Sales Blog, January 2012

A selection of Demotix images in UK national papers over the last month - The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Sun, The Scotsman

This month in Sales news, we've got a whole lot more numbers for your enjoyment. It being January, we're still wrapping up some of the loose ends of 2011 and working out just how we did last year in various categories - quite apart from the 250 per cent boost in overall sales for the year!

That jump carried us comfortably past the targets we had set ourselves at the beginning of the year. In fact, we exceeded our own expectations by almost a quarter, ending up making 123 per cent of our targets for 2011.

Over the whole year, our sales through direct sellers (excluding Corbis and their local representatives) also grew by a stunning amount - 355 per cent over 2010's figures. The time we've put into building partnerships with local resellers has really begun to pay off.

There was also a great endorsement of the work our tech team have put into boosting the visibility and SEO of the Demotix website, with a 376 per cent increase in online sales through our e-commerce system over the 2010 figures.

Without blowing our own trumpet too hard, this does represent a great outcome for the hard work (and many late nights!) put in by our sales team over the course of the year. It's also a really encouraging sign that there is an appetite for new players in the image market.

Overall, the targets we set ourselves last year were challenging, but think we’ve gained an important foothold that should enable us to grow even more in the year ahead.

Turning to look at December itself, we brought 12 new image clients into the direct-sales fold over the month, which meant that we could be satisfied with a job well done right up to the end of the year.

It was also our second highest month of total billing through resellers for 2011. This is another encouraging sign, as we weren't expecting miracles in December because of the poor economic climate and the approaching holidays. The fact that we continued to do well around the world is encouraging for us and for you - it looks like you're covering the stories buyers want and we're pitching them at the right price to succeed where others have struggled.

The last thing to mention is the batch of assignments carried out by Demotix photographers in Tunisia and Nigeria for the Sunday Telegraph, which our growing appeal to newspapers who need photographers with local expertise, and our (and your!) reputation for getting the job done at short notice and on time.