8 reasons why I have not submitted to VectorStock com

VectorStock.com has been around for many years. It sells nothing, but vector. Many top vector artists have submitted to VectorStock simply because they do not have better options. They need to generate their income as much as possible.

However, I for once have not submitted anything to VectorStock because of the 8 reasons below.

1. VectorStock had denied my application as a contributor... twice. I have submitted the below two vectors in two different occasions, and their response is...

ARTIST UPLOAD NOT GRANTED.
Thank you for your sample submission.
We have reviewed your sample and do not feel your work is suitable for the VectorStock library at this time.
You may re-submit a new sample for reviewing if you feel you can illustrate a different style.
Visit the FAQ for more information.
Best Regards
VectorStock Team

Below are the two vectors I submitted to VectorStock on different occasions and both have been denied for not suitable.

2. I believe my sales will be poor and unworthy. Although, this page (most download) shows us that there are indeed sales, but the performance of their new files are utterly disappointing. Take a look at their latest vectors and browse the pagination up to as many as you can. You will see that 99% of the files have 0 download. I dont mind if older files will eventually sell, but try to browse up to page 1000, and you will still be seeing 0 download for 99% of the files.

3. They sell us cheap. For a start, you earns 25% of your sales. All your files are priced at only USD1. That means that if you sell a vector, you only make USD0.25. Mind you that this is not even a subscription rate download, but a totally on-demand download. You cannot compare this rate to site like Shutterstock because Shutterstock sells at least 1000 times more than a low earners like this.

4. VectorStock uploading process is lame. They want you to reduce your artwork size to 380 x 400. Ohh, please, you are actually troubling ten thousand artists out there just because your programmer does not know how to write a script to resize a JPEG for the website preview. I reckon they rejected my application earlier was because of this reason. Yes, I didnt create my artwork in 380 x 400, and if this was really the reason you rejected me, at least you should mention properly why am I rejected instead of saying "I feel this is not suitable".

5. Because they are selling our vector so cheaply, I feel that they are luring "thieves" into buying our vectors and then putting it up for free at file hosting site. The reason why these "thieves" put our vector for free in file sharing site is because of money. However, I will not discuss this matter today as it will take one whole blog entry to explain. "Thieves" will most likely target on cheapest stock agency and buy from them so that their earning margin is higher.

6. They dont have PR (personal relationship). When is the last time you heard about them saying anything at all on the Internet? They dont even have a news column and forum in their site for us to discuss their site related matter and doesnt even bother what everyone is saying about them outside. These are some forum threads about VectorStock and I dont see VectorStock sending a representative to comment.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/illustration-general/anyone-using-vectorstock-com/

http://www.microstockgroup.com/new-sites-general/new-vector-only-stock-site/msg17099

When you dont send someone to comment and to clear things up, you are basically losing your creditability. Take a look at Graphicleftovers, they are good at PR. I have recently wrote a review about Graphicleftovers, and they really care enough to send someone to comment and to clarify things up. I love them.

7. No marketing effort. I cant see their advertisement anywhere in the Internet.

8. No site upgrade. You never ever see the site improve or degrade before. Do they even have a team of programmers? Have they given up?

As a conclusion, I have decided that I will not upload to them. If you have anything to say about Vectorstock, please comment on the comment box below.

WHY DO WE DANCE

Have you ever twirled in a circle? Stretched on your tiptoes and swept your arms above your head? Tapped your feet to snappy music? All people dance, because the human body is made to move. The world offers an exciting variety of dances!

