How I Made My First $10K Selling Stock Footage
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- Опубліковано 11 січ 2022
- I've been selling stock footage for nearly 3 years now and the my sales keep going up and up! It's not a simple process but it fills the slow seasons and I think it's worth the long term investment. Hope you enjoy this transparent perspective on stock footage!
Instagram - / jkcvideo
Facebook - / jkcvideo
Website - www.JKCvideo.com - Фільми й анімація
I'm averaging around $3000 a year on my 1600-ish clips. So it can happen. I look at the market and see where there isn't a lot of stock footage and try to fill those gaps.
That's the way to do it, Scott! Creating content that others haven't already is definitely a money maker!
@@JKCvideo I have an oddball clip that I shot years ago before I even thought about getting into stock that has sold 50+ times.
What platform you guys use to sell?
@@eduardobarradas8454 Blackbox
@@FilmshooterOH what camera model and settings(hd/4k/8k) do you use? is 8k workable at this stage? im thinking for 4k 60fps? need to buy one drone.
I’m glad you are not one of those people telling everyone that it’s easy money. I average just under $600 a month on BB. I started as a complete beginner. I do believe that anyone can do it if they put in the work and stick to it. Best of luck to you.
Haha, it is definitely not easy money! It takes a lot of time and effort but once you have the content set up, the money comes in on its own! Best of luck with your stock library as well ~ $600/month is solid money!
@@JKCvideo - I’m happy with it and it pays for all my equipment and related expenses.
What website is this "BB"? :)
@@soundchamberone - Blackbox Global
You actually gave me the boost I needed to record MORE videos and actually sell them to stock sites! THANK YOU!🙏🤝🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Best of luck mate! Glad that I was able to get the spark of creativity going! :)
how is it going
Thanks for this man! Very helpful suggestions, and I like the style of your channel overall. Keep it up and I hope you keep growing!
Really appreciate the kind words, Dave! Hope we can keep you coming back for more insights ~ cheers mate!
@@JKCvideo Can't wait for it, I'll subscribe just for this 😂
Just bought my first drone, and this video was super useful. Thanks for sharing!!!
Glad to hear how helpful the content was, I also have another video breaking down how I went on to crack $20K in sales! Best of luck with your stock footage journey!
Great video Jacob, very helpful for my endeavors to start selling my stock footage which is just sitting on my external hard drives doing nothing. Cheers
It took me a long time to get through all of my archived footage but I'm finally exclusively filming content just for stock content. Best of luck working through all of your content!
Excellent video! Really enjoyed your on-camera personality and how clearly you communicated this valuable information.
Thank you for the high praise and for being so articulate in an internet comment section! I truly appreciate it ~ hope you are well!
Love it man, so glad to know you personally and to be able to be subscribed to this amazing content too
Thanks for all of the support bro! Glad that you're also getting in on the stock footage game!
@@JKCvideo Always. Guess who has two thumbs and uploaded their first blackbox clip this morning? This guy!!
@@lucidheightsfilm HECK YEAH!!
@@JKCvideo Damn boy you broke 30K views on this video!! Congrats. Also, look how corny my above comment was 😂
@@lucidheightsfilm RIGHT?! 30K is a lot for this humble channel! Haha, it's just the right amount of corny ~ hope you're doing well!
Awesome video as always Jacob! Thanks for sharing the unique perspective as someone who’s succeeding in stock footage
Always trying to share the behind the scenes, just like your work! Looking forward to our next collaboration!
First off... good luck on future projects man... im starting my journey doing the same so i appreciate how absolutely honest you were ... thank you! Second, Awesome vid man!
Thanks for the kind words, Aaron! Glad you enjoyed the piece and I wish you the best of luck in your stock journey! :)
You got my like with "$700-$800 is enough for rusty to by whatever he wants"
Got an outloud chuckle from me
haha, glad you enjoy my silly jokes! Rusty is loving his new allowance - so many designer dog treats!
Great video! loved the transparency. I feel like I have a bunch of footage that's just sitting on my hard drive that could be used as stock footage
Glad you enjoyed the video! I actually just broke $20K in sales and have another piece of content coming out soon :)
It takes a while to sift through our old files and get them online but once you do it those clips just go and randomly sell theoretically for the rest of our lives! I'm obviously a big fan but it's not for everyone.
