11 Aug 2011 Microstock Expo & Conference

Together with my serial business partner and German counterpart, Amos Struck, I’m very proud to introduce a new industry event: The Microstock Expo & Conference. It’s designed for professional microstock contributors and agencies – both microstock and otherwise.

I’m extremely excited about it, not only because I got to design the ultimate program and pack in an amazing amount of value, but because we’ve made it FUN! Mixed in with with sessions from our industries high achievers are shooting workshops, demonstrations, open discussions, a thriving expo and parties!

The Event Details

It all takes place November 5 – 6 (this year) at andel’s Hotel Berlin, Germany. The hotel is huge and we have 983 square meters of event space – an entire floor!

Tickets for the conference are €199 + VAT, but use the code DIARIES11 when registering for a 20% discount.

You can book a hotel room by phone using the code “MICROSTOCK” for a discount on a standard room. Non-refundable rooms can be booked slightly cheaper through the hotel’s website.

The Industry was Waiting for this!

Amos and I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the industry for this event.

• The program was easy to design as most speakers were very keen to be involved
• Sponsorship sold out in 9 days, even with 10 spots (I admit we may have under-priced it slightly)
• Demand for expo tables forced us to upgrade the event space at the hotel
• Over 70 people are already registered to attend!

You can see why we’ve been so overwhelmed.

The Program

I’ve taken full advantage of having free reign to design the ultimate program and format for this conference. In addition to killer sessions I’ve added shooting workshops, an industry round-table discussion and a fun new idea we’re calling ‘Pitch-Fest’. The sessions will cover topics that relate to both contributors and agencies:

• Microstock Distribution for Maximum Profit
• Workflow Choices for Low Costs and High Volume
• Lifestyle Design for Professional Microstockers

The shooting workshops will be a highlight with additional tickets available to participate in the shooting and leave with fully released photos to sell! Attendees can choose between a lifestyle workshop (details coming soon) or the iStockphoto sponsored Fashion workshop presented by Luis Alvarez.

While the shooting workshops are taking place there will be a separate workshop for agency people, delving deep into the current top issues facing agencies in the stock photo industry. This session has lots of speakers, all experts in a broad range of topics.

There will also be parties in the evenings to wind down and socialize. See the full, updated, program on the expo website.

Even if I do say so myself, the speaker lineup is the best cross-section of the microstock industry ever assembled. I’m honored to be able to pull together so many people who’ve achieved so much in our market. Alphabetically:

• Luis Alvarez, Photographer
• Elnur Amikishiyev, Photographer
• Tom Bennett, Pond5
• Mark Butler, Monkey Business Images
• Robert Davies, picNiche / picWorkflow
• Giorgio Fochesato, Photographer
• Dittmar Frohman, iStockphoto
• Offir Gutelzon, PicScout
• Jean-Marie Guyon, CandyBox Images
• Peter Hamza, StockFresh
• Robert Kneschke, Photographer
• Jazz Mandair, Jaincotech
• Mark Milstein, Microstock Solutions
• Tyler Olson, Microstock Group
• Pavel Orekhov, Pressfoto / Pressmaster
• Andres Rodriguez, Photographer
• Dmitriy Shironosov, Pressfoto / Pressmaster
• Vitezslav Valka, Pixmac
• Robert Walters, PantherMedia
• Cathy Yeulet, Monkey Business Images
• Lanny Ziering, SuperStock

Sponsors and Partners

We were humbled by the enthusiasm of the most successful microstock agencies coming on board with sponsorship support. We also had interest from non-microstock agencies, service providers, and even Jean-Marie from CandyBox Images wouldn’t let us do this without his support!

It wasn’t easy turning people away once sponsorship sold out. Some will be in the expo instead while others have sponsored other parts of the event, for example, Envato are sponsoring the coffee breaks.

We’ve also been grateful recipients of support from the trailblazers of microstock conferences behind STOCKinRUSSIA, strategic guidance from Mark Milstein at MicrostockSolutions, also with Mark’s Northfoto also providing photojournalist support.

On behalf of Amos and myself, thankyou to all sponsors, partners and supporters.

Unmissable!

If microstock is a big part of your life, you don’t want to miss the first Microstock Expo & Conference. Nowhere else will you receive so much information to help you sell more photos.

Book your ticket now and use the promotion code DIARIES11 for a 20% discount.

Activate the ‘I want to network’ option during registration to be included in the distribution list that goes to all opted-in attendees. If you can’t wait, check who’s indicated they’re coming on the Facebook Event and on LinkedIn.

The MicrostockExpo & Conference is already huge and continues to grow. I hope to see you there too!