WHAT IS DANCE?
Our bodies can twist, jump, stretch, and turn. Dance blends these movements together, usually with music. Dance uses space: What patterns do the dancers make across the floor? What designs do dancers’ arms and legs brush through the air? Dance uses time: Is the dance fast or slow? What rhythm pulses in the music? Dance uses weight: Are the steps light and quick, or heavy and limp? Dance uses energy: Does the dance have fast, choppy movements, or flowing, soft ones?
WHY DO WE DANCE?
People around the world dance for different reasons and in different ways. Some dances can express feelings like sadness, anger, or joy. Other dances can tell a story.
Dance may sparkle as an art form, as ballet does, and be performed for an audience. Ballet dancers train for years to learn to leap and turn across a stage.
People may dance as part of an important ceremony, even as part of their religion. Some cultures honor their ancestors through dance. Dances may celebrate important events, such as a birth, graduation, or marriage. A dance might be used to help work go faster, as in the Japanese rice-planting dance.
In some cultures a shaman, or healer, might dance to cure an illness. Some societies use dance to reach a state of trance so the dancers can perform acts of strength or courage, such as dancing on hot coals.
DANCING FOR FUN
We may gather together and dance simply for fun. Many countries have group dances-folk dances-that are passed down through generations.
Social dances encourage two people to dance together. These dances come and go: A new dance may be very popular one year, and out of fashion the next. In the 1800s, couples glided through a waltz or polka. Young people kicked up their heels doing the Charleston in the 1920s. Teenagers spun and swung to the 1940s jitterbug. Couples did not even have to touch hands for the 1960s dance craze, the twist. Disco dancing, popular in the 1970s, and today’s hip-hop are also social dances.
HOW LONG HAVE PEOPLE DANCED?
Dance probably has been around about as long as people have. Cave paintings thousands of years old show what look like dancing figures. Dancers appear in the art of ancient Egypt and Greece. Through dance, societies asked their gods for good crops or bravery in battle.
Hundreds of years ago the Christian church frowned upon dancing. But farmers and villagers still danced for fun. Many of these dances developed into folk dances. Ballet grew out of dances at the royal courts of France and Italy in the 1500s and 1600s.
Drama, acrobatics, and music are combined with dance in many cultures. People added makeup, costumes, and masks to turn dance into theater. These performances tell a story using movements rather than words.
HOW WILL DANCE CHANGE IN THE FUTURE?
Dance constantly evolves, or changes. People seek new forms of expression. Cultures borrow from one another, and from the past. Latin American dance blends Spanish and Native American styles. African and Asian dances influence dance in Europe and North America.
Like our ancestors long ago, we dance for important ceremonies. And like our ancestors, we also dance for the joy of movement, to express our emotions, and to share music and fun.

Why Shutterstock Should Not Go Exclusive

Many independent contributors have been dying to join Shutterstock exclusivity if it offers one. But up until today, Shutterstock does not plan to do it simply because it will do more harms than goods. Hey, isnt this is an opportunity of a life time for Shutterstock to kill all its competitors once and for all? No.

First, we have to understand from the contributors point of view. There are basically two groups of contributors. Those that make thousands of dollars every month, and those who make pennies.

The Successful earn 50% from Shutterstock and 50% across all other agencies.
The Failure earn 95% from Shutterstock and 5% across all other agencies.

The above is however, a hard fact. If Shutterstock offers exclusivity, the Failure will immediately join the offer without doubt. The Successful, on the other side, will dangle between the fence because it is such a risk for them to change what is already successful.

In the end, Shutterstock will build up a lot of EXCLUSIVE, BUT LOW QUALITY images/vectors. This will not only harm Shutterstock, but the big contributors as well. The only winner here is the Failure which fail to produce quantity and quality.

To comprehend more, exclusivity means higher pricing, ranking, and royalty percentage for contributors. So, if the majority of the exclusive contributors are the Failures, you can imagine how poor Shutterstock will become. We cannot compare Shutterstock and IStockPhoto here because IStockPhoto has the first-mover-advantage in the industry. IStockPhoto captured and forged the Successful one when they have yet to become successful.

Unless Shutterstock can offer a very delicious and lucrative exclusive offer, then it might have a chance to totally win the heart of the Successful contributors, and at the same time, eliminates all its competitors once and for all.

