Microstock results for March 2009

Sales jumped up significantly to levels not seen since March 2008.  Istock has changed their search algorithm again and it seems to have helped me.  A big jump at stockxpert as well as I think they now license through an additional site.  All the others keep providing which is nice considering it over 18 months since I last contributed (literally all I do is check my earnings once a month to request payouts and write this blog (and I dont do this half the time)).

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:
14% shutterstock
12% dreamtime
19% Fotolia
14% istockphoto
3% bigstockphoto
6% 123RF
32% StockXpert
0% Featurepics


Previous 12 months results:

February 2009 Results
January 2009 Results
December 2008 Results
November 2008 Results
October 2008 Results
September 2008 Earnings
August 2008 Earnings
July 2008 Earnings
June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings

Microstock results for February 2009

Results were up a bit on the Dec/Jan low which is expected.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:
18% shutterstock
14% dreamtime
28% Fotolia
11% istockphoto
5% bigstockphoto
6% 123RF
18% StockXpert
0% Featurepics


Previous 12 months results:

January 2009 Results

December 2008 Results

November 2008 Results
October 2008 Results
September 2008 Earnings
August 2008 Earnings
July 2008 Earnings
June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings

Microstock results for January 2009

It has been a busy three months for me so a bit of a catchup post. Results were about the same as December so not great but better than nothing. 

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:
19% shutterstock
11% dreamtime
24% Fotolia
19% istockphoto
5% bigstockphoto
5% 123RF
17% StockXpert
0% Featurepics


Previous results for 2008:

December 2008 Results

November 2008 Results
October 2008 Results
September 2008 Earnings
August 2008 Earnings
July 2008 Earnings
June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock results for December 2008

Results were down for December which is expected due to the number of public holiday during the month.  Shutterstock slowed down majorly but istock was only down a little.  Fotolia actually increased.  I have started to here good things about Fotolia and it is definately one of the top earning sites now.  They do however seem to piss of their contributors regularly which changes, though iStock has a history of this as well.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:
16% shutterstock
12% dreamtime
18% Fotolia
23% istockphoto
2% bigstockphoto
7% 123RF
23% StockXpert
0% Featurepics

Dont forget to check out my other blog: http://cj-photography.blogspot.com/. I have been a bit quite there but hope to pick up the posts once I get into a routine for the new year.

Previous results for 2008:

November 2008 Results
October 2008 Results
September 2008 Earnings
August 2008 Earnings
July 2008 Earnings
June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock results for November 2008

I had quite a good month this month with a couple of EL sales at Shutterstock and a BME at Bigstock.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:
37% shutterstock
5% dreamtime
9% Fotolia
18% istockphoto
10% bigstockphoto
5% 123RF
16% StockXpert
0% Featurepics

Dont forget to check out my other blog: http://cj-photography.blogspot.com/

Previous results for 2008:

October 2008 Results
September 2008 Earnings
August 2008 Earnings
July 2008 Earnings
June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock results for October 2008

It was an interesting month – Getty (owner of istock) bought out Jupiter (owner of Stockxpert).  Fotolia changed its affilate program and didn’t tell anyone and StockXpert hasn’t being paying out on some sales (from affilate sites).

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

20% shutterstock
11% dreamtime

11% Fotolia
20% istockphoto
6% bigstockphoto
14% 123RF
18% StockXpert
0% Featurepics

Dont forget to check out my other blog: http://cj-photography.blogspot.com/

Previous results for 2008:

September 2008 Earnings

August 2008 Earnings

July 2008 Earnings

June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock results for September 2008

Another good result with constant results despite no uploads.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

28% shutterstock
7% dreamtime
9% Fotolia
14% istockphoto
5% bigstockphoto
17% 123RF
18% StockXpert
3% Featurepics

Dont forget to check out my other blog: http://cj-photography.blogspot.com/

Previous results for 2008:

August 2008 Earnings

July 2008 Earnings

June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock Photography results for August 2008

Not a bad month considering.  I was lucky with a couple of Extended licenses at Shutterstock and Fotolia , otherwise it could have been a disaster.  Shutterstock is trending down and I dont think this is just me.  My referrees are down about 50% this month on the average for 2008.  Other sites are ticking along nicely but slowly.  I really need to start editing photos and getting them online.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

26% shutterstock
10% dreamtime
14% Fotolia
17% istockphoto
5% bigstockphoto
9% 123RF
19% StockXpert
0% Featurepics

I have decided I am not doing this Blog proud.  I am not keeping up with market news.  If you want news about the microstock industry, the best source is on Lee Torrens Blog who is making a very good job of publicising what is happening in the Microstock world.  I will keep publishing my monthly results but my main focus will be on my personal blog and to get through the 10,000 photos I took on my last holiday (while keeping my day job).  So add my personal blog to your RSS feed - http://cj-photography.blogspot.com/- and have a look at Lee’s for Microstock news.

