Great!!! : -)
A general wondering that should be added to the FAQ page - how long should the opening and closing titles be? Also, should they fade in/out or should they just pop. For consistency, I think it would be best to get some guidelines. for example, 3 seconds in and 3 seconds out, no fade.
I have an idea about the series of videos called something like “Licenses explained”. In these videos, there will be explained, how the purchased file can be used with its license in real life situations, so everyone can understand it.
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VideoHive: How to change a logo in a long sting template.
A ‘how to’ on how to customise any other type of AE template would be too long to fit in the 1 minute video, but a logo sting could work well. And it’s probably the most sold type of AE template for people who don’t have much AE experience… so it could tip the balance between a ‘sale and no sale’ situation, when it comes to giving confidence to the buyer that they’ll be able to quickly and easily add their own logo
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GraphicRiver: How to use Smart Objects
I’ve only bought one Smart Object enabled item from GraphicRiver and I was fumbling around for ages trying to figure out how to get my item into the existing item. I was saving and cutting and pasting and clicking and highlighting and saving and moaning and there was smoke coming out of my ears and I could barely see for the tears filling my eyes and the anger clouding my mind.
Sure, I know pretty much nothing about Photoshop, just that it comes free with my Creative Cloud subscription and it has something to do with pictures and the like… but if I had a one minute ‘how to’ on Smart Objects, then I’d probably consider buying more Smart Object stuff. I mean, they seem pretty Smart… maybe just not as intuitive as they are smart.
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ThemeForest: How to install a Wordpress Theme
This one’s a bit of a no-brainer. Every week there’s a buyer coming in the forums who is just re-uploading the main file that they’ve downloaded. A quick one minute video showing them how to unzip the main file and then select and upload the correct file to their website would be a handy addition to the site.
Just on the contest in general… will these videos be made available for download so authors can include relevant ones in their help files?
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CodeCanyon: How to install a Wordpress Plugin
I guess the next step after a buyer has installed their Wordpress and set it all up, would be installing any required plugins. I’ve bought a couple of Wordpress sites and although I have installed a plugin or two on my latest site, I was a bit reluctant before that as I had no idea what was involved, whether it would be compatible etc etc.
Sure, you read the descriptions and you think it sounds great, but you’re wondering to yourself ‘how hard will it be to install, will it work with my site, do they work with all Wordpress sites, it sounds so easy… maybe too easy?’ etc etc
Having a short one minute overview could help allay any fears from first-time plug in buyers, and open up additional sales if potential buyers are a bit more confident in this area. I think one minute should be plenty to give a quick overview of the process and a quick overview on what plugins are and how they can enhance your Wordpress site.
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PhotoDune: How to Crop a Photo
Bit of a basic one, but I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there just looking for some nice photos for their blog… they know how to write up their post and embed images, but they don’t know how to get them the size they want it. Not every buyer of stock images is going to be a Photoshop whizz. As a result, they’re looking around for photos that are just right… when there could be a bunch of great photos they’ve dismissed because the framing isn’t quite right for them. As this would be a very basic ‘how to’, probably best not to give instructions on how to do this in Photoshop… Microsoft Paint and whatever the Mac equivalent is would be the way to go.
This is a video which hopefully will improve the number of ratings/reviews left from Buyers:
How to Rate an Item across All Envato Marketplaces (version 1):
How to Rate an Item on Envato Marketplaces ( version 2):
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Just seen this one, didn’t realise it had already been raised. Good call!
Here’s an inspiration guys 
Made by me envato 
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Idea :
- If you buy from videohive you will have a video showing how and where to buy Pictures and Sound files and how the template you bought could be even cooler !
- If you buy a wordpress template —> video for videohive corporate items or Photodune background pictures
- if you buy a picture on Photodune—> video showing how to use a Mockup
…
…
—> Everytime someone buys something he will receive a link to a video showing how to upgrade / enhance his purchase.
The idea is to create a link between market places and show all the creative possibilities you have.
###Here are my ideas (Use this only if you need to win )
- How Envato connects authors & buyers around the world (The Envato Ecosystem)
- Why Buying from Envato is better than from other marketplaces
- How to update a theme/plugin in case of security vulnerability
- How to find the perfect item from the marketplace (how each marketplace / search / filters work)
- The difference between a Theme & Template
- Get your second item for free by sharing it with friends (Clickbait title, outlines Affiliates for Buyers)
- When will I get a refund? (The rules and nitty gritty)
- How to save $$ by depositing money to envato account (The paypal charge)
- Why do credits expire after one year and how to retain them
- How to contact an author for support / when to contact envato
- Some common reasons your payment may fail, and here’s the solutions
- EU VAT stuff for buyers (How to)
- Why your rating matters & how to rate an item
- How to find the Item Purchase code
- Things to check before purchasing an item (delivery files, compatibility, etc…)
Go… Make it 
~Surjith
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According to me, buyers mostly want to know how to rate the item they purchased.
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Ratings / Reviews !
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I’ve been thinking about this one for a while, but couldn’t be bothered to type it up… the possibility of $100 has now provided the appropriate level of motivation!
So. If there’s one thing I learned in my time as a customer experience manager for BT Broadband, it’s that customers like consistency. At present, there is no consistency between AE templates here. You’re buying different projects from different authors, that work on different versions of After Effects, using different plugins, with varying levels of customisability and varying levels of quality when it comes to the help files.
There’s not much that can be done about most of that. Eliminating all the variability would either reduce the amount of people able to create content for the site, or limit the amount of buyers who can use the content.
