This past month as I've updated my spreadsheets, I couldn't help but notice the number 500 occurring a few times.  500 is a number that has measured a certain number of small milestones for me, so I will take a moment to discuss them here.

Dreamstime 
This was the first agency I joined in 06 and I was here for more than a year before I signed up elsewhere.   In the month of October I enjoyed my 500th sale at Dreamstime.  This may not seem remarkable, but Dreamstime pays the contributors a generous 50% commission.  It took a year to get my first payout at Dreamstime, and now I collect from them every other month.  

Istock
I began uploading to Istock in March 07.  I have to point out that even though I have been extremely selective at what I send to Istock, I have not been very successful with my uploads here.  My acceptance rating hovers around 50% and I only have 23 photos on their site.  I find it quite remarkable then, that I sold my 500th image at Istock this past week.  One image alone has sold over 300 times.  The sheer volume of sales that they produce makes my poor rejected ego feel much better.

Shutterstock
If you are not familiar with Shutterstock, they are a subscription based site that sells a high volume of photos!  Shutterstock pays new contributors a mere .25 for each photo sold.  It may seem like nothing, but they work in volume - and those .25 sales combined with an enhanced license sale here and there adds up quickly!   I started contributing to Shutterstock in March 07, and very slowly my portfolio has grown to 77 photos.  In October I passed $500 in sales, which included 4 enhanced license sales of $20 each.  I am no longer a new contributor at Shutterstock.  Once contributors reach $500 in sales we are rewarded with a pay raise.  I now earn .30 per subscription photo sold.

My next milestone with Shutterstock will be to sell 500 images a month.  October was my best month there, when I passed the 300 sales mark.

Individual Image  I took a series of photos of students in a classroom and uploaded first to Dreamstime in February, and in March to Istock and Shutterstock.  (The numbers are quite insignificant on the other sites.)  I don't know when one photo in particular reached 500 sales; it may have been mid September as it has now reached over 600 individual sales.   If I could just add 20 more photos with such appeal!

I admit that I am stretched for free time, so at the moment I would consider myself a hobbyist at microstock.   I am often dissapointed with Istock's rejections of my photos, yet the numbers speak for themselves.  I sold 500 images at Istock in 7 months, and it took 19 months at Dreamstime with a portfolio 1000% larger to sell the same amount.

Examining small milestones helps me to set some realistic goals for the future - and they include the number 1000!