Why womens are not interested in Technology

womens are not interested in Technology

I have a 14-year-old cousin and we are best of friends. But one thing bothers me a lot: she doesnt seem to be attracted to technology as I am. Every time I start a conversation about technology, she never for once pay attention. She seems to care more about clothes, make-ups and, like every other ladies, men! I even tried to use tech to make what she is interested in more fun for her, but she didnt hook up at all.

So I decided not to based my assumption on my cousin alone, I had to mingle with other women or ladies to see if they are different. Mehn, they are even worse than my cousin. Start a conversation about tech, the next thing they do is turn their backs on you and examine their nails, hair-styles, perfume, entertainment, gossip and like my cousin men. They see technology as a mans game.You know, my cousin case really bothers me a lot because, as you all know, we are in a century where everything we do is centers around tech. You cant talk about a career without technology these days. So, why are they not interested in tech? and how do we get more women in technology?

Why I Offer My Ebooks on KindleUnlimited for FREE

I love logging in to my Amazon Kindle KDP Select account and seeing a surprise! 408 pages read in my ebooks on Kindle Unlimited in one day after days of zero pages read. Theres something about Sundays ... I always see my numbers spike then. I love offering that option for those who don’t want to buy it and who pay $10 a month like I do to download 10 at a time for free for rent! We can do all kinds of research for books and articles for only $10 a month! We can download all the fiction we want, all the DIY we want.

Read one, return it, get another. Always have 10 at a time!

Theres something like a $12 million fund and the more KU pages read of my books, the bigger my monthly bonus. It’s like icing and another way to make money and I love it. Someone might not want to buy my book or clutter their Kindle with it forever but they want to borrow it and so I make that available.

I also love supporting other writers, knowing they are getting a bonus for me downloading and flipping through or devouring their books. I always try to leave a review before I return the book, unless it was too horrific then I try to not leave one of those 1-star reviews. I might instead track the author down personally and offer some suggestions for improving the book, especially if its nonfiction, since thats the genre I write in.

If you want to check out my current book offerings on Amazon, just follow this link! Its my author page and the one book that only shows paperback is also, of course, available on KU or you can buy it right now for only $2.99 since Im working on the update!

Why New Images at Shutterstock No Longer Selling Great

Shutterstock new images have always been performing well, but not in the past 6 months. Contributors are claiming that Shutterstock must had tweaked the search algorithm making new images getting less exposure. Or, perhaps bugs have been creeping through the site. But, I dont think those are the cases here.

Feeding the beast worked in the past because there were simply not enough of good images, then. When buyers could not get what they wanted in Popular, they will try to search through New. However, after years and years of uploading, Shutterstock has got enough of good images today. Buyers no longer need to search through the "irrelevance" New. We all know that searching through New is nightmarish due to keywords spam by contributors.

Here is a good example of why buyers no longer need to search New. Try to search for the keyword "seal" in Shutterstock...

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?searchterm=seal&search_group=&lang=en&search_source=search_form

... and under Popular, you can see all the seal vectors presented are good enough to satisfy the buyers. Buyers have no reason to search through New when Popular has enough of good choices already.

The beast is no longer liking the same old food. The beast wants to taste something new. Feed the beast with unexplored topics and I am sure they sell better than the seal.

6 Reasons Why Microstock Earning Will be Down in 2015

Microstock sales has been on a declining trend since the middle of 2014. It looks like this dreadful trend will continue to 2015 and more. Below are 5 reasons why this downtrend will continue.

1. The strengthening of US dollar against Euro and other currencies may seems to be positive thing at first. But in reality, buyers are taking a major hit. European, being the biggest buyers of microstock is having a tough time as Euro has hit 11 year low vs the USD. This means, buyers will be buying less stock images because it is much more expensive now. So far, my number of sales has gone down by about 30%.

2. More and more well establish stock factories are producing amazing number of qualities images everyday. To be honest, I am not sure if they could actually cover up the expenses to produce these images given the golden era is over, but this intense competition is not a good thing for lone ranger like us.

3. Another bad news would be iStock HQ is being moved from Canada to USA now. This means, we will have to pay 30% tax to US government if the purchase is being made from USA. Moving forward, I predict my earning will be at least 10% less from iStock now.