However, I think one area where the entire process could be improved, is in the creation of help materials to guide buyers through using the template. I’ve bought a good hundred or two AE templates for client projects in my time here, and there’s been a massive difference in the quality and detail of help files. Some are like an all in one, how to use After Effects tutorials, others show you how to change the logo… but stop short of getting your logo into After Effects in the first place, and getting the video out of After Effects once the logo has been changed.
So my suggestion is two-fold. Firstly to develop a modular help file creation system, and second… to develop a proprietary standard for AE template creation. These both go hand in hand.
So Imagine if there are 10/20/50 or so pages and you pick and choose which ones you want to create your own PDF help file. There are universal modules like importing your logo into After Effects and rendering the project. Slightly more specific ones like adding photos to placeholders etc, and there are blank pages so you can add custom instructions. And of course, you can always edit the existing pages to an extent, removing items that don’t apply and adding content that does.
Add the front page template with the Envato Logo, your logo and the item name…. the back page template with how to get in touch if you need help etc, add in a page or two of custom instructions and you’re good to go. One professional, detailed and consistent help document that looks exactly the same as all the other help documents when you buy an item from VideoHive.
This would be great for first time buyers… giving them the confidence to press the buy button. No more scratching their heads wondering how detailed the instructions will be, whether they’ll be given all the info they need to duplicate what they’ve seen in the preview video.
It would work the same way for the video tutorials… have 10/20/50 modular videos with voice over created that can be quickly edited together by the authors. Standard Envato intro, room to add the author’s logo, importing, rendering, setting up the project etc.
For the modular help system to work, there would need to be a standard for AE template creation. File structures, standard names for compositions, usage of guide layers etc. So if the new help files are saying that a buyer needs to go to the ‘Your Logo Comp’, then we can’t have logo comps called ‘add your logo here’, ‘logo comp’, ‘logo’, ‘insert the logo’ etc.
This way, using a template from VideoHive will become easier and almost second nature for buyers. They’ll get used to the system and they’ll probably be less likely to go elsewhere if they know they’re not going to get the VideoHive standard. Although VideoHive is great, and I love it with all my heart, there’s not that much to set its items apart from other sites that sell AE templates. I really think this could be a selling point for buyers and as detailed, straightforward instructions are provided… it could result in new buyers who were hesitant to try an AE template before. Until now!
So the plan would be for half a dozen or a dozen or so Elite authors to come together and decide on the standard. The standard then gets signed off and published, and authors can decide to follow it if they want to. It would definitely be optional, at least until it’s shown to work! Not entirely sure of a name for the standard, but you want it to be non-site specific… then you have the option of licensing the process to other stock sites if it takes off. Let’s call it the ‘AE-Q Standard’ (After Effects Quality Standard).
The help file templates could be run over by Envato’s tema of elite wordsmiths to make sure everything is clear and straightforward in plain English. Other languages could be an option in the future.
So you upload your item to the queue, if you’ve followed the AE-Q standard then you put AE-Q as one of your tags so it gets flagged up for the reviewer, and you’ve created your modular help files using the provided content. The reviewer makes sure it follows the standard, and when it’s published there’s a check mark or something at the top Saying ‘AE-Q Approved!’ or ‘AE-Q Checked’. Maybe somebody else can come up with a better name… I’ll think about a different one! Maybe there could be a difficulty rating as well… basic, intermediate, advanced. Then you’re not getting somebody who’s owned AE for one week, buying a template where they need to do a bunch of auto tracing and edge detection and the like… and they’re getting all confused! Maybe that’s an option for later though.
There will be a ‘?’ option next to that which takes potential buyers to a fancy one-page subdomain (I’m imagining it like the Envato Elite page) with an explainer video that tells them all about the standard. Maybe an AE-Q item could have a $2/$4 price increase or something. Then Envato recoup a bit of the expenses for setting up the standard, and the author gets a little bit extra for implementing the standard. Authors are welcome to go back and upgrade older projects to the standard. I think buyers would be happy to pay the extra for peace of mind.
And that’s about it, in a nutshell. A big nutshell. As a selling point for VideoHive over other stock AE sites, I think this could make a pretty big difference to sales. For buyers, it will streamlines the video creation process, provide them with a consistent customer experience and assures them that the item they are buying is straightforward and easy to use etc. This could also open up a wider customer base, if would-be first time buyers can see how easy it can be with the right help files.
Thanks!
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I think, they are some to suggested as a buyer :
- Where and How to find the Purchase code,
- How to work out with documentation online with interactive tools, it should be better and clear, so even the noob will be a ninja with the usage
- Getting known to the licenses with a better way, Most of the users don’t understand properly
- How to interact or contact the item’s author or its support team about the item
- More Payment options can be made for flexibility of the users all around the earth
- A better way of understanding with the purchases done !
I’ve faced problems faced as a buyer, these the ones which are not relevant to every user, so a better understanding in these aspects can be made to make a newbie in the marketplace to be comfortable with every single item in envato !
Artzone13 !
1 Like
Sometimes I receive a message from a buyer containing something like this:
"Hey Jakub, I just bought your file, but not sure how to use it…what software do I need?..etc."
So I always need to reply that they have bought After Effects template and they need to use it to customize the template.
Long story short: there should be a video about how VideoHive works: That there is a stock footage category, After Effects templates, Cinema 4D templates…basically what you can buy on VideoHive and how to use it to actually get what you need.
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