146 Twenty Tips and Tricks to Winning on Microstocks
Almost any cheap tripod will do. For outdoor use, you need to consider
how sturdy the tripod will be in windy conditions and how heavy it
is to transport.
I use a carbon fi ber tripod because it is lightweight but it is more
expensive to buy than an aluminum one. Major makes like Manfrotto,
Gitzo, and Velbon have wide ranges to choose from. I recommend a
ball head to go with the tripod for ease and speed, together with a
quick release plate.Tip 7: Join the Forums
Join the forums—that means the libraries’ forums to start with. Don’t
expect liberal and free debate. Go in with a healthy dose of skepticism
to immunize yourself against the cheerleader mentality. All in all, they
are a useful source of feedback on rejected images, standards, and
technical information as well as site-specifi c announcements, such as
amendments to terms, new commission rates, and pricing. Also, some
buyers frequent the library forums, and some photographers have said
the more active participants on the forums see a boost in sales, possibly
due to their extra exposure.TIP 8: GET AN INDEPENDENT VIEW BY
JOINING INDEPENDENT FORUMS
Great though the libraries’ own forums are for those all-important
technical inquiries, they are pretty hopeless if you want to engage
in critical discussion, particularly if you complain too loudly. They
ruthlessly expunge seriously critical content. Perhaps we should not
be too surprised—the microstocks are businesses that want to
maximize profi t, after all (yes, they are, although you’d hardly
believe it from the over-the-top love-in comments you sometimes
read—yuk, get real, people!), and bad vibes on their own forums
are not going to help.
The leading independent forum is the one I started on Yahoo! in
2005, the Micropayment Forum, so why not join up at http://tech
.groups.yahoo.com/group/micropayment? Unlike the libraries’ own
forums, there are no thought police deleting critical threads on the
Micropayment Forum. It’s good to be free. Go enjoy!Tip 9: Set up Referral Links
The major libraries pay bonuses for referring new buyers or contribu-
tors. You can add to your income by including referral links on your
personal Web site or blog or in e-mail links. How this works and what