Author Topic: Portfolio Size and Consistent Sales (Read 6442 times)

Cricket · « **on:** July 13, 2008, 07:55 »

Hi Guys,

I got a question for you all.

I have got very, very small portfolios--- 24 photos with Scan stock, 11 photos with Fotolia and 16 shots with BigStock--- but surprisingly I have been getting about 1- 3 sales a month since February.

Anyway... even though I'm making sales every month, it's either been Fotolia or Big Stock or Scan Stock, but never the same agency month after month.

So here is the question... what size was your portfolio when noticed that you were making consistent sales every month with each agency?

I know Scan Stock has a reputation for being a bit erratic in terms of sales but how big does your portfolio need to be to get consistent sales every month with Fotolia or Big Stock??

Also what size was your portfolio when you noticed that your earnings were $25 or even $50 a month?

I am not expecting to get rich off this endeavor but having enough earnings that can result in a regular payout would be nice.

Cricket

bittersweet · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2008, 07:59 »

There is really no way to answer this because it all depends on the usability of the images in your portfolio. You could have 500 images on six sites and not have consistent earnings if they are not what designers need.

michealo · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2008, 11:09 »

Cricket, I suspect it also depends on the type of images. Imagine if you have all christmas images, you will probably do ok from June on and then everthing will dry up on the 26th of December. Whereas if you have a mix of images suitable for Valentines, Easter, Summertime, Autumn and Christmas you would probably have a smoother mix. And categories like business probably sell ok year round.

jsnover · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2008, 22:24 »

I think you need to do a couple of things. Increase the size of your portfolio to several hundred images, and submit to more stock sites, in particular the big earners. As noted above, it matters what you shoot. 1,000 pictures of birds and zoo animals won't sell much

FT has been highly erratic lately - great for some and disastrous for others. BigStock is a second tier site, and while I like ScanStock as it pays in Euros and that means quite a premium given the current exchange rate with the $$, it's not even a second tier site.

You can look around here and read about where the earnings are coming from.

lisafx · « **Reply #4 on:** July 14, 2008, 10:45 »

Well, this is talking ancient history, but I noticed consistent daily sales started when I hit around 150 images in my portfolio.

But that was over 3 years ago with a lot less competition. Now it may be considerably more....

epantha · « **Reply #5 on:** July 14, 2008, 14:07 »

Quote

Well, this is talking ancient history, but I noticed consistent daily sales started when I hit around 150 images in my portfolio.

I do have around 150+ images on the major sites (except iStock) and have been getting 10-20 downloads every day during the week for at least a month now (started uploading in March 08) with less on the weekends. My portfolio is made up of stock type photos, nature photos, seasonal graphics and backgrounds.

lisafx · « **Reply #6 on:** July 14, 2008, 14:12 »

Good to know 150 is still a good number for steady downloads

epantha · « **Reply #7 on:** July 14, 2008, 14:24 »

Quote

Good to know 150 is still a good number for steady downloads

I have been very pleased with the progress and very inspired by people like you

. Actually thought it would take a lot longer for things to get moving in the download numbers and for me to learn what sells and what doesn't. Helps that I work in advertising

I love photography so much that it doesn't seem like work at all and I was selling desktop patterns on my own way back in 1995 so am thrilled to pick that up again and be able to sell seamless tiles and backgrounds on sites like SS, StockXpert, BigStock, 123RF and DT.

I'm very focused and determined to make microstock a successful venture. Seems like an ideal career if you can put in the time and effort.

basti · « **Reply #8 on:** July 15, 2008, 12:00 »

I do have about 150 pics at DT and SS and it doesnt show regular sales. They do happen but especially DT is much "hit-and-miss", with SS it means about average 3 downloads/day. Beware that downloads at SS decrease very dramatically with time and especially when you do not upload regurarly. I do have mostly nature/travels shots so its not the exactly best microstock stuff but its not crap either. SS shows "quantum mechanics" system - one day 5 sales, another one zero. Also not easy to foretell how many will sell, some for sure but not 10-20/day.

vphoto · « **Reply #9 on:** July 15, 2008, 21:32 »

It occurred to my that not only a portfolio better not be tiny, but also it should be diverse. Images of the same type may fall out of fashion, there can be to many of them already .....

takestock · « **Reply #10 on:** July 16, 2008, 03:11 »

Quote from: vphoto on July 15, 2008, 21:32

It occurred to my that not only a portfolio better not be tiny, but also it should be diverse. Images of the same type may fall out of fashion, there can be to many of them already .....

I think it's not all that difficult to reach the 150 mark, specially when contributors upload variations on a theme where you see many images only very slightly different.

I agree, a diverse portfolio covering different subjects will ensure that you show up in as many searches as possible and thus have a better chance of regular sales.