How do I sell stock video footage?
Updated
The direct answer
To sell stock video footage, record useful original clips, check their quality and rights, and export the files your chosen store accepts. Label the subject, resolution, frame rate, and licence clearly. Show a preview so editors can judge the shot before they buy a download or usage licence.
What buyers want
Editors want a shot that fits into a real project. Show the full useful action, camera movement, and any available variations. State whether audio is included. Avoid heavy effects that make a general clip hard to match with other footage.
How to make it
Inspect footage for soft focus, shake, flicker, noise, and visible private information. Keep clean masters and prepare the accepted export formats. Check release and permission requirements for the people, property, artwork, or brands shown.
Use accurate titles and tags that describe what is visible. Include technical details and a watermarked preview where useful. Do not claim a release exists unless you have it.
How to price it
Compare licences for similar footage and uses. Price single clips or useful collections with clear rights and support. Include shooting, editing, storage, and selling costs. Avoid treating every clip as equally useful just because it has the same resolution.
Where to sell it
Stock marketplaces bring active footage searches but set acceptance and licence rules. Your own store suits a focused collection for an audience you can reach. A filmmaking community can help if you offer clips related to the work members are already producing.
How to get the first ten buyers
Build a short reel around one editing need, such as calm workshop cutaways. Show a few clips used in a sample sequence. Share the reel in relevant editing spaces where offers are allowed, then use buyer requests to add useful angles rather than unrelated footage.