Previous results for 2008:

July 2008 Earnings

June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock photography results for July 2008

Sales picked up which is great as they had been going down for the past few months (total earnings up 25% this month).  I still haven’t got round to upload which is very disappointing.  I have some ready to upload and have another batch ready for editing.  StockXpert had a great month and iStock picked up a bit after a couple of disappointing months.  Shutterstock put in another solid effort but is still way of its highs.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

22% shutterstock
15% dreamtime
7% Fotolia
22% istockphoto
3% bigstockphoto
7% 123RF
23% StockXpert
1% Featurepics

Since I have been doing this for about 2 1/2 years now, I thought it would be interesting to see annual trends.  Ignoring the fact that I was constantly upload until about August 2007 ( I have uploaded very few since then), you can see that we have just gone though a slow patch and things should increase now till about November.  Most of my photos are travel shots (not a Christmas one amongst them) so my trends may be different to those which different photo mixes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous results for 2008:

June 2008 Earnings
May 2008 Earnings
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock photography results for May 2008

Another slow month. Earnings down again but still tracking ahead of last year. Interestingly, last year, sales dropped in the period from March to May and then rose month on month all the way through to October. It will be interesting to see if this happens again though it does look line the trend in 2007 was caused by no uploads during the March to May period followed by a couple of big upload sessions.

I could replicate this as I have a few shots ready for upload so it is just a matter of prioritising microstock which I haven't been doing since my big trip (Basically I have too many photos that I am just overwhelmed of where to start). Winter is here now so hopefully I will get some time to do it.

The other thing that is interesting is how different sites do better for no apparent reason. I have done nothing in the past year yet StockXpert had a great month last month and dreamtime had a great month this month. As long as each month a few sites do well, I dont complain if it isn't the same ones.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

15% shutterstock
21% dreamtime
9% Fotolia
27% istockphoto
6% bigstockphoto
8% 123RF
14% StockXpert
0% Featurepics


Previous results for 2008:
April 2008 Earnings
March 2008 Earnings
Feb 2008 Earnings
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock photography results for April 2008

A bit down on last month as I didn't get any extended licenses sales but still averaging up after the slower Christmas period. It is coming into our winter know so I may be spending a bit more time in doors to get through my backlog of photos. This should pick up the earnings at shutterstock which always happens when I upload more.

Finally had my first flame at istockphoto which you can read about here.

Disappointing news is that Luckyoliver is closing its doors, and I am just shore of a payout. I cant use any of the credits I have, as they have locked all credits which they gave away for free. Not happy but as they say, nothing in life is free.

Good news is that StockXpert seems to be picking up. Hopefully this trend continues.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

17% shutterstock
11% dreamtime
6% Fotolia
19% istockphoto
9% bigstockphoto
5% 123RF
28% StockXpert
4% Featurepics


Previous results for 2008:

March 2008 Earnings

Feb 2008 Earnings

Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock photography results for March 2008

Sales are up this month and getting back to the highs of last year. However, this was due to a few Extended License sales at shutterstock which helped out alot. A disappointing month at a few sites, istockphoto especially which had been a top earner in the new year and I had great hopes for sales to surge forward in 2008.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

25% shutterstock
17% dreamtime
3% Fotolia
11% istockphoto
9% bigstockphoto
5% 123RF
17% StockXpert
1% Featurepics
2% LuckyOliver

Previous results for 2008:

Feb 2008 Earnings

Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock photography results for Feb 2008

Well it has been another month on non-action on my part at the micro sites, the reason (a relatively lame one) is that the Hard disk on my laptop is overflowing and my external harddrives are safely stored at my parents house.

Sales are up slight on last month, another great month of passive earnings. With the increase in payouts at shutterstock expected in May, and more photos that are ready to be edited, hopefully I will be able to increase my earnings once I actually start putting some work into microstock again.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

20% shutterstock
15% dreamtime
8% Fotolia
23% istockphoto
6% bigstockphoto
12% 123RF
14% StockXpert
1% Featurepics
1% LuckyOliver

Previous results for 2008:
Jan 2008 Earnings

Microstock photography results for Janurary

Sorry about the no updates in January but I am struggling with incredibly slow internet. I move into my new place later this month and will hopefully be able to get full speed broadband (no guarantees though).

Anyway, January was slow as expected but slightly up on December. If previous years are anything to go by, sales should increase through to March/April, then slow down abit and then take off for the later part of the year only slowing down for December.

I also have some photos to upload which should kickstart my shutterstock earnings.