Thanks for sharing ! Hope you expand and things keep moving good for you .
Thank YOU for watching! :)
Thanks for sharing very insightful, by the way great produced and explained video dude, very clean.
Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate the kind words ~ lots more content to come! :D
i was searching good content for the same topic...thnx a tonn buddy.!
Glad you found the content helpful, best of luck on your stock footage journey!
This is one of the best videos about this topic I've found, you're underrated fr
Thanks for watching and for the kind words, they made my day! :) Hope you enjoy the channel's other content!
Super motivated to try this out now, on national try something new day! Thanks Jacob! I’ve subscribed!
Right on! Good luck on your stock footage journey! :D
Really good stuff here. I've only got about 350 clips up so far and I've made a little bit, but in my opinion the biggest thing is whether or not you actually enjoy creating/uploading/tagging footage, especially early on. Because for a while you definitely won't make much if any money. So you have to actually enjoy it and truly believe that long term it does pay off.
Very true! That dynamic is actually part of why I started using BlackBox.Global - they allow me to share the work with other people. I can focus on the creative aspects and give 20% of a sale to someone that wants to handle the metadata curation. Win win for both parties!
@@JKCvideo have you been pretty happy with them? I've tried wirestock and had fairly mixed results so far. Most of my stuff has been sold through pond5. If I move my library to blackbox do I need to take my other libraries down?
@@vidsource I'm unsure about the fine details but I would probably leave your current content on wirestock and just start uploading future content to BlackBox IF you want to make the switch. I have no clue what advantages they have over one another but I do know that I've brought in a lot of money and that I owe a decent amount of the success to the platform!
@@JKCvideo awesome. Thanks for responding! I'm about to go on a trip to the Pacific Northwest and hoping to come back with a lot of content. I'll use it to get going on black box and see how it goes!
I rarely sub, at least not for first time but your style and personality is likeable!
Thanks Tiina ~ best of luck on all of your creative endeavors!
Just subscribed I'm inspired. This will be a cool hobby for me 🙂. Keep up the good content
Thanks mate! Just keep it mind, it's a long game. Best of luck with your stock journey! :)
Awesome and inspiring content! I’m also surprised you don’t have way more subscribers. New one here!
Cheers mate, really appreciate you checking out the content and subscribing! The goal for 2022 is to release A LOT more insightful content like this so you've found the channel at just the right time!
Very clean smooth video. Keep it up!!!
Thank you :D
Great video
Love the transparency!
Wishing you all the best
Thank you ~ I hope the transparent perspective is helpful! :)
Great video. You should definitely have more subscribers. You are an excellent speaker. Subscribed!
Thank you for the high praise, Scott ~ glad you enjoyed the content! :)
Great work! Your monthly take home from stock is absolutely my goal. Almost 8000 clips on BB from curating for others. Absolutely great information here, even for someone that has been doing it like crazy!
8000?! That's amazing!! As you know, it's all about which clips are selling that month ~ wish we had a crystal ball to read the future. Thanks for checking out the video and hopefully it re-inspired you to continue curating, that long term game is going to pay off incredibly well for you over the years!
@@JKCvideo that's the plan! With lockdowns and everything full-time gig stopped happening so I put all my focus into curation in 2021 so most of that almost 8000 was from this past year alone. The last few months have been an average of $80usd so I imagine/hope it's only going up from here ahaha
@@skurskyproductions, wow that is A TON of content! Very excited for those sales to start ramping up for you! :D
Thank you for the honesty, great advice and just overall great personality, man!
You are very welcome! I also dropped an updated $20K video if you want even more insights ~ best of luck!
ua-cam.com/video/eDv1YbBLFks/v-deo.html&lc=UgwQLdS1k94ZUpiLeSd4AaABAg.9po0OH3CtiP9t77ysqBIFQ
Giving me hope my sales will go up if I keep pushing out the stock clips! Thanks for an informative vid Jacob
Takes patience and strategy but it's definitely possible! Best of luck with your stock sales!
how is it going? it's been a year since your comment :)
@@titosurf1 stock footage makes about $100-$200/month now! still building and growing it but i only have ~200 clips online
@@t3px149 Nice!!! keep it up 💯💯
I enjoyed this video. You do a great job. Do you have other videos about stock footage. ?
