5 secrets for a song that sells

Hey folks, I've been selling on Pond 5 for about a year and a half, and I've come to find that certain things boost the odds of licensing a track. Here is an in-depth look a the http://www.stockmusicmusician.com/5-secrets-song-sells/.

But in short, they are:
1. Keep it around 30 seconds or make a loop
2. Tell a story (beginning, middle, and end)
3. Establish a consistent mood
4. A strong ending
5. Good production values (but it doesn't need to be perfect!)

Good luck!

Thanks @RoughCoast!

how do you tell a story in 30 seconds?

@Epikton, it's not too hard if you focus on being succinct. You need to know what you want to say, and everything needs to work towards 1 emotion and moving the story along.

So you might do a 2-3 intro, 15 second verse, 10 second chorus, and 3 second outro. It's not math or formulaic or anything, but you just move through the pieces quickly.

Here's a song of mine that's sold decently and that, in my opinion, moves really quickly (it doesn't have a chorus, but I think it's a good example at 24 seconds).

Wow Evan nice website and excellent advice ! So much of what your article says makes perfect sense.....Thanks for posting !

Evan,
I'm new here, and stumbled on your post, then visited your site, well done, thanks ( left a comment there too)

Thanks for the tips!

Nice site, did you end up making your goal of $400 a month by the end of 2016?

Thanks Matt! I ended up hitting around $350 in December with a few sales on some other sites, but the majority from P5. My most recent pay day just from P5 was $394, so I'd say that I basically made it across the finish line, a month late. Shooting for $800 this year. Part of that will come from more, better music, and part of it will come from the extra revenue earned from P5's new extended licenses. I seem to be getting a couple of those a month, and they pay 2x to 3x the regular rate.

awesome 800 is a good goal