Balance the quantity and quality of your stock content

Learn how to strike the right balance between quantity and quality of your stock content as well as how to integrate the creation process into your commercial workflow. Part 5 of our onboarding series for new stock contributors.

So far in this series, we’ve covered essential steps for becoming a successful Adobe Stock Contributor — creating content that buyers are looking for, getting the most from your productions, optimizing your metadata, and maximizing the potential of your submissions. In this final part, we’ll explore how to strike the right balance between the quantity and quality of your output. We’ll also talk about how to efficiently integrate Adobe Stock content creation into your commercial workflow.

It's always best practice to maintain a high level of productivity and submit content regularly. However, to find true success, your main focus should be on creating a portfolio with a large quantity of high-quality images. Each asset in your collection should provide unique value and meaningful variety for potential customers. Creating work that stands out is key.

Plus, keep in mind that if you upload too many similar stock assets, you can dilute your portfolio and make it less appealing to buyers — and that can result in diminished sales. Content similarity is also one of the main reasons creative work gets rejected by the Adobe Stock moderation team. And submitting multiple copies of identical content can be perceived as image spam, which can result in your account being blocked or even permanently closed. So while it might be hard to narrow down your favorites from a shoot, carefully curating and uploading only the best of a similar series will pay off in the end.

Create useful content variations, but don’t spam.

To determine what’s useful and meaningful to buyers, your best approach is to research the market, the competition, and what’s already on Adobe Stock before choosing and uploading your content. If you’re planning to submit stock assets of commonly photographed subjects such as sunsets, flowers, kittens, or octopus tentacles, you’ll be facing stiff competition from your fellow creators. There’s definitely a market for this type of content — it's popular for a reason! But to have a realistic chance of commercial success, your stock assets really need to offer something that others don’t. Be sure the assets you choose have a real wow factor.

Also, find a balance between what you can cost-efficiently produce and what already exists. The more research you do, the more you'll know what has the potential to earn money. If no one else in your area of expertise is putting in the same amount of effort, you’ll be one step ahead. And remember that your content should express a clear concept — it should have thoughtful intent and a simple message that's easy to understand.

If you have a high volume of assets to submit, your best approach will be to stagger your uploads and submit in smaller batches on a consistent basis. This can help surface your content in search results for an extended period of time and improve your chances of sales. Getting your content seen is the first step to success. If you have more than 15,000 assets to submit right away, please contact the Adobe Stock team before you start. We can help you strategize and take steps to guarantee the smoothest possible submission process.

Here are some more practical tips to help you avoid having your content rejected as spam.

Photos and videos:

• ​​Select only the best photos from any batch, making sure that each one offers something unique. Think about whether your content offers a clear, viable use case for the intended customer. For example, if you use the same props during your shoot, change the placement to successfully create useful variations.

• Offer variety to potential buyers. Consider different angles and zooms, large crops and tight crops, and other variations. This will increase the chances that customers will license several images from a series. Avoid submitting images with only minimal changes, like different angles that are too subtle.
• Process your imagery carefully. Excessive post-processing can severely limit your potential for sales. If, for example, you submit an image in black and white, you’re only going to appeal to customers that want that specific effect. If you submit the image in color, however, customers can easily create their own black-and-white versions to fit their needs.
• For photos, submit up to three significant versions of a single motif, unless the complexity of the image calls for more. We've found that having a small number of versions can help Contributors achieve commercial success.
• For videos, feel free to submit more than three variations because editors often need multiple similar clips to work with. For example, your variations might show the same subject in the same setting, but the camera angles and focal points vary. Try different framing, camera motions, or onscreen activity and go beyond applying different post-processing effects, like changing the speed or adding filters.

Vector art:

• Make sure your assets look distinctive. Customers often adjust simple vector objects to suit their own style and needs. Be sure that any vector variations you upload provide more than just color, shadow, or light variations.
• Submit up to three variations of more complex files. Adjust your assets’ composition, themes, or objects. You can change the mood, season, or intended use of each variation to offer something special.
• View your file in outline mode. Zoom in to 100% or closer to make sure your vector will work as customers expect. Look around the graphic to ensure that it doesn’t include any stray anchor points or badly joined lines.
• Check the integrity of your files. Make sure illustrations, effects, and gradients are part of the vector graphic and that there are no raster images included.
• Organize your file. Make sure that all your artwork is contained on one artboard, and that you size the artboard to the bounds of your work. Group related assets and layers and make sure your groups and layers are labeled and unlocked. Delete hidden or empty layers and unused panel items.

For further tips on how to prepare your content before submission, check out the following dos and don’ts for photos, videos, and vectors.

Balance stock creation and commercial projects.

The best way to succeed as an Adobe Stock Contributor is to prioritize and focus. Submit content regularly and spending time upfront figuring out how your content fits in with the rest of your projects. Develop a business plan for growing your portfolio over time, and include ways to incorporate stock content creation into your current commercial workflow (i.e., the shoots you already have planned).

You’ll want to keep your costs down, too, and one way to do that is to produce content locally. You don’t need to travel to create unique images. While finding new locations can be fun, you probably know people, places, people, and things to do that are much closer to where you live. And if you have a special connection to these elements, they can provide excellent opportunities for you to create commercially viable stock content that’s relevant to buyers in your geographic region. Can you photograph or film your family or friends, for example? Do you know people with special skills or interesting workplaces? Are there any resources or environments available to you that others can’t access? Shoot what you know and let your passion and expertise give you a competitive advantage.

Another way to efficiently manage your costs is by having your commercial projects pay for your stock projects. If a commercial customer always tries to negotiate lower prices, ask if you can have the rights to use any assets they don’t select for their projects. Or, see if a customer will agree to pay for the models and location for your next shoot, and in return you’ll give them a selection of your assets. These types of agreements can reduce your cost risk and help you stay efficient as you pursue both commercial client work and your stock career.

Find support and inspiration: Join the Adobe Stock community.

The beauty of being an Adobe Stock Contributor is that you can adopt a flexible schedule and have full creative control over your work. There are no deadlines apart from the ones you set yourself. There are no client meetings, and there’s no boss telling you what to do. You can work on your own terms and upload content when you choose, keeping in mind everything we’ve covered in this series. You can contribute part-time, or you can make a full-time career from creating stock content. The more thought, research, and planning you put in, the more likely you’re to succeed. And remember — we're here to help.

If you want to dive deeper, there’s a ton of practical and inspiring content here on our Artist Hub, including videos, livestreams, artist spotlights, and curated galleries. Also, be sure to shout about the stock content you’ve created on social media and your personal website, and share your experiences with others. There’s a whole Adobe Stock community on Discord, Behance, and Instagram, too, and if you have any questions, reach out to the Stock team and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Happy creating!

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