DON’T SELL JUST ONCE

The basic business model of our industry is the same as most, we make a product, then we sell it to a buyer. But there is a benefit for us, now more than ever - our product is digital, meaning we can sell it again and again.

So we’ll make a project - a series of photos, a written article, or a movie, then we’ll sell the package to a client. It might take us a month or two to create, and we’ll sell for a few thousand dollars.

But why not sell that same piece, as is, or repurposed, to a second client, a third, a forth? This is where projects become really profitable. And it’s absolutely within your rights as an artist. It’s even expected, but it won’t be your buyer’s first offer.

To create a whole new project each time we publish will wear us out. The labor, research, time, and energy costs are massive. Versus the energy taken to market and sell existing work.

During self-directed work (projects that you create without assignment or outlet affiliation) you can retain ownership of the work when you sell it. Meaning that you sell an outlet the rights to publish the work, but not to own it or resell it themselves. But you keep the right to sell the project again to anyone else. This is called a non-exclusive license. And it’s the only way you should work…. unless the money offered is massive!

When you begin negotiations with an outlet for publication they’ll give you a contract to sign. The first iteration will be heavily weighted in their favor. I don’t think this is malicious, just perhaps standard business practice. Make sure you read through their contact very carefully, and strike out anything that allows “exclusive rights,” and “reselling.” Better yet, politely state that you’ll only sell on a non-exclusive license, and ask them to amend their contract before they send it through.

If your contact responds in shock (which they won’t), you can always negotiate an “embargo duration” of perhaps a week, where no other outlet can publish the work. Then it’s released, and can be published with other outlets again.

Truthfully most outlets can’t afford to pay for non-exclusive content, but they’ll certainly try to negotiate for it. 

Let’s consider an example scenario. If a project takes you a full month to make. It’ll cost you maybe $2,000 in hotels, food, flights, gas.
You’ll need reimbursement for sunk costs, plus profit on top. And if you’re self employed, don’t forget you’ll lose a quarter of that in tax.

Consider a ballpark salary of $60k per year. Per month that splits to $5k.If you sell your month-long project to one outlet exclusively, they’ll need to pay your $2k expenses, plus $5k salary ($7k total) to get you to $60k. Then you’ll need to do all that again next month.

This is possible. But not all outlets have budgets that large, so we’re leaving money on the table.

On the flip-side, if an outlet offers even $4k for an exclusive license to your month-long piece, after expenses that’s only $2k profit. Can you live on $24k per year?

But… what happens if we make four non-exclusive sales of $5k each, a much more palette-able budget for most outlets? That’s $20k minus your $2k expenses. Better. These are ballpark figures, but you get my point. And in my experience aren’t far off the truth.

When you’re selling consider non-competitive markets. Make a few sales in English language outlets (UK and US), perhaps reframing the work for each pitch, so that it’s relevant to more outlets. Then begin to widen your net by looking to outlets abroad, like Die Zeit, Stern, Le Monde, or Canal+.

I often publish work in Spanish, French, or German outlets, because for each new language you can quote, for example “this work has never published in the French language.” Plus the pitching process is exactly the same, even to the point of me writing my emails in English.

When I’ve been through my contact list, pitched, reframed, pitched again, and sent to foreign language outlets, I’ll start uploading to stock platforms. Perhaps you’ve applied to an agency like Zuma Press or Getty. Or maybe you’re uploading to stock platforms like Shutterstock, or iStock. This is a way to automate a few more sales after you’ve moved on to other things. Over time your gallery on these sites will grow and money will trickle in without you needing to lift a finger.

I have a photo of Joe Biden on Shutterstock and some of NASA moon rocks with Getty that repeatedly bring in a few hundred dollars per month. Strange topics I know, and I wouldn’t have guessed they’d be popular, but I’m not complaining.

As you work, keep an eye out for additional markets, clients, and outlets that your work might sell to.

Be very firm about non-exclusive licensing, and please don’t be afraid to sell your work time and again. It’s your work, it always will be. Payment is not for ownership of work, it’s for the rights to show it.