Hero accounts
I’m just like any other photographer, dreaming about buying that new lens with the illusion that it’s going to make me become a better photographer.
But the illusion that gear will make me become a photographer is just that: an illusion.
Gear probably won’t make any really difference.
What will make a difference to my photography, however, is taking photos here on tookapic everyday and being inspired and encouraged by the supportive community.
Why am I writing this? What you might not know is that tookapic is in real danger of not being financially sustainable. The current percentage of hero accounts is just not sufficient to pay the hosting costs. It’s as simple as that.
So my humble suggestion is that instead of spending money on a new lens, filter, tripod or whatever is to support the long-term viability of tookapic with a hero subscription if you're not already.
That will make a difference.
And your photography will be better for it.
Paweł Kadysz Unfortunately, lowering the monthly price is close to impossible. After payment fees, commissions and taxes we'd be left with almost nothing.
Magda Korzewska Agnieszka now USD is far less expensive than some time ago. If you devided yearly fee by 365 days the amount is not as big anymore. Apart from supporting site you have nice features as your personal webpage or statistic.
Paweł Kadysz Maybe if you look at it from a different angle... Monthly subscription is $0.19/day. Annual is only $0.16/day.
Magda Korzewska Thank you Ian for this topic.
Gogi Golzman
i want to upgrade for so much time
need to put some money in my paypell & ill do it <3
jokele A new lens has never made me take more photos. Tookapic did! Actually, each new lens was much more expensive than a hero account. So I've never regret the upgrade. Count me in for the second year in a few days ;-)
I really miss the "Like" button for the first message in a topic.
-> Ian, I Iike your topic!
FlyteWizard As a student, tookapic hero wasn't an option (I remember being asked feedback on tookapic hero account, and I was sad I had to say it wasn't in my student budget), but once I landed a job I saved up for 2-3 months and was able to get it. Now I am on my second year of hero. I think in the long run, it's really worth it. I've been with tookapic since beta, and I really want to see it grow. And if that means paying for a hero account, I'm all ears.
Romain I bought my Hero account on black Friday.... maybe a good idea for the sceptics :-D
agnieszka bladzik i don't know exactly but what type of payments they are? credit card nad pay pal? for some people it might be an issue. it was once for me ;)
Paweł Kadysz Credit cards & PayPal. It doesn't have to be a credit card though. Right now most of the regular debit cards are accepted in online payments. So if you have a card that works at the ATM, it'll probably work here.
Szymon Maciejczyk I have just buy new camera, tripod, lens and a lot of other stuff and you say it is useless ? :( damnnn ! :D :D But I am also a Hero from my very first day here because I think that this is great idea to help Tookapic community. This is just a money , those few bucks is nothing comparing to this what we have here .
Paweł Kadysz It's already 20% cheaper than monthly payment. And what's funny, even though it's cheaper it's bringing 1000% more revenue than a monthly subscription. So if anyone's interested in upgrading - annual subscription is better choice for both tookapic and user ;)
Paweł Kadysz We're on AWS right now which is easily scalable and I haven't considered moving.
Thanks for upgrading! I really apreciate it ;)
Michael Gatton I looked at my stats and found the biggest commenter on my photos who wasn't already a hero, and purchased a subscription for that person. I'm not rich, but I love this community. $6.00 is not much more than a latte or a flat white at a fine coffee shop.
Paweł Kadysz Thank you! @120mr enjoy your Hero upgrade ;)
120mr Wow, wow :D thank you, wow!
120mr Literally I have no words now. Thank you! This place and people here are amazing. <3
Michael Gatton You're welcome! I also enjoy your feed. :-)
tania your idea is awesome Michael !
Magda Korzewska Paweł can you/we do sth small for Michael like WT - b&w or let him to chose next WT?
Michael Gatton Thanks Magda! I'm not expecting anything in return, I was simply hoping to encourage others to do the same as a way of supporting tookapic. There's even an invation to "Buy Hero" on the home pages of anyone who isn't already subscribed, which is how I got the idea. But b&w as a WT would be cool :-)
Magda Korzewska I am sure you are not expecting anything but you did an amazing job and IMO it would be nice to honor you with such a small gesture from tookapic :)
craig Well said Ian! I am glad you have raised this!
viola
To the managers/admins of tookapic:
Have you ever considered the idea of introducing obligatory payments after having uploaded a certain number of pictures? As far as I know this is how it works elsewhere (other photo sites for people who want to share their pictures). Let's say 100 pics for free (which can take even 3 years) but then you have to pay. The idea of tookapic is different though: 365 pics taken every day (more or less a year) so my first thought when I learnt about tookapic was: 365 pictures for free but THEN you have to pay. What? No? Strange. The point is that in the beginning, hardly anyone can say if they are determined enough to stick at the idea but then, people simply get addicted not only to taking pictures but to being able to share them, to making and receiving comments, they even make friends ( I think, or am i wrong?) so if you don't want to lose all this - you need to pay. The carrot and the stick approach so to say:) And then the name Hero would be even more appropriate: I am a Hero not because I pay but because I have completed the project:) This was my initial plan: become a paying hero after 365 pics. But if tookapic is in financial trouble I can promise I will start to pay somewhere half way through: after 190-200 pics (if I don't give in earlier) Is that OK?
