Hey there. I know I have made myself very available for the past few years. And I am really happy and honored that my reach has grown so far. Thanks a lot for reading what I had to say. However, this came with a backside: From the usual one or two questions a month, I am now getting personal messages or emails almost daily, sometimes several each day. I simply don’t have time to answer each of them individually.
So I came up with this post as a starting point if you want to know about the market how I experienced in the recent years. I hope you’ll find what you are looking for because the link to this is going to be my first response to most questions from now on.
I will still answer individual messages when privacy issues demand a personal handling and a question can not be answered in a semi-public place like a group on Facebook. But I’d really be grateful if you could use the resources offered in this post first as the chances are other people out there can answer your questions just as good as I can and sometimes be much faster. And I’ll be around in most of the places mentioned, so I’ll meet you there.
I will also sum up a lot of answers to those repetitive questions I am getting at the moment in a few new posts in the very near future. So make sure to follow this blog and my Facebook page. 🙂
Please ask your questions here:
If you have questions, about Shutterstock (or broadly in the microstock range), I recommend these two groups:
Shutterstock Contributors Worldwide
If you have questions about EyeEm, there is this group I started myself:
For questions regarding iStock, there is this group:
On Adobe Stock/Fotolia, join this one:
With the exception of the iStock group, I am a member in all these groups and chances are, I might reply to your question in there. But that helps me to keep things under control and helps avoiding the same questions to be asked again and again. 🙂
Make sure to read each group’s guidelines and rules before posting and try to find an FAQ.
What if you don’t like Facebook:
There are other sites that you can ask question, for example Quora: https://www.quora.com/
On Reddit, there is a subreddit on Stock Photography: https://www.reddit.com/r/stockphotography/
And there are forums, like the MicroStockGroup: http://www.microstockgroup.com
Please read some of my blog posts:
While many of my blog posts are more about current events and changes, some offer some generic insights into the market. Even those that have been around for a year or two still hold a lot of information that can be applied. Here is a short list of articles you might want to read:
On how much money you can make with reasonable effort
I made $1,254.93 in four months with #EyeEmPaid, do you want to know how?
On what kind of images sells
On how to work with the tax forms you’ll find on many agencies
Tax Forms W-8BEN at Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Fotolia or Dreamstime
On finding the right places to sell
Stocksy launches new Call to Artist – should you apply as contributor?