FTP and Multi-Uploader

We launched the FTP and multi-upload option on the site and have been getting a ton of feedback and tweaking it to make it better for everyone. So far its working well and the files are pouring in. If you need any help please email me at upload AT cutcaster.com and I can send you some more directions but you can also use the information at the top of the upload section to help you as well.

Also we have improved our search engine which you can see under the advanced search option. There are a number of new filters we are about to roll out so keep an eye out. But we need your help describing your content so the buyers are able to find it. So please do a good job describing your content and we will do our best to help you as well.

Vegas- Internet Conference

If anyone is out in Las Vegas this week I am here for the Goldman Sachs Internet Conference and would love to meet up. I'm looking forward to hearing some exciting new companies speak and it will be a great experience to see how they present. Getty I think bailed, so I was hoping to speak in their place, but if Getty is speaking I will check out them and want to see a few others like SpotRunner, Bill me Later and Zillow. I will be here until Friday morning but will be on my email or my cell. Hope to see some of you.

Weekend

This weekend, I did it. I am truly a very lucky or blessed guy. However, you want to look at it. For the last 4 years, I have had a great girl in my life who has gone through a lot with me and always been by my side. Always. She is my best friend, the funniest person I know, has the most beautiful smile and is the love of my life.

I knew from day one I wanted to be with Ashley forever and this past weekend while out in San Francisco, I asked her if she would be more than just my "Domestic Partner" (Long story for another blog post) and put up with me forever, which few I am sure could. I asked her to marry me on the beach down in Chrissy Fields overlooking the Golden Gate bridge and the SF Bay. I thought it was perfect. We talked for a while and then I reached for a little box in my pocket. As it opened and before I got a answer out of her, she swooped in and had the ring around her finger in milliseconds. I guess that was a yes. It was one of the best moments of my life and the excitement and mental picture of the whole setting will stay with me forever.

Ash and I are very close with our families so I had my parents and little sister, Mary, fly out to surprise Ashley, when we arrived back at her parent's house in the Presidio. Having my family out there, minus my sister Jane who unfortunately couldn't make it with her man Wyatt, made it that much more special. I am so happy they were there with all of us and love them so much for being a part of experience.

Even after 4 years of dating, Ashley's family, my family and I were able to surprise her. We totally caught her off guard and I couldn't have asked for anything better or more.

I knew I was always a bit lucky growing up but now I feel blessed to have Ashley and her family permanently in my life. Anyone would be lucky to have such a great group of people around them who support and love them. Ashley couldn't compliment me better.

I wanted to share this with all my Cutcaster family because in a way you have all been a supporter of me and all of our collective visions for Cutcaster so I want to thank you and make you a part of this.

Thanks for letting me share and I will post some pictures later ;-) Sorry if I was a little MIA the last 4 days but will respond to all the emails immediately. It's back to work.

Cutcaster May Newsletter

Hey Everyone,

My grandfather once said that a good website update was like a mini-skirt. Long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to keep it interesting. So with that in mind, I just wanted to pass on some mind-blowing updates that took place over this last month as we stop to catch our breath. It's been another crazy one!

We launched our Referral Program to the delight of many who have already started to spread the word even without it. Now it's time to get paid and we'd love your help! When you send us a buyer, we will pay you 10% of all their transactions on the site for the next 2 years; when you send us a seller, we will pay you out 5% of all their sales transactions over the next 2 years. It's a great way to pad your stats and also look smart for referring people to the first dynamic photo and video marketplace of its kind. Check out your My Studio page for more details.

We also have a new and simple 5-step upload process: Upload, Describe, Submit, Pending and then Reject. In addition, our FTP is up and running smoothly and the images and videos are flooding in as we speak. We are extremely excited by the quality of the work we're seeing. Our producers really are top-notch. Note that the upload and FTP supports the extraction of IPTC data for all you photographers out three...now let the real uploading begin!

We have further built out the bidding platform and are adding more complexity to it as we continue to develop our dynamic exchange now. We will be adding some really cool new features to it in the next month (including bidding on entire extended rights licensing packages), so keep an eye out for the new functionality and as always email us with any questions.

We released an area in your My Studio page to see your sales and transactions. Let us know what else we can add as we build it out to make it more comprehensive and user friendly.

Finally, we are picking people for the spotlight area so if you want to be featured on the homepage shoot me an email back and we can go over your work to pick out the best one.

It's been a great month since our April 1st beta launch and luckily we've been getting some good press. Of course, it wouldn't be possible without all our hardworking and dedicated producers, so check out one of the articles written about us recently and give yourself a pat on the back:

http://www.microstockdiaries.com/cutcaster-next-generation-creative-marketplace.html


Thanks to everyone and here's to another great month!

