I was planning to write this article for quite some time now. The idea behind it is to share my experience and to give you some advices that I think will be helpful for you :)
Themeforest.net is part of the Envato Marketplaces and it is the biggest marketplace for themes and templates in the world. Thousands of very talented designers and developers are selling their works there.
You can become a Themeforest author just for some pocket money or you can turn it into a full time job and actually build a real business around it. Some of the most successful authors are earning more than $100 000 per month!
Where should I start from?
Well, the beginning is always the hardest!
First of all, you must be interested in what you do (building websites). If you are doing it just for the money, you will most probably fail in the long run :)
You need to be aware that it is not easy, not at all. There is a lot of hard work involved in developing quality items and there is even more hard work involved in supporting your customers and updating your items!
So, let's assume this is what you really want to do. The best place to start from is the Author's Guide. Once you've read it and you have created your account, you can "get your hands dirty" :)
How to build a quality item and get it approved?
The quality standards on Themeforest are really, really high. You must build a great item in order for it to get approved and gain some decent sales. Do not think that you will build something for a week and it will just get approved. It will simply not happen.
I don't know how good your design and coding skills are but there are some tutorials you MUST cover. Here, read this blog post carefully and make sure you do most of the tutorials. It might take you few months to master all design and coding skills you will need.
Once you feel confident in your skills you need to get yourself familiar with the current design trends. Have a look at the Hottest Web Design Trends for 2014 article a wrote a while ago. Also, make sure you read other design related materials and most importantly - get yourself familiar with what is getting appoved on Themeforest!
I developed a great item but it got rejected!
Guys, I got about 10 hard rejections before my first item got approved :) It took me 6 months to get my first item approved. I'm currently an Elite Author and I still get rejected from time to time :) As I said above, the quality standards are really high!
If your item is rejected it is simply not that great. Yes, I understand that this is your creation, this is your "little baby" and you think it is the best, but unfortunately it is not.
The reviewers are really nice guys and they are doing a great job. Do not think they do not like you and that's why you are being rejected. Just do not take it personal. If you are rejected it means your item is not good enough and you either need to improve it or simply start a new one. You will most probably not get it right from you first try so be prepared for few rejections :)
The rejection is actually a good thing, honestly! It helps you to improve your item (and your skills) and at the end you will have better products that will sell more. Just think of the rejection as a positive thing. Yeah, I know it is very difficult :D
Conclusion
Basically, that's all guys. You must be sure that this is what you want to do. You must be prepared for a lot of hard work and for a lot of rejections :) You must keep learning and improving your skills every day! Learning is the key to your ultimate success or failure – and that’s just it… failing is not the problem, not learning is.
You must also understand that competition is not the enemy - if you stop looking at the other authors as your competitors but instead see them as people who you can become friends with, collaborate with and ultimately grow your business with, then your mindset will be much healthier :) Have a look at our Interviews section for example - I'm actually advertising my competitors and there is nothing wrong with it. They are all great guys, very talented designers and developers who I want to grow by business with!
I hope this article was interesting and helpful for you guys. Feel free to leave your comments below. And remember... NEVER GIVE UP ;)
