Claim Your Share Of The WordPress Theme Goldmine!

Introduction

The WordPress theme market is an incredibly lucrative one, with the number of WordPress based website continuing to grow every year. In fact, since WordPress is one of the easiest platforms in which to build a business, the industry is considered “evergreen”, which means that it will continue to thrive for many years to come.

Furthermore, you don’t have to know anything about programming or designing in order to start selling your own themes and making incredible money in this vast, in-demand market!

Take a look at some of the various WordPress theme websites and the prices they charge. Then look at the number of sales listed for each theme or how many members they have to their membership sites.

Take a look at this example:

As you can see, the #1 bestselling WordPress theme at ThemeForest.net has sold 26,702 copies at $55. That is $1,468,610 generated from a single theme! Not all themes will generate so much, but if you can imagine making just 1% of that for each theme you create, around $14,686, you can see that spending a few hundred bucks (or less) to have it created is definitely extremely profitable.

A single theme could cost you as little as $300-$500 to create if you can’t do any of the work yourself and you outsource everything. Figure on $100-$200 for the base design, plus another $200-300 for the theme creation. You’ll pay more if you want advanced features programmed into the theme, but you’ll also make far more profit from each theme if you add these extra features.

Just think about the possibilities!

Where else can you invest so little and make so much? Best of all, the income is almost completely passive. Once the theme has been created and uploaded for sale, the only work you’ll have to do is monitor customer service in order to respond to help requests.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to go about having your own themes created so you can start profiting right away.

 Types of Themes

There are two basic types of themes you can create and sell – general themes and niche themes. Both types of themes have their advantages and their disadvantages, but one is the clear winner for theme designers who have not yet built a name for themselves.

General Themes

General themes have one very big advantage – mass appeal. One can buy a general theme and edit it to fit any niche they desire. Of course, not everyone has the proficiency required to edit the theme to match their niche, so those people will turn to niche themes.

The biggest problem with niche themes is competition. It takes a lot more work to get a general theme recognized because there are just so many of them out there.

With niche themes, people can search for specific keywords and are presented with a much smaller range of choices.

Another big disadvantage with general themes is that they must be much more technically advanced than niche themes.

This makes them costlier to develop, and they take much longer to test and get to market.

Niche Themes

The main advantage of niche themes is a lack of intense competition. You will have some competition in every niche that is profitable, but niche themes definitely have less overall competition than general themes.

Another great advantage of niche themes is that they don’t require as many fancy bells and whistles as general themes. General themes require a lot of technical features to sell, because there is so much competition. People who buy general themes usually do so because they want specific functionality that they can’t find in a niche theme, so they buy a general theme and customize it to fit their niche.

Obviously, the real disadvantage is that niche themes don’t have as large a market as general themes, but you will find it much easier to get started making money if you start with niche themes.

As you can see, niche themes clearly win when you’re just getting started. Once you have built a name for yourself and people are seeking your themes by your name, you can move into general themes and you’ll find them quite profitable.

However, niche themes will make you significant money while you build your business.

Researching the Market

Before you start any type of business, it is crucial to research your market thoroughly. In big business, this would include all types of specific research and analyses, but for this type of business, such in-depth research isn’t required. Still, the last thing you want to do is invest time and money into a venture that isn’t going to make you a good profit.

Fortunately, it’s relatively simple to do some preliminary research before you start building your first theme. You can use some of the popular theme selling websites to conduct your research, and it will only take you a relatively short period of time (perhaps a couple of hours) to complete your research.

There are two things you need to determine:

1. The types of features people are looking for in a theme, as evidenced by the number of themes sold with a particular feature.
2. The most popular categories of niche themes.

Make a list of the top-selling niche based themes you find. A list of 10-20 will be fine. You probably won’t want to choose one of the top 3-5, because there will likely be too much competition. However, if you see that the bestselling themes in a particular niche aren’t very impressive, you might find it easy to make a better theme and still compete.

Once you have your list and you choose a niche to start with, make a list of popular features to include. The more features you include, the more expensive it will be to have your theme built, so choose only the few most important features.

