Full Review – Using WIRESTOCK to Sell Stock Footage & Photos

Wirestock - The easiest way to sell photos & videos online
Wirestock’s home page

09 PERSONAL reasons why I’m going ALL IN with Wirestock

TL;DR: I took a personal decision to go ALL IN with Wirestock and I have 9 reasons why:

Ok, Wirestock… Well, by the tone of my “happiness” you might think I was paid to say this, but that’s not the case. This is just me happy that someone has finally made life easier for us. By the end of this article you’ll realize why I think these guys will change the game for us stock creators.

*However, I do use affiliate links on products and services I believe.

But who cares about my personal opinion right? So let’s head to the facts – 2 CONS and 9 PROS about Wirestock.

Wirestock: start selling photos & footage right now
Click here to open your account

Wirestock’s PRO #1: Upload to multiple agencies

Starting with the most obvious one. Wirestock can be used to upload your stock files to multiple agencies at once (because, as you know, submitting your files to multiple agencies is the best way to maximize your stock earnings).

So instead of doing the manual process inside each agency’s website, you can use Wirestock to submit your photos & videos to multiple agencies at once.

At the time of this writing, that means: Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy, Dreamstime, DepositPhotos, and Pond5. 

And you can always choose which agencies you want them to submit your files to. That’s useful to avoid duplicates if your files are already online in any of these agencies.

Wirestock Submission Update Dashboard - Multiple Stock Agencies
Wirestock Submission Update Dashboard – Multiple Stock Agencies

Extra #1:
And actually, it goes beyond that because of 2 other programs called Instant Pay and Extra Channels. These features increase the earnings potential but I’ll tell you more about it later. The cool thing about these programs is that your files might also be available at other stock agencies like 123RF and Canva. 

Extra #2:
Another important reminder is the partnership between Pond5 and Vimeo Stock. So chances are your video files will also be sent to Vimeo Stock.

Wirestock’s PRO #2: Images *AND* Videos

Wirestock allows uploads via browser, ftp, google drive and dropbox
Wirestock allows PHOTOS & VIDEOS uploads via browser, ftp, google drive and dropbox

Also good to mention that Wirestock is also one of the few services that allows submission of both Photos & Videos. 

Aggregators (like BlackBox for example) are usually focused on Photos OR Videos only.

Wirestock’s PRO #3: They Write Metadata For You

Now, my favorite feature of ALL and one that I haven’t seen before is that THEY WRITE METADATA FOR YOU.
Yes guys, you heard read it right. The feature is called “Easy Submission”

In a round of questions I made to the company, CEO Mikayel Khachatryan, told me that Wirestock has a team of metadata experts placed in countries all over the world. They choose to do so to guarantee metadata quality no matter where you shot your content or the cultural specifics of that area.

So by mixing human curation + keyword presets + technology, the whole process can be done with speed and quality. 

That means all you need to do is to simply upload your files to Wirestock, attach releases if needed, and make sure the Easy Submission button is on. And you’re done, their team will take care of the rest. 

Ready to get started?

Manual Metadata

It’s good to notice that Easy Submission is just a shortcut to get your stuff online faster. But in some cases, it might not be the best idea. Especially if you enjoy writing metadata or if the subjects you shoot are way too specific. 

In these cases, all you need to do is to turn off the “Easy Submission” button. That will allow you to manually write your metadata. Also, notice that the “Easy Submission” feature is not available for Editorial content. At least not at the time of this recording.

Still, this is an amazing feature to get your files online fast and the Wirestock team keeps increasing the quality and speed of their metadata. I’ve got to say that I haven’t seen a solution like this before.

Wirestock’s CON #1: Their Own Username

Now, one thing that might be seen as a downside is that your files will be published in behalf of Wirestock, instead of your own portfolio. So whenever a photo or video you uploaded is found on Shutterstock, for example, it’s Wirestock’s name that will be there, not yours. 

Personally, I don’t think that’s a big deal. You probably would like to have your name on your photos, I get that. But a stock agency is not really a trending social network or a hype gallery to get your work exposed.

And I guess that is the reason why Wirestock created a feature called portfolio pages.  

Wirestock’s PRO #4: Portfolios

The portfolio page is a link of your own that you can share and promote on your social networks. This is where all your approved content will be organized and where direct customers can buy your content. 

