chyworks Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 My small success story to share with fellow contributors here. At the end of October last year, I decided to open an online shop on et- si* and I guess you know why I need to do this since SS has insisted on and decided to implement their revamped system at the beginning of this year. The advice I received from my best friend was even on a fair-weathered day is to not place all eggs in one basket (SS). Now, I know I am not one with crisis awareness. Although I was very appreciative of his advice which I should have taken, but did not. That doesn't mean when a situation hits us, we can't do something to rectify it, for me, personally. I spent two weeks to set up the store there, although not one single sale came in during that time, I was hesitant whether to take a shortcut to pay for ads for people to come in buying my stuff there. But I decided to give it 3-6 months to work on the shop and create more quality listings there and see if my first sales will ever come in Considering I have not spent and still do not pay a single cent on their marketing ads and have absolutely no social media presence, my first sales surprisingly came in on the 3rd week, It summed up all the time and work that I put in and believe me, the feeling of relief and reassurance of that first sale was beyond words! Since then, that "give yourself a pat on the back" message came in more and more frequently. I received the same message with every 10 sales and they rolled in really quick! And fast-forward to now in less than 3 months, I have more than 200 sales and received my 3rd payments from the marketplace yesterday. For the past two weeks, my one-day sales there is equivalent to the whole of my 7 days here. I do believe that when one door closes, we can always think of finding another door to open. Yes, they are bound to be doors that are locked, or when you open them, you find the room is too crowded or has absolutely nothing in it. But, I am sure, with enough self-belief and perseverance, there'll still be plenty of opportunities out there, big and small for us all to unlock. Just be patient, and make your best effort for that very first sale to come in regardless of where you sell your stuff. Once you get your first sale you know you are probably doing it right and if you keep doing it you will get even more sales. If all fails, try to find another door to open again but never stop believing in yourself. I wish you all the best in 2021. 11 Link to post Share on other sites
Wilm Ihlenfeld Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Until January 6, 2021 I had 61 downloads at shutterstock - including 3 SODs. In 2020, there were 62 downloads in those 6 days - and 0 SODs. The revenue in 2021 has decreased by 61.1% compared to 2020. Link to post Share on other sites
Orpheus FX Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 93 sales so far. Deviation RPD - 0.28 $ Link to post Share on other sites
Foodio Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 1 hour ago, Wilm Ihlenfeld said: Until January 6, 2021 I had 61 downloads at shutterstock - including 3 SODs. In 2020, there were 62 downloads in those 6 days - and 0 SODs. The revenue in 2021 has decreased by 61.1% compared to 2020. For the same period here: DL's 2020 = 118, DL's 2021 = 114 Revenue down by 81%. Ouch. Link to post Share on other sites
DaLiu Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Same amount of sales until 7th (~200), revenue down 66% compared with January 2020. Link to post Share on other sites
engagestock Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 One word. Catastrophic (so far) 😃 Link to post Share on other sites
HodagMedia Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 @chyworks Nice going. I'm not sure what you make but it must be good. I opened a shop, digital downloads, and haven't made a penny. I have my images marked "Not for resale or use on products for resale" which might be the killer? Still I'm not willing to sell a download to someone who will just take it and make their products from my work for a couple bucks? Interesting I also started pay FAA last year as well. Might as well spread out? 😀 Link to post Share on other sites
Ackab Photography Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 On 1/4/2021 at 11:38 AM, Steven Tritton said: Had one $0.10 sub overnight and one $10.19 video sale today. Computing this into your original earnings for 2021 looks like a challenging, high level computing task, do you have the right hardware 1 Link to post Share on other sites
chyworks Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 14 hours ago, HodagMedia said: @chyworks Nice going. I'm not sure what you make but it must be good. I opened a shop, digital downloads, and haven't made a penny. I have my images marked "Not for resale or use on products for resale" which might be the killer? Still I'm not willing to sell a download to someone who will just take it and make their products from my work for a couple bucks? Interesting I also started pay FAA last year as well. Might as well spread out? 😀 Thanks Pete, I am selling digital downloads too. My personal take is for now, it's just not worth the trouble opening a new shop selling physical products there... considering the shipping schedule is very unpredictable and there're quite a number of unhappy buyers and sellers in their forum. I believe you knew this too that the customer base there is quite different than in SS or microstock in general. For my digital contents at least, I find that the majority of the buyers who purchased from my shop are individuals, hobbyists or small start up business owners. My limited experience to date is some of the buyers do like to know if the items can be used for commercial purpose. I have put a standard clause in the item description basically stating that it's for personal and standard commercial use. It can't be sold as digital item or as-is, other than that, they can print and sell them as physical items as they like. I understand your predicament, sadly, it's a very competitive and saturated market there selling digital downloads, you really have to compete with all the other sellers in almost every front from the quality, quantity, the overall presentation of your shop and how you price your items and so on. On the brighter side, It involved zero shipping issues, once the order is placed, the deal is done most of the time. Plus it can be sold over and over to different customers (kind of like microstock but better