Selling Video Footage Online As Microstock

The big move in microstock these days is video footage. A number of top microstock agencies are getting on board to sell video footage and the results in terms of revenue are impressive. As compared to photo or vector files, the amount you can make per sale is reason enough to look into this.

Selling Video Footage As Stock – Which Microstock Agencies?

At this point in the game only a few agencies stand out as worthwhile for my money – Shutterstock, Pond5,  VideoHive, 123RF, Depositphotos and Dreamstime. Shutterstock already have quite a presence in the stock video footage market. 123RF & Dreamstime are just starting their collections. Pond5 are probably the market leaders in stock video at the moment. VideoHive sells huge amounts of footage, but at a lower price. And Depositphotos just keeps growing at a rapid pace. So why these few agency’s I hear you ask? The simple answer is sales and commission.

Shutterstock is of course the highest earning agency for almost all microstock contributors. They sell massive amounts of stock, and their video footage catalogue is no different. Sales are increasing, but so is the competition! You earn 30% commission on each footage sale. In fact, you can earn up to $23 USD per clip sold! So when you add high volume of sales with decent rates per sale, Shutterstock has to be at the top of your list for selling video footage in the microstock market.

Pond5 is about the only agency that can top Shutterstock in terms of video sales so far. These guys have been around for a while and have built one of the largest libraries of royalty-free stock videos available. The best part for contributors is that you can set your own prices for your clips – plus you get an excellent 50% commission! Many people are earning good money at Pond5 as sales are steady. So if video is going to be a part of your stock portfolio, make sure you give Pond5 a go.

VideoHive is part of the massive Envato Market network of sites. Thus you have a huge client base. Sales show this to be true, as even with my relatively small footage portfolio I sell clips daily.

123RF is different in that they are only just launching their footage catalogue. So no sales data there yet. However given 123RF’s track record of sales in both photography and vector illustrations I would fully expect them to have great success in the footage department.

Depositphotos have been selling video footage for some time now and their collection is growing rapidly. Prices are reasonable, as is submission – although they don’t read IPTC data unfortunately (currently only Pond5 do this).

Dreamstime has only recently joined the footage game so it’s a bit too early to tell how worthwhile selling footage will be there in the long run. However, they have been in the microstock industry for a long time and have survived all the ups and downs, so my guess would be that they will be successful in this endeavour too.

Selling Video Footage – Basic Requirements

Just because you didn’t have a 4K video camera when you took all those amazing clips years ago doesn’t mean you can’t earn money from them. Most libraries have fairly broad requirements that allow anything from the latest 4K, to 1080p files right down to even low-res clips. Of course, the difference is in what the file will sell for, as 1080p high definition will earn you more per sale than the older formats will. But hey, a sale is a sale, right?

So dust off those old clips, register with the best agencies for selling footage and start uploading now while the goings good. Selling video footage as stock will be around for years to come, but the opportunity to get in while the competition is limited will soon come to an end. Why not make your next photo shoot include a video shoot as well?