Example of a Wirestock Portfolio
Example of a Wirestock Portfolio by user mauricio.darias

Right now, if someone clicks “buy” they’ll be redirected to Adobe Stock, but the company plans to implement the ability to buy directly from Wirestock soon. And that also means a higher commission for the creator behind it. 

Wirestock’s CON #2: Commission

You must be thinking: “Cool, but where’s the catch? How does Wirestock make money?”

Well, there’s not exactly a price. Registering and using Wirestock, right now, is free. And you can do so by clicking here.

Wirestock makes money through a commission. They earn 15% of the earnings generated by your files, according to their site.. 

Now, some contributors tend to give up after knowing that. But there’s something VERY important that has to be taken into consideration. And that’s the potential of earning more, despite Wirestock’s commission. 

Let me tell you how.

Wirestock’s PRO #5: Earn even more

Wirestock has a giant portfolio made of files from multiple users. And that gives them commission rates with the agencies you could hardly find by yourself.

Shutterstock Changes

You might have heard about Shutterstock and the terrible changes they did on the commission structure. Every new year, all contributors will go back to level one, which means a commission of 15%. 

It will take you 500 downloads to then get back to level 4 and earn 30%, which used to be the standard. 

Now Shutterstock is just one example. Unfortunately more and more agencies are doing the same, like Alamy for example.

A scene of our YouTube video comparing earnings of a Level 1 Shutterstock user vs. a Wirestock user

The Wirestock Advantage

On the other hand, if more and more contributors unite under Wirestock’s portfolio, it will quickly rank as a level 6 contributor earning 40%.

The difference is huge. Let’s take a $100 sale as an example:

  • If you are a level 1 contributor on Shutterstock, you’ll get 15%. That’s $15.
  • If the same sale happens inside Wirestock, which is probably on level 5 or 6, that would mean $35 or $40, depending on which level they are. Take away their 15% commission rate, and you’ll end up with something around $29.75 and $34. 

For most of us, it might mean up to 225% more.

And that is the thinking behind my personal decision of going all in with Wirestock. Not only does it save a lot of time, as the earning potential in Wirestock is higher too.

At this moment, the commission rate is marked as 15%, but I have no idea if they will change it for users subscribing later. So I highly encourage you to create your account at their website.

Wirestock’s PRO #6: More selling opportunities

As said a little ago, Wirestock opens extra opportunities to make more money with 2 programs called Extra Channels and Instant Pay Program.

The company has a Sales team that works directly with Ad agencies, brands and web platforms to get the Wirestock content sold directly. In these cases, instead of getting the average 30% we usually get from agencies, we the contributors get 50%. 

Based on what other users told me, this income source is bringing an average per sale that is 7x higher than they get from other agencies.

Wirestock’s PRO #7: Digital Releases 

Another feature I love on Wirestock is their Digital Releases system. It is pretty similar to the one Shutterstock got. 

It means you don’t need to handle model & property releases on paper anymore. All you need to do is to fill in basic info including the model’s email. The model will then receive a link where he can sign the release digitally. 

Once it happens, you will be notified and able to add that release to its respective files and you’re good to go.

Seriously guys… ask anyone who used to work with paper releases and they’ll agree how revolutionizing digital releases are.

Wirestock’s Digital Release Feature

Wirestock’s PRO #8: Upload from Your Browser

Wirestock also allows you to upload your photos & videos straight from your browser. This is pretty standard for photos, but when it comes to video files, most agencies require you to upload your files via FTP. Which is not a problem, but it’s cool to be able to save this time.

Not only that, you can also upload files straight from your Google Drive or Dropbox account.

Wirestock’s PRO #9: Mobile App

And finally, there’s the Mobile App.

Believe me or not, mobile apps are still a rare thing among stock agencies. Right now, Shutterstock is probably the only agency with an app for contributors. 

Wirestock’s mobile app is super handy to increase your productivity. Not only will you be able to get releases signed from it, check your earnings and the status of your uploads as you’ll also be able to upload photos & VIDEOS you took from your phone. 

The app is currently being beta tested Wirestock’s Slack Community, so be sure to register as soon as possible to be notified when it happens. 

