GraphicRiver Celebrates its First Elite Author!

Earlier this month, one of our sister sites, GraphicRiver celebrated a key benchmark, their first Envato Elite author. Elite Author status means that an author achieves $75K in sales and today, we are excited to congratulate Sevenstyles for being the first GraphicRiver author to do it! We know that many of you are also GraphicRiver authors and may be interested in how he did it, so today, we would like to give you some tips and explain how you can repeat Sevenstyle’s success.

Who is Sevenstyles?

Sevenstyles joined up as a GraphicRiver author only 18 months ago. During that time he has been busy pumping out eye-meltingly hot flyer templates. These flyer templates hit like a sledgehammer made of frozen vodka, and buyers have been snatching them up like crazy. Take a look at some of our favorites.

Milky Flyer Template

Phoenix Flyer Template

Illusion Flyer Template

Sense Poster/Flyer Template

Power Poster/Flyer Template

Model Flyer Template

GraphicRiver’s Flyer Category

GraphicRiver’s flyer template category has been growing like wild, and as sevenstyles has proven, there’s gold in them thar hills!

With some flyer templates pulling in over 500 sales, it’s worth spending a little time on seeing if it’s a category that you can design for.

Don’t know the first thing about flyer design you say? Fortunately author quickandeasy has put together an over-the-shoulder look at how he takes a flyer idea from a blank Photoshop layer to completion:

A Word With Sevenstyles

We thought you’d like to hear from Brad about his rise to Elite status and any tips he has for aspiring authors. So I decided to send off a few questions via email to get his input on what it takes to succeed on the Marketplaces.

It truly is a great honor to be the first GraphicRiver author to reach Elite Author status. Having first heard about the Elite Author program I would have never thought I would reach that level at the rate I did, considering GraphicRiver seems to be a much more challenging marketplace to reach that status as compared to ThemeForest.

Having the Elite Author badge is just a great reminder for me to keep doing what I am doing and making customers happy, if I can save people time, money and make them happy in the process that is all I can ask for. Yet, it is also a reminder to set examples for others and continually try bush the boundaries of my creativity. Having a strong work ethic in something you love and being inspired daily by others is what keeps me chugging along. I believe many can reach the Elite Author status by just looking for that unique point in what they aim to sell, try be different than others and you will surely steal the attention of buyers.

I actually came out of university not really sure what to do. I always knew I wanted a sense of independence in my work because I feel I am a much better designer when I am given freedom to create whatever I want. So, to keep my head above water, I had to work a retail job for quite a while, however, everyday after work or my days off I would work on new GraphicRiver files. Slowly I began to see sales, and with the more work I put in the more sales I would see. I was just having too much fun creating for the marketplace and took the risk – leaving my part time job to work on GraphicRiver files.

I have been working in a film studio which I started with a friend a little over a year ago now. It’s great because it enables me to explore a different dimension in creativity as apposed to GraphicRiver. I still dedicate lots of time to producing files for the marketplace as I truly love doing it, and I like to continually provide my followers with new files.

GraphicRiver has shaped me as a designer, and taught me some fundamentals in running a business.

Here are just a few tips for authors looking into creating for GraphicRiver.

• Do your homework and firstly study the marketplace. Look at popular items in each category and identify why it is popular. Do not aim to copy a file, yet aim to have a unique approach on it or make it better. There are many similar items on GraphicRiver, it is important to let your files stand out.
• Master your craft! For me these days it’s Photoshop and print templates. Show polish and expertise in your files and they will go a long way! I have about 10 years experience with Photoshop and a history of creating print templates, so this is what I try to bring to GraphicRiver.
• Have a strong work ethic. I try to spend time everyday working towards files for the marketplace. Whether its gathering inspiration,resources or researching, it all helps.
• Do not give up if you get rejected! I have been rejected ALOT of times, yet I always turn around and look for ways to improve the file. Once I have it finished I compare it to the version that was rejected and I always see why the reviewer has turned it down. Another good idea is to just leave the file alone, start a new one and come back to it with fresh eyes.
• Always try to have fun! There is no point working towards producing files for the marketplace if you do not enjoy doing it, you just wont last.
• Stay fit and healthy. Spending hours in front of the computer will do things to your mind and make you feel unhealthy. I go to the gym 5-6 days per week, and there is no better feeling when your working out! Your batteries are re-charged and your ready to go again, plus getting the ladies attention outside of your work desk is always a plus right!?

Sign Up on GraphicRiver

To become a GraphicRiver author, visit our sign up page and start uploading items today!