been on Dronebase for a while and honestly the missions have dried up a lot in my area, used to get a ping maybe once or twice a month and now its been like three months with nothing. wondering if its the platform or just my market (im in a mid sized midwest city, not rural but not a major metro either).

heard people talking about Zeitview and also just going direct to local businesses but cold outreach has always felt awkward to me. maybe thats my problem. anyway curious what other people are doing for finding consistent work because i feel like i have the skills and the gear, its really just the client pipeline that feels like the missing piece for me right now

Dronebase missions in my area basically evaporated too, i think a lot of those insurance inspection contracts moved around or got handled differently. Zeitview is similar in my experience, occasional work but you cant build a business around it. the guys i know doing well are all doing some version of direct outreach — roofing companies, solar installers, land surveyors, that kind of thing. yeah cold calling feels weird but once you land one commercial client who actually has recurring needs its way better than waiting for a platform to throw you a crumb. a simple one pager and some sample footage goes a long way, most of these businesses have never even thought about using drones and youre just showing them an option

cold outreach isnt as bad as it sounds once you do it a few times, first couple calls are painful but you get used to it. also dont sleep on real estate photographers in your area — a lot of them dont want to deal with the drone licensing headache and will subcontract that part out to you. i picked up two regular clients that way just by emailing local photo studios. rates arent amazing but its steady and you dont have to find the end client yourself