exclusive photographers (and absurdly low for nonexclusive photog-
raphers) and a culture that verges on the fringe of a religious cult. A
site to be admired and used, but (save for a few insiders) probably
not loved.
Submission Strategies
The four microstock examples I have used stand out as among the top
performers from my personal research, but there are other libraries
that are also worth a look. You will fi nd a list I have compiled in
Appendix 1. I strongly recommend you check out their terms for
yourself.
Broadly, there are two basic strategies, and you need to consider
which is best for you. Either you spread your work around a number
of different libraries to maximize your market exposure, or you
go exclusive with one library and put all your eggs in that one
basket. In the case of iStockphoto, it’s all or nothing. As I have detailed
above, iStockphoto offers up to double the commission rate for
exclusive images, but that rate rises to only 40% after 25,000
downloads and you can only sell images exclusively through iStock-
photo if you are artist exclusive—meaning that you cannot sell
any royalty-free work though other sites. (If you do and you are
found out, iStockphoto will probably cancel your contract altogether.)
You can still offer different work on traditional licensed terms to
other libraries.
Some of the most successful microstock photographers are
artist exclusive on iStockphoto (Figure 2.7). One reason for this is
that those photographers have been with iStockphoto since the
early days, before there was any serious competition. It made more
sense to go exclusive with iStockphoto at a time when they dominated
the market and the additional commissions available through
exclusivity would blow away any money they could make elsewhere.
The market has matured a lot in the past 2 years, so there is now
more choice.
There are some very successful exclusive artists making good money
on iStockphoto, but there are obvious risks in putting all your money
metaphorically on red 16. It’s better, in my view, to spread your work
through at least four sites.
The following summarize my main points:- You can and (unless you choose artist exclusivity with iStockphoto) you should spread
your work around at least four microstock agencies; doing so spreads the risk and
increases your exposure to different types of buyers.
SUBMISSION STRATEGIES 27