7 Steps To Success as a Vecteezy Contributor

Each month, millions of visitors arrive at Vecteezy in search of high-quality vectors, stock photos, and stock videos. We rely on talented contributors, like yourself, to provide visitors with the content they need. Our contributors are able to earn money doing what they do best.

In an effort to help you get the most out of our contributor program and to help you maximize your income potential, we’ve put together these seven steps to get you started.

Step 1: Create a Strong Contributor Profile

To upload vectors, photos, or videos to Vecteezy, you’ll need to create a contributor account and fill out some of the details about yourself. Completing the details of your profile is very important, and we’ll cover the steps to set yourself up for success.

There’s no cost to become a contributor. Once your account has been created and approved, you’ll be able to log in to your contributor dashboard.

From the dashboard, you can:

• Upload resources
• Manage the settings for your account and profile
• View stats that show how many times your resources have been downloaded and how much money you’ve made.

When you create your contributor account, you will:

Choose Your Specialty

Do you want to submit vectors, photos, or videos? The signup process involves an application and you’ll need to submit some examples of your work to be evaluated.

Choose to Become a Free or Pro Contributor

Vecteezy users can download some resources for free, while others require a Pro subscription. During the signup process, you’ll apply to become either a Free contributor or a Pro contributor. Both Free and Pro contributors have the opportunity to earn money, but the details of the programs and compensation plans are different.

Free contributors are paid $5 for every 1,000 downloads, while Pro contributors are compensated on a Subscriber Share model. Read all of the details of the Free program vs. the Pro program here.

There are benefits to both the Free and Pro programs, but depending on your profile size and how many downloads you get, you might make more with one path than the other.

Complete Your Profile

Once your contributor account has been approved, it’s important to take a few minutes and complete the details in your profile. Set up your username, upload a profile picture, enter a link to your website or social profiles, and enter a brief bio. Your profile will look much more attractive to users if it is filled out.

Not only will a completed profile look more attractive to visitors, but it also increases your chances of getting free exposure. We regularly feature contributors through our social profiles, in blog posts, and in emails to our subscribers. We’re unlikely to share profiles that have a generic username and no profile photo.

Step 2: Develop Your Niche

You’ll be able to upload a wide variety of vectors, photos, or videos, but most of our leading contributors have chosen to focus in one way or another. You could focus on a particular style of vectors, type of resource, type of photos, or any other approach that allows you to get more specific.

Vladyslava Stryhul is a great example. She creates hand-drawn cartoons that are playful and fun with splashes of color.

When customers find a resource they really like, they often click through to the contributor’s profile to see what else is available from that contributor. If you have a lot of resources that interest the customer, it can lead to multiple downloads and more money for you.

Taking a niche approach can also help you to become known as a go-to source. For some practical ideas and suggestions, please see our article How to Find Your Niche as a Designer.

Step 3: Create Resources With Users in Mind

When it comes to stock resources, some new contributors see it as a way to upload and monetize whatever vectors/photos/videos they have created in the past that they’re not using. You can make money from the resources you already have, but you can make more if you figure out what users are looking for. The existing content you have may be high-quality, but it might not be what users want or need.

The most successful contributors are able to make money because they give users what they want.

Focus on authentic work that users want to download. Pay attention to the trends and know that people who use stock vectors, photos, and videos will be looking for resources that feel current and on-trend.

Today’s users want stock resources that feel natural, like this photo by liudmylasupynska that doesn’t have a clichéd stock photo look to it.

You should also consider how customers will use your resources. Some common uses would include:

• Social media graphics
• Visuals for use on websites and blogs
• Printed resources like brochures and flyers
• Marketing materials (digital and print)

Make it as easy as possible for them to use your resources in their work. This might include leaving whitespace or negative space that could be used for text.

This photo by coolhand1180213301 could be used in a lot of ways because it has plenty of room for text.

Step 4: Use Titles and Keywords Effectively

When you’re uploading resources, titles and keywords are extremely important. Visitors arrive at Vecteezy and search for a specific keyword or phrase, and the metadata (title, keywords, and description) that you enter can have a strong impact by helping your resources to appear in the search results.

It may be tempting to quickly rush through the process of adding metadata when you’re uploading resources, but putting in a little bit of extra effort here can significantly increase the amount of visibility your resources receive, how many times they are downloaded, and how much money you make from them.

