Monday, March 8, 2010

How to make the best of it

We have already covered how microstock is a great field, but like many great fields, has a lot of competition. We've also covered a few ways to improve your skill set and be more successful in the microstock game.

Now we will discuss one of the most important points of microstock, branding.

Like any product, the brand gains momentum and power. A "good" brand name is associated with quality, success, and people will desire it. A "bad" brand name has already developed a poor prognosis in the eyes of buyers and is associated with poor quality. You are selling your art, your skill, it has to be branded with quality all over. This leads ito an age old debate... quantity v.s. quality.

I'd like to direct you to this website: http://www.arcurs.com/branding-a-cliche

The opinion expressed on that page I agree with 110%. To make it in this field, you need to make a name for yourself. The two ways to do this are:
1). Be good, be very good. Perfect your craft and then you can compete in even "saturated" fields (such as business microstock). This method may require extensive gear however. A studio is never required and neither is top end gear but, when you are in competition with thousands in a popular field, it may be helpful.

2). Carve a niche for yourself. Some topics in general just do not have many images up when compared to others. If you happen to be in a particular position to take certain pictures with a competitive edge (such as being a firefighter, and getting images of fires) then by all means exploit that potential! Be the best where others cannot!

Both methods work, which do you prefer? I hope this tip helped! And i hope that website I linked is a good read, I find the information there invaluable.

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