20% off all products!   Sale ends tonight at midnight EST.

Return to Main Discussion Page
Discussion Quote Icon

Discussion

Main Menu | Search Discussions

Search Discussions
 
 

Stewart Scott

8 Years Ago

Group Submissions

I was wondering if anybody had a system that they would like to share regarding group submissions of their work? Everytime I join a group it says how many submissions are allowed per day however I forget. When I upload an image in to my galleries I also tend to submit it to the suitable groups that I have joined but can never remember which groups require what and the entries I am allowed. Surely there is a quicker, easier method than having to click the group and make a note everytime?

It would be a great idea to have a 'hover' option whereby you hover your mouse over the group name and it brings up a box outlining a few rules including the entry amount per 24hrs. It would also be nice to see the whole name of the group when choosing where to submit your image.

Reply Order

Post Reply
 

Susan Maxwell Schmidt

8 Years Ago

Join the crowd, we've been requesting a means to make this easier for a long time, to no avail as of yet. Hopefully eventually we will just be unable to add more than the recommended daily requirement to any given group. I've given up, I do my best to recall those with one a day limits and if I am wrong I figure they are welcome to reject my art. When you weigh the amount of time you have to put into ascertaining this stuff as opposed to the benefits, something has to give.

 

David King

8 Years Ago

I assume the max is one/day, though I know some do allow more but that seems to be pretty rare. However, on the rare occasion that I try to submit one less than 24 hours after the previous submitted image was approved I do get an error message and it won't allow me to submit. So, Susan, my experience is there is a mechanism in place the stops you from submitting more than the allowed. Also, it seems to be based not on when you submitted but rather on when the image was approved.

 

Stewart Scott

8 Years Ago

I did not know about such mechanism, I am pleased that one is in place.

 

Susan Maxwell Schmidt

8 Years Ago

That's only if you upload from the group page, not from the upload page. Uploading images individually on group pages is a major time suck. Nothing will keep you from adding repeatedly to groups from the upload page (or "image edit" page, which is essentially the same thing and where I do most of my group adding), which is where the issue needs to be addressed.

 

Once a day I choose an image, go into edit, and submit it to every appropriate group. I never even attempt to remember how many and where, and am only concerned about whether my image meets the group criteria.

No muss, no fuss, easy-peasy! :-)

 

Stewart Scott

8 Years Ago

But how do you keep track if you are a member of twenty plus groups how could you possibly remember all their individual criterias and submission rates? Easy peasy i think not.

 

David King

8 Years Ago

Just for the reasons you mention Susan I never submit from the upload page. I just take the time to visit each group, see if the last image I submitted is still pending, if not then I submit another image from my portfolio that is appropriate. I'm in over 30 groups and it doesn't really take that much time, maybe a 1/2 hour at most.

 

Newwwman

8 Years Ago

I am still tyrying to figure out the benefits of submitting to a group..maybe ive joined the wrong ones

 

David King

8 Years Ago

Robert, unfortunately the groups are not being used to their max potential. Basically getting an image accepted to a group just gets some activity on your image which improves SEO. The groups could be much more though if people would use the discussion areas to discuss and post images (with optimized "alt" and "title" tags) but the discussion areas are hardly utilized and when they are it's usually not in a way helpful to boosting activity on images.

 

Newwwman

8 Years Ago

yes i see ,, i have even messaged groups without a reply.. it must be a lot of work to run one.. i would not have the time

 

Patricia Strand

8 Years Ago

Stewart, you are not alone. At the very least, it would be helpful if a hover option allowed you to see the entire title of the group. I've asked for this in both suggestions and through general griping (lol). I haven't found any easy way to remember the individual requirements of each group, and I've been here a while. If I'm submitting from the upload page, I usually click on the name of the group because I can't see the full name anyway, then the rules are right there.

 

Jennifer White

8 Years Ago

I haven't found an easy way of doing this. When I upload a photo, I go through the groups and click on each one I think it would fit into to double check and see if they've accepted my last submission. If they haven't, I skip it, if they have, I double check the time to make sure it's been 24 hours, or what ever their requirements are. It's time consuming. I like the hoover over option, but I'm sure that would be difficult for them to create. If they could, I think it would be better if it just showed if you had a pending image.

Robert - There are several benefits. Look up the discussion What is the Big Deal About Groups: http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=2048106 The one thing I like about submitting to groups is if your photo is featured. If someone is shopping for an image, they can search for recently featured photos.

 

Newwwman

8 Years Ago

and what benefit is there for all that work? im missing something here

 

Stewart -- The majority of the titles are pretty clear, plus I've got a freaky habit of remembering most of what I read, so . . .

I'm in more than 100 groups, and mostly count on the titles to keep my fractals separate from my b&w, from my photo-manipulation, from my abstracts, etc. etc..

The only thing I have to jot down is what time I'm submitting, so I don't try again before 24 hours passes. That's not enough in some groups, as some seem to count time from submission, and others count from moderator's acceptance.

