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Posts
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@marthamarks wrote:
@jorodrigues wrote:
I also think that signing up for every site is one of the downsides of the network. I don’t have an answer to an alternative.
Well, under the current system you only have to sign up to a site if you want to purchase a license there. I can’t imagine any buyer signing up up to each and every site, because the content is so different. Nobody would need something from every site in our network.
Yes I meant sign up for different sites in order to purchase. I wasn’t very clear but read on to see why you have to register. I would find it annoying if I had to get 10 different images and per chance the ones I wanted were on 10 different sites.
As I see it this is the only benefit of going to an agency. One shopping cart, many files, many authors… one localised payment. So from this point of view, I understand those that want to do away with the registration.
I’m getting a signup a day on my site. Possibly it is just spam. No one has bought anything yet. When you click on the options in the image side panel it wants you to log in/register. You don’t have to but if you want to see what an extended licence will cost YOU HAVE TO register and log in.
That would really annoy me to leave and not come back. If I’m window shopping I don’t want to register, or email, or have to ask prices. They should be there in plain sight. This is the drawback of the current system.
A non-registered user of the site should be able to load up his or her shopping cart and only at time of purchase be required to log in (if at all as the argument goes). It is like virtual shopping and then checking what costs what, and see it all added up, together with extended licenses, discounts etc.
Jo
@jorodrigues wrote:
A non-registered user of the site should be able to load up his or her shopping cart and only at time of purchase be required to log in (if at all as the argument goes). It is like virtual shopping and then checking what costs what, and see it all added up, together with extended licenses, discounts etc.
I agree with that, Jo. Would make for a much smoother user experience.
@jorodrigues wrote:
I think that Stock Photography has reached that saturation point too. To earn one must come up with something that is novel, different, desirable (to the client), or not readily available.
Jo
I don’t think there is such a thing as over saturation, I firmly believe people defeat themselves on many different levels. The hardest thing in life is to change a habit and keep going on a new direction. Imagine Mick Jagger saying he is never going to sing “Brown Sugar” ever again because everyone’s heard it before over 40 years, instead on every tour they sing it, it sells to a new generation again and again.
Stock photography’s biggest hurdle is to keep producing and not defeat yourself with the idea of pennies per download or it’s been seen before.
A global payment for Symbiostock sites is probably the key to our success.
@jorodrigues wrote:
I’m getting a signup a day on my site. Possibly it is just spam. No one has bought anything yet. When you click on the options in the image side panel it wants you to log in/register. You don’t have to but if you want to see what an extended licence will cost YOU HAVE TO register and log in.
That would really annoy me to leave and not come back. If I’m window shopping I don’t want to register, or email, or have to ask prices. They should be there in plain sight. This is the drawback of the current system.
A non-registered user of the site should be able to load up his or her shopping cart and only at time of purchase be required to log in (if at all as the argument goes). It is like virtual shopping and then checking what costs what, and see it all added up, together with extended licenses, discounts etc.
Jo
For looking (not buying) I have found a way around the “having to register” if people just want a quick look – take a look at my single image page to see what I mean, would appreciate your thoughts on this. A few people have used it and looked around. Which reminds me – I wanted to edit the login dropdown to explain this – off to explore again
http://kerioakimaging.com - trying to reopen
http://nail-art-at.kerioak.com - Art and Nail ArtI’ve done the same, Christine — I have a generic guest account; so far though all sales have come thru registered accounts
the guest account is reasonably secure, since the download link will go to the email they use for paypal
steve
Not on mine it won’t because there is no real email address associated with the account. The download link on mine goes to the address they registered with, not the paypal address – how do you change it?
http://kerioakimaging.com - trying to reopen
http://nail-art-at.kerioak.com - Art and Nail Art@christine wrote:
Not on mine it won’t because there is no real email address associated with the account. The download link on mine goes to the address they registered with, not the paypal address – how do you change it?
I did see it and I even used it myself. My question that remains is this, do you actually NEED to have a registration? If so is it for tracking purchases? I don’t know that is why I am posing the question.
Currently the model is that you must have some way of getting your purchase. It HAS to be linked to an account so that the link isn’t just shared or “Discovered” as a default on “how to get to the real image” from the site.
Everyone saying we must do away with the signup must give ideas on how people get their download links generated. You get your email and there is your link to your file. If you don’t get your email or don’t register, you DON’T have a place to go get your downloads.
If you get your links generated “While-You-Wait” after you paid, and the internet hiccups… What then? How does the buyer get his or her file? What if there is an electrical power cut and before they can download it it’s gone! This is why there is a registration.
Jo
@easybuyphotos.com wrote:
I don’t think there is such a thing as over saturation, I firmly believe people defeat themselves on many different levels. The hardest thing in life is to change a habit and keep going on a new direction. Imagine Mick Jagger saying he is never going to sing “Brown Sugar” ever again because everyone’s heard it before over 40 years, instead on every tour they sing it, it sells to a new generation again and again.