Planning a Layout

Once you’ve decided on your theme and your features, it’s time to plan your theme’s layout. You can do this on paper, but it might be more effective and efficient to do it in Photoshop or any other graphics program you are proficient in.

Even if you aren’t graphically inclined, you don’t need to worry about making anything fancy or elaborate. All you need is a basic layout of what you’re looking for and what you want the theme to look like. This is just something you can give to your designer to show them what you’re looking for. You can use placeholders and text to dictate most of the layout.

This site you are reading this on is P1 Video Magnet by Peter Garety’s Team.

There is an example of P1Video Magnet used on a Fitness Site:

As you can see, your layout graphic doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. You don’t even have to include any images – just label them however you want them added. Your designer will add them later.

Different Markets, Different Layouts

One thing you may notice is that different markets may have very different layouts. What works for the weight loss niche may not work so well in the recipe niche or the Internet marketing niche.

This is another important place to perform research. Find out what types of layouts are most popular in the niche you choose, especially among those that are selling well. Then tailor your theme to match these popular themes.

Not All Layouts Work for WordPress

Something you should keep in mind is that not all layouts will work well with WordPress. WordPress, like most content management systems, has its limitations. If the layout you create isn’t compatible with WordPress, your designer should be able to tell you ahead of time. However, you might want to run it past your theme designer if you will be using two different people to create your theme. You may be using one designer to create the PSD, and a different person to cut up the PSD and turn it into the theme. In that case, show it to the one who will actually be creating the theme for their approval before the PSD designer gets started.

 Locating Theme Designers

As mentioned in the previous chapter, you may need more than one person to complete your theme. The first person you will need will be the Photoshop designer. This person will create the basic design of your theme. They may be able to cut the theme up for you as well, but some designers aren’t proficient at this, which means you may need to hire a second person to cut up the PSD design provided by your designer and turn it into your completed theme.

Google  “PSD design cut up and turned into a complete WordPress theme”

Different Prices, some services starts at just $99, so it is very affordable. If you want added features and functionality you should expect to pay considerably more, but a theme that is complete with bells and whistles such as an image slider or built-in email collection box will sell much better and be much more profitable in the long run.

Quality Assurance

Before you hire any designer, ask to see examples of WordPress designs or themes they have created in the past. Find out what level of programming ability they have, and whether or not they will be able to add the features you need. This is the first step in assuring your theme is of the highest possible quality.

Don’t forget that the theme must be fully tested before you begin selling it. If possible, find some beta testers who are willing to help you test the theme thoroughly before you put it on the market. If there are any bugs found after the theme is released for sale, make sure you respond and get it updated quickly. Otherwise your reputation will be harmed before it’s even built.

User Customization

One important feature you will probably want to have your theme creator include is the ability for users to customize the theme on their own from within the WordPress admin area.

There are many different levels of theme customization. It can range from simple tweaks such as selecting where the sidebars are located, up to something much more complex such as changing the background image and even changing the entire layout for different pages of the site.

Creating a Design

You must work very closely with your designer to build a theme you’ll be happy with and that will sell well to users in the niche you’ve chosen. You will want to find a designer who is willing to make multiple changes when you aren’t happy with certain elements of the theme.

In order to minimize changes (which will make your designer very happy) start out by giving the designer very clear instructions, along with a few examples of themes you really like. This will help the designer understand your personal taste and style so they’ll be more likely to create something you like.

Don’t forget to let the designer know about any special functionality you will be having built into the theme. Some of these functions may require additional graphics, so the designer will need to know in advance what types of extra graphics you’ll need.

The design you receive will most likely be in PSD format for Photoshop. This file is not ready for use as a WordPress theme. It is only the base graphic file. If you happen to find a designer who can also do complete WordPress themes, you may get the entire theme delivered immediately. However, most designers will simply deliver the PSD file and you will have to go to someone else to have the design chopped and packaged.

Packaging & Testing

After the basic layout is completed, it’s time to package the theme. This process involves cutting the PSD file up and formatting it into the actual theme. Then any additional features are added.