 

Betty Denise

8 Years Ago

Hi Stewart,
I feel your pain!
I no longer submit to groups when uploading my images. I prefer to go to my "Behind the Scene" and to the "Groups" page. I only view the groups that are relative to my newest uploads. The good thing on this page...is it will tell you when you've reached your upload limit for the day. Also, I click on the "Home" section if I forget what the group criteria is.
It's not fast by any means, but it's better than burdening already stressed out admins in the groups I belong too.
Oh, and Robert, I don't seem to get much from groups, unless of course I'm featured. The most bang for my buck comes when I submit my images to "weekly discussions" in my groups. It's then that the likes, tweets, FB, and outside shares happen.
Betty

 

Stewart Scott

8 Years Ago

Sometimes Robert its just about doing something you enjoy. It must be very satisfying running a successful and popular group.

I think having your image featured may help with its sale or at least its prestige which is never a bad thing.

 

Newwwman

8 Years Ago

makes sense stewart... thanks... i think its a longer term plan for me.. im still in the very early stages of building a portfolio

 

Susan Maxwell Schmidt

8 Years Ago

David, I have more than four times as many images and belong to at least four times the number of groups you do. I used to do it one group at a time. I don't anymore, I have MUCH better things to do with my time. Like, uhhhh... art.

 

Melany Sarafis

8 Years Ago

There IS an easier way: edit your groups, join only those you're interested in actively participating in. Then VISIT the groups to add your images, and then participate in discussions. It seems like people just join as many groups as possible, and then wear it like a badge "I'm in more groups than you are"
Don't be an image dumper!

I wish that group check box would disappear from the upload board. I deleted a group because I was just sick of people dumping stuff there on upload regardless of submission limits, rules, etc. now instead, I just dump the image dumpers who can't be bothered with group settings.

 

Frank J Casella

8 Years Ago

"I was wondering if anybody had a system that they would like to share regarding group submissions of their work? "

I have not read this thread yet. My system is that a couple days per week I spend an hour visiting each group I joined. I first look to see what is accepted, pending, or rejected. If I have an image pending I move on to the next. If I have an image accepted or featured, I first tweet the group then add only one image for acceptance. I find when I submit one image it gets accepted and especially featured more so than when I submit two or more images. Finally, I look to see how many images I have in the group, and if it is more than 30 I remove some to keep my limit at that .... because more than 30 means its probably too deep and nobody will go there to see it. I move images out also because it attracts the bots to the group and my artwork.

Many I find consider it a labor to visit each group, however I don't look at is as something I have to do but rather something I get to do. How much time do we all spend marketing on social media? Visiting groups is a part of my social media plan especially when I tweet my groups.

Hope this answers you questions. Enjoy your day!

 

Frank J Casella

8 Years Ago

"I am still tyrying to figure out the benefits of submitting to a group..maybe ive joined the wrong ones"

Robert -- The main function of groups is to exhibit your artwork along with the artwork from others in the same subject or theme. Think of the homepage as galleries and the discussion threads as the groups. You don't have to add ( the right ) keywords or worry about site ranking when your artwork is associated with others in a group. I know of collectors and art consultants who search groups to see what the admins are featuring because we spend countless hours curating ( and 'ranking' ) with eyeballs compared to the site ranking. They are looking for original and unique artwork before it gets site ranking ... There are several artists who only spend time in groups everyday, with no use of social media or outside marketing, and make sales every month. Because when yours and others images are added, and more so featured, it attracts the bots, not only to our images but to the groups.

 

David King

8 Years Ago

I agree Melaney, it's not about quantity. There's really not much use in joining groups that have very low activity, in fact I'm pretty sure I'll be dropping some of mine soon. If the administrator can't find the time to approve submissions at least a couple times a month then the group just won't be active enough to be effective.

 

Stewart Scott

8 Years Ago

Thats ok Melany if I had the time to do all that, I work 12 hour shifts and I have a family. My soul purpose is to sell images, im not here to do the whole 'social network' thing - HOWEVER that been said I love seeing other peoples work and therefore I like to share mine. I do social networking outside of FAA which has been advised by most. I shall write occasionally on this community forum but I simply have not got the time nor the inclination to comment and be apart of every group discussion.

 

Valerie Reeves

8 Years Ago

My solution is to only submit ONE to every group, no matter how many they allow. That way I know I never go over.

 

Susan Maxwell Schmidt

8 Years Ago

I'm with you Stewart, I view groups as a place to exhibit my art with like-minded artists. I have ZERO desire to make them social. I don't join groups that insist on it and I leave groups that change their terms to make them become social (as well as groups that don't get updated at least every couple weeks, when I notice). There is little I have less interest doing other than possibly participating on Facebook, which I make myself do (very painfully and often failingly). That's more than enough social pain for me. I tweet, but I'm not there to sell art, I am there to BMC. It just so happens that I throw my art out there too. Twitter is not painful, but I don't even have much time for that at the moment. I have to prioritize my work and hobnobbing with other artists more than I do in this forum doesn't even make the bottom of the list, and personally I will have great misgivings about how serious I am about my art career should I ever find that it becomes one of my priorities.

 

This discussion is closed.