Selling media on Shutterstock for extra cash

Shutterstock is a well known place to find stock photos or video, but what may not be as well known is where all of that media comes from. Shutterstock’s library of stock content is comprised of work uploaded by over a million individual contributors, freely accessible by anyone who needs to download visuals for creative or business projects. Becoming a Shutterstock Contributor is simple to do, and by even just uploading a handful of works, you can net yourself a good amount of extra cash, or even build an income stream that can support you for years to come.

To apply, you just have to submit a small sample of your work (around 10 images) and if enough of your images are deemed quality enough for the platform (around 7 images, or 70%), then you’re accepted as a Shutterstock Contributor. After being accepted, you’re free to upload as many images, videos, illustrations, and vectors as you’d like. These assets need to be approved after submission, but you’d be surprised at the amount that get accepted, as there are almost unlimited use cases for stock media.

The amount of money paid out whenever someone downloads your work varies, “you earn between 15% and 40% commission when one of your images or videos is downloaded at Shutterstock. This means you get paid $0.10 to $5.80 for images, $10.20 to $39.80 for extended licenses, and $1.25 to $47.92 for each video. In other words, Shutterstock pays you based on your current image and video levels,” according to Photutorial.

Being a Shutterstock Contributor, the name of the game is quantity (as well as, of course, quality). The more you upload, the more potential your work has to get downloaded. The more your work is downloaded, the more money you can make. Once you have a well populated portfolio, filled with a wide array of media and subjects, you can begin to see a snowball effect. This effect happens when years old media is still earning money, while your current uploads begin to earn.

Once your media starts to get downloaded, you’ll begin to see your contributor dashboard start to get populated with data about your work. You’ll get to see what keywords people are searching for, where your content appears. You’ll get to see where people are located when they download your work. You’ll also get to see which of your media assets are the best performing. This is all great information to help you decide what to photograph, film, draw, or create as a vector file.

I began uploading to Shutterstock in 2015, and I haven’t uploaded since. I have uploaded 43 images and 51 videos. In the seven years since uploading these initial 94 media assets, I have accumulated $396.41, over 28 downloads. These images and videos were media that I had spare, and only uploaded as a test of the platform. I didn’t go out of my way to film or take new pictures, I simply uploaded media that I already had ready to go. This is completely passive income.

The demand for these works is increasing. “According to the latest research report by Arizton, the global stock images and videos market will grow at a CAGR of 6.9% during 2022-2027. Increasing adoption of the e-Learning industry, reinvention of storytelling, growth of digital communities in the hyper-connected ecosystem, content automation & personalization are the major drivers in the stock images and videos market.”

It is entirely possible to make a living selling stock media. It is even more possible to create a passive revenue stream that may help you out with the bills here and there. These are both great opportunities for working artists and content creators. To get started, you just have to get started. Look through what media you may already have, and upload them to apply. Once you’re accepted, upload as you find time, and after long enough, you’ll start to see the rewards from your efforts. Upload more, and you’ll see a greater return. Upload occasionally, and you should still see those downloads accumulate.