4. Stock agencies are getting more and more sneaky by manipulating numbers and playing with their system to benefit themselves more than us, the contributors. Cutting royalties, and introducing confusing sales packages and partners site are some examples of such manipulations.

5. Microstock is now being treated as commodities. The prices are getting hammered due to stock agencies pricing war. Nobody win in this situation, except the buyers. 

6. Smaller agencies such as CanStockPhoto, Crestock, GraphicLeftovers, and GraphicRiver are starting to feel the pressure with lack of regular sales. Inactivity is the scariest thing for Internet business. Check out all the 0 sales for new vectors at GraphicRiver http://graphicriver.net/category/vectors?page=1. It is very demoralizing to see such sight. With the weakening of smaller agencies, bigger agencies will soon take even more control. This is not a good thing.

As a conclusion, I predict 2015 will be a pretty bad year for us. There will be a lot of contributors giving up this year. It may no longer be worthy to be a stock vector artist now. In 2009, you can make $100/month. In 2015, you can only make $10/month with the same images.

10 Reasons Why You Should Sell Your Vector Arts Online For Graphic Designers Only

All graphics designers in this world should sell their artworks online. Below are 10 reasons of why every graphic designers in this world should try and sell their artworks online. If you are new to this, I strongly recommend you to read the FAQ here to understand how everything works.

1. You already have the knowledge to draw artworks, and it is a waste not to use your skills to gain more income for yourself. I started out as a web designers, earnings $3000 a month, and now just after 6 months into microstock industry, I have earn an extra $2000 a month (even without doing anything anymore).

2. You dont have to convince anyone. I understand that the frustration we have as a graphics designers. We feel frustrated when our clients dislike our works and request for changes. However, in this industry, you only need to pass through the agency reviewers (which is always easy). Even amateurs with some simple buttons design can manage to sell their artworks online. Take a look at an artwork I did 6 months ago. Believe it or not, I have manage to made over $300.00 in just 6 months time with it. And the sales is still coming in. For the record, I have only spent 3 hours with the below artwork. This simply means, my 3 hours of work is worth $300.00 and it is still counting.

3. No marketing needed from us. Yes, microstock agencies in this world are huge companies. They are companies that worth over $50 millions. Marketing and advertisement campaign are done by them. They are the hypermarket, and we are the producer of the products inside. Joining these agencies will allow you to concentrate on your work fully and need not worry about no one buying it.

4. Your vector artworks will be on sale forever. Once you have successfully uploaded your works into these stock agencies, you can then sleep well at night and check on your earning the next morning everyday. No business can be better than this for a graphic designers.

5. You dont need a funding to start. This is not a big business whereby you need a significant resources to start. As long as you have a computer, vector illustration softwares, and skills, you can already start generating income. Read this page to learn more on how to start selling your vector online.

6. You dont need a partner. In fact, all vector artists should do this alone simply because you dont need a partner to start. This is all individual work, and you dont want to waste your time in discussion.

7. You work for your hobby. There is no obligations, regulations, or any commitments you need to put into this. Microstock agencies do not force you to do anything. You do it whenever you feel like doing it. For your information, some vector artists produce 1 artwork everyday, while the other... 20 a day depending on the skills and quality of the work.

8. The biggest dilemma of being a graphic designer is to chase for the money. Clients sometimes drag our money to a very long extent and at worst, they never pay at the end of the day. After 6 months into microstock industries, I have to clap my hand and give praise to how efficient they pay my earnings. So far, I have not receive any late payment or delayed earnings at all.

9. The longer you are in the industry, the bigger you are. Buyers love to buy back from you if you can consistently produce good artworks. When your portfolio becomes bigger, your chances of selling is also higher.

10. And lastly, you can work from home :)

For a start, I would recommend you to join the below 6 microstock agencies and get yourself to register as a contributor to them.

Shutterstock

IStockPhoto 

Fotolia 

Dreamstime 

GraphicRiver

They have consistently create sales for my works and best of all, it is in an uptrend. 

