Flyby Photography Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Hello all, This is going to be one of them questions that we have all seen 1000 times now, and i think i may know the answer. I currently have almost 1000 images, a mixed bag of aerial and ground shots, on alamy i have had 850ish views with 4 zooms- 0 sales. I upload all of my content to a micro site beginning with an 'S' and ive had 20 odd sales on there. I know people hate these micro sites, and i feel that potential alamy sales have been driven there if they have shopped around for a cheaper download. The alamy upload process is my favorite, nice and clear and easy to manage the port. Do people have success being on both sites, i know its a good idea to be on both, as not all content is uploadable to both, sometimes only 1 will accept etc, but the ports are very similar. There is not alot of aerial photos of gravesend, kent for example, i have uploaded some to both now, but would these be better just on here? I would have thought i would have had atleast 1 download on here by now with the size of the port niche of alot of the content. Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 If you've uploaded the same images to MS and Alamy, why would someone pay pounds here when they can get the same image for pennies on MS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Limb Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 3 hours ago, Flyby Photography said: i know its a good idea to be on both, No it is not! Your sales prove that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeCee Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 General rule of thumb is one sale per month per 1000 images, and average sales value here is around $40.00 I suspect, as others have already said, that you're sales are suffering due to them being available elsewhere at a tiny fraction of that fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brasilnut Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 20 sales on Micros with 1,000 portfolio (how long?) suggests that it may not be that Alamy customers are shopping around, perhaps the images don't have high commercial value. i average about 15-20 sales a day with 4,000 images on Micros. The notion that Alamy customers may shop around for a cheaper deal at Micros has become a sort of dogma. In theory it does make sense but I'm trying to gather some real proof that that is what is going on with my older images that are duplicated (zooms on here and sales on there in a short period). So far it's inconclusive and I'm aware that not all zooms are registered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southmind Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 3 hours ago, Flyby Photography said: Hello all, This is going to be one of them questions that we have all seen 1000 times now, and i think i may know the answer. I currently have almost 1000 images, a mixed bag of aerial and ground shots, on alamy i have had 850ish views with 4 zooms- 0 sales. I upload all of my content to a micro site beginning with an 'S' and ive had 20 odd sales on there. I know people hate these micro sites, and i feel that potential alamy sales have been driven there if they have shopped around for a cheaper download. The alamy upload process is my favorite, nice and clear and easy to manage the port. Do people have success being on both sites, i know its a good idea to be on both, as not all content is uploadable to both, sometimes only 1 will accept etc, but the ports are very similar. There is not alot of aerial photos of gravesend, kent for example, i have uploaded some to both now, but would these be better just on here? I would have thought i would have had atleast 1 download on here by now with the size of the port niche of alot of the content. Thanks all Hi Flyby ! We are in the same case... 910 images, 1030 views, 4 zooms (lol) and i started to upload at the beginning of September this year. The only difference is that about 500 of my photos are specific to Alamy and doesn't exists on MS. I am little tired of MS and would like to find fresh air here, so all my new shoots are exclusive to Alamy. I have no idea where I will go, but I want to try at least one year to see if I can sell something here. May be my images are not suitable for Alamy or may be I am not in the good country but I want to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andremichel Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 My experience is that there can be a big delay between joining Alamy and getting the first sale; then gradually reaching the point of regular monthly sales. I had to wait 8 months for my first ever sale and it was 12 months before I was getting regular monthly sales. But I did join in 2010, so things may be different now. Also I think I get roughly 1 sale for every 4 zooms - so one of your 4 zooms may eventually be reported as a sale. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southmind Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 1 hour ago, andremichel said: My experience is that there can be a big delay between joining Alamy and getting the first sale; then gradually reaching the point of regular monthly sales. I had to wait 8 months for my first ever sale and it was 12 months before I was getting regular monthly sales. But I did join in 2010, so things may be different now. Also I think I get roughly 1 sale for every 4 zooms - so one of your 4 zooms may eventually be reported as a sale. Andy Andy, thank you for your message of hope ! I read somewhere that Alamy had the gestation period of an elephant ... In our case, I hope there will be a premature delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avpics Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 2 hours ago, Southmind said: ... and i started to upload at the beginning of September this year. In which case there may be successful sales out there that you haven't had reported yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futterwithtrees Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 I have a portfolio of just around 800 images here and 900 on an MS site. Both a mixed bag in terms of quality and subject matter and both built from a standing start over the past year. 6000 views here plus 7 zooms but no sales. 