Kateli That sounds like a good idea !!
Kasia Czar I totally agree with you. I would say that obligatory payment should be after finishing 365 project for those who would like to carry on. After one year everyone would be sure if they want to continue and stay with Tookapic or not and paying shouldn't be a problem at all at that point. I think that could work pretty well!
Kazzi
There was a time after about six weeks of my tookapic'ing when Paweł has raised that subject and I had no second thoughts. I considered it to be a good opportunity to do some cleaning at my PayPal account which I barely used for months; to remove old credit cards, change password etc.
And it's over a year since I'm a hero user and never regreted it. 6$ is really nothing comparing to what this site, community, influence on me. What it's done to me, given me, since I got there.
Tookapic effect is unmeasurable.
Thank You Ian for the subject, thank You Paweł for creating this site, thank You all for a wonderful community.
pgrab
Another hero in town ;)
Everyday, when I got up, the very first thing I do is launch tookapic app and check, what's new :) next - think what I can shoot today. Next: tram to work with tookapic app launched...
My name is Paweł and I'm addicted :D
Paweł Kadysz Exactly ;)
Paweł Kadysz @arecki @Lauren there is currently no option to do that. You'd need to cancel and re-subscribe to the annual plan. But I'll talk to the developer if we can make some kind of "switch plan" page. Thanks for the suggestion.
You can cancel at the bottom of the account page: tookapic.com/account
Lauren Huston Pawel, is there a one-click process to transfer from monthly to annual? or do I have to cancel the monthly subscription first and then resubscribe?
Lauren Huston Cool, all done now. Full year paid. :)
Edit: That said, just as feedback in case anyone else does the same: my monthly payment was paid until around the 15th/16th May, but my annual payment only goes until the 7th May. Not sure what happened to the remaining ~9 days.
I'm not too bothered, but just in case anyone else has just paid their monthly amount and now wants to swap to annual.
Paweł Kadysz Just like the cancellation form says - when you decide to unsubscribe - the subscription is cancelled immediately. That's the only way we can do it with our current payment provider.
Thanks for switching!
Paweł Kadysz I've been getting messages from some of you that you'd be willing to support tookapic even more. So we're probably going to add a "Super Hero" plan. The only difference would be a different badge next to your username.
Any suggestions about the monthly price?
vera Good idea for the "Super Hero"! I would be happy to help a little more! I didn't knew till now that there is financial difficulties... This community is really supportive! you can count on us ;-)
Satoshi T People trying to become SuperHero can be thought of as being conscious of "to contribute to the sustainability of this awesome community" beyond their own motivation. I think that it is good to consider 12$-15$/month as a unit price and one can subscribe multiple.
Kazzi no suggestions from me. it might depend on our salaries, eg. ~10$ or more - but it's all Your choice. I'm gonna pay it anyway, since this portal is worth it!
Magda Korzewska What about this idea of support? Anyone would like to buy this awesome T-shirt? shop.tookapic.com/7-ambassador...
Satoshi T we also have chance to see pawel's handwritings <3
Kazzi I'd buy all of them, but the pricing... hurts. So I'm inviting more and more people, and one day... :D
Magda Korzewska This is for those i suppose (as Paweł mentioned) who wants support more than Hero account, maybe?
Paweł Kadysz Nie.
Kazzi Damn! Serio? Nawet jakiegoś procenta marży? :( Czyli trzeba zapłacić... 2x tyle (50zł vs 24$)? Uch...
Paweł Kadysz Ani pół procenta.
Kazzi Ale w ogóle licencję mają, czy robią to bezprawnie?
Chris G Nie mówię po polsku, ale chcę powiedzieć cześć.
120mr Cześć. :D
Michał Wrócę tylko z wakacji to wykupię pakiet na cały rok. Serio ten projekt zmotywował mnie jak nic innego! :)
Paweł Kadysz As promised, we added Super Hero plans. $19/mo if billed monthly and $15/mo if billed per year. The purpose of this plan is to let those of you who want to support tookapic do it in an easy way. If you do upgrade - you'll get a brand new golden badge next to your username. No other Super Hero features are available (for now).
We also added an easy way to change from monthly to yearly subscription so if you're on a monthly billing and want to save 20% you can now do it.
Upgrading and updating your subscriptions: tookapic.com/account/subscript...
If you're not a Hero yet, you can upgrade here: tookapic.com/account/hero
Thank you all for your amazing support during those last few days and big thanks to @Ian for creating this Talk. You are awesome!
Satoshi T I recognized your Star became orange color and displayed "Tookapic Super Hero" when I move on mouse!
Paweł Kadysz Exactly ;) Anyone can now become a Super Hero by upgrading their subscription here: tookapic.com/account/subscript...
