Stock footage tip: consistency is key

The chart pictured above shows my stock footage selling journey. You can see where I started getting serious about it in 2016. From 2016–2018 I produced the majority of the stock footage I have for sale online — and the revenue followed. In 2019, I removed a portion of clips — and you can see the decline in sales following that.

Interestingly, 2022 experienced an increase in revenue — despite several marketplaces selling clips for lower prices. So how did an increase happen after two years of decline?

The TL;DR here is that consistency is key. Between 2020 and 2022, I produced about 478 new stock clips, but didn’t really submit the bulk of them until 2022. I also focused on getting most of my entire collection submitted to every single marketplace I sell on (Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Pond5, iStock, VideoHive, DepositPhotos, Dissolve).

Marketplaces like it when you submit more regularly. That doesn’t mean you’ve got to be uploading every week, every month, or every quarter. But I have a theory that uploading from time to time signals to certain marketplaces that you’re an active participant in their platform’s growth, and their algorithms pay attention accordingly.

In my experience quality, variety, and quantity is the key to seeing any kind of decent revenue selling stock video clips. Consistency is what will get you there.

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