As promised in the 2018 Year Review post, here is the update on reaching Elite Author status. 🙂

When I decided to go full time on CodeCanyon, I didn’t think I’d reach Elite Author status any time soon, because I saw it as a very far fetched objective. However, as my sales grew in number exponentially, I soon realized that there is no turning back, Envato Elite Author status, here I come!

Before anything, I just want to say a big fat thank you to all the my customers who have purchased a product (or more) from me over the last few years. I’m really thankful to all the users who have commented, helped me debug issues, or offered suggestions for the plugins.

Each time I get an email from people who purchased my plugins and now are using them to their own benefit (and enjoying their functionality), it really makes me proud and motivated to continue providing new plugins, and updating old ones with new functionality.

What exactly is an Envato Elite Author?

When you start selling plugins or code on CodeCanyon (or on any of Envato’s other marketplaces), you also start climbing an author ranking ladder, which will tell how much commission does Envato withhold when somebody purchases an item from you. Details in the below table:

After the current Envato rules, if you are an exclusive author on CodeCanyon, you start at 37.5% author fee, for each sale you make. This number decreases as you sell items, and reaches 12.5%, when you also become an Envato Elite Author. This also means that you will get a couple of perks, like the ability to use Google Analytics on your items and a free 1 year subscription to TutsPlus (a tutorial/learning site run by Envato). I am really curious what I will learn on this platform, because I haven’t used it yet.

Also, another really nice addition is the Envato Elite Author Badge. It is added to my profile page and also to all items I sell. I was really looking forward for this badge, because it shows to customers that the author that they are buying items from is trusted and has a good reputation on CodeCanyon, by selling a large amount of items.

Here is a screenshot of the email that welcomed me to the Envato Elite Author club:

So, what next?

On the Envato Elite ladder, the next goal for me is to sell items of a total worth of 125,000$. When you reach this level, you will get a “Envato care pack” in your mail box. It is a small box filled with goodies directly from Envato. I am really curious what is exactly in this little gift box, so I am looking forward reaching also this level. 🙂

The Envato Elite program has many other crazy goals, topping with 25.000.000$ in total sales, when they will allow you to choose one from these three rewards:

Join one of the first commercial space flights into outer space. Are you game? Enjoy 1st class flights and seven days accommodation for two at the world’s most luxurious hotel, the Burj Al Arab! Choose your own adventure. Do something amazing and Envato will foot the bill!

Right now, I would choose number 1, what about you guys? 🙂