Conclusion

These were only a few points I wanted to mention about Wirestock and why I’m choosing it as my master tool when it comes to stock submission. Feel free to write down all your thoughts, questions, and critics in the comment section down below.

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*Disclosure: I only recommend services I use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. 
This post may contain affiliate links in which I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you,.

Best Websites to Sell Stock Photos & Footage

 

 

If you are starting or considering to sell Stock Photos or Stock Footage online to make some creative, passive income you are probably asking yourself things like:

 

  • What stock agencies profit the most?
  • Should I upload to multiple stock websites?
  • What websites should I start with?
  • Is there a difference between Stock Photography and Stock Footage?

Well, CreativeInco.me is here for you!

 

The content of this article was recorded into the video above.

New Stock Agencies are being launched all the time, and though it is a good idea to diversify your income sources, it can be very frustrating wasting time uploading to agencies that will never get you a sale. That’s why it so important focus on the right stock agencies

With this article, my goal is to expose:

 

 

The stock agencies where I profit the most

I hate taking conclusions too early and assuming things are the same for everybody. After all, there’s a big difference in selling stock footage and selling stock photography. And that connects to what agencies will be the most profitable.

 

My Stock Footage Earnings:

On the Footage (video) side of things, I usually see that the best websites are Shutterstock, AdobeStock, and Pond5.

The image below was captured from my video and shows how Shutterstock is by far the most profitable one. I took the years of 2017 and 2018 to make that calculus.

 

Screenshot captured from my video: Stock Agencies that PROFIT the most

Adobe Stock is not that strong for me because it doesn’t allow editorial content – the biggest part of my content.

iStock/Getty could be something, if only their commission rate wasn’t so messed up – 15% for non-exclusive contributors. Plus footage sales for less than $1. Enough to make me give up on them.

There’s an article where I showcase my best selling files and how much they made in each agency, you can check that if you want to learn a little more with my own earnings.

 

Stock Photo Earnings

As mentioned before, things are very different between stock footage and stock photography. So we will take stock photographer Alex Rotenberg’s earnings into consideration. (Alex is the author of the Brutally Honest Microstock Blog and you should definitely check it out)

In this article, Alex broke down his earnings of April 2019. By that time he had a portfolio of 10,500 images on a total of 19 agencies which made him $896 that month (considering images only).

This is the breakdown of his April earnings (I took footage out of the calculus:

 

  • Shutterstock: 40%
  • iStock/Getty: 20%
  • Robert Harding: 18%
  • Adobe Stock: 10%
  • Alamy: 4%
  • Rex Features: 2.4%
  • 123RF: 1.5%
  • Dreamstime: 1.3%
  • BigStock: 1.3%
  • Pond5, Canva, Colourbox, DepositPhotos, Sign Elements: ~1.5%
  • Arcangel, Creative Market, Picfair, Storyblocks, Wemark: ZERO sales

It’s important to say that some are not really microstock agencies and will work in a different way (sometimes exclusive, sometimes Royalty Managed. I suggest you read his articles if you want to learn more about it.

Alamy is also a good agency to sell photography. Sales are not as frequent as they are in Shutterstock, but they’re known for getting the highest pricing sales. Many contributors have experienced sales above $100 there.

 

Google Trends

If you are already a student of our online course or subscriber of the YouTube channel you noticed how I’m a big fan of Google Trends.

This powerful tool allows us to compare how specific search terms are made along a given period of time. So I obviously compared how the most known agencies are being searched.

That is clearly not directly connected to how much you will sell on these agencies, but is still interesting data.

 

Comparing searches for “Shutterstock”, “Getty Images”, “iStock”, and “Adobe Stock” on May 2nd 2019.

This proves how Shutterstock is still the biggest player of the market having 57 points compared to Adobe’s 20, Getty’s 19 and iStock’s 14. All other agencies didn’t get anything close to these 4:

 

  • Shutterstock: 57 points
  • Adobe Stock: 20 points
  • Getty: 19 points
  • iStock: 14 points
  • 123RF: 5 points
  • Alamy: 4 points
  • Creative Market: 4 points
  • Dreamstime: 2 points
  • Storyblocks: 1 point
  • Pond5: 1 point
  • Deposit: 1 point
  • Video Hive: 1 point
  • Robert Harding: >1
  •  

 

What is the future for stock agencies?

