Author Topic: just went non-exclusive on istock (Read 32122 times)

kayann · « **on:** April 16, 2014, 04:49 »

I haven't been on this board in awhile. I have been exclusive at istock since 2005. I finally gave notice last week that I am going non-exclusive. Does anyone have any advice for me? Any warnings? What do expect?

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2014, 05:31 »

Quote from: kayann on April 16, 2014, 04:49

I haven't been on this board in awhile. I have been exclusive at istock since 2005. I finally gave notice last week that I am going non-exclusive. Does anyone have any advice for me? Any warnings? What do expect?

Hopefully you've done some research already, but:
http://www.seanlockephotography.com/2014/03/06/dropping-istockphoto-exclusivity/
http://www.michaeljayfoto.com/talking-numbers/same-earnings-non-exclusive-from-istockphoto/

fotoVoyager · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2014, 05:56 »

Good luck to you.

No doubt more of us will join you in due course given the current trends there.

Probably better for artists in the long run. Painful to start with though I imagine.

kayann · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2014, 06:12 »

Thanks for the responses and support. Sean - I am sure I have not done enough research but I have been able to track my sales and my wife has always been a non-exclusive so I have had some ability to compare. Your article was enormously helpful and I appreciate it.

I noticed on your portfolio page you have depositphotos. Does the discussion here about their recent subscription deal worry you?

Also have you seen this presentation on youtube about the current state of the microstock industry by Bob Davies?

<a href="http://youtu.be/42lJ7eri984" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtu.be/42lJ7eri984</a>

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2014, 07:19 »

Quote from: kayann on April 16, 2014, 06:12

I noticed on your portfolio page you have depositphotos. Does the discussion here about their recent subscription deal worry you?

All I can do is opt out or not participate in the things that I don't agree with.

Julied83 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2014, 07:47 »

I have a blog with articles that I talk about my experience since I quit exclusivity last year but it's in french :\

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2014, 07:50 »

C'est dommage.

Julied83 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2014, 08:03 »

But in conclusion, I never regret to quit exclusivity ! I was diamond but redeem credit system killed me ! I got more motivation of making new images to sell on other site instead of waiting or expecting a single sale on istock ! A years later my revenue are almost the same as If I stayed exclusitve (I guess). Or much better ... ! But that was a lot of work.

Here is my blog link If you can read french

http://juliedeshaiesphoto.wordpress.com/

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2014, 09:47 »

Good luck with the transition. I have been indie since June 2011, but I had been indie from 2004 to 2008 so it was a return and perhaps a little less confusing.

My advice would be to focus on Shutterstock and the others in the big 4; sort out your metadata so you get rid of the bizarro English of the Getty CV - house and home versus Residential Structure; watch what you submit to Dreamstime as acceptance rate has more of an impact there (and they count rejections like submitting a different model release for one model towards that, even though their rules are really weird).

Go and read the partner program list and which sites let you opt out - having our images scattered to the four winds by low earner agencies with no opt out is a real worry to some of us.

If you have thoughts about submitting to Stocksy (which requires image exclusivity) give some thought to agencies with a lock on images for a period of time (DT for 6 months for a portion of your portfolio, BigStock for 3 months).

If you're thinking of submitting to Fotolia (which has a pretty terrible reputation for all sorts of reasons, but is a decent earner for newer contributors) read this thread about their most recent attempt to hose their contributors

kayann · « **Reply #9 on:** April 16, 2014, 10:14 »

trying to decide which site to put my illustrations on is one of the most daunting thoughts I face. It does seem unwise to scatter your work everywhere. It us one of the reasons I stayed exclusive, but of course Getty started scatter my illustrations for me so that reason to stay exclusive is gone. The advantage of a bit of scattering is one site might accept illustrations others reject. My wife's number one seller overall was rejected by istock as not quality enough for stock illustration.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 16, 2014, 10:22 »

As much as I hate the thought of more competition, I'll tell you that 3/4 of my income comes from Shutterstock. I think that's where you should head first.

kayann · « **Reply #11 on:** April 16, 2014, 10:31 »

the good news is I am probably not competition for most of the people on this forum. I only do illustrations, no photography. Jo Ann - I looked at Fine Art America but it seems more for photographers. I won't be going to Bigstock because of their print deals for sure. I have looked at Zazzle and cafepress but zazzle's interface seems so time consuming, although from a buyer's perspective they seem cooler than cafepress. Did I mention daunting

)

Shutterstock is why I finally decided to go non-exclusive.

cthoman · « **Reply #12 on:** April 16, 2014, 11:00 »

Uh oh... Not more illustrators. Kidding. Good luck! I'm sure the transition will take some time and patience.

chromaco · « **Reply #13 on:** April 16, 2014, 11:19 »

Illustrators absolutely must upload to Toonvectors! Sales are slowish (but regular and consistent monthly) but at a commission of $14 per sale and 70% you should support this site simply on principle. Upload is a bit unorthodox but once you get it is extremely easy. Toonvectors commissions for me are about 2 times DP and Fotolia and blow the other smaller sites out of the water. This site and Symbio are the two most promising prospects for illustrators in years.