Ian Prince I can vouch for the super-smooth upgrade process that takes into account pro-rata where you stand in your current subscription :)
Ian Prince I've seen a few of my close fiends are now super-heros. Yeah, way to go!
Ian Prince Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts. All the upgrades are a real testimony to how great this community is. Proud to be part of it :)
Paweł Kadysz Thank you. Enjoy your Golden Star ;) You're a Super Hero no. 3!
Ian Prince I sold a few lenses so had a bit of spare cash. No better way to spend it :)
Krzysztof Puszczyński Ian you convinced me to. I just joined the Hero crew
Ian Prince Excellent Krzysztof :)
Jennifer So clearly here's our new process: the rest of us get people to JOIN tookapic, and Ian will get them to become heroes! :D
Ian Prince Everyone has a hero in them trying to get out :)
Paweł Kadysz This sounds like a perfect plan.
Chris G Alright, then I challenge you all to get 25 people to join. You get a nifty t-shirt.
Grace it's so hard, and then on the rare occasion I get people to join they don't use the link I gave them haha
Lauren Huston Agreed! But then most of my friends aren't photographers. :(
Paweł Kadysz 500px is for photographers. Tookapic is for people who take photos ;) Don't tell me your friends don't take photos :P
Ian Prince Way to go Kazziz! Another great gesture of support for our community :)
azral
OMG...i don't know when, just noticed this (really heavy time behind me), but someone updated my account to "hero". whoever you are <3 <3 - thank you very much (i think this is propably right place to do this). it's very nice and i really don't know what to say... so thank you again.
i didn't know that the situation was so difficult. maybe it's a good time to calculate expenses and think about the upgrade in the future. sorry for my english i hope you can understand me :D greetings to all!
Paweł Kadysz I just wanted to thank you for your support. May 2017 was the first ever month that we had all the expenses covered from the subscriptions (hosting, development, 3rd party services). No profit yet. This is mostly thank to Super Hero upgrades and annual subscriptions. Our monthly recurring revenue is at around 40-50%.
There's 100 paying users at the moment. That means we'd need another hundred to be safe. There is no growth factor though. The amount of photos uploaded every month is constant since February, even though there's at least 1000 new users every month.
Most people give up after 2 photos.
I'm out of ideas to change that.
Marcin K. 1000 per month means something ~33 a day. The video about starting the project and video about tookapic draw attention to "supportive community". When you post your first photo, you get a lot of "likes" from "Debuts" page. When you post the second photo, you get less likes. I guess, it may discourage at the beginning. Along with it you get (maybe) two comments.
As there are only ~33 new accounts a day, is it possible to establish a group of "angels" :-) that will try to give a supportive comment in (lets say) first week? Or it may be resolved like tagging the photos...
vera I was thinking the same. I often forgot to look at the "debuts"... and I look it occasionaly. Some of us could be more encouraging for them? You told it very well perhaps with a group of "angels" for the beginners for some days of their project. It can be interesting to welcome systematically at the first day. It's so good to have the feeling of being welcome!
czari That's true. Maybe there should be first 3 photos under debuts tab. Or on the other hand you could just remove this tab, so people would not take likes for granted when 2nd photo is poor. Maybe they will put more effort to earn their likes.
Phillip Flores Is it possible to set the default page when people login be Debuts page? In this way people are less likely to forget.
Aga Ka I set myself goal of 100 photos without day missed, then I can see if I am going to stick with that project (the project itself is a great idea but sometimes it is harder then I thought to make the photo and upload it on time....). I f I stay with the project I will upgrade it as I really think it deserves it. :)
jewels I think you will get quickly addicted and stick to it! At least, this is what I wish you as it will have a positive impact on your life in so many ways :-)
Aga Ka Thank you :)
vera I began like you... first I thought I'll do only one week. Then I wanted to make photos for one month. Then I thought I can continue to one hundred days, then two hundred, and you know, now it's my 526th pic... some missed days after the first year, but no matter! The pressure is more difficult at the beginning I think, till all becomes a habit. But in this habit it is always important to have fun! ;-)
Phillip Flores Is this idea feasible? What if someone who upgrades his/her account to "hero" is given an option to miss a day (after a set minimum number of uploads e.g. 1/3 of the year = 122 and another one at 244). My reason is this...if someone misses a day after so many photos uploaded it will be hard for that person to start all over again. Thoughts?
Paweł Kadysz You can miss a day... and continue. You'll just have a day missed. You're not forced to start over.
Aga Ka I see there are people who have day or few days missed but they continue, and it is good to see that they do. I set the goal for myself not to miss any days because I know myself.... I miss one day cause I am to tired, then it will be to much rain or wind outside, another time I will be really unhappy about my photo and so on.... I need this rule! :)
Ian Prince One extra way to be super-motivated to go all the way to 365 photos is to get a full year's hero subscription. It's a way of telling oneself that one is *really* committed :)
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