We are planning to upload to Elements, but we have a question: Elements that drive profitability for authors on ThemeForest and CodeCanyon items. Since Envato redirects much of its traffic to Elements, is this platform truly profitable for authors?
I developer woocommerce plugins on Codecanyon, and I can say that is not profitable for that kind of products. I’ve tested it for more than one year.
I’ve removed my most profitable plugins and I’ve left there only the ones that have a very low sales on Codecanyon.
Elements may not be profitable for all categories of authors, especially when it comes to code and themes. Many top Elite authors have transitioned to non-exclusive status. They now build their own websites, create their own licensing systems, and promote their platforms independently.
I don’t suggest uploading code to Elements as well.
I have few items over there as well to see if it helps with the traffic to the TF/CC but I can’t say it makes any difference - for sure one thing that you’d get some traffic to your website for the first couple of months but those people won’t be buying anything from you when they are OK to download everything for 30$ per month.
What you could do to upload the items those don’t sell but I can say that I’m getting more traffic to my website by free plugins from WordPress.Org, some actually are interested in purchase.
Earnings… It’s not really worth as well as last month, it went down to 35% for me. I’m almost getting nothing… I can say approx. less than a dollar you’re receiving for the items per download.
Another issue is, when you upload the item Elements, there’re websites those sells items from Elements ( all of the items ) , you’d be dealing with take-down notices as well.
And you can’t limit the plugins as those should be “full version” without activation/purchase code on Elements, someone will report you that the plugin doesn’t work “fully” and you’d be having another issues with Envato.
As @baevox suggested, you should focus on your own marketplace where you can control your data and emails ( marketing purposes ) along with paid advertises as non-exclusive status. I’m preparing my own system and would be doing the same.
We recently contacted the Envato team regarding a decline in sales. Their response suggested uploading projects to Envato Elements. This seems to indirectly hint that in the near future, Envato might focus exclusively on Elements, potentially phasing out other marketplaces like ThemeForest and CodeCanyon.
If this happens, many authors might feel compelled to leave Envato entirely due to Elements’ structure and pricing model. It’s worth discussing whether this shift aligns with the best interests of authors and how we can adapt to such changes if they occur.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Envato will discontinue its traditional marketplaces? How can authors ensure sustainability in this evolving ecosystem?
That’s a new suggestion. They were asking some authors how they were promoting their items ( marketing )
Authors are already leaving ( left ) marketplace and started their own systems. Elements are not gonna solve the problem on a long-term, in short, for the first few months, you may earn couple of more bucks but it won’t be enough.
There’s a huge discussion, I think you missed it:
Envato officials made statement in public, they are focusing on Elements anyway, they give the signals about how the future is gonna be like.
Referring to the comment:
Elements is not a good idea for themes/plugins considering the time you invested and the amount of money you’re receiving.
While you could upload a 100 video per day and if you get one item downloaded, it would cost the same amount of the money for creating a theme/plugin while investing 30 days.
It’d work if the amount of money you receive from the coding is higher but I don’t think Elements gonna change their system as it counts how many times your item is being downloaded.
Elements can be quite profitable for ThemeForest and CodeCanyon authors, but it really depends on the nature of your items and how well they perform on the platform. The main factors that seem to drive profitability on Elements are things like demand for your product category, pricing and licensing model, marketing and promotion of your items, and customer support and updates.
I can’t agree with you. I have one of the “most trending” plugin at Elements, from what I see from the earnings, it doesn’t make any difference.
Profitability for authors on ThemeForest and CodeCanyon is driven by creating high-quality, niche-focused items with exceptional design and functionality. Effective marketing, frequent updates, detailed documentation, and responsive customer support also boost sales and reputation.