Glad you liked the content! I have more coming soon ~ I recently put together a $20K video so hit the sub button and you'll be notified of its release shortly!
Well done! Your footage looks awesome, cheers to more sales!
Thanks for watching Brad ~ appreciate the support! :)
man, you are awesome and got cool videography skills! love it
Very kind of you to say, thank you for the support!
Thanks for describing the process/reality of stock footage... While you are filming on a project you are automatically generating stock - so worth a try! And suggestions as to stock footage agencies that you upload to/recommend??
Be mindful of what you upload when you're dealing with client content! I address this in my $20K video but I don't upload ANY of my client content, they're paying for it and it's theirs, not mine to sell after the fact.
I sell using BlackBox.Global ~ definitely check out my $20K video, I talk more in depth about the platform as well! :)
Wicked video. Earned my subscription just from that funny way you said someone with low subscribers 😂👍
Haha, I'm glad that at least one person enjoyed my awkward humor! 🤣
@@JKCvideo Definitely hahah keep up the good work buddy 😊
Great video,Thanks!
Thinking about Staring my portfolio and your vedio just gave me the push I needed
Best of luck ~ I hope it's a rewarding journey!
Thank you very much for your great advice. It was pretty inspiring to make the clip. 💥💥
Best of luck!
thanks Jacob, pretty similar to my experiences - thanks for sharing!
It's a long term game but I think it's worth the payoff! :D
Great video man! Thank you for this information. Do you have any recommendations on what websites to use for selling stock footage?
I personally upload my content to BlackBox.global which is an aggregate platform that then pushes the content out to multiple other platforms. If you go and sign up with them then they'll give you a ton of advice for length, how to process, color, etc! Best of luck! :)
Thanks for sharing and might I add, you are a natural. I also subcribed. What's the best camera to start out with for someone like me on a tight budget or could I also consider an iPhone.
Thanks
Thank you for super kind words! I've definitely sold content captured on my iPhone! Doesn't really matter how you capture it as long as it is unique!
This is really beautiful video!! Thanks for sharing this!!
Thank you, glad you appreciated the content!
Thanks for the informative content! Any suggestion on how to curate your collections in terms of length of clip etc ... ?
Great questions! If you sign up to a site like BlackBox.Global then they have documents that walk you through that entire process. Can't have audio, 6-60 seconds, H.264, etc ~ they help you through the whole process!
Outstanding and motivating video. I like your delivery style and your company website is inspiring too. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Thank you for the kind words! Best of luck in your stock footage journey! :)
600th sub.. i got you hommie
Much appreciated Travis! 🙏
Great work Jacob! Awesome to see the success rate! Keep at it!
Thanks for watching, Donny! Really appreciate the continual support mate, hope you're doing well!
Great video, do you shoot your footage in log? or would you suggest just shooting with the natural colors in the shot? (without log)
Filming in a log profile can help you in color grading but I personally tend to film in a straight Rec709 profile. My experience is that if you're being intentional while filming then you won't need to "fix it in post" very much. Hope that's helpful!
Awesome!
Thank you for sharing!
Plenty more content coming your way!
Great video, very inspire me and your furly friend is super cute.
Rusty is such a heartbreaker, I love the little guy! :)
This is pretty amazing stuff, would love more on this topic
Thank you! I've got a fair amount more insights on stock footage but I could only cram so much into such a short video, haha! If you're interested in getting into selling you should join the BlackBox Global community on Facebook!
@@JKCvideo already there 😁. Been a contributor for a couple of years now. Across sites. Would love to know your learnings and all given the craziness that has been stock overall
Hi Jacob! Thank you for your video, keep going, I have subscribed :) I have started in the end of 2021 and I'm thrilled where it will bring me! Do you have a tip for me: should I try 4K mobile footage or is it worthless? Thank you!
Thanks Kryscina, glad you enjoyed! :) 4K mobile footage can definitely sell! I've sold stuff filmed on my phone because I didn't have my camera on me at the moment. In line with the content of the video, it is MUCH more important to film compelling/unique content over content that everyone else has filmed before. We care less and less which camera is used to tell the story just so long as it's a great story. Best of luck in your stock journey!