I wish you good luck and may all the graphics designers in the world earn more.

Ohh, and before I forget, joining these stock agencies as a contributor is totally FREE.

Register as a contributor now :)
If you have any problem in the registration process, just ask me at this Facebook Discussion Board. I will try my best to help.

Why are Microstock Contributors Always Angry

Microstock contributors have always been angry, but we have got our reasons why.

1. Agencies have been treating us badly. They cut royalty whenever they feel like it. We have almost never got a raise, but pay-cut is on the corner every so often. Is not fair.
2. Agencies randomly reject our submissions. So much effort and so much hope - yet they reject it nonsensically. Is unreasonable.
3. So many copy-cats out there. They copy with the thickest face ever. They copy it blindly. They copy the titles and keywords too. They have got no shame. Is crazy.
4. So many new agencies appear throughout the years. We have helped. We have submitted. We have hope. But we have got no downloads. Is a total waste of time. 
5. So many spammers in our world. Icon warriors, marijuana-guy, yogurt-man, and bla bla bla. Check these spammers out at MicrostockGroup.com. Why do agencies even treat them with love? Why why why?
6. We work so hard. We work like crazy. We dont get to sleep. Why is our works not getting a sale? Is demoralizing. 
7. Agencies love to play around with their partners and somehow, we get an unfair cut. We are so helpless. 
8. Agencies have been treating us like commodities. We have very little faith in them and in ourselves now. 
9. So many people use our works without paying. So many of them never buy the right license. So many of them got away. Just so many.
10. So many mother fuckers took our images and post them for free. Is demonic. 
11. There are so many hate, jealousy, sarcasm, bullies, and, copy-cats among us. Many dont feel like posting anymore.

Why Are You Writing for FREE Part Two Blogging

See Part One here where I kinda sorta rail on Huffington Post Parents online and I rail on YOU for not buying my book and giving getting published FOR REAL MONEY a shot! Lets recap: you cant buy your bottle of moscato with COVERAGE (coverage = lots of people who read a popular website see your piece and MAYBE share it and MAYBE follow you and MAYBE care).

I love blogging. I started doing it around 2006 when my third kid was just a baby nursing and in my arms all the time. It was something I could do one-handed and feel like I was using my brain. But I didnt make any money doing it. I had to figure out a way to make money while also doing the stay-at-home mom gig I loved so much. I mean, really, WHY NOT?

Blogging keeps your mind fresh. I do it because I dont have time to scrapbook anymore and it has become our online memory book of vacations and other fun times. Sometimes, though, I will pop off something I think is pretty damn brilliant and I copy it and paste it into a new document and its like 500+ words and I say to myself,

"Hmm. Thats long enough to submit to the regional parenting magazine markets I have all set up in my email contacts list. Im going to go ahead and publish this on the blog for some lovin for it and at the same time submit it to print and online magazines. And yeah, I think its good enough for the amazing Huffington Post Parents online or some other parenting site that does not pay, but Im going to try to get some money out of this thing."

By the way, why am I writing about this topic HERE instead of pitching it to writing magazines that pay? That, my friend, is a good question and has been on my to do list for a very long time. Lets see if I can hit that goal while the kiddies are out of official homeschool for the summer!

ANYWAY, another great reason for blogging is so you can take a ton of blog posts and turn them into a possible book or ebook. You might THINK you are just blogging but then all of a sudden you realize you have a lot of great posts that all link up and form a coherent idea that could really help people!

So where would you start if you wanted to send a piece to a magazine? Well, um, Writers Market put out by Writers Digest. Its been around FOREVER. And if you wanted to submit to the family and parenting markets? Well, Writers Market sucks for that, sorry. They only have a tiny handful of those markets.

But I have a ton of markets! And they pay! After I realized Writers Market sucked, I spent hours collecting them while my kids slept or nursed on me or played happily and I did it for you! I know a writer who had a regional parenting magazine see her piece on her blog and buy it and she got to leave it on her blog. But why wait for that? Why not go straight to the mags? You can do both if you want! And by "both" I mean EVERYTHING!

