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Thanks for that clarification, Leo. Your new approach sounds good!
I’m still very happy with the look of my site and have no desire to change it. But knowing there’s flexibility down the line is reassuring.
This seems like a fine way to move forward. I’m sure most of us old-time SYSers are glad to see it and eager to welcome newcomers into our network.
So, Leo, not sure I understand correctly what you just wrote.
From now on, will we be able to pick any WP theme we like, from any source, and run SYS as a plugin on it?
Or… will the SYS plugin only work with WP themes available through ThemeForest?
When you get a chance, please clarify. Thanks!
I’m still here too, continuing to add images to my site as time allows. Very happy with the showcase it provides me, despite lack of sales.
Glad to “see” you again, Leo. I hope you and your family are doing well this holiday season!
Leo, it’s a bit hard to answer that question. I really do like the look of my site as is, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be improved.
What worries me is that I’m still using the “Clean Theme” child theme from an early 3rd-party developer, which (as you know) isn’t being supported any more. You personally made hands-on modifications to my child theme last year, so I could keep using it. I have a hunch that “Clean Theme” won’t work with the new-and-improved SYS you’re building now, or that it will forever be a problem as the software evolves.
So, count me as happy now… but open to changing the child theme if it’s necessary to keep pace with new developments.
+1
Attaboy, Redneck!
Shotupdave seems to have proven Shelma’s theory that many SYSers don’t know about DPC. There must be some way to get the word out to SYS members.
Congrats on the sale, VectorJourney!
Yes, I too am happy. If you’re happy, Leo, we’re all happy! 😛
I will confess to being bewildered by everything you’ve described. But then, if I understood it, the new system probably would’t be very exciting to you or anybody else.
So… I’ll bide my time, keep uploading to my site, and look forward to an even-newer, even-better, and even-happier Symbiostock.
We are very happy to have you with us!
Hello, jipen, and welcome to Symbiostock. We are very glad to have you with us!
@redneck wrote:
Martha, I think your images are great but might not be a good match for W61. They’re mostly interested in European lifestyle and travel images.
Personally I believe the number 1 reason why you haven’t had sales with your site yet is that your photography is covering a niche that’s only in demand with a low percentage of the entire stock client potential. Your work is great but there are just not as many people (in comparison to mainstream stock themes) who need it. But I’m sure the longer your images are listed and indexed with search engines the higher is the chance to attract people who are actually looking for it. I’d say keep up the great work and don’t get discouraged.
Thanks so much for that encouragement, Andre. I do know I’m shooting a niche that has many suppliers and relatively few buyers. Still, I’m lucky in two ways: I don’t have to make a living from this, and I absolutely, totally, fanatically love doing what I do. I spent decades shooting wild birds in the swamps and deserts before I first dipped my toes into stock.
So… sales or no sales, I’ll keep at it as long as I’m physically able to.
And yes, you’ve confirmed what I suspected about W61. Florida ‘gators and Black-tailed Jackrabbits aren’t exactly what they’re looking for! 😀
Yes, I do believe that pricing our work higher gives a “vibe” of higher quality. I’d love to do that exclusively on my SYS site. However, for the 8 months or so that I withheld my newest images from the stock agencies, I had no sales for them. Once I bit the bullet and moved them into SS and DT, they began selling right away. It’s hard to be a purist.
I wasn’t aware of Westend 61, so thanks for letting me (and others) know about it.
Not sure it’s a good spot for my work, however, since I’m 100% focused on North America natural subjects. Do they need and/or welcome images like mine?
Also, it seems to be a supplier for many diverse stock agencies… which sounds a lot like the “partner programs” that cause so much aggravation at Veer, etc. Is Westend 61 somehow different from that model?
Several months ago, inspired by Redneck’s success in selling higher-priced images, I raised my own up to a max of $35 for the largest size. That is less than Redneck’s top price, but still significantly more than the $20 I started with last summer.
Now… since I haven’t had any sales yet, either before or after that increase, it’s hard to know if I’ve got my stuff overpriced or what. Most of my images are available on SS and DT, and last winter I stopped making the newest ones “exclusives” on my site. They are selling elsewhere now, mostly as subs.
However, $35 does feel like a “fair” price for a large, good-quality RF image, especially considering that I shoot most of my birds and critters with a super-expensive lens, that I have to travel to a wide variety of places to find those subjects (they aren’t all just hanging around my back door), and I shoot a lot to get just a few “keepers”… meaning I invest tons of time in culling, sorting, post-processing, etc.
To be honest, I’m happy to have a dedicated site of my own. Lots of people I know visit bestnaturestock.com and report back that they “loved” this or that image. Since I’m retired and don’t have to earn a living from this, I can be more sanguine about it.
So anyway, that’s my story, and I’m sticking with it! 😀
Jo Ann makes a good point.
I’m on Dreamstime too, and when uploading there, if it’s not too much trouble, I do enter my place data so their system can record the GPS coordinates. However, if it’s anything more complicated than that, I don’t bother with it.
My two Canon 7D cameras don’t support GPS, and since it will probably be a long time before I buy another DSLR, I won’t have that automatic feature either.