This is great content man. Keep it up.
Thanks Shane! Spoiler alert ~ I've recently broke $20K in stock sales and will be releasing an update video in the near future!
excellent honest assessment, truly appreciate the openness. I'm new to idea of placing my videos out there for $. Being retired gives me time for this type activity. thanks for the insight.
D
Glad you enjoyed the content! Plan your work and work your plan, there's definitely money to be made. I've just broke $20K and will be uploading another video with further insights soon!
I hope you are still doing well. Thanks for the honesty.
No problem! I've also got a $20K video up that you can check out.
Quickly approaching $50K now so another video is in store soon!
Great content! Do you upload slow motion footage? or do you upload the original clip at 60fps with no time effect
Thank you! I personally upload the footage in slow motion or rendered out as 24fps footage instead of providing the 60fps original content. When people are looking through stock sites to purchase clips, I don't want them to have to read the fine print to see if my clip is what they want/need. I want them to hit play and think, "Yes, this is what I need!"
Thank you for great video! Love it!! By the way, my country's currency is not the dollar. How are sales incentives paid? Thanks.
Glad you appreciated the content! Sales are paid out video PayPal transactions and I imagine that they have workarounds for paying in more that the US dollar!
@@JKCvideo Thank you very much for your kind reply! Paypal is good transaction for me. I’ll wait for their reply of the inquiry about other currencies.Thank you!
Hey man great video! Just subbed.
Thank you, Joseph! :)
thanks man preciate. where best do you sell your stock footages
A lot of people have asked this question! I sell through BlackBox.Global which is an aggregate site that sends my footage to all of the big players for me. As a result, they take a portion of the sales but I never have to track which sites my content is sold on, they handle everything!
Bet
Preciate thank you
I also started on black box this month hoping for the near future
Great vid. Well done to you and Rusty
Thank you! Rusty's really the creative brains behind the operation so it's about time that he got his time in the spotlight!
@@JKCvideo behind every good filmmaker there’s a good pooch. I have two!
@@TheFilmmakersWorkshop haha, it's so true!
Hi! What mic are you using to get clear audio in your videos since you are wearing a pin mic?
Thank you!!!!
This video was actually recorded using our overhead shotgun microphone, the Sennheiser MKH 416 (amzn.to/3EQu2AY) but when we do use a pin/lavalier/lapel microphone we use the Sennheisver AVX set (amzn.to/3AwsIAw). Both of these are pretty expensive but worth the money in the long run. If you're saving money, you could get a cheaper shotgun microphone and still get great quality but the Sennhesier AVX series is SO NICE! The wireless channels automatically shift to avoid interference and in the 5 years I've been using them I've never had an issue. Best of luck navigating what gear will work well for you!
hey , great video! . wich platform do you recomend for stock footage to sell
I upload my content to BlackBox.Global and they send out my stock content to all of the other heavy hitting sales sites! :)
I love this video!! You have talent for being both in front and behind the camera. Congrats on this milestone. 👏
Thank you for the continual support and masterful flattering, Sara! I greatly appreciate the support! :)
Great video! Thanks! What platforms are u uploading to with the most success?
I personally upload my content to BlackBox.global which is an aggregate platform that then pushes the content out to multiple other platforms. They take a percentage of the sales but my content wouldn't be on as many platforms without their service so it's worth it! :)
That information was great, thanks for being honest. What type of camera I can use (I have a Sony a7IV) and what’s a good frame rate for stock footage. Log or Raw?
If you join BlackBox then their success guide will answer a lot of these questions! Don't worry as much about the "small" things like Log or RAW, be more concerned about how you can capture content that no one else can!
Dude what platforms did you use to sell your footage?
this really great content! i lives in newyork. How well cityscape or city lifestyle video sell? any idea?
That's a difficult question to answer! I've sold many shots of cities but New York is bound to have a lot of stock footage based purely on how many people live there. I'd go on stock sites and look up things you're considering filming, if you can't find visuals of your local landmark then you should definitely go and film it for stock footage!
