How to sell stock videos online? – Create & sell digital products #33

How to sell stock videos online? Do you know how to make good video material? In the previous text, we mentioned the possibilities that open up for the creators of stock music and stock image. What about stock videos? Is it possible to sell them online and earn? What do you need to remember while creating this type of content? Read the article to find out more.

How to sell stock videos online? – table of contents:

1. What is stock footage?
2. Where stock footage is used?
3. How to make a good stock video?
4. Where to sell stock video online?
5. Why film materials are expensive?

What is stock footage?

Footages are sometimes known under the name of stock videos or B-rolls. Those are the types of video clips or footage, that can become a part of greater projects and video productions. The filmmakers create such types of materials to sell the license for their usage. The main feature of those movies is the fact that they are not recorded with the specific project in mind, hence their content is universal to match the style of most types of movie production.

For individuals that wish to use film materials the footages are a great solution that saves time, resources, and money. For example, the creators of the production about the family that lives in Norway may wish to enrich their project with images of the country. Instead of paying the crew and spending money on recording the clips – which is very costly and time-consuming – they can use ready-made footages that are collected in dedicated online services.

Where stock footage is used?

Stock videos are used in many ways, but the most popular include:

• secondary shots – in this case, the video becomes a B-roll, that is additional footage, that is an addendum to the bigger project. It can be either footage of passers-by, landscapes from the air,
• advertisement – many companies decide to use stock videos in their advertising campaigns. Those creations do not require the recording of original shots – the ready-made clips are sufficient. The narrative is recorded later. Such movie materials can become a basis for commercials or supplements (b-roll).

How to make a good stock video?

Making stock videos is a good idea for additional income. Before we start dreaming about serious money we have to learn how to make good quality stock videos. How to make them? What do you need to know?

• Technical knowledge – before starting recording make sure that you know everything about the technical basis of this process. You can invest and purchase a course or use free guides available on the Internet. Check the YouTube service or thematic blogs for many useful tutorials.
• High quality – stock videos selling platforms have their requirements with the quality of the clips. Make sure you provide the best possible quality otherwise you can destroy your chance to be accepted as an author by the particular service. Try to focus on the quality from the beginning.
• Lighting – if you do not want to allocate your funds to professional lighting use daylight. Play with light increases positively the quality of your footage, but it provides your material with the right mood.
• Plan ahead – spontaneous recording may not bring the expected results. Think through each recording ahead to be sure what exactly you wish to capture, which way, and how to reach the best effect. The clear vision created before the recording will help you to capture all the details and emotions.
• Search for your niche – stock videos are more and more popular, which means that the competition on the market is greater than it was ever before. Many footages were already recorded, hence it is worth searching for the niche, where the creator will have a chance to break through. One can apply the ideas from work or think about one’s interests – all this can be used to make interesting footage.
• Check the market – orient yourself in the market and find out, what types of stock videos sell and which don’t. The information bout supply and demand can help you to make good decisions as to which direction to go.
• Include people in your story – footage that portrays people can make your work more popular. Such material requires additional work – you need to remember the consent for use of the image and the cost of hiring the actors.
• Use different perspective – record from different angles, use interesting camera moves, and try close-ups – such procedures will diversify your clips, which should help you to break through over the classic, still recordings. Additionally, such solutions help to maximize the number of shots from one space.

Where to sell stock video online?

Many platforms enable sales of video stock online. The most popular are listed below.

Artgrid

The moviemakers from all over the world send their high-quality footage to the Artgrid platform. It is possible to search for single clips or for stories, that are materials grouped (from 3 to 100 clips) by the material, subject, localization, or story. The length of the videos available is usually from 4 to 20 seconds.

The creators that wish to sell their video materials on the Artgrid service have to fill up the application form that is available on the website. The application includes the form to provide contact details and links (4 -6) to portfolios.

Pond5

We have been writing about Pond5 while discussing the best online platform to sell stock music. The Pond5 service offers high-quality stock videos online. The creators can send their videos only as so-called Non-Exclusive Video Artists (this means that they license their recording in Pond5 and other similar services). They get 40% of the share in royalties. In the case of the exclusive, so-called Exclusive Video Artists option, they can count on 60% of the share in royalties.

Dissolve

On the Dissolve website, there is information that the platform hand-picks its collections of movies focusing on technical quality, style, and cultural meaning. The platform does not offer a subscription model. Every singular clip means a separate cost. The prices of movie materials start from 29 US dollars.

The Dissolve Liftoff program is for all the creators that would like to start selling their video clips with the use of the platform. To apply one should send links to his works and wait about 4 weeks for a response from the company.

Why film materials are expensive?

It is not hard to notice that movie materials are significantly more expensive than for example stock images. It is not without reason. The creator who offers ready-made video clips has to incur costs associated with the basic tools (camera, memory cards, tripods, lights, etc.), a realization of recording (travel costs, salaries of actors, the operator, and the director), edition (editing software). Additionally one has to add the time that the creator has to spend to record and edit the video clips.

At first glance the price of movie materials is high, but when we compare it with the cost that we would have to spend to create our videos, it is not unreasonable.

Summary

The market for stock videos develops constantly. If you like to spend your time on movie making you can use your interests to get another source of passive income. Now, when you know, how to sell stock videos online, then it is going to be an easy and pleasant task.

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