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Thanks! Didn’t know that.
Hi all,
Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate the time you’re taking to answer my questions.
I think, in order to get more artists involved in Sybiostock, it needs to be much easier to use and understand. This is the biggest obstacle for new users. I was purposely trying to follow the online step by step instructions, but there are a lot of things that either seem to be missing or that are included but somewhat unnecessary (Jetpack, for example).
I think the online instructions need to be reworked, and things need to be brought under one URL, if possible. Just the fact that there’s Symbiostock.com, .org, .net, symbiostockguides.com, etc. is very confusing. To toggle back and forth between several Sybiostock sites and also between Bluehost and WordPress is very difficult to manage.
I really think Sybiostock is a great idea. I want it to work. I see you’ve all spent a lot of time working on it and helping each other. I’m only trying to offer constructive criticism; I hope not to be smacked down again.
Thanks again.
Here’s ho far I’ve gotten with my “Creative Brief.” I can’t really fill out the part about how it works for contributors. Take a look and let me know if I should add anything or if I have things wrong. A few testimonials from contributors and buyers would be great, too.
Symbiostock Creative Brief
1. What are we doing?
Creating an overall marketing message for Symbiostock.
2. What is Symbiostock?
Symbiostock is an easy-to-use, fair trade network of photographers, videographers and illustrators that offers a wide range of stock images at competitive prices, on flexible terms, directly to buyers—and pays artists 100% commission on their work.
3. Who is our target audience?
a) Contributors (photographers, videographers, illustrators)
b) Buyers (designers, bloggers, news outlets, art buyers, art directors)
c) Developers (volunteers to help with Symbiostock development)
d) Financial departments/managers (giving budget approval)4. Who are our competitors?
Macro and micro stock sites, including Getty, Corbis, Shutterstock, iStock., Fotolia, etc., as well as photo sharing sites, artist’s representatives and independent artists’ portfolio sites.
5. What does Symbiostock offer that the competition does not?
For contributors:
• You can link to other artists’ sites to offer buyers a wider variety and increase traffic/views to your site for FREE.
• 100% commission.
• The money you earn is available immediately.
• You decide how much to charge…no levels to reach, no surprise price reductions.
• No approval process.
• No waiting period. Files are available for sale immediately.
• Greater artistic freedom.
• Create your own brand.
• Buyers can contact you directly for alternate versions or custom requests.
• Nobody can suppress your portfolio in favor of other artists.
• You can upload a wider range of images.
• Flexibility/control—you decide how your site will look and which images you will feature.
• Images rejected by other sites have an opportunity to earn income.
• You can upload and sell collections/sets.
• ?You can include niche subjects.
• Make even smartphone pics, priced reasonably, available for licensing.
• Copyrights are not removed from your files and replaced with an agency’s branding.
• You determine usage rights.
• You support the artistic community by linking to fellow artists.For buyers:
• Reasonable prices because there’s no middleman.
• You can search across multiple artists’ portfolios with one click.
• Buy directly from and have direct interaction with the artist, if available.
• A wider range of images.
• The opportunity to request alternate versions or custom images direct from the artist.
• Fair trade—you support the artistic community because the artist gets 100% of what you pay (other sites take up to 90% commission, giving the artist as little as 10% of the sales price).
• Flexible payment options via PayPal (secure checkout) makes it easier to get budget approval.
• Possibly negotiable pricing and licensing agreements.
• Images available nowhere else.
• No subscriptions—you pay for only what you need.6. How does it work?
For contributors:
For buyers:
1. Visit your favorite artist’s site or symbiostock.com (forgot which url has the featured artists).
2. Type your search term(s) into the search box.
3. Choose the image you like from up to ten??? artists’ portfolios.
4. Choose your desired size.
5. Add it to your shopping cart.
6. Check out securely on PayPal with your preferred payment method.
7. Return to your cart area, where a download link is waiting for you.
8. Click the link to download to your desktop instantly.7. How much does it cost?
For contributors: It’s up to you. For a basic site, you just need to pay for a domain name and a few dollars a month for web hosting. If you like, you can also purchase specialized WordPress or Symbiostock add-ons and plug-ins. The average contributor spends about $50 for initial setup, and many recoup that cost in their first month.
For buyers: Competitive prices compared to most microstock sites.
Sorry, guys. Closed the Bluehost account and asked for a refund. It’s just too much for me to try to figure out right now.
I don’t get how to direct the domain name. I’ve been on chat with Bluehost for 20 mins and getting nowhere.
Ok, completely lost again. I cannot figure out how to get back to my WordPress account associated with Bluehost/Symbiostock. WordPress takes me back to an old blog of mine from 8 years ago. I never got to a page that showed my website, and typing the URL into my browser takes me nowhere.
The godaddy thing was my fault. I went there and got a domain name before I went to Bluehost. Mentioning in the instructions that a domain name is free with hosting would be great.
Great idea. I’m finding that, as a clueless person, I’m running into frustrations. And I was hoping to write scintillating copy telling newbies like myself how simple the whole process is.
Thanks. I got a new domain at Bluehost, called godaddy and canceled the first one. They’re giving me a refund.
Thanks, Leo. Well, I just checked with godaddy, and my domain is locked from forwarding for two months because it’s new. So I’d have to spend more $ on another domain name at Bluehost. Sux.
Apology accepted. I’m just an extremely socially awkward person, and my barging in here with unwanted ideas just bears that out.
My intention was not to make Symbiostock a “company.” I was triyng to suggest ways you could all raise money for the common cause without donating it yourselves, since so many of you have already donated so much time and effort without compensation. The trademark suggestion was simply to protect the name from a lawsuit. Off to draw an submit to the agencies now.
@cathyslife stockphotos wrote:
@shelma1 wrote:
No way, Jose. Not after this smackdown.
I think you mentioned somewhere that you have not submitted your photos to micro agencies before. I think that if you had, you would get why we are all very sensitive to not having this project marketed as a company, or another agency.
We are all free agents as far as our SY websites go, and i was attempting to explain the concept of SY to you because it felt like you had the impression that SY was a separate company. I am sorry if you mistook my post as a “smackdown”. We have all been beaten up by the agencies badly, and SY is a chance to get away from giving away 85% or more of our money to pay for other peoples salaries etc.
Whether you decide to continue or not is, of course, your choice, but it is important that you have the concept of SY correct if you are going to be putting forth marketing about it. In order for SY to grow, both contributors and buyers need to know the advantages and your helping with that would be appreciated by all.
I have almost 4,000 files at Shutterstock, fewer at iStock, Fotolia, Veer, etc.
Thanks for the offers of help, but I’ve had it. My attempt to understand the process has gotten me completely aggravated and $70 poorer.
No. I can’t do anything. I never activated JetPack.