Thank you!
thanks for the video, what website do you prefer to sell footage
I upload my content to BlackBox.Global and they send out my stock content to all of the other heavy hitting sales sites! :)
@@JKCvideo have you ever tried uplouded to the other websites yourself ? I used black box but I her they take over a "fair" commission I was just trying to seee the difference and if is worth it or not
This video is amazing! Thanks for the info, Jacob. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed, Wen ~ hope all is well!
Awesome stuff Jacob, very inspiring, thanks !
Thanks mate, hope you're having a great day!
thanks for the great content! very helpful
You're very welcome, best of luck!
Great video bro. (from one youtuber to another). You should have more subscribers.
I also upload stock footage. the part I hate the most is the meta-tagging part.
Thanks for the kind words, Tom! Slowly trying to build up the library of content for folks to enjoy. :)
And yes, the meta data portion is by far THE WORST! haha
You got your new subscriber. You inspired me. You made a really great video.BTW you can check your footage where they are used by using google reverse image or google lens.
You just blew my mind - now I need to reverse search images of Rusty!!
Which website should i go through if i want to film stock footage? i mean for hosting my stock footage? which do you go through?
I upload my content to BlackBox.Global and they send out my stock content to all of the other heavy hitting sales sites! :)
Great Information but could you please tell me where to sell these stock footages, any website could you recommend.
BlackBox.Global! Sorry, it wasn't meant to be a secret!
nice. how do you color grade your videos? You go for more of a neutral look or what?
I strive to color grade content to be easy for a news station to use but still have flexibility for a stylized film to play with. A relatively neutral look is the way to go!
great video bro, what platform you recommend to sell footage ?
I personally upload my content to BlackBox.global which is an aggregate platform that then pushes the content out to multiple other platforms. If you go and sign up with them then they'll give you a ton of advice for length, how to process, color, etc! Best of luck! :)
@@JKCvideo Thank you so much bro 🙏🏽
awesome content, you deserve more subs for sure
haha, thanks Jeremy! They're coming in slowly but surely :)
Your video gave me encouragement again, thank you very much. I need to focus again and produce unique videos, I hope I can.
Plan the work and work the plan!
@@JKCvideo Absolutely, thanks.
Interesting video thanks for sharing, do you use agencies to distribute your footage ?
I personally upload my content to BlackBox.global which is an aggregate platform that then pushes the content out to multiple other platforms. If you go and sign up with them then they'll give you a ton of advice for length, how to process, color, etc! Best of luck! :)
@@JKCvideo asesome thanks for that awesome advise. 🙏
Where are you selling it tho? Thinking about creating my own shopify store and doing that way vs selling it to big stock or other parties.
I would not advise starting your own site to sell your content, it's going to take a massive amount of time and resources to get agencies to buy from you instead of their pre-existing connections in the industry. I sell through BlackBox because they share my content with all of the big stock sites. They take a small portion of each sale but I'd go crazy if I had to manually submit my clips to multiple platforms or try selling them on my own site.
Thanks. this info helped me a lot.
Best of luck on your stock content journey!
Legit content! Thanks for the wisdom and inspiration.
Always happy to share my friend! :)
Great video, was surprised at the low subs! I'm just starting to look into doing stock footage, any advice on knowing best lengths, coloring, etc? Does it depend on the platform? Can you put the same footage on multiple platforms?
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the kind words! I personally upload my content to BlackBox.global which is an aggregate platform that then pushes the content out to multiple other platforms. If you go and sign up with them then they'll give you a ton of advice for length, how to process, color, etc! Best of luck! :)
What type of portfolio did you submit?
@@JKCvideo What are you thoughts on BlackBox vs WireStock?
@@Mars-lf1pz not gonna lie, I've never heard of WireStock! Looks like a slick platform but I can't really weigh in on it given my lack of experience. Overall BlackBox has been solid and has only improved over the years!
#NotSponsored
Great video. Thanks 👍
Glad you enjoyed! :)
Loved the way you hinted about subscribing! This video was inspiring! I both liked and subscribed. Good Luck with everything. By the way, do you think frame rate matters when it comes to film for stock? I am in Europe so I go 25 fps. Does the market care about frame rates much?
That's a great question, Tomas! I think a lot of the industry is moving towards 30fps for digital distribution + a project in 24fps or in 25fps can utilize 30fps footage. May be work filming/selling in 30fps to be more widely accessible but with that said, a vast majority of my content is in 24fps and the sales speak volumes!