And it gets more interesting once you analyze how the graph is evolving since 2004.

 

Notice how GettyImages used to be the biggest agency reaching a peak in June 2006 – pretty close to when they have acquired iStock.

But then Shutterstock arrived and from then on it is clear that things haven’t been so good. Both Getty and iStock went down in searches and that is also reflected in contributors that More than a decade ago. Shutterstock is the top payer for almost every stock creator.

There’s no way to prove it, but I’m pretty sure that contributors had a strong part on the iStock decadence. The iStock/Getty group became the most hated among contributors because of their lack of transparency, bad commission rates (15% for non-exclusive), and low respect for the contributor. So you can see how both companies started to go down in Google Searches.

In the meanwhile, Shutterstock was growing constantly from 2006 to 2014, when the searches stabilized. And that’s probably because a new player joined the game –Adobe Stock.

Their growth since 2015 hasn’t stopped yet and that makes Adobe a very important agency for both Photo & Video. I really believe they’ll soon get closer to Shutterstock’s leadership.

 

Alexa Ranking

That gets clear when we use Alexa Ranking, another tool that can be used to analyze the most visited websites on the internet.

Here are their positions in the Global ranking:

 

  • Adobe.com: 64*
  • Shutterstock.com: 186
  • DepositPhotos.com: 940
  • 123RF.com: 998
  • iStock.com (or iStockphoto.com): 1.093
  • GettyImages.com: 1.790
  • Dreamstime.com: 1.562
  • VideoHive.net: 1.829
  • Alamy.com: 2.857
  • VideoBlocks.com: 3,984 (StoryBlocks.com is at 15,353)
  • Pond5.com: 6,151

It puts Adobe.com on the top because they use the “adobe.com” domain which is used for way more things than just Adobe Stock. That’s why they appear in the top 100 most visited websites. So you can’t really conclude that Adobe Stock gets more visitors than Shutterstock.

In this ranking, Adobe Stock and Shutterstock are clearly the best marketplaces. And they’re both good for Footage & Photography. Right now iStock and Getty get fewer visitors than DepositPhotos and 123RF, which I would say are better for selling photos over videos.

 

My personal advice

 

For photographers,

I would advise starting with Shutterstock and AdobeStock.

They have the best platforms, good reviewal times and will get you the biggest number of sales.

Shutterstock has a mobile app that lets you edit metadata and submit files from it. You can even upload pictures you took from the phone.

Then as soon as you get the taste of it, grow your portfolio to other agencies. Alamy would be the first one because of the high price sales I told you a little ago. Then I’d go to more agencies like DepositPhotos, 123RF, Dreamstime, and Pond5.

To then try all the other new or small agencies.

The best way to upload photo files to multiple agencies is by using Multi-uploaders like StockSubmitter or Xpiks. It’s not that hard to learn how to use and I do cover them in my online course.

 

For filmmakers,

I suggest this order: Shutterstock, AdobeStock, Pond5, and Storyblocks.

In general, that’s what I believe are the most profitable and also the easiest to deal with.

Video demands a whole different workflow and uploading through FTP. Not as hard as it sounds and I also cover the process in my online course.

I also got my eyes on other agencies like Vimeo Stock, Dissolve, and Film Supply, for high-end content. ArtGrid and Envato are also coming with quite interesting business models and might grow in the next years.

Just as in photography, I suggest you use a multi-uploader if you want to submit to multiple agencies. StockSubmitter works well too.

But for footage, we have BlackBox, a platform that submits your footage to 5 agencies at once. I wrote an entire article to help you learn more about it.

 

https://youtu.be/PZIiKTgJ6_Q

 

Thanks for reading

What about you? What are the most profitable agencies in your opinion? What do you think the future of microstock will be like?

Thanks for reading. Stay Creative.

 

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Blackbox is taking over the Stock Footage Market. This is how.

If you already sell your footage online you may have noticed how Blackbox – a free digital platform that connects video creators and curators – has been a very hot subject in 2018.

Found PatMcGowan said the number of users grew 6 times in the last 2 weeks. It has already crossed the 15.000 users mark.

It is still in its early days and has a long path ahead, but has already proven its potential to dominate the Stock Footage market

What is BlackBox?

