Today, Rareview launched the latest version of their website, boasting their signature style and impressive Flash and Javascript enhancements. The work section, in particular, was creatively organized and includes notes for certain work screenshots. The blog was also updated and I lent a hand in creating the new WordPress theme.
Check out the new Rareview site and their latest projects. I guarantee it is unlike any other agency you’ve seen before.
Most independent contractors will agree that the ebb and flow of work can often book months at a time as well as create dry spells with no projects at all. I’ve been fortunate in being flat out since beginning to work for myself in 2009 but that hasn’t stopped me from preparing for possible downtime. Creating passive income, no matter how large or small the amount, is always a good idea when you don’t have a steady paycheck to rely on.
Envato, a rapidly growing collection of resource sites (and much more), is a great place to start if you’re a designer or developer looking to make some extra cash. Whether you’re handy with coding, designing, video, or audio, Envato has a site where you can sell stock files. There are many benefits in selling stock but the main attraction is potentially making numerous sales off of a file that you only need to create once. Add enough files and you may find yourself with a consistent stream of side money to help supplement your main sources of income.
The process is as simple as taking a quick seller quiz, uploading your files, then letting time take care of the rest while you continue with your main work. Chances are, most designers and developers already have leftover files or incomplete ideas that could easily be finished and sold as stock (just remember that the work needs to be yours and free of copyright). Envato also has multiple communities where you could become an author and write tutorials on what you know best, although writing a tutorial wouldn’t count as being passive income since you would only be getting paid once for each submission.
Recently, Envato launched Graphic River, one of the few stock websites I’ve found that allows authors to sell Photoshop files (nice!). I enjoy working in any of the Adobe Creative Suite applications but Photoshop has always been a personal favorite of mine. I quickly signed up for a new account (which works on all Envato sites, by the way) to read more on the fine print and test out the author program. The payment rates are 25% for non-exclusive sellers and between 40-70% for exclusive members, depending on how many sales your files make. The difference between exclusive and non-exclusive membership is whether you want to sell your files on multiple websites or only on an Envato marketplace. Compared to similar stock sites, such as istockphoto, Envato offers slightly higher rates, especially if you think your files will make a lot of sales.
One thing I was not impressed with was the Graphic River upload form, which seems to still be a work-in-progress. There are a small handful of files you need to upload for each submission, such as thumbnail, preview, etc., and every time I uploaded a new asset, the form fields I had already populated would reset. Hopefully that gets ironed out soon. Here’s a look at my first upload (click to visit the file’s Graphic River page):
Update #1: After testing out the Graphic River seller program a little more over the last week, the file upload and review process certainly requires a lot of patience. I have a feeling the interest in Graphic River is more than Envato anticipated, or was initially prepared for, and it shows in the timeliness and quality of responses from the file reviewers. It has been taking at least two to three days before my files are looked at and the reason I was given for one of them being rejected was laughably short and vague. I responded to the reviewer, kindly asking what the issue was and how could I improve it, but did not receive a straight answer until e-mailing two more times after that. Even then, I learned that there was nothing wrong with the file other than it simply wasn’t to this particular person’s taste. The reviewers should do themselves a favor and give honest critiques so that authors who have files rejected can know how to make the work better and ultimately improve the overall file selection of Graphic River.
Shifting Creations is no stranger to being ripped; the design has been stolen several times over the last four years. Surprisingly, the number one way I usually find out one of my sites has been copied is because the designers neglect to remove my contact details from either the contact form or the vcard. Note to website thieves: if you’re going to steal someone’s work, at least follow through with the job!
Usually, I don’t bother pointing out the infringing website and deal with the matter very quietly but since this seems to be a stubborn case, I figured I would outline some of the steps I take in case this happens to you. I start by sending the offending party a polite DMCA notice via e-mail (here is an example). The keyword here is polite. There is no reason to automatically assume the website owner knows they have stolen your work and, often, they are less likely to cooperate if you immediately start the conversation with an angry tone. I’ve heard all the excuses, everything from, “We didn’t know, our intern created it,” to, “I was just testing it out to learn from your site.” I rarely believe any of these stories but go along with it anyway and kindly ask that they take the site down as soon as possible.
If the matter continues and I have not received contact or a reason to believe the design will be removed, I do a quick WHOIS lookup to find out where the site is being hosted and then contact that company. To date, every host I’ve dealt with regarding a similar issue has been very understanding and quick to aid in taking down the stolen materials. GoDaddy, however, has decided to make the process even more of a hassle.
I’ve contacted their support multiple times now and, after supplying every bit of info I could think of, the only responses I’ve received have been the same robotic messages that don’t clearly explain what my claim is missing. I understand there need to be certain measures in ensuring my request is valid, but I’ve been amazed at how little GoDaddy is willing to help or even send a human response instead of copying and pasting. Regardless, I will continue to pursue the issue until the design of ArticleMS Skins has been removed. Until then, here are a couple highlights to check out before the site is down:
The funniest part of it all is I’ve also been receiving e-mails from potential customers of ArticleMS Skins, asking me where to send payment. Evidently, stealing my work hasn’t paid off very well for them.
Update #1: GoDaddy has finally suspended ArticleMS Skins until the site owner indicates they are ready to remove the infringing content.
Update #2: ArticleMS Skins is back online with a new design (hopefully, this one is original).