So January was slow but istockphoto had a great month. Hopefully they will keep going up from this good base. dreamtime and StockXpert were also quite strong.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

20% shutterstock
16% dreamtime
4% Fotolia
29% istockphoto
2% bigstockphoto
8% 123RF
20% StockXpert
2% Featurepics
0% LuckyOliver

December Microstock Results

A combination of the Christmas holidays and a lack of Christmas photos has resulted in my worst month Janurary. As I have been away I haven't been in contact with others but I assume it is common for a drop off to be felt during the Christmas period. It will be interesting to see what happens in Janurary.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

24% shutterstock
16% dreamtime
8% Fotolia
18% istockphoto
5% bigstockphoto
10% 123RF
18% StockXpert
2% Featurepics
0% LuckyOliver

Hopefully over the next few months I will start uploading photos again. I have noticed shutterstock has dropped of a bit which is a common occurance since new photos tend to feature higher in search ratings.

November Microstock Results

Earnings are a bit down on last months best ever earnings but I did have best ever months (BEM) for StockXpert and dreamtime . I dont have any Christmas style photos so a drop off is expected.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

18% shutterstock
16% dreamtime BEM
10% Fotolia
18% istockphoto
5% bigstockphoto
8% 123RF
24% StockXpert BEM
1% Featurepics
0% LuckyOliver

With the Christmas holidays over the next couple of months, I am expecting a big drop off in earnings.

Microstock Photography results for October

I am still travelling so still haven't had any time to edit or upload any photos. My guess is that at the end of my travels, i will have over 10,000 photos, though probably only 500-1000 will be good enough for stock. When travelling, I constantly have to remind my self to take a photo that while not necessarily perfect, is important as a momento rather than just a stock photograph.

Even though I have done nothing, it has been another record month. istockphoto continues to grow and I had an Extended License from LuckyOliver which distorts the percentages a bit. This EL now means that I qualify for a payment from LuckyOliver (at long last) which means taht I have finally received a payment from all sites I submit to (and haven't given up on).

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

28% shutterstock
9% dreamtime
6% Fotolia
25% istockphoto BEM
4% bigstockphoto
7% 123RF
13% StockXpert
0% Featurepics
7% LuckyOliver

Off to Africa for the next 50 days so wont be updating till after Christmas now.

Microstock Photography results for August

Sorry for the delay but I have been overseas.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

39% shutterstock BEM
11% dreamtime
3% Fotolia
21% istockphoto BEM
4% bigstockphoto
10% 123RF
10% StockXpert BEM
1% Featurepics
1% LuckyOliver

Microstock photo results for July

July was a best ever month for me thanks to great sales at shutterstock , istockphoto , StockXpert. The increase at shutterstock was expected as I have uploaded a number of new images there over the past two months and have really felt the benefit of the "new photo" effect. istockphoto was a supprise as it really took of this month for no apparent reason. This has happened before (in March) and wasn't sustained but hopefully it will be this time. All the other sites were a bit disappointing but the season pros were expecting the "normal July slow down" (caused by holidays in the US??) so maybe it was effected by this. August is quite a popular holiday time in Europe but hopefully there wont be an August slowdown as well as I have no Christmas shots to enjoy the Christmas rush which lots of people enjoy.

Sales are creaping back at Fotolia following the relaunch of its site. Sales dropped of considerably but in the second half of July, they were almost back to normal. They are still experiencing issues with there search engine so hopefully they will get this fixed shortly, or even better, the buyers find my photos at sites with a higher commission like StockXpert.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

34% shutterstock BEM
12% dreamtime
5% Fotolia
23% istockphoto BEM
3% bigstockphoto
4% 123RF
16% StockXpert BEM
1% Featurepics
2% LuckyOliver

I am off on holiday shortly for a few month so posts will be very intermittent if at all. Hopefully i will get some great shots.

Microstock photo results for June 2007

June was a good month and an interesting month. First of all Fotolia relaunched a new version of its site which has had major issues (this is why I haven't reviewed the new version yet). Sales are down significnatly since the change over but just prior, I had an Extended License sale which means it was a better than average month there. I also uploaded a few photos finally starting onthe backlog of photos to edit. This has has positive results for shutterstock which always does well after new photos go online. It has also seen the launch of SnapVillage, Corbis new entry into the microstock market. Have a lot at my previous blogs to see why I am not that happy with it.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

32% shutterstock BEM
15% dreamtime
12% Fotolia
13% istockphoto
7% bigstockphoto
7% 123RF
11% StockXpert
3% Featurepics
0% Canstock
0% Galastock
2% LuckyOliver

I am looking forward to another good month as I continue to get more photos on line. Then I am gonig on holiday for a while which means that uploads will stop completely for a few months.