Stock Photography calendar

It’s September! That means back to school, back to work and back to reality! Hopefully after the summer, your batteries are recharged and you are full of energy to boost your stock creations. Of course, you want to work efficiently, stay organized, produce and submit compelling content, and get on top of your game. That’s why we’re here to help you plot out your stock calendar year!

Timing is extremely important when producing and submitting stock content. Submitting seasonal content at random intervals throughout the year isn’t the best approach, as the newest content has the most visibility on the site. So it’s best to upload relevant content at the right time, to ensure buyers come across it first.

Developing a stock content calendar will help you plan your productions and submissions for next year’s content, maximizing your visibility and sales. We recommend making a digital version so it’s easier to update and edit.

Start with marking the most important events in the year like the turn of the seasons, holidays and major global events. Once something is in the calendar you can then start to plan the master and all the finer details, such as concepts, models, locations, equipment, and releases. The more you plan ahead, the smoother the actual production will run.

When planning, it’s important to research your market and your audience. If you are dealing with tech or medical themes, make sure that you have the most up-to-date motifs and gadgets. As you are planning in advance, you need to be on top of the upcoming trends. Visual trend reports are a great way of informing yourself of what to expect and source for the upcoming market.

Producing and submitting your content are two different things and must be scheduled accordingly. Content buyers also plan their annual campaigns well in advance, licensing their images, videos or vectors weeks before they publish their advertisements.

So, its best for you to submit relevant themed content weeks in advance of the event, as this is when customers are buying. For example, the content you produce this winter around the theme of Christmas will most likely be needed next year. Be sure to hold onto the files and submit them for next year’s campaigns, as generally the theme is consistent.

Running a calendar will also help you maximize your visibility by scheduling the frequency of your submission. Consistent, regular submissions are key!

It’s important to remember to stay realistic – don’t over do it! Use your calendar to set up a schedule that you can handle, then follow it. Decide how many productions you can complete each month, how many submission you will do per year.

Now you can plan ahead and quit stressing over tight deadlines, as well as tracking all your great ideas and ensuring your submissions are consistent. Ultimately, you can gain better control to your entire content creation process!