Hello, Collis.
You may remember me sending you a video in which I was trying to explain why I would be a useful team member in your company.
I would be happy if you could watch this short video.
Considering all my experience and skills, I think I can count on your interest. I’ve created this video especially for Envato, please watch it through to the end. Because I think I have some ideas that might be useful.
And to prove it, I would like to show you some of them.
I want to present you my Author Growth Strategy, which contain Customer Segments, three BIG Customer Experience Problems and Solutions.
Let’s get started.
If “Being an Author” is a product that Videohive offers to artists, therefore, artists are Customers. And looking a little ahead, I’ll tell you that most of the presentation is about Customer Experience or Being Author Experience which in my opinion needs changes.
But before that, I’d like to introduce my vision of
the customer segments.
Those artists who combine in themselves also entrepreneurial qualities, those who have free time and a firm intention to have passive income, are likely to be already on Videohive or have already thought about it.
However, there are of course many more freelancers, studio workers, and studio owners who don’t sleep and dream about selling templates. They have reasons not to do that, which we will discuss later.
Also Inside this segment of potential Authors, there is quite promising in my opinion, a group of people, namely 3D artists. Due to the emergence of GPU Rendering, as well as the rise of tutorials, presets, assets, it became possible to create high-quality, sophisticated graphics very quickly, in just one day. All of these so-called everydays can potentially be excellent templates. And they were created in one day, just because it’s fun. And there are literally thousands of such works.
I understand that this is an unusual segment of artists, but with some changes in the VideoHive, they could become a part of Authors Community.
Okay. Why is it hard to be an author on a videohive? Especially for beginners. Three reasons:
The first reason
It takes a lot of new skills.
To make the template more convenient or to unlock the potential of the After Effect, the author must know the expressions, and this is JavaScript at least at the basic level. The author should know graphic design, marketing, SEO at least at the basic level. By the way, it is also worth knowing basic level HTML. And he should know how to do it, even if he does not like programming. This is not how he used to work.
The second reason
Creativity Limitations.
Ideally, the Author should use Ae CS6 or later, without plugins or scripts. So that everyone could open and use his template. If he doesn’t have His own stock videos or illustrations, he has to create templates in very compressed and unusual way. Attaching a bunch of links to additional purchases in the description is a bad idea. And again, the Author couldn’t create graphics in the way he used to.
The third reason
Future is not clear.
What to create for whom? OK, I came up with a template idea, but does anyone need it? Will it generate any sales? These are unfamiliar questions for the artist. He used to work with a client or manager who set clear goals. But to be Successful Sellers, artists have to develop an entrepreneurial, analytical mindset.
A lot of restrictions, a lot of skills need to be mastered and too many questions that require intensive web searching, which also takes time. Of course, there is a text help center, and there is an Envato blog, but this is clearly not enough.
Looking at these problems, it seems to me you can understand artists doubts about becoming an Authors.
So what kind of solutions I see?
Many new skills are required. Yes, it’s true. But we can make the learning process as easy as possible. I suggest creating a Videohive section on community.envato.com, which will contain very well structured information in a blog format.
With the category “Being an Author on Videohive. Getting Started”
There should be a “Marketing” category.
It is also necessary to have the category “Tips and Tricks” with some technical tricks involved in the template creation process.
When I first started making templates, I really needed that information. And I had to either look for it or learn from my mistakes
OK, why do you need all this?
The potential template author should feel that if he reads the whole blog, he will become a successful seller. Even before reading a blog, only by scanning it, an artist should think that here, in one place, there is everything I need, I just need a little time to read it, and I can make money by selling templates, its very easy.
And in the Author’s Dashboard panel there should be a big button, which is connected to this blog, because it will also be useful for existing sellers.
The second reason.
Limitations. Yes, pure After Effects without plugins, video, images it’s of course painful. Most likely it has already been discussed in Envato. I propose to implement on videohive collaboration system, bundles. A similar scheme with some templates is on ThemeForest, when the plugins are sold in conjunction with the WordPress template. And Videohive seems to me needs the same system like no one else. I think this could create a massive explosion of creative opportunities, OK more on that later.