BlackBox takes care of tagging, keywording and editing (if needed), so you can put your focus on shooting new footage & earn more.

Blackbox, created by Pat McGowan, describes itself as a “Digital Guild” that helps film & video creators make steady passive revenue. And Stock Footage is just the starting point. They do that by connecting video creators with curators. That means we, creative people, can focus on what really matters to us – creating – while the platform and its users take care of the rest.

How to make money on BlackBox?

Before BlackBox, stock footage contributors had to take care of the whole process by themselves. It freed creators by connecting users with different skills so they can focus on their strengths and count on other contributors to help them on their weak side.

  • If you’re the camera guy, you can upload your raw files to have other users edit, write metadata and submit your files.
  • If you’re a video editor, you can get raw files from people around the world and do your work from home. You’ll get a share of revenue for each sale those files generate.
  • If you’re just a copywriter, you can write metadata and submit other users’ files. You’ll get a share of revenue for each sale generated by those files.

Subscribing to BlackBox is totally free as the company makes its money out of the 15% commission rate over the net sales.

Though you might think this commission will make you lose money, the startup believes in the opposite. By creating content as a community, BlackBox files get better rates from the agencies and rank better in search results.

There’s still no solid proof it will generate better results than the traditional way. But some users on the facebook group are already reporting faster results. So I suggest you read our comparison article so you can take your own decision.

Which stock agencies will my files be submitted to?

At this moment, Blackbox community takes care of submitting its user’s files to 4 major stock footage agencies:

  • Shutterstock
  • Pond5
  • Adobe Stock
  • StoryBlocks

What kind of files can I upload through BlackBox?

At this moment, BlackBox only accepts video files. No photos/pictures are accepted yet, but they seem to be working on a Stock Music project.

Why is BlackBox taking over the stock footage world?

By uniting skills of different users and intermediate fair payments among them, BlackBox crushed what I judge to be the biggest obstacle to sell stock footage and stock photography: the time wasted to submit new stock footage files.

Photographers and videographers tend to hate the boring hours sitting down in their offices to write metadata to submit their files. After all, we’re creative people – we want to create more.

There’s also the belief that submitting files as a community while using the writing skills of experienced curators and collaborating to a unique profile at 4 major stock agencies (Shutterstock, Pond5, Adobe Stock, Storyblocks) will make sales increase and exceed the revenue the traditional way brings,

So if it saves time and, theoretically, pays better, it’s pretty understandable why stock filmmakers are moving to BlackBox in bulks.

And once the big obstacle is defeated, the gate opened for everyone, not only the experienced but thousands of new stock contributors. 

BlackBox still has a long path to follow but this we know: these are the early days of a platform that will soon revolutionize the way video creators make their incomes.

Blackbox Footage vs. Shutterstock

Which method is the best to submit your stock footage?

As we wrote previously, Blackbox is taking over the Stock Footage market – and well deserved. In June of 2018, the number of users grew amazing 700%.

BlackBox is not only attracting the old experienced stock filmmakers but is opening the doors for thousands of new contributors.

And though there’s a big hype around it right now, it’s prudent to carefully take a decision if you’ll go exclusively with them or stick in the traditional way (uploading straight to Shutterstock, Pond5, Adobe Stock, etc).

This isn’t a company comparison overview. After all, Shutterstock is one of BlackBox’s partners. This is actually a comparison review with pros and cons of selling footage in the traditional way or the BlackBox way.

I hope this comparison helps you take your own decision.

What is Blackbox?

Stock Footage is just the starting point of BlackBox. The platform is revolutionizing the process of making content and getting paid the long tail money creators really deserve. If you listen to Pat McGowan’s interview, you’ll agree this is just the beginning.

This article covers the stock footage process, but you can check our BlackBox focused article here.

Blackbox is a digital guild that connects video creators and curators. With their platform, film creators can focus on shooting/filming new footage and leave the “boring work” on them (metadata, descriptions, keywords). The video content will be submitted to 4 major stock agencies at once:

  • Shutterstock
  • Pond5
  • Adobe Stock
  • Storyblocks
  • more to come

For stock filmmakers, it means you can now be free to work on what you really like, while you let other users take care of writing metadata and keywords for you.

