 25 cent royalties here but when I get a handful of those a day with only 163 approved photos in my portfolio so far, that's not too bad. I expect to add a lot more files this month. Based on my earnings so far, I should be getting a payout next month. Shutterstock pays out once a month and I have my minimum payout set to $100. Oh, and I also should note that 25 cents is not the only royalty amount - just for the subscription sales. I had several "On Demand" downloads that netted higher royalties.
Dreamstime: There's something about Dreamstime that I really like, despite the fact that I don't have very many sales there yet. I have 210 approved images online at Dreamstime right now and only 38 downloads since October. I know I need to build my portfolio there and figure out how to do more cross promotion. I think this site could be a good earner once I get established.
Fotolia: I haven't seem to caught on to Fotolia yet. I have 126 files in my portfolio here and only 6 sales (downloads) so far. I know I need to build my portfolio here and figure out what sells best here.
StockFresh: I really like this site. It's simple to work with and the buying process is straightforward as well. The problem is that it's a new site and they have not yet done any major marketing. So I have not had one sale here yet. I have 157 images online and I need to continue to build here as well, I know. I also noticed that on the entire site the file with the highest amount of downloads seems to have only 9 downloads. I think once they kick off with a marketing push the site will take off. It's built by the same people who built StockXpert who then sold StockXpert and started this new site. I'm told they know what they're doing. I guess time will tell!
Alamy: I only just got accepted here so haven't put any more images online other than the first 4 that I submitted for my application. This is considered more macrostock or middle tier, but it's still royalty free stock. The appeal here is not just the higher royalties but Alamy donates a large portion of their profits to medical research.
Summary
A few other things I want to point out. Some of my best selling files at iStock are my vector highway maps. I have not uploaded any vector files to any other sites yet. I want to do a full update of all my state maps first and then figure out which sites I want to branch out to. These are a lot of work and I want to be sure they will do well for me at other stock sites and that I get a good royalty for them.
The other thing I wanted to mention is that the upload process to these other sites, at least for photos, is a breeze! Being able to FTP the files then just go to the site to add categories and attach releases is great. Plus they all have a model release library so I dont have to upload a new release with every file. I can just select it from the library.
So there you have it, my January 2011 wrap up and status report as an Independent Stock Photographer. My goals for February are to double my portfolios at the new sites plus get at least 25 new images added to iStock.
