Microstock Strategies

When starting your microstock ventures there are some things you should consider before uploading your first photos. When visiting the different microstock agencies available online - some of them you find here - there are questions that you should seek to answer:

- What is the commission structure like?
- Do they offer both single-sale and subscription-based sales?
- Standard, extended or enhanced licenses?

First of all the different agencies have different commission structures, without exceptions. Dreamstime claims that its royalties are the best in the industry, at least in terms of percentages - you can get somewhere between 50 and 60 % depending on the license. Shutterstock likes to keep things simple and offer commissions of $0.25 for each sale, and $0.30 if you have at least $500 in earnings.

Sales Models

Different agencies have different sales models, and this is highly relevant to both photographers and buyers. In general there are 3 different models to consider:

- Credit Package (single sales) sites: Buyers purchase images using credits purchased in advance.
- Subscription sale sites: Buyers purchase a monthly (usually) subscription and can then download a set number of images during the subscription period.
- Hybrid sites: Combination of both.

Recommendations

When you choose your strategy for submitting your photos, you can go one of two ways (consider what is best for you): Either you spread your work around a number of agencies to maximize your exposure, or you go exclusively with one agency and take advantage of the advantages of submitting with exclusivity.

I recommend that you:

- spread your work around at least 4-5 microstock agencies in order to spread your risk and increase your exposure to different types of buyers
- make sure that the microstock agencies you choose are hybrid sites, offering both single-sale and subscription-based sales
- get to know the commissions structure of each agency


Share your experiences and tell us about your own strategy for making money on microstock photography - leave a comment.