It is also an opportunity for editors and copywriters to work on files of other users so they can get a share of the income.

If you haven’t subscribed to BlackBox yet, you can do it clicking here. By using our referral code, you help us keep the work on this blog and YouTube channel.

Choose your side: the BlackBox way or the old-fashioned way

While many new users are going exclusively with BlackBox, it might be a good idea to analyze the traditional way before going full speed on the decided direction. The whole idea explains the hype around BlackBox but your decision should be based on real information, not just hype.

Since you can’t upload repeated footage files to the agencies Blackbox submits to (Shutterstock, Pond, Adobe Stock and Storyblocks), you have to decide which way you’re going to submit your footage files.

There are pros and cons on both sides. It will really depend on what kind of user you are. The following comparison might help you take your own decision.

Pros & Cons of submitting files exclusively to BlackBox

Still not a BlackBoxer? You can become a stock contributor right now registering here.

I’m personally in love with BlackBox and its community. Still, I’ll put my emotions aside and will write you neutral pros & cons.

1. Pro. Submit to multiple websites at once.

I’ve been working on my own multi-agency spreadsheet for years and no matter how good it gets, the whole process still takes several hours.

Each agency has its own way of doing things. The categories names, the maximum of keywords and file formats are just a few given examples.

That struggle alone makes BlackBox worthy of attention. As for today, BlackBox submits your files to 4 major agencies: Shutterstock, Pond5, Adobe Stock and Storyblocks.

Check out my 2017 earnings report and notice how those were my most profitable agencies.

2. Pro: More time doing the work you love

I’d say this is the biggest advantage of BlackBox: being free to focus on producing more footage.

Writing metadata, uploading your files to multiple agencies… All this while trying to fit the stock agencies requirements is a hard and tedious work. Upload your files to BlackBox and they’ll take care of the dirty work.

It gets harder if English is not your native language, which is the case for me and 60% of Creative Income YouTube Channel.

If needed, BlackBox gives you the chance of letting other users curate your files (from editing to keywording) in exchange for a small share of those files’ income.

I’d say this is the biggest advantage of BlackBox: being free to focus on producing more footage and earning more with that.

3. Pro: Better rates

The power of being part of a big community is that together we preferential commission rates from the stock agencies. So even though BlackBox takes 15% on net sales (that would be ~5% on the gross value) you will still get more money than you would alone.

You just have to be aware that if you’re taking help of other users you will also share your earnings with them. We call it the curator’s share.

In fact, it is totally negotiable. You’ll choose your curator among many users and will let BlackBox know the share that specific user is going to have. BlackBox’s platform will take care of paying each user through PayPal.

For Metadata only curation, BlackBox recommends a share of 20% rate. That means 20% of that file’s net income will be paid to the curator.

For Full Curation, which means someone is also writing metadata for you, BlackBox recommends a share of 40%.

4. Pro: Sell more than you would be working alone

At this point, some of you might be thinking you will make more money if you just do it by yourself. You may be right, but let me ask you a few questions first:

  • Do you still have files laying on your computer and external HDs waiting to be edited?
  • Do you think you would get better metadata if someone else writes it?
  • Do you believe you would get better-looking footage if someone else edits it?

If you have answered yes to any of the questions above then you’re probably losing money right now. You should never have files laying on a hard disk when they could be making you money instead.

Although you’re getting a smaller share, there’s a big chance you will be selling way more than you would alone. Especially if you’re a bad keyword writer.

It’s a better idea to get a smaller percentage of something than 100% of nothing.

Having experienced BlackBox users to write and submit your work to the 4 big agencies will probably make more sales than your own keywords would. So there is a big chance you’ll sell better with their help.

The platform offers collaborative work and takes care of the revenue sharing process.

COLLABORATION will always beat COMPETITION.

5. Pro: Rank better on search results

Given that we’re all contributing to the same BlackBox seller profile, you should probably get better search rankings for your files.

That means your footage will probably appear on the first line of results and, consequently, sell better.

It’s the size of our BlackBox portfolio that makes every member’s content more searchable to buyers.

6. Pro: Stock Footage is just the tip of the BB iceberg

I had the opportunity to talk with Pat McGowan and got amazed with all the plans the company has for the future. They are totally centered on creators and their financial freedom.

