YAY Micro newsletter for contributors 09/2008

What's happening at YAY?

It's been a few busy weeks for us at Yay! We have kicked off our sales effort and done several tweaks to enhance the customer experience. Everything is going smoothly: no downtime, no serious errors and the response from customers are very positive! Our database now counts over 360 000 images, and considering that YAY has been open for contributors for about five months, and for customers a little over 3 months, that is very encouraging. This means that we now cover most categories of images that customers might need. We do, however, want more images! More images means a better database which again leads to more sales. Our vision of becoming a leading marketplace for images also means that we still are searching for more editorial images. There is a growing market for editorial images and we want to be there when it eventually explodes - and so should your images.

A few of the most noticeable updates to the interface are:
• Improved the search algorithm
• Changed the search-page to be more customer friendly
• Added public folders (lightboxes)
• Improved search engine optimization on several levels
• Added links directly to photographer's portfolios from the forum
Sales are also picking up and quadrupled from July to August. This doesn't mean that everybody are experiencing steady sales, but we can assure you that we are still going strong and sales will continue to grow. As you all know it takes time to build a new business and YAY is no exception. Believe us when we say that we greatly appreciate your support and patience while we are working on building a site that is fair to contributors and easy for customers.

Feedback from customers

"We want editorial stock!"
In our image bank there isn't a single image of people:
• Drinking Coca Cola or Pepsi (sugared, zero, light or max)
• Eating a McDonald's hamburger
• Drinking bottled water with a visible, known brand
• Smoking a Marlboro cigarette
• Shopping at Wal-Mart
If you are the only photographer with a good picture of people drinking artificial sweetened soda, you are the photographer who gets the sale! Another hot tip is to take images to illustrate the economical turmoil most of the world is experiencing. Take images of houses getting sold - and not getting sold, of people buying a lot of Christmas gifts - and few Christmas gifts, of people on a shopping spree and on a budget, interest rates going up - and down, prices going up - and down. If you build a quality portfolio with these kind of images you'll get the attention from large, editorial customers - and with that attention: Sales!

There are no specific trends when it comes to the types of images that customers buy. Basically there is a diversity among customers that means that they download basically all types of images. If we notice any trends developing we will notify you.

You would like to sign up with YAY Micro?

Here is my referral link:
http://yaymicro.com/register.action?referredBy=hlehnerer

Source: YAY Micro