Why you need a stock footage site
by Wayne Sables
As a filmmaker, it’s crucial to diversify your income streams and find ways to generate additional revenue. One way to do this is by creating a stock footage page where you can sell your additional footage. In this blog, we’ll explore why diversifying your income as a filmmaker is important, the benefits of selling stock footage, and how to set up your own stock footage site.
Why Diversify Your Income as a Filmmaker?
As a filmmaker, you may find that your income is not always consistent. Sometimes you may have a steady stream of work and other times you may experience dry spells. Diversifying your income means you have multiple sources of revenue, which can help you weather any ups and downs in your career.
By diversifying your income, you can also explore new areas of your expertise and interests. For example, if you’re primarily a narrative filmmaker, you could branch out and explore documentary filmmaking, corporate videos, or even teaching and training.
Benefits of Selling Stock Footage
Stock footage is a collection of video clips that can be licensed for use in various types of media, including films, television shows, commercials, and more. By selling your stock footage, you can earn additional income without having to take on new projects or clients. Here are a few benefits of selling stock footage:
- Passive Income: Once your stock footage is uploaded to a stock footage website, it can continue to generate income without any additional work on your part.
- Exposure: By selling your stock footage on a popular stock footage website, you can reach a wider audience and gain exposure for your work.
- Flexibility: Stock footage can be used in a variety of media, which means you can create it on your own time and at your own pace.
How to Set Up Your Own Stock Footage Site
If you’re interested in selling your stock footage on your own website, there are a few things you need to consider. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
- Choose a Platform: There are several website builders available, such as Squarespace, WordPress, and Wix, that allow you to create your own website without any coding knowledge.
- Create Your Website: Once you’ve chosen a platform, you can start designing your website. You’ll want to make sure it’s user-friendly, visually appealing, and showcases your work.
- Upload Your Stock Footage: You’ll need to upload your stock footage to your website and make it available for purchase. You can use a payment processor such as PayPal or Stripe to handle transactions.
- Market Your Site: Once your website is up and running, you’ll want to promote it to potential buyers. You can use social media, email marketing, or paid advertising to get the word out.
Additional Revenue Links
If you’re not ready to set up your own stock footage site, you can still earn additional income by selling your stock footage on popular stock footage websites. Here are a few of the most popular:
- Shutterstock: Shutterstock is one of the largest stock footage sites, with over 200 million images and videos available for purchase.
- Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, which means it integrates seamlessly with Adobe’s other products.
- Pond5: Pond5 offers a wide range of stock footage, from aerial footage to 4K video.
In conclusion, diversifying your income as a filmmaker is a great way to increase your profile, raise exposure, earn some extra money from footage that you’ve already created. If you’d like to know more about setting up a stock footage website or using one of the popular stock footage, sites already created, feel free to get in touch with me.
You can also check out my pond, five portfolio site. I sell my content exclusively on pond 5 because I get a higher revenue share which benefits both myself and pond5 as my foot it is not available anywhere else.
My Stock Footage Portfolio
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Header image by Patrick Robert Doyle