kayann · « **Reply #14 on:** April 16, 2014, 11:24 »

Quote from: chromaco on April 16, 2014, 11:19

Illustrators absolutely must upload to Toonvectors! Sales are slowish (but regular and consistent monthly) but at a commission of $14 per sale and 70% you should support this site simply on principle. Upload is a bit unorthodox but once you get it is extremely easy. Toonvectors commissions for me are about 2 times DP and Fotolia and blow the other smaller sites out of the water. This site and Symbio are the two most promising prospects for illustrators in years.

thanks chromaco. I will look at it.

cthoman · « **Reply #15 on:** April 16, 2014, 11:44 »

Quote from: chromaco on April 16, 2014, 11:19

Illustrators absolutely must upload to Toonvectors! Sales are slowish (but regular and consistent monthly) but at a commission of $14 per sale and 70% you should support this site simply on principle. Upload is a bit unorthodox but once you get it is extremely easy. Toonvectors commissions for me are about 2 times DP and Fotolia and blow the other smaller sites out of the water. This site and Symbio are the two most promising prospects for illustrators in years.

Should I feel guilty that you promote Toon Vectors more than I do?

Anyway, I'll second it being a good site. What type of images do you sell Kayann?

kalevitamm · « **Reply #16 on:** April 16, 2014, 11:58 »

Hi Kayann and all others,

I have just made a same move, dropped iStock exclusivity, actually I would like to close my account there completely, but I don't know where to join, as I am in bit different situation, at the moment I'm able to take only black and white images and I know this is not successful in regular microstock sites, what I should do or where to join?

Here is my port: kalevitamm.com

Thanks,

Kalevi

chromaco · « **Reply #17 on:** April 16, 2014, 11:59 »

Quote from: cthoman on April 16, 2014, 11:44

Quote from: chromaco on April 16, 2014, 11:19
Illustrators absolutely must upload to Toonvectors! Sales are slowish (but regular and consistent monthly) but at a commission of $14 per sale and 70% you should support this site simply on principle. Upload is a bit unorthodox but once you get it is extremely easy. Toonvectors commissions for me are about 2 times DP and Fotolia and blow the other smaller sites out of the water. This site and Symbio are the two most promising prospects for illustrators in years.

Should I feel guilty that you promote Toon Vectors more than I do?

Anyway, I'll second it being a good site. What type of images do you sell Kayann?

No... I'm completely unbiased. You said you wish you had about 5 clipartof's. In my mind Toonvectors is about as close as we are going to get right now. Helping this site grow is in my own (and every other illustrator's) best interest. The next step is some sort of collaboration/ co-op on symbio. Looks like that may be on the horizon but not for another year or two. Hopefully Leo's new version of Symbio will allow some of this functionality eventually.

If I can make a suggestion/request/appeal/plea to all other illustrators.
Please delay the uploading of your images to the subscription sites until you have given the better paying sites an opportunity to index and SEO your images first. Sites that offer 50%-70% commissions on $20-40 dollar vectors deserve our support and this is one simple way to help them grow. I realize most contributors can't afford not to upload to SS and IS and the others but you might be able to wait a month or two. In the long run I think this will benefit us all.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #18 on:** April 16, 2014, 12:18 »

Quote from: kalevitamm on April 16, 2014, 11:58

I have just made a same move, dropped iStock exclusivity, actually I would like to close my account there completely, but I don't know where to join, as I am in bit different situation, at the moment I'm able to take only black and white images and I know this is not successful in regular microstock sites, what I should do or where to join?

Here is my port: kalevitamm.com

I wonder if Stocksy or Offset might be options for you? I agree with you that it might be a hard sell with the regular micros. Alamy possibly?

cthoman · « **Reply #19 on:** April 16, 2014, 12:29 »

Quote from: chromaco on April 16, 2014, 11:59

If I can make a suggestion/request/appeal/plea to all other illustrators.
Please delay the uploading of your images to the subscription sites until you have given the better paying sites an opportunity to index and SEO your images first. Sites that offer 50%-70% commissions on $20-40 dollar vectors deserve our support and this is one simple way to help them grow. I realize most contributors can't afford not to upload to SS and IS and the others but you might be able to wait a month or two. In the long run I think this will benefit us all.

I definitely do this. CLO, my own site and TV get everything first. It's interesting too. I threw some test files back on some sites that I left and they are all performing fairly poorly compared to how they used to. It really makes me remember how much placement really matters for files.

