Sales Decline

[Parbat5C3E]

Hello everyone, I’ve been contributing icons to Adobe Stock for the past three years, and until recently, my portfolio was performing well, earning me around $35 a day consistently. However, over the past few weeks, my downloads have dropped dramatically, and now I’m barely making $10 a day, even though I continue uploading new icons regularly. This sudden decline is discouraging, and I’m wondering if others are experiencing the same. Has there been a change in the search algorithm, buyer behavior, or something else affecting visibility? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[RALPH_L · Accepted solution]

If you are making $10-$35/day, you are what I would call a top contributor and I doubt that you will find someone here who even comes close to earning those amounts.  

Last year you also reported a decline in downloads where you reported that you were averaging 15 downloads/day. 
As you have noticed, there are periods of fluctuation.

[Parbat5C3E]

Thanks a lot for the support.

[Jill_C]

August is often a slower month due to vacations and holidays around the world, but it usually starts to pick up again in September. If Adobe has changed the search algorithm they wouldn't tell us, but many others have noted slower sales so I suppose it's just a seasonal slump.

[daniellei4510]

It's also worth mentioning that AI may play a large part. Not the AI that is submitted as such, but AI that potential buyers are creating and using themselves. Adobe now offers about 20 other AI options in addition to Firefly. I suspect this might account for at least some decline in overall sales.

[Parbat5C3E]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.

[Nancy OShea]

• Schools just started their Fall semester here.
• People are coming back to work from vacations.
• And, as fate would have it, COVID-19 is surging again. 😷
• Everything comes in cycles, including Stock sales.

Don't worry unnecessarily about dips in sales.  If it becomes more serious, try submitting something other than icons. Customers are always looking for images of people interacting with people at home, school, work and recreation. Be creative. Try new things.

[Parbat5C3E]

Thanks a lot for the suggestion.

[Abambo]

Sales fluctuate. I assume you also have periods with higher sales figures and are not surprised by the change. The £10 may be the norm. There are indeed many factors that influence sales. One of these factors is the holidays, another is the ever-increasing competition. And then Adobe could also be experiencing a decline in customer numbers due to various other factors.