how to sell photos

[Ranger25368074xlmb]

Hi there, after uploading images and they have been aproved. What is my next steps that I need take to get them sold? I have been using AS for more than a year now with a couple of photos that have been approved, but haven't made any sales. Please help.

[madscica]

How many photos do you have online in your portfolio?

[RALPH_L · Accepted solution]

After the photo is approved, you do not have to do anything further. Important is that your keywording and title make it findable. Also your photo has to be of quality and subject that someone wants to buy it. Remember, in some categories there are millions of photos. Yours must stand out and be found.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi @Ranger25368074xlmb ,

As said by @RALPH_L , you do not need to do anything. However, the more you upload is the more likely it is to get sales. You need variety, and volume and to keep your account active so that the algorithm keeps you current. If you wish to share your files link on social media it's ok but not a requirement for sales.

Best wishes

Jacquelin

[Olexandr22522449d3x6]

Hello. How many photos should an average portfolio have per dollar earned? For example, I now have 36 accepted photos in my portfolio. And only one sale. Is this a normal indicator? Or is it not enough for so many photos?

[Jill_C]

I don't think this is data that any of the community members have access to. The sales per image are very dependent on the types of images you're uploading. If your portfolio consists of kittens, puppies, sunsets and flowers (all categories which are very over-represented in Adobe already), your sales will be low. If your portfolio consists of current content in competitive categories, your sales per image might be much higher. Check out the "Artist Hub" link in your Dashboard to see what is in demand and what is selling.

[Olexandr22522449d3x6]

There are many landscapes in my portfolio. I understand that this is not a super hot topic, but do they have at least some chance of selling? It's still not flowers and cats, which I don't have in my portfolio.

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi @Olexandr22522449d3x6 ,

Every asset Adobe Moderators accepts has potential to sell. You need a variety of images and to upload many more than you have to start generate regular sales.

[Nancy OShea]

By some estimates,  you’ll need to have uploaded at least 6,000 images on a variety of subjects to earn a passive income of $500/month.  Some images will sell many times over and other images will sell very little or not at all.  So your mileage may vary by content and other factors.

[Olexandr22522449d3x6]

Do you mean upload 6000 photos only to Adobe stock or do you mean that in order to earn $500 you need to upload 6000 photos to each of the other stocks?

[Nancy OShea]

However you wish to distribute content is your decision.  The point is that microstock is a volume-based business.  The more content you have to offer, the better your chances of making sales. 

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi @Olexandr22522449d3x6,

I believe you should take those figures more as illustration, than facts. The amount your earn from any platform is dependent on the volume you have on each of the platforms, your discoverability and their demand. I believe the discussion is about Adobe platform and the point to take home is that you need to upload thousands of a wide variety of subjects and categories that are in high demand to earn a decent money after many years of consistency.

Best wishes

Jacquelin

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi @Olexandr22522449d3x6 ,

Congratulation!

Stock photo sales is not statistical so that you can put a dollar value to a ratio. Your sales depend on the discoverability of your assets, the demand for your asset and if your asset is the right fit for those who are looking for images in that category and find yours. The more assets you have on line, the more discoverable you become. The more you share your asset links, the more discoverable your become. You can get an asset sold on the same day it's accepted or it might not sell until three years later. Many people submit over a hundred before seeing sales.

Submitting images to stock photos is like starting a business. You have to wait until you are discovered by people who use your assets, which could take years depending how popular you are among people in the field that have demand for your goods and service. Then you have to wait until you start to break even and then grow profit. That takes years of hard work.

In the case of stock photography it takes years of consistency. As I said before you need to keep your portfolio active by constantly uploading or your assets are likely to get lost on the lower end of the search engine.

Best wishes

Jacquelin

[Olexandr22522449d3x6]

thanks everyone for the replies!