in my opinion) While we can't control a certain type of buyers who may take advantage of your artworks despite you stated clearly what you can and can not do with your images. Bear in mind that this happens everywhere too not just there...once you put you stuff online we have no way to control it from being stolen. But I like to think that percentage for that to happen won't be a significant portion. Buyers there are either respectful or find copyright an intimidating word as they are not necessarily savvy with the legality side of it. So, I am afraid when you marked your product with the not for resale, it may likely deter and scare some of your potential buyers away. Think of it another way, for what we sell here, a couple of bucks per sale is still better off compared to the infamous 10 cents, no? Additionally, you can keep a record of your buyers' email addresses so in future if you are ready to open up your own online store, you know you've already have a potential group of buyers who are keen on your new products whom you can send your newsletter and perks to. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Primus1 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 A few clip sales yesterday. Not so bad, but it would be much better, staying in hard earned levels. Just hope on a high volume of sales and asap to next level. Link to post Share on other sites
kuvona Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 disastrous sales .... disastrous decline in revenue if it goes like that, for the first time since many many years i am not going to reach a payout..... a real disaster Link to post Share on other sites
Former_Poster Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Done some basic calculations now level 1 is "completed". RPD for images is $0.21 (down from $1.09 last month!). RPD for video is $10.21 (down from $21 although last month averaged $16). So maybe its a new year blip but so far its significantly worse than i'd even feared. Link to post Share on other sites
Charles Lewis Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 This week has been good for downloads on both SS and AS. However, all my SS have been subs so far which is bad for revenue. It does, however, move me closer to the level upgrade. Link to post Share on other sites
Thijs de Graaf Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 7 hours ago, Charles Lewis said: This week has been good for downloads on both SS and AS. However, all my SS have been subs so far which is bad for revenue. It does, however, move me closer to the level upgrade. 9 subs (1,44) , 2 on demands (2,70) and 1 SO (3,75). 88 and I'm in level 2 🙂 Link to post Share on other sites
Studio 2 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 It's interesting how this thread has made the 'Doom & Gloom' one redundant.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Former_Poster Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Charles Lewis said: This week has been good for downloads on both SS and AS. However, all my SS have been subs so far which is bad for revenue. It does, however, move me closer to the level upgrade. Problem is, you upgrade to the next level, and if most of the sales are subs, you're still on 10c. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Luisa Puccini Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 January 8, 2020 = 86 download and $ 110.00 January 8, 2021 = 76 download and $ 9.45 AS January 8, 2021 = 18 download and $ 11.95. Really low download but much better revenue. I'm not uploading here until I get back to almost level 3. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Thijs de Graaf Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 29 minutes ago, Luisa Puccini said: January 8, 2020 = 86 download and $ 110.00 January 8, 2021 = 76 download and $ 9.45 AS January 8, 2021 = 18 download and $ 11.95. Really low download but much better revenue. I'm not uploading here until I get back to almost level 3. If I have calculated correctly, that is already in February. Beautiful pictures. I like those goats. What a difference in earnings per photo when I compare 1920 and 1921. Also a bit of bad luck I think. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas Pajot Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 35 minutes ago, Luisa Puccini said: January 8, 2020 = 86 download and $ 110.00 January 8, 2021 = 76 download and $ 9.45 AS January 8, 2021 = 18 download and $ 11.95. Really low download but much better revenue. I'm not uploading here until I get back to almost level 3. Same experience for me... Link to post Share on other sites
MJD Graphics Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 lousy 10ct DL since dec 24. Could it be that they are pushing the images from high earners to get them back up to the high level before they leave. Link to post Share on other sites
Former_Poster Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Admittedly only a week in but AS is currently 4x my SS earnings. Link to post Share on other sites
Travers Lewis Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 15 sales so far this year on SS. Nothing on AL or P5. Link to post Share on other sites
Wilm Ihlenfeld Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 58 minutes ago, Former_Poster said: Admittedly only a week in but AS is currently 4x my SS earnings. As is more ahead than ever. But that's no wonder either. When you read Luisa's post that 76 downloads brought in $9.45, then that's a slap in the face. "We...and reward performance with greater earnings potential." 76 downloads in 8 days is not a bad performance. In 8 days $9.45 is a bad performance. 11.4% fewer downloads in 8 days is statistical noise. 91.5% drop in revenue in 8 days is a nightmare. Even if there was a big SOD in 2020. Even without that, it's still a disaster! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Orpheus FX Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I have a question. Is your portfolio equal in SS and AS? Link to post Share on other sites
blvdone Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 So far on SS, 1/8 the sales $ amount of Adobe Stock. I have about 2x amount of photos and videos on SS because of editorials. This is a disaster, but we need to get used to this. I think buyers are leaving Shutterstock too. If I was buying stock video or photo, I would buy from Adobe Stock knowing Shutterstock doesn't treat creators with respect. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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