John and the Cutcaster Team

Happy Mother's Day

Hope all the mothers out there are having a great day. I wanted to wish my Mom, Ellen, Happy Mother's day and also all the Moms in the Cutcaster family. Thanks for putting up with us and being such a rock in all our lives. Don't forget to call your moms today.

Cutcaster T-Shirts

Our superstar member, April Stack, designed some cool shirts for Cutcaster. Take a look at them over at Zazzle. I am going to buy myself one ;-) Let me know what you think of them and maybe we can get some to give out to some of our members who have provided some awesome feedback. I know Lee from Microstockdiaries.com wanted one. hahaha.

http://www.zazzle.com/niagaragirl/product/235963836440544560

Some quick details on the Referral Program

Do you know people who would use Cutcaster and would benefit from a referral from you? Well you can benefit from referring potential members to the site who purchase new content or offer content in the marketplace. Cutcaster will pay you cash for helping us get new members. Referring new clients to Cutcaster is a great way to pad your monthly stats and pick up extra money. An affiliate is anyone who is referred to Cutcaster after clicking on the affiliation banner or link meaning someone who opens an account on Cutcaster after the recommendation of a member referring website. We will provide you with the banners and links.

From your MyStudio page, click on the “Referral” tab. There are three options you can choose from: “Affiliates” page with site badges and banners, “tell a friend” (TAF) and view “earnings” from referrals. When you refer a friend to the site who buys content or refer someone who has uploaded content which is bought on the site, you are paid. Here is the deal; the referring member will be rewarded by commission on all transactions of their affiliates for the next 2 years. The affiliation program enables any member of Cutcaster whose profile has been confirmed to be rewarded on the sales and purchases of their affiliates. It’s a win-win situation for all of us. You get to be the first to introduce people to the first dynamic content marketplace and they’ll be impressed by the quality of the footage, graphic designs, and images, offered for licensing.

The referring members’ revenues are calculated by a percentage of Cutcaster’s commission on each transaction from the affiliate. We will pay 10% of the buyers’ transactions and 5% of any of the sellers’ transactions for 2 years of when they sign up. (Content Sellers commissions/royalties do not change as a result of the affiliation program).

Cutcaster will check to make sure these new members are legit and we will check. The new user has to enable their cookies and make their first purchase within 14 days of signing up or we won’t be able to send you the credit for the referral. Referring members may receive rewards from an unlimited number of affiliates in their account. The referring member cannot be his own affiliate but nice try.

An Affiliation link is an Internet hyperlink or web link pointing to the Cutcaster website with a member’s reference id. The reference id is a unique code assigned to every member of Cutcaster.

Once you click on the “tell a friend” TAF tab, you can enter the person’s contact information and send them an invite. There is no limit to the number of new users you can invite and the amount of money you can make from referring them.

You’ll be asked to agree the Affiliate agreement and check off “I agree” before proceeding to the next page where you can access your Referral page. Please read carefully and check off that you agree.

If you do have any questions let me know as I am always around and I will be putting out more details on somjavascript:void(0)e exciting developments coming up very shortly. And thanks again to everyone who has been helping out and feeding us great suggestions especially, Henrik, Daniel, Gracie, Mitch, Lee, Gabrielle, Carl, Lope, Jeff, Edmar, Michael, Greg and everyone at www.microstockgroup.com who has contributed to helping us learn. Many many thanks.

Cutcaster Referral Program here!!! New banners and badges

How do you guys like the new banners? They are a part of our Referral Program and are our first so any input and feedback would be great. Remember they are for both you guys and for us so the more help we get the better and plus we have tough skin ;-)

The banners can be found in your studio page under the Referral Program which we are just launching. You can learn more about it after signing into your studio and clicking on the referral link in the tabs above your About Me info.








Here are just three of them. We have about 10 more over at the site so check them out and shoot us over some feedback.

Cutcaster Write-up at Microstock Diaries

Anyone reading this blog knows how much Lee Torren at Microstock Diaries has taught us at Cutcaster and how good of a writer he is. We have written about him numerous times and directed people to his impressive writing. Lee makes so many astute points and is very open about his experience working in Microstock as a side job that it's starting a trend of Openness in the industry that is better for everyone. I am continually impressed with his insights and how he understands businesses and trends. We were blessed enough to get a write-up from Lee yesterday and I wanted to share it with our audience because I think he really gets what we are trying to do.

And if you want to learn anything about the Microstock industry, his blog is a great place to start.

Here is the article below.

Hey there!

It's been a few days without a post, so we just wanted to say a quick hello. Apologies for the lack of posting, we've just been busier than ever after some good press boosted traffic and a steady stream of content uploading has kept the database expanding. We're currently rolling out some new and exciting functionality that will make our content marketplace even more unique, and having said that, please bare with us through any bugs you might encounter :) Anyways, come check us out as always at www.cutcaster.com.