Microstock Earnings Report August 2009

August is typically one of the slower months of the microstock calendar. But this year a lot of microstockers are reporting a very solid month, particularly a few iStockphoto exclusive contributors I spoke with. My own earnings were up on last month but lower than August last year. Jack saw most agencies respond favorably to his resumption of uploading.

Jack’s Results

Jack’s portfolios grew a little more this month – more than the previous month but not as much as his first few months. His portfolios are now larger than mine, but with little variety and no download history, his earnings are lower, as expected.

Agency	Earnings US$	Sales	Portfolio Size	Return per Image	STR %
iStockphoto	30.46	23	91	0.33	42
Shutterstock	74.17	266	821	0.09	59
Dreamstime	32.93	40	819	0.04	16
Fotolia	7.65	15	819	0.01	9
StockXpert	17.20	41	867	0.02	13
BigStockPhoto	15.50	15	834	0.02	5
123rf	1.34	1	1042	0.00	1
Totals:	179.25	401			Avg: 21

Observations

• Total earnings were almost exactly the same as last month
• Total RPI calculated on 809 photos uploaded (123rf has extra 200) and total earnings of $175.36 is $0.22 per photo per month
• Jack is still contributing the simple studio shots from a week-long studio session last year

My Results

I’ve been using iSyndica to help synchronize my portfolios, so there’s some new additions to my portfolios at the newer agencies. I’m starting from the top selling photos and working my way down, organizing the files as I go. Looking at my three-year totals chart I don’t have much to look forward to until the end of the year.

Agency	Earnings US$	Sales	Portfolio Size	Return per Image	STR %
iStockphoto	280.49	249	777	0.36	76
Shutterstock	159.91	220	876	0.18	94
Dreamstime	100.47	67	762	0.13	72
Fotolia	77.63	109	650	0.12	54
StockXpert	40.40	68	345	0.12	56
CanStockPhoto	60.90	7	461	0.13	29
BigStockPhoto	3.87	6	465	0.01	36
123rf	13.47	22	367	0.04	22
Crestock	8.75	9	370	0.02	36
Totals:	745.89	757			Avg: 53

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Posted September 2nd, 2009 by Lee Torrens