New Contributor: How Many Assets for More Sales?

[AcikLens]

Hi, I just joined as a contributor in January 2025 and currently have 541 assets in my portfolio, but only 3 downloads so far. Is this normal? Do I need to reach a certain number of assets before customers start discovering my portfolio?

[daniellei4510]

A lot depends on if you are submitting assets that are in demand, and your use of titles and keywords. But I suspect you'll need anywhere in the vicinity of 2000–5000 assets before you start seeing regular sales, daily sales. 

[AcikLens]

Understood, appreciate the info!

[Abambo]

Yes, that's normal. Competition is high. With 5000 assets and continiously adding assets, you could have around 30 sales a month.

[AcikLens]

Got it, thanks for the explanation!

[Jill_C]

There is no magic formula to calculate an asset to sales ratio. It really depends on the content and category of your images. If you've uploaded 500 swirly, abstract, artistic backgrounds, the ratio of assets to sales is going to be very low because Adobe is absolutely saturated with that kind of content. Same with puppies, kittens, sunsets, flowers, etc. You need to focus on under-served niches in the database, if you can find any.

Additionally, your titles and keywords very much affect the discoverability of your assets and you need to spend some time crafting the most descriptive and accurate titles and keywords that you can. Many new Contributors attempt to outsource that effort to a program that generates them for you, but that's not necessarily a good solution. Test the discoverability of your assets by searching on some of the keywords you've used. If your assets don't show up in the first 5-10 pages of search results, they're unlikely to ever be licensed.

[AcikLens]

Thank you for the suggestion. Unfortunately, since I'm based in Malaysia, Adobe Stock is restricted here, and I’m unable to search for my assets directly to check their discoverability. If there’s an alternative method or tool I can use to analyze my asset visibility, I’d appreciate any recommendations

[Jill_C]

In the lower left edge of your Contributor Dashboard page, click on "change region". Change to another region temporarily while you search for your images.

[AcikLens]

I can see all my assets once I change the link from "my" to "uk" for example. 

[Jill_C · Accepted solution]

Good. That should give you some satisfaction that they are available for licensing in most of the world.

[AcikLens]

yeah, just need to keep going...maybe someday, someone will download my work.

[Nancy OShea]

How long is a piece of string?  

There are many variables that determine what sells -- seasonal relevance, customer demand, visual appeal, trending styles & colors, keywords, good titles & descriptions, being in the right place at the right time, etc...  

Unfortunately, there are no hard & fast rules that universally apply to everyone.  Success as a Stock Contributor is one part talent, one part perseverance, and one part luck.

[AcikLens]

Noted with thanks.

[vmert]

I just started today! I tried my first upload of some photos and it says it may take 8 weeks to review. Did it take that long for you? I'm hoping I get feedback sooner, even if it's rejection, becasue I want to know the right way to move forward.

[daniellei4510]

I've been a contributor for over 2 and half years. I can't recall how long it took for my first review, but Adobe wasn't being bombarded by AI at that time. It wasn't quick. I have a couple of assets stuck in the queue for 2 or three months, while new ones often get reviewed overnight. I generally only upload 1or 2 assets per day.

[Jill_C]

Review time is variable and unpredictable. You might get some approved right away, within a few days, or it could take weeks or months. I have some that have waited 11 months. 

[Nancy OShea]

Stock receives thousands of submissions per week. Waiting comes with the territory.  And backlogs do occur, especially during peak holiday seasons. Everyone must wait their turn the same as everyone else ahead of you.

In the meantime, read your Stock Contributor User Guide to familiarize yourself with what's expected.

Adobe Stock customers expect the highest visual and technical quality for use in commercial projects.

• https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/reasons-for-content-rejection.html
• https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/quality-and-technical-issues.html
• https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/user-guide.html/stock/contributor/help/photography-illustr...
• https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/how-to/tips-stock-image-acceptance.html
• https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/vector-requirements.html
• https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/generative-ai-content.html 
• Model/Property Releases:
  https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/model-release.html
  https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/property-release.html

Good luck.