SNP · « **Reply #20 on:** April 16, 2014, 15:04 »

Quote from: kayann on April 16, 2014, 04:49

I haven't been on this board in awhile. I have been exclusive at istock since 2005. I finally gave notice last week that I am going non-exclusive. Does anyone have any advice for me? Any warnings? What do expect?

congratulations. it isn't easy, but going non-exclusive was the right move when I did the same well over a year ago now. get your files organized and do your homework on the agencies. and diversify. that has been my strategy. we're in an industry in flux right now. it's difficult to plunk any move or agency into "good" or "bad". the variables are different for each of us. all in all, independence works and is liberating if you work hard and keep your expectations realistic. I liked MichaelJay's comment about keeping his work with a hand-picked number of more reputable agencies (my words, not his, but paraphrasing). I have taken the same approach. there are too many small guys out there and the ROI just isn't there.

be your own hero. sounds cheesy, but I mean it.

blamb · « **Reply #21 on:** April 16, 2014, 15:22 »

I've dropped exclusivity too, and have two weeks to go on the ticker. I'm hoping it'll at least help me get some motivation back. The RC system was just a huge wet blanket on my ambition. I've been partially non-exclusive (raster illustrations only) for a couple of years, so I'm not making a huge, sudden transition.

kayann · « **Reply #22 on:** April 19, 2014, 05:26 »

Quote from: blamb on April 16, 2014, 15:22

I've dropped exclusivity too, and have two weeks to go on the ticker. I'm hoping it'll at least help me get some motivation back. The RC system was just a huge wet blanket on my ambition. I've been partially non-exclusive (raster illustrations only) for a couple of years, so I'm not making a huge, sudden transition.

Blamb I would never have guessed you would do non-exclusive. I have been surprised by the long time contributors who went non-exclusive. It was not a decision I made lightly, istock started out as a great experience for me. The RC system change was hard at that time though I was dealing with breast cancer so I did not think to much about istock and therefore it probably had less of an impact on me.

My wife says they want people to leave. She is probably right. I think they are trying to maximize profit like all business and we contributors need to do the same for us. Motivation is important, but mostly I think I was exclusive at istock because it was truely different than the other agencies. The simple fact is they no longer are different. They are just another microstock agency, so now us contributors have to work on how to maximize profits for us.

shudderstok · « **Reply #23 on:** April 19, 2014, 07:04 »

Quote from: SNP on April 16, 2014, 15:04

Quote from: kayann on April 16, 2014, 04:49
I haven't been on this board in awhile. I have been exclusive at istock since 2005. I finally gave notice last week that I am going non-exclusive. Does anyone have any advice for me? Any warnings? What do expect?

congratulations. it isn't easy, but going non-exclusive was the right move when I did the same well over a year ago now. get your files organized and do your homework on the agencies. and diversify. that has been my strategy. we're in an industry in flux right now. it's difficult to plunk any move or agency into "good" or "bad". the variables are different for each of us. all in all, independence works and is liberating if you work hard and keep your expectations realistic. I liked MichaelJay's comment about keeping his work with a hand-picked number of more reputable agencies (my words, not his, but paraphrasing). I have taken the same approach. there are too many small guys out there and the ROI just isn't there.

be your own hero. sounds cheesy, but I mean it.

Stacey quick question for you...

I gather you recently left Stocksy for what ever reason and from what I hear of your own accord.

You liked MJay's comment of sticking with reputable agencies. Does this mean you don't feel Stocksy is reputable? Or is it more that you feel you can do better with your imagery elsewhere?

gostwyck · « **Reply #24 on:** April 19, 2014, 07:18 »

Quote from: shudderstok on April 19, 2014, 07:04

Quote from: SNP on April 16, 2014, 15:04
Quote from: kayann on April 16, 2014, 04:49
I haven't been on this board in awhile. I have been exclusive at istock since 2005. I finally gave notice last week that I am going non-exclusive. Does anyone have any advice for me? Any warnings? What do expect?

congratulations. it isn't easy, but going non-exclusive was the right move when I did the same well over a year ago now. get your files organized and do your homework on the agencies. and diversify. that has been my strategy. we're in an industry in flux right now. it's difficult to plunk any move or agency into "good" or "bad". the variables are different for each of us. all in all, independence works and is liberating if you work hard and keep your expectations realistic. I liked MichaelJay's comment about keeping his work with a hand-picked number of more reputable agencies (my words, not his, but paraphrasing). I have taken the same approach. there are too many small guys out there and the ROI just isn't there.

be your own hero. sounds cheesy, but I mean it.

Stacey quick question for you...

I gather you recently left Stocksy for what ever reason and from what I hear of your own accord.

You liked MJay's comment of sticking with reputable agencies. Does this mean you don't feel Stocksy is reputable? Or is it more that you feel you can do better with your imagery elsewhere?

I think Stacey has already answered your question with her observation that "there are too many small guys out there and the ROI just isn't there." You can't leave exclusive work at an agency if it is not generating adequate income.

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Author Topic: just went non-exclusive on istock (Read 32122 times)

kayann

Sean Locke Photography

fotoVoyager

kayann

Sean Locke Photography

Julied83

Sean Locke Photography

Julied83

Jo Ann Snover

kayann

Shelma1

kayann

cthoman

chromaco

kayann

cthoman

kalevitamm

chromaco

Jo Ann Snover

cthoman

SNP

blamb

kayann

shudderstok

gostwyck

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