Shooting aerial videos is probably one of the most creative and fun things to do with a drone. Whether it’s a group of people having fun or beautiful Game of Thrones-style landscapes - shooting drone videos is the best choice.
In 2024 you don’t need to have clients to earn with your drone videos. Having clients requires constant management and it’s such a hassle.
This is where stock video marketplaces come in rescuing the creators since they already have a client base actively hunting for content. In this way, you don’t need to worry about finding and maintaining clients and management.
Stock video marketplaces are amazing because they will accept any category of videos if they meet the quality standards and requirements. Still, it can be a bit hard to determine what content to upload.
Before selling your content on different platforms, you also need to do some research on what quality is acceptable for stock video marketplaces or what topics are now hot and in season, shortly put - what to shoot.
Research can be hard and time-consuming. We’ve tried to compress all you need in one article and leave you the creative part only!
At first, you need to use a drone with a 4K camera, however, some marketplaces might still accept videos shot on a 2,7K or 1080p camera.
Next, you need to do some research on content and planning. While you may be a fan of niche videos with perfect artistic cinematography, these videos might not be the first choice of clients looking for quick and generic video clips for their advertisements or projects.
Got an idea and gear all setup and don’t know where to sell your video? Don’t worry, our team has a carefully curated list of top websites to sell drone footage in 2024 just for you.
Wirestock
Selling videos on the stock content marketplaces means taking care of captioning, tagging, and manually doing the listings on several marketplaces. Wouldn’t it be great if all of these non-creative steps magically disappeared? This is where Wirestock steps in.
Being a leading platform for visual creators, Wirestock offers a variety of perks. It takes care of all the manual steps such as tagging, writing captions and then distributing it to 20+ leading marketplaces such as Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Pond5, and so on.
You can track all your sales from one place, no need to log in to different platforms. Wirestock gives 85% of sales to the creators which is a great bargain since most of the marketplaces don’t offer this much revenue to creators. Additionally, Wirestock provides AI tools which you can use to boost your creative imagination.
Wirestock also offers lots of creative challenges for drone video creators where winners get cash prizes.
Besides that, there’s a higher chance that your content will rank higher and get more exposure on marketplaces with Wirestock rather than selling it via your newly opened account, which means earning more royalties. How does that work? Marketplaces require you to upload loads of content constantly to get your account rank higher, while the Wirestock account offers already high-ranking content and gives you the chance to earn more in no time.
Excited to get creative and sell? Sign up to Wirestock and start your drone journey now!
Getty Images
Niche websites selling drone videos or videos only are a dream come true for videographers, however, they are still notably small, and the best platform to sell videos remains typical stock marketplaces.
Most people think of classic stock photos while hearing of Getty Images. What they don’t know is that Getty Images sells stock videos as well. Their video archive is considerably smaller than the image archive which gives the contributors the chance to have high-ranking content in a short time.
When you offer your drone footage to Getty Images, it becomes exclusively theirs, meaning you forfeit the option to share it on other stock sites. As compensation, contributors receive a 25% portion of the total sales for royalty-free video clips.
Although the terms set by Getty Images may appear less appealing initially, there are notable advantages to consider. Firstly, the prestige of the Getty Images brand often translates to higher prices for content. Moreover, Getty Images stands as one of the most prominent names in the stock media realm. With a truly exceptional video, the potential exists to attract numerous buyers, potentially resulting in substantial earnings.
Shutterstock
Another big name for stock creators is Shutterstock, which is again best known for selling stock images and is marketed towards photographers. However, bear in mind that creating a quality drone video is a lot harder therefore will earn more revenue in the end.
"The rewards offered by Shutterstock to contributors are more exciting. Each video, regardless of its listed price, guarantees a fixed payment of $400. Contributors receive a set commission rate of 30% from all sales of stock videos. Furthermore, contributors have the opportunity to submit aerial photos for inclusion on the platform, although the pricing system for stock photos is more complex.
It is easy and exciting to sell drone footage online in 2024, as there are many options available and amazing ideas to shoot about.
We are aware of the fact that sometimes creators might have a block in their creative process and feel stuck on finding relevant, interesting, and best-selling topics to shoot.
Keep an eye out for our monthly Wirepicks where we talk about everything content, and offer carefully crafted and researched content that is on-demand and hot on marketplaces.
Pond5
Another stock marketplace is Pond5 which is the first choice of many creators. The first and obvious reason is fixed royalty rates. Pond5 offers a 40% fixed royalty rate to creators, or a 60% rate if the creator decides to give the exclusive rights to the marketplace.
While most of the platforms offer their own terms, on Pond5 creators can set their prices on the videos.
All in all, there is a variety of choices presented to video creators. Drone footage is one of the most high-demand content on stock marketplaces and nothing is going to get its place in the foreseeable future.
Ready to start selling? Let’s get the party started now!
