Tuesday, February 24, 2009

How Big Is The Market For Microstock Photography?

This is a question that I get asked frequently, mainly by the newcomer to the business. (The emphasis being on business and not a hobby). Well for a start ‘iStockphoto’ are paying out over 1.1 million dollars per week to their contributors, so if they are only paying out 25% commission then do the sums in terms of their sales per week. You can see it really is big business.

Then I get asked of how many photographs do I sell per week? Like all businesses you have highs and lows in term of sales. I have had images that have only sold once or twice in a year or more then have made ten or twenty sales in the same month. Other images that I have uploaded to the libraries sell week in and week out. Others images are being downloaded only a few times per month, but on a regular basis. What I will tell you is that within the next week, my total image downloads will have reached 10,000 (watch this space) through my GBPhotostock account.

What you have to remember is that you are selling stock. What you have to do is to aim your sock at the market. I had one photographer ask me why his images rarely sold. I discovered it was because the niche that he was photographing was too narrow. But he didn’t want to photograph anything else so his sales slumped almost to zero. What you have to do is to shoot images that will sell. I make a point at checking out the top 50 images that are selling each week. Note which images are in the top 50 week in and week out. I’m not saying copy them but to ask yourself why they are selling and meet the same criteria in you images.

Another question that I am frequently asked is how much traffic does the libraries get per day, week or year? I have taken the trouble to research the traffic volume and I was surprised to say the least. These are the top five Microstock libraries that I contribute to and their average number of visitors per day!

1 - istockphoto.com 2433628
2 - fotolia.com 918196
3 - dreamstime.com 775740
4 - shutterstock.com 716612
5 - bigstockphoto.com 68183

(figures taken from http://www.websiteoutlook.com/)

I must admit I was amazed that ‘Shutterstock’ down in fourth place as it has produced my greatest number of sales. What I have discovered is that subjects sell better with one library rather than another. Again only by uploading and recording your sales will you find the most suitable library.