Stock Footage is really just the starting point for them. Being part of this community means giving power to the creator’s community.

7. Con: You’re contributing to BlackBox profile

As I just said, we’re all contributing under the same BlackBox profile. So I believe you got it that your name is not going to publicly appear on the stock websites.

Though you still got all the rights for your files, they will all appear under the BlackBox profile.

Some people might see it as a downside. But let me be honest, is Shutterstock really the “social network” you want to get famous on?

From my point of view, this is even better. Some of my files do embarrass me, but they still sell. So I’d rather keep them there.

Pat’s argument is that “in our experience, the concept of personal branding is not a factor in buying decisions on agency platforms.” I would say the same.

You still own the rights over your footage. Use it on your YouTube channel or something like that. Youtuber Jeven Dowey that in a pretty amazing way.

8. Con: Blackbox process

The team behind BlackBox is really working hard to make it better every day. It’s a promising future.  If you’re already a member you’re probably getting weekly news of their improvements.

BlackBox 2.0 should be launched soon, but for now (June 2018), BlackBox portal is still a little hard to comprehend and might be difficult for beginners.

You may also be experiencing a delay on some files. But hey, this is totally explainable. They just grew 700% on a month!

If you want a better understanding of the microstock market, I suggest you register at Shutterstock as a contributor and go through the process to submit a bunch of pictures. Shutterstock’s process and user interface are really user-friendly.

I see this as a temporary downside. I’m still sure BlackBox will get there soon. I receive constant emails of weekly improvements they’re doing.

9. Footage only

As of today, Blackbox is only allowing stock footage contributors and shows signs for Stock Music. So photographers will have to wait.

If you’re a photographer, I still suggest you give it a try to shooting footage. You’ll probably raise your earnings by doing that and it probably can be done with the same camera.

Pros & Cons of going the old-fashioned way (straight to Shutterstock, Pond5, Adobe Stock, etc.

If you didn’t start submitting your stock photos/footage yet, I’d suggest you start with Shutterstock. It is normally the most profitable stock agency and has the best contributor interface so far.

1. Con: Fewer sales (in case of poorly written metadata)

You’ll definitely get more money per sale – but that doesn’t mean higher overall earnings. BlackBox curators are good at their work, so there’s a big change you won’t write as good metadata (title, description, keywords, etc) as they would. So you might get a smaller amount of sales in the end.

2. Con: Requires discipline to edit, curate and write metadata

Why did so many filmmakers and photographers give up on Stock Photography/Footage?

Simple. We all hate writing metadata. We’re creative people, after all.

In my case, I found the discipline to work on a batch of files every 6 months. It’s a very boring week but pays out in the end.

3. Pro: Process is easy and quick to understand

Shutterstock is on the market for many years. So, of course, their contributor interface is still better and simpler than BlackBox. But I’m sure it is just a matter of time before BlackBox comes up with new improved tools.

4. Pro: Better understanding of the whole process

The experience of contributing to Shutterstock (and Pond5, Adobe Stock, Storyblocks, etc) at least once will make you better understand the process. I see a lot of new users uploading files to BlackBox and asking people on the facebook group why is it taking so long.

The experience of submitting your own file will give you a complete overview of the process and market.

5. Pro: Your own portfolio

Submitting your footage and photos straight to the stock agencies will also allow you to create your own portfolio and track specific data (each agency gives you a couple of different insights).

6. BONUS: Choose your thumbnail

Shutterstock, Pond5, and StoryBlocks let you choose a specific snapshot of your video to be used as a thumbnail. Strong thumbnails are strong when it comes to footage files.

This is small, but a considerable obstacle for BlackBox.

My personal advice

As a 6-year-experienced contributor, my advice is that you subscribe to both platforms: Shutterstock and BlackBox. Try to upload a dozen different footage files on each of them and check how comfortable you feel.

On the other hand, if you hating writing your own keywords and description, then stick with BlackBox and focus on producing more footage.

If you can’t wait a few days for approval, prefer to choose your thumbnails and believe you can do a good job writing your own metadata, then go forward and try to sell your files by yourself.

 

What is your opinion?

What are your thoughts on this? Are you moving your footage to BlackBox, staying on Shutterstock (and other agencies) or mixing both? I believe this is a strong subject for our community to discuss!

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