I'm heading straight to Seattle to film traffic now ;)
Not sure if you mentioned where you upload your vids, It looked like blackbox
I've been doing blackbox for one year + and had some sales but looking for other places to upload to as well.
What are your recommendations?
Great video btw
Pond5
Haha, I definitely don't hold a monopoly on Seattle traffic shots so it wouldn't be the worst thing! I haven't explored much outside of the BlackBox platform since the site uploads to so many other places! If you find anything, please do share!
Awesome video thanks❤
Well done, keep it up!!
Thank you ~ more content on the way!
hello ,
what's your daily gear for stock footage ?
Do you think that GH6 will be enough for this business ?
did you upload in 4K 120fps ?
The GH6 will definitely work! A LOT of my content was filmed on the GH5. Our team has recently upgraded to the S1H but we can't even upload 6K media so it's not offering a whole lot more to our stock footage game. I almost always slow down the high frame rate content to a native 24fps so that the editor can see what it's like in true slow motion before committing.
@@JKCvideo thanks Jacob
is it still possible to sell footage on 1080p? I would love to start but I dont have the kit to make 4k clips
Higher quality clips definitely sell for more and uploading higher quality content now will ultimately mean that the content will still be relevant in the future BUT we still sell a lot of 1080p content. If you can capture unique content, people won't mind what the pixel count is.
I've Just begun the journey. First week I've made .99$. It was really motivating. 2nd week so far no sale but I Just keep uploading. Right now I have 24 photos accepted by Adobe Stock and only for by Shutterstock
Wow, it took me a lot longer than a week to make my first sale! Best of luck in you stock content journey! :)
@@JKCvideo thanks man!
Man shutterstock needs to tweak their AI. I have images getting rejected for “noise” that have no noise at all. One is an amazing shot of the Milky Way core that they reject for noise. I think their AI is mistaking the stars for noise. Frustrating!
Very motivating! What stock agency are you using?
Glad you enjoyed the content! I upload to BlaxkBox.Global and they send out my content to all of the heavy hitting sales agencies!
You have great energy! Love it… ❤
Very kind of you to say, thank you! :)
So I can upload content I shoot to my social medias even though I plan to put them up for stock footage sites?
You created the content which means that you own the original content. If you upload it to stock sites you are simply allowing others to license it, you still own it!
I have a lot of drone shots all over Asia, temples, jungles, rivers, villages, cities along with unique unseen places. Do you have any advice how to quickly set up my shots (4k) on a website that will automatically include the watermark? I have not color graded them though, any advice on that? I use Final Cut Pro to edit.
You should check out the BlackBox.Global platform. You'll only need to upload your content once and then they'll push your stock footage out to multiple sites. Unfortunately, the coloring process is time consuming and you can only do it so fast. Creating content is a marathon, not a sprint. Go slow and set realistic goals!
Thanks for the tips and inspiration! 🥰
Glad you enjoyed ~ best of luck!
Hey Jacob...You've got some talent 👏 Love from India
Thank you for the support ~ I'm actually part Indian! :O
I have about 20 shots to get started. They are all really good IMO. Is it worth getting into this or do I actually need thousands of clips to have any chance?
Depends on what your goal is! As pointed out in the video, a majority of my shots have never sold and honestly probably never will. You really just need a handful of sought out clips to make money. That said, a good clip to you or me may not be what the marketing firm is hoping to license. All I can really say is, you won't make money from those 20 shots if you don't upload them and if you do then who knows, you could bring in some rainy day money over time!
Great video. What a portfolio you must have! What site do you sell on?
I upload my content to BlackBox.Global and they send out my stock content to all of the other heavy hitting sales sites! :)
Great video!!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed! :)
How do you get people towards your stock footage? What I’m really asking is how do you market your footage on sites like shutterstock so people see it
Honestly a great question! When you upload your content, be it directly to Shutterstock or through a 3rd party aggregate link BlackBox, you'll be prompted to write up a clip description AND include metadata. That's a set of words that are relevant to your clip. Definitely take the time to compile a list of good words that other people will use to search for your content, it makes a big difference!
Hi, where do you recomend to upload the content?
BlackBox.Global