I was with PhotoShelter back when it was a stock agency. When it went to a pure paid-hosting site, I decided not to continue there. Since then, I have been hearing many good things about using PhotoShelter as a web host, owing to extra features like keyword search, fotoQuote integration, and direct digital downloads.
My questions: If you are a PhotoShelter "standard" or "pro" user...
1) How often have you been able to sell stock images via PhotoShelter? Once a month or more? Once or twice a quarter? A handful of times a year? Never?
2) What is the mix of RF to RM for those images?
3) If you had a previous "homebrew" site without features such as keyword search, how do your stock sales using PhotoShelter compare with how you were doing with your previous site?
4) If you have your images with one or more stock agencies in addition to PhotoShelter, how do the sales via PhotoShelter compare with the sales through your agency/agencies in terms of number of images sold?
5) Similarly, how does the price per sale compare with your agency results? Are the prices you get at PhotoShelter comparable? Higher? Lower? Are your prices pretty much along the lines of the numbers given in fotoQuote?
Thanks very much for your assistance.
Posted by Richard Wong on July 12, 2009 at 2:32 PM
I'm on the 30gb account, which I think is the pro account. What you need to understand about Photoshelter is that unless you are planning to market your own work, build a highly-tricked out website and/or store photos online then it is pointless to have it.
Comparing it to a stock agency is not a good comparison because stock agencies do the marketing for you. I use PS to submit lightboxes, have a search feature on my site, online distribution tool and as a catalog for myself.
So the question is, do you or are you planning to market your own work?
Posted by James Walley on July 13, 2009 at 9:12 PM
Richard --
Thanks for replying. I'm currently listed with several stock agencies (and was with PhotoShelter back when it was a stock agency itself). I also sell stock on my own (homebrew) website, but the results in that regard have been lackluster at best, and I'm looking to drastically revamp that element of my own business.
The reason I asked the question was, after reading claims from PhotoShelter that the features offered on their websites (in particular, a robust keyword-search engine and direct digital download) made them far more photobuyer-friendly than the average photographer's website, I was wondering whether those features really contributed to a major increase in stock sales over homebrew sites, or whether only a relative handful of buyers would stray outside the agency route in order to buy stock directly from individual photographers (and, usually, either when they needed something not easily found at Corbis or Getty, or when they wanted to pay much less than what standard agencies were asking), no matter what the buyer-friendly features of the site. Hence, my own "market survey" of PhotoShelter users, and their sales results.
What I find interesting is that I posted the same set of questions on a number of national forums, including the "business" sections of Photo.net, DPReview.com, and Fred Miranda. Out of all the places I posted these questions, until you replied, I had only received two other replies over the course of most of last week, and both of those were answers along the lines of "I really like PhotoShelter, but I must be doing something wrong because neither my search engine results nor my sales have increased since using them." So, at this point, I'd have to say that any claims by PhotoShelter of their website features leading to an increase in stock sales for its users fall into the "not yet proven" category. What have been your experiences in this regard?
James David Walley
Raven Falls Photography
www.ravenfallsphotography.com
I am a newbie to this genra of doing business and have switched geras from owning and operating a portrait studio and then going joint venture with another studio before the portrait studio business climate went south. After exploring several different sidetracks, I have come back to my original passion in photography, nature and I am trying to explore avenues that might help pay for the investment in equipment. I just joined the sister website and this this month so I am in no position at this time to say yeah/nay but look forward to seeing how it plays out for you.
Discussion
3 repliesMy questions: If you are a PhotoShelter "standard" or "pro" user...
1) How often have you been able to sell stock images via PhotoShelter? Once a month or more? Once or twice a quarter? A handful of times a year? Never?
2) What is the mix of RF to RM for those images?
3) If you had a previous "homebrew" site without features such as keyword search, how do your stock sales using PhotoShelter compare with how you were doing with your previous site?
4) If you have your images with one or more stock agencies in addition to PhotoShelter, how do the sales via PhotoShelter compare with the sales through your agency/agencies in terms of number of images sold?
5) Similarly, how does the price per sale compare with your agency results? Are the prices you get at PhotoShelter comparable? Higher? Lower? Are your prices pretty much along the lines of the numbers given in fotoQuote?
Thanks very much for your assistance.
Comparing it to a stock agency is not a good comparison because stock agencies do the marketing for you. I use PS to submit lightboxes, have a search feature on my site, online distribution tool and as a catalog for myself.
So the question is, do you or are you planning to market your own work?
Thanks for replying. I'm currently listed with several stock agencies (and was with PhotoShelter back when it was a stock agency itself). I also sell stock on my own (homebrew) website, but the results in that regard have been lackluster at best, and I'm looking to drastically revamp that element of my own business.
The reason I asked the question was, after reading claims from PhotoShelter that the features offered on their websites (in particular, a robust keyword-search engine and direct digital download) made them far more photobuyer-friendly than the average photographer's website, I was wondering whether those features really contributed to a major increase in stock sales over homebrew sites, or whether only a relative handful of buyers would stray outside the agency route in order to buy stock directly from individual photographers (and, usually, either when they needed something not easily found at Corbis or Getty, or when they wanted to pay much less than what standard agencies were asking), no matter what the buyer-friendly features of the site. Hence, my own "market survey" of PhotoShelter users, and their sales results.
What I find interesting is that I posted the same set of questions on a number of national forums, including the "business" sections of Photo.net, DPReview.com, and Fred Miranda. Out of all the places I posted these questions, until you replied, I had only received two other replies over the course of most of last week, and both of those were answers along the lines of "I really like PhotoShelter, but I must be doing something wrong because neither my search engine results nor my sales have increased since using them." So, at this point, I'd have to say that any claims by PhotoShelter of their website features leading to an increase in stock sales for its users fall into the "not yet proven" category. What have been your experiences in this regard?
James David Walley
Raven Falls Photography
www.ravenfallsphotography.com