Pricing is based on the complexity of the finished theme. If you want a simple, basic theme from your PSD, search on fiverr.com where the start price is only $5. If you add more complex features, the cost will be higher, but you’ll find you get many more sales than you would without these extra features.

Testing

One the theme is completed; it’s time to test it. You can test the theme yourself, but you may also want to have it tested by several other people, too. Beta testing the theme on your own may fail to reveal critical bugs in the theme that could lead to a wave of customer complaints and bad feedback. That definitely isn’t something you want to happen when you’re trying to establish a name for yourself.

You’ll notice when you visit sites like ThemeForest.net that buyers can leave a rating and review for their purchases. The higher the star rating for your theme, the more purchase you are likely to get.

Not only that, but if potential buyers see a theme they like but doesn’t quite fit what they are looking for, if the theme has a great rating they are likely to take a look at the other themes you have for sale. This could increase your sales dramatically!

If you don’t have friends who could help you test your theme, you can post a message on a webmaster forum and ask for beta testers. Let them know they can keep and use the theme for free in exchange for their help, just be sure to tell them not to distribute the theme to anyone else.

Here are a couple of forums you can try:

>> http://www.warriorforum.com

>> http://forums.digitalpoint.com

Make sure each person submits their comments to you even if they don’t find any bugs so you can find out what they think of the theme overall, how easy it is to use, whether there are any features they’d like to see, etc. This will not only help you improve this theme, but also give you ideas for any future themes you release.

The Art of Selling Themes

One thing that must be stressed is that you shouldn’t just upload your theme for sale and then rest on your laurels. Sure, you will probably get some sales even without any additional promotion, but not nearly as many as you might get with a little extra work.

Where to Sell Themes

There are many different places to sell your themes. You could create your themes and sell them on your own, but you’ll need to do a lot more promotion. The best thing to do is sell your themes via the various theme marketplaces. You’ll get a hefty chunk of the sale price, with a small amount going to the website in exchange for selling your theme.

Here are some places to sell your themes:

>> http://www.freelancer.com/marketplace/

>> http://www.templamatic.com/

>> http://www.buysellwp.com/

>> http://codecanyon.net/category/all

>> http://www.warriorforum.com

>> http://forums.digitalpoint.com

Promoting Themes

Once your theme is up for sale, you might want to do some basic promotion to get more traffic to it in order to generate more sales. There are many different ways to do this, but here are a few quick ideas:

1. Post on forums. I mentioned Webmaster forums such as WarriorForum.com and Forums.DigitalPoint.com earlier. These forums will allow you to include a link in your signature file that will show up after every post you make. This could generate significant traffic to your theme. Once you have several themes, link to your profile page instead of a single theme directly so people can see all of your themes at once.
2. Sell themes locally. If you create a theme that could be used for offline businesses, you might want to contact businesses in your area that could use it and ask them if they’d like a website built. You can use your theme to build it and charge them a nice fee for setting it up.
3. Offer a lite version. If you create a simple version of your theme with no extra features, you can give it away free as a “lite” version. Post it on WordPress.org and various free theme sites, and let people know where they can find the paid version if they want to upgrade for the added features.
4. Hold contests. Contests are great for promotion. You can hold contests on Webmaster forums and offer your theme as a prize.
5. Run an affiliate program. You can use a site like ClickBank.com to run an affiliate program to sell your theme. Other people can promote your theme in exchange for a commission, which you set.
6. Use social media. You can get on Facebook, for example, and post about your theme in various groups for bloggers and WordPress users.

These are just a few ideas to get you started, but once you start getting sales and reviews you will probably find your themes start selling much better even without a lot of promotion.

Maximizing Your Income

With your WP Theme business up and running you can easily maximize your income by expanding the tools and resources available to WordPress users.

For example, many of your customers will be new users who aren’t familiar with all that WordPress has to offer. Considering this, you could easily make money selling access to WordPress video tutorials that will show users how to take advantage of powerful WordPress features while enhancing their websites.

Conclusion

Building a profitable business within