This is important, so please pay attention!

You can have a piece on your own blog while you also get it published MULTIPLE PLACES ... Houston Family, San Diego Family, Pittsburgh Parent, Baton Rouge Parents, Treasure Coast Parenting, Western New York Family and more all at the same time or in the same year or whenever they want to use your piece. There. So now you are on your own blog being wonderful YOU and you have $200+ in your bank account on top of it!

I am done lecturing and scolding you. But you have to go here to buy my book, which is available in both ebook and print versions!

This is where I write. At this Formica table. Thats my little blue wireless mouse, and the kitchen is behind me since I seem to spend a lot of time there! I have a corner office with a window (so I can see what the naughty McKids are up to!)

And come back because, as always, I have more to share!

Part Three will ask why you are writing for content mills for 5 bucks an article

Why Are You Writing for FREE Part One Huffington Post Parents and Other NonPaying Sites

So this morning I saw this post on a lady entrepreneur group on Facebook. It was by a woman who was so excited that she wrote on her blog about NOT working for free and then Huffington Post online picked it up.

I asked her if they paid her or if she was working for free. She said they did not pay her but their COVERAGE is amazing. Um, okay. But isnt that ironic? You wrote about NOT working for free and you are doing it. And coverage doesnt really show up in my mailbox as a cold, hard check I can take to the bank and pay for braces, food, gas for my massive E350, vacations, retirement, a cute vintage dress, my monthly Weight Watchers pass.

No offense to all you amazing ladies writing for popular free sites like Huffington Post Parents, BluntMoms, etc., but:

(1) Why are you giving them your amazing parenting/family material for free when you could make real money sending it to regional parenting magazines or online mags that pay? (wait for it! i have the markets!). I want to make it VERY clear that I think  your stuff rocks. I read it and I love it and I smack my head wondering why you dont shop it around, but we will get to that later.

(2) Why cant Huffington Post pay something by now? I know tiny little sites who can at least throw you 5 bucks for a brilliant post. How long does HuffPo think they can keep sucking out all your writing marrow FOR FREE? It burns my ass because some of you are quite a big deal. I want to make it VERY clear  here that I love Huffington Post Parents and I read it and I love it and I truly aspire to also someday get published on that site ... coverage does rock as long as I am also getting paid for the same piece other places. Cake, eat. Yep.

I totally get it, though. Where the hell would you start if you wanted to send a piece to a magazine? Well, um, Writers Market put out by Writers Digest. Its been around FOREVER. And if you wanted to submit to the family and parenting markets? Well, Writers Market sucks for that, sorry. They only have a tiny handful of those markets.

But I have a ton of markets! And they pay! After I realized Writers Market sucked, I spent hours collecting them while my kids slept or nursed on me or played happily and I did it for you! I know a writer who had a regional parenting magazine see her piece on HuffPo and buy it. But why wait for that? Why not go straight to the mags? You can do both if you want! And by "both" I mean EVERYTHING!

This is important, so please pay attention!

You can have a piece on fancy HuffPo Parents while you also get it published MULTIPLE PLACES ... Houston Family, San Diego Family, Pittsburgh Parent, Baton Rouge Parents, Treasure Coast Parenting, Western New York Family and more all at the same time or in the same year or whenever they want to use your piece. There. So now you are on HuffPo Parents and you have $200+ in your bank account on top of it!

Yes, you can now. I am done lecturing and scolding you. But you have to go here to buy my book, which is available in both ebook and print versions! FREE TO KINDLE UNLIMITED USERS!

This is where I write. At this Formica table. Thats my little blue wireless mouse, and the kitchen is behind me since I seem to spend a lot of time there! I have a corner office with a window (so I can see what the naughty McKids are up to!)

And come back because, as always, I have more to share!

Part Two is going to ask why you are blogging for free
Part Three will ask why you are writing for content mills for 5 bucks an article