Your title should include the most important words and phrases that visitors might use if they’re searching for a resource like yours. The title should only be 3-8 words long and include less than 70 characters. Obviously, you won’t be able to fit all of the relevant words and phrases in the title, and that’s where the keywords metadata comes in.

We recommend that you enter at least 10 keywords for each resource, but more keywords will give you a better chance to appear in the search results.

When you’re adding keywords, think about the words and phrases someone might use if they were looking for your vector/photo/video. Include keywords that mention the main subjects in the photo (i.e. woman, motorcycle, mountain, etc.) Use descriptive words like beautiful, big, colorful, or happy. Also include keywords that could describe how the resource could be used (i.e. background, banner, etc.). See our article on keywording tips for more details.

Don’t underestimate the importance of metadata. Effective titles and keywords may be the difference between resources that are rarely seen and those that are downloaded hundreds or thousands of times.

Step 5: Anticipate Demand

One of the best ways to maximize the visibility of your resources and ultimately make more money is to understand what people are searching for today and, more importantly, anticipate what they will be looking for in the near future. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to create the resources that people want, and they’ll be available when people want them.

Think about seasonal changes, upcoming holidays, and other major events that are around the corner. You can create resources today that customers will be searching for tomorrow (or next week or next month). Read our article 5 Ways for Vecteezy Contributors to Anticipate Demand for some specific ideas and suggestions.

Anticipating demand is the best way to plan your content creation. Being ahead of the game is key. For example, marketers, designers, and freelancers often use our website months in advance of a holiday to prepare their work on time. Uploading Christmas-themed resources in December may lead to some downloads, but uploading them in September would be much more effective. By thinking and planning ahead, you can give yourself the best chance to gain exposure to your new resources. See our Tips for Creating Stock Resources for Holidays and Seasons.

Here are a few ways to know what’s in demand right now and what might be coming around the corner.

Popular and Trending on Vecteezy

The Vecteezy homepage has a section highlighting popular resources and another section highlighting resources that are trending this week. Looking at the currently trending resources, I see a photo of a football field, which makes sense since it’s football season. Be sure to check the popular and trending resources regularly to be aware of what users are downloading.

Photo by mariuszblach

List of Holidays

While there are many holidays and seasonal events throughout the year, some of the best opportunities for contributors include:

• New Year’s Day (January)
• Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (January or February)
• Valentine’s Day (February)
• St. Patrick’s Day (March)
• Easter (Spring)
• Cinco de Mayo (May)
• Independence Day (July)
• Halloween (October)
• Thanksgiving (November)
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday (November)
• Christmas (December)

See our contributor calendar for a full list of holidays and seasonal events throughout the year.

Calls for Content

We help contributors stay ahead by producing monthly calls for content that are sent to contributors by email and also published on our blog. These calls for content may be based on upcoming seasons, holidays, and events, or they may be based on gaps in our catalog where demand is higher than supply. By following the calls for content, you’ll get ideas about the types of resources you should be creating today to have the best chance for exposure and downloads in the near future.

Step 6: Aim for Quality and Quantity

There is no doubt that the quality of your vectors/photos/videos is extremely important, regardless of whether you’re a Pro contributor or a Free contributor. But the number of resources that you upload is important too. While you don’t want to sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity, you should aim to upload new resources on a regular basis if you want to maximize your earnings.

Our strongest contributor profiles have hundreds of resources available for users. Some contributors create multiple variations of a file (like vectors in different colors) to increase the variety of what they have to offer. Aim to build a dense portfolio of work so you can maximize the discoverability of your profile, and touch on the major opportunities for holidays and events.

The more resources you have in your portfolio, the more opportunities you’ll have to be seen and to get downloads. The most successful contributors keep adding new resources. For tips and suggestions, see Easy Ways to Get More Resources Into Your Vecteezy Portfolio.

Step 7: Pay Attention to Reasons for Rejection

Each vector, photo, or video that is uploaded by contributors will be reviewed by the Vecteezy team of experts to ensure that it meets our quality standards and that it will be a good fit for our catalog of resources.

Don’t be discouraged if you have a submission that gets rejected, but you should pay attention to the reason for rejection (or see this list of common reasons for rejection). You’ll have the best chance of getting your submissions approved if you understand what the reviewers are looking for.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ll give yourself the best chance to have success and earn money with Vecteezy. We’re eager to work with talented designers, photographers, and videographers, so if you’re interested in earning some money with your skills, apply to become a contributor today.

Lead image by halfpoint