My idea is to allow VideoHive authors to use PhotoDune and Videohive photos and videos in their templates. On a template Upload page, the author specifies what materials from Envato Markets he used and the price for each product is summed up in the final cost of the template. In the case of Elements, the same thing happens only to the Point System. And Elements will of course be even more attractive to customers who pay once for a subscription.
PhotoDune and Videohive contain a huge potential for creativity. A large number of vector images that can be extruded, animated, clouds footages from which you can make this kind of templates, animated plants, perfect background textures. If you implement this way of creating templates, you’re gonna have an avalanche of new templates, simply because it is an easy and fun way to create new templates. But I just started.
Plugins and scripts a significant part. At aescripts.com as well as at Videohive there are a lot of high-quality plugins. For example, this plugin
allows me to create templates in which customers content could be directly on the 3d model, tied to a liquid, flag, complex model. And I would personally like to create such high-quality new templates on the basis of this plugin. Plugins creates opportunities for designing better-quality templates that were previously impossible with bare After Effect.
This is beneficial for all members. Some icons could be are unattractive by themselves, but in the artist’s template, they could be animated, transformed and can start selling along with the template. The plugin, which is badly sold on Aescripts, suddenly begins to sell well on Videohive in combination with templates made on its basis. This, in turn, will attract the plugin creators to sell on VideoHive. It can also inspire artists to create things that can be useful for After Effect templates.
For example, creators of so-called Everydays can simply upload all their projects as a video background or photo, and that’s it. Just upload files without any work. And thanks to the collaboration system, the After Effect artists will create templates based on these works. After Effects artists will make all the description, logo and text placeholder and upload usable, finished product. For 3D artists, selling on VideoHive will be super simple and straightforward. And after-effects artists will be able to create new templates quickly and easily.
This type of sales of linked together products will allow Envato to look like a big studio in which each artist only does what he likes, someone shoots video, someone draws, someone collects it all together into a single, finished product like After Effects template. This is an understandable concept of work for freelancers and studio workers. You don’t have to do all the work, just what you like and what you do best. And now being an Author on Videohive seems like a good idea.
And a very important third point.
Future is not clear. What kind of templates will succeed? This is a tough question requiring market analysis. My idea is to make life easier for the authors and to make the process of creating templates look like a normal studio job. I propose to shift market analysis from the Authors shoulders to the Envato.
As one option, I’m suggesting a weekly column on the “Videohive Authors” blog. Where Envato’s market specialist will show and explain weekly charts of popularity of search queries, about opportunities, oversupply or demand. He will have to analyze the charts, metrics data, customer behavior on the site and give his expert opinion.
Yes, such market analysis can help not only the authors of Videohive, but also the competitors. But that’s even better, because I think that the future is in the templates. And if you improve the quality of After effect Templates around the world, then people will have a better attitude to buying templates, in general. There will be more useful templates on the internet, and instead of hiring studios, people will tend to buy templates more often. Which is good.
I understand my proposal may be contrary to free-market principles. But not all authors act according to the laws of the market, they just create beautiful things and hope that somebody will use their templates somehow.
Especially considering the collaboration and the possible flow of new templates, I think it’s very important to take control of this flow and fill the Videohive with the right templates.
In a Conclusion.
Selling templates can be a great alternative to working in the studio and freelancing. To do this, you just need to solve some of the authors’ problems.
1. It should be clear how to become the Author, how to create templates and successfully sell them
2. Creating templates should not be more complicated than working in a studio, ideally it should be more profitable and easier.
3. Everything that the Author creates should bring him money, no one likes to work for nothing and waste time.
I understand that some of these ideas in this presentation require a more detailed, structured explanation. With the draft designs, demonstrations, surveys, there are a lot of work to be done, and I’m ready to get started.
However, at this stage, of course, all this needs to be discussed. It would be great to receive any feedback from you about this presentation and if it’s possible to discuss it in person at Envato’s office in Melbourne.
I look forward to your comments and thank you for reading this post to the end.