250 sales on the MS site. One would imagine if my images are being spotted here and then searched for on the MS site that before searching for them elsewhere a prospective buyer would want a closer look at them on Alamy and therefore zoom them. (I hope that comment reads sensibly) The stats don't reflect that kind of behaviour.. I suspect that my ranking on Alamy just doesn't help me get seen here but I'll keep trying. By the way I see many images on Alamy of a similar nature and quality to those available elsewhere. Occasionally I have a sneak look at the portfolios of those on Alamy who report sales at the end of each month and with the greatest of respect I don't often see portfolios that are outstandingly different from what I see elsewhere. Conclusion: I can't make rhyme nor reason of it but as I say I will keep trying along with those other of us who have still no sales to report. Can anyone just confirm when a zoom is registered. I do suspect that many zooms are made by fellow photographers who have no interest in buying but are just looking at what the opposition has to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Some years ago I looked into the possibility of doing aerial work with a drone and decided that the investment involved in getting the CAA licence, the ongoing renewal and insurance costs plus the drone itself, was utterly prohibitive. If had had thrown caution to the wind and pursued that option I am absolutely certain I would not have made the images I created available for pennies on microstock sites, even if it took months or years to get sales here at Alamy. Play the long game for the best rewards and, equally important, to maintain the perceived value of the imagery you are going to great effort and expense to create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Just now, Futterwithtrees said: Can anyone just confirm when a zoom is registered. I do suspect that many zooms are made by fellow photographers who have no interest in buying but are just looking at what the opposition has to offer. Zooms are only recorded when a select group of Alamy registered customers makes the zoom. Casual browsing by anybody else on the website does not show up as a zoom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariaJ Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Are you looking for suggestions on how to improve some of your images and keywording? I was going to make a couple suggestions but on rereading your questions I'm not sure you are. Maria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southmind Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 26 minutes ago, Avpics said: In which case there may be successful sales out there that you haven't had reported yet I did not know that sales could be reported after a delay. (of ?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avpics Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, Southmind said: I did not know that sales could be reported after a delay. (of ?). Frequently three months, sometimes more, sometimes less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariaJ Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 1 minute ago, Southmind said: I did not know that sales could be reported after a delay. (of ?). It may take a few months or longer for a sale to show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 I know that I have found it very helpful to hear about others' statistics over this year, my first with Alamy. So, I offer my own for comparison. My portfolio has built up gradually over the year. Started uploading in February. First sale in May. Ten sales so far, for a total of $280, but only 5 of them were zoomed. 15,827 views for a current portfolio of around 3,300, and 74 zooms. Arguably, for that many zooms, my sales should be more, but I am hoping there are more yet to come in as many of them have been fairly recent. I have learned loads (mostly via this forum) but have also got much better at processing in Lightroom. Since I am very much a newbie to photography in general, having owned a DSLR for less than two years, I am more than happy with this success so far, and actually didn't expect to have had any sales in my first year. I only upload to Alamy. I have got better at keywording and am currently working my way back through earlier uploads to improve keywords. In summary, my advice is to persevere (which is Leith's motto where I live). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futterwithtrees Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 MariaJ said Are you looking for suggestions on how to improve some of your images and keywording? I was going to make a couple suggestions but on rereading your questions I'm sure you are. This is not my thread as Ii didnt start it so i dont want to hijack it but I personally would be glad of any advice on any of these issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlessandraRC Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I think what determines the buyers preference for a site is the license. Lots of design companies have accounts on various sites and will evaluate what the license offers first, then price. I've sold here images that are also available in micro stock. But sales here are few and in-between, though most are worth it when they happen. Keep uploading try to do your best in keyboarding and categorizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Cooper Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 No sales for me here either though I do have a tiny port (less than 100 images.) So far, Ive had two payouts on one of the biggest microstock sites but sales for me there have really slowed down recently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marb Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Fwiw I am in the same boat. I usd to get sales every month here (files that were selling also on microstock which proves that they have sold both here and there) but since I started to upload more editorial, exclusive images here my sales stopped MONTHS ago which is very discouraging. Any sales I have had have reduced in revenue over the time. Considering the christmas files I have uploaded I find it a huge disappointment to get absolutley nothng. Some people in the forums have been very encouraging and seem as miffed as I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariaJ Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 37 minutes ago, Marb said: Fwiw I am in the same boat. I usd to get sales every month here (files that were selling also on microstock which proves that they have sold both here and there) but since I started to upload more editorial, exclusive images here my sales stopped MONTHS ago which is very discouraging. Any sales I have had have reduced in revenue over the time. Considering the christmas files I have uploaded I find it a huge disappointment to get absolutley nothng. Some people in the forums have been very encouraging and seem as miffed as I am. It appears there's a lot of competition with generic Christmas images. In alamy there were over 100 000 images when I searched for Christmas gifts. If you look in A of A, most of the Christmas searches involve people doing things, or special events or locations. I think you'll have more luck with your brandy by the fireplace images as there is far less competition for those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marb Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 17 minutes ago, geogphotos said: Since you are determined to ignore advice I don't suppose that things are going to change for you. How many times did Philippe, and have others, pointed out to you that uploading more and more micro-style imagery is not going to change anything for you? It's as though you want Alamy to be something and will just continue to ignore reality until it happens. I am not trying to be argumentative or unhelpful but really you do need to have a think about what you are submitting for sale and why it isn't selling as you would like. Sorry but I have to disagree as my recent uploads have not been microstock (as others on the forums agree in another post) On the contrary, I have taken advice and upload mainly exclusive, editorial images here. I found Philippe and some others (as pointed out by some forum members) was rather rude and condescending, while at the same time guilty of selling the same microstock type images in his own portfolio. That said, I am not here to attack anyone as I am more interested in sales. I think whatever I produce for some here will not be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efk11 Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 1 hour ago, Marb said: Fwiw I am in the same boat. I usd to get sales every month here (files that were selling also on microstock which proves that they have sold both here and there) but since I started to upload more editorial, exclusive images here my sales stopped MONTHS ago which is very discouraging. Any sales I have had have reduced in revenue over the time. Considering the christmas files I have uploaded I find it a huge disappointment to get absolutley nothng. Some people in the forums have been very encouraging and seem as miffed as I am. My philosophy and advice to everyone is to keep plugging away. The advice here from members is invaluable I think as to possible improvements to make to your port but the bottom line we should all agree on is, no one really knows what the absolute set criteria is for making sales. All kinds of photos of differing qualities and subjects are selling as is evident on the "show the latest photo you sold" thread. Also a friend who has a monthly budget for Alamy told me matter of factly recently, she knows little about photography and just works off the first and second pages on the search so those type of buyers exist aswell!! (and I for one have found keyboarding the magic in getting to the first and second pages) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futterwithtrees Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 50 minutes ago, geogphotos said: Since you are determined to ignore advice I don't suppose that things are going to change for you. How many times did Philippe, and have others, pointed out to you that uploading more and more micro-style imagery is not going to change anything for you? It's as though you want Alamy to be something and will just continue to ignore reality until it happens. I am not trying to be argumentative or unhelpful but really you do need to have a think about what you are submitting for sale and why it isn't selling as you would like. Please define micro-style imagery for a stock sales novice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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