Stock photography’s biggest hurdle is to keep producing and not defeat yourself with the idea of pennies per download or it’s been seen before.
A global payment for Symbiostock sites is probably the key to our success.
You may not believe in over saturation but one thing is for sure, on my site there are lots of pictures portraying products that MANY other people have also done. Supply has run ahead of demand and that is when the market is saturated. You don’t have to like it or agree. I don’t particularly like it myself either. So my goal is to enjoy what I do, produce a great product and let it speak for itself. If it is better than the next person, I’ll make the sale.
As for Mick Jagger, he started out in an age that was in a sort of musical rock ‘n roll boom of its own. Do you really think there is room for a thousand more haggard 60 year old old men with large lips, yielding a guitar, who don’t have a particularly good voice in current times? How do musicians manage to get noticed and stay these days? Not by (new) name alone. Madonna is 50 odd and keeps reinventing herself to try to stay above a market well saturated with bubble gum pop. When she started out, how many angry little girls with giant crosses were making records? How many are there now?
To do away with the registration means there has to be an alternative available. If we have one global payment system we are RIGHT BACK to being an agency. Someone has to do the backend. Someone has to makes sure it all runs smoothly and handles queries. That someone either needs to get paid to attend to problems or is a saint who works for free and the love of SymbioStock! Who want to be that person?
Jo
@jorodrigues wrote:
So my goal is to enjoy what I do, produce a great product and let it speak for itself. If it is better than the next person, I’ll make the sale.
Bingo! At least for me.
I’ve been “shooting” birds and critters for 3 decades, long before even the possibility of IS, SS, FT, or my own SYS website ever existed. Even though I’ve made plenty of sales in different formats along the way, I’ve kept doing it all these years not to make a living at it but because I love doing it. And I’ll keep on doing it until I no longer can, for that same reason.
Of course, I’m older. Even older than you, Jo. 🙂 I’m retired. Don’t have to make a living doing this. If I did, I might feel different about it.
But if it’s true that wisdom comes with age, then I believe one thing is true: you’re a whole lot more likely to succeed in any field you choose if you love what you do and work hard at being the best you can be, than if you’re just cranking out “what sells” for a fickle market.
@christine wrote:
Not on mine it won’t because there is no real email address associated with the account. The download link on mine goes to the address they registered with, not the paypal address – how do you change it?
I logged in as guest and was able to pay for the image, that may be a problem if I dont get to download the image as guest. I think its confusing. However, why is the guest account there? All it does is show the buyer a cart or I am missing something?
the download link is sent to the email you use to pay on paypal — the email you use to (painfully) register is an extra, unnecessary step
I sell maps from my website using paypal with no registration needed
http://cascoly.com/bookstore/evolution.asp@jorodrigues wrote:
@christine wrote:
Not on mine it won’t because there is no real email address associated with the account. The download link on mine goes to the address they registered with, not the paypal address – how do you change it?
I did see it and I even used it myself. My question that remains is this, do you actually NEED to have a registration? If so is it for tracking purchases? I don’t know that is why I am posing the question.
Jo
I’d like to have a registration, because it gives me a mailing list. I do wish there was a way the password would pop up on the website, though, instead of sending an email that may never get through.
@marthamarks wrote:
But if it’s true that wisdom comes with age, then I believe one thing is true: you’re a whole lot more likely to succeed in any field you choose if you love what you do and work hard at being the best you can be, than if you’re just cranking out “what sells” for a fickle market.
I so agree! I do need to earn a living. This is a scary new part of my life where I am taking huge risks and spending 16 hours a day doing stuff I love! So much so I haven’t even had time to take photographs or finish the last Vector I started.
The best part of SymbioStock is that is has made it possible for me to “Try”. Honestly, agencies make petty cash for most of us. At least with my site I can work for myself. So I am trying and I am expecting some moderate to great results 😀
Jo
@cascoly wrote:
the download link is sent to the email you use to pay on paypal — the email you use to (painfully) register is an extra, unnecessary step
I sell maps from my website using paypal with no registration needed
http://cascoly.com/bookstore/evolution.aspHow is it done? How does the person get the link? From Paypal? How does the whole thing generate? If there is a hiccup somewhere along the line do you track it back through the payment/email used?
Thanks for your info.
Jo
@jorodrigues wrote:
At least with my site I can work for myself. So I am trying and I am expecting some moderate to great results 😀
Independence is worth a lot. Good that you’re establishing your independent site while you’re young. Then you’ll work as hard as you can at your craft, build your reputation, grow your customer base, and make a good living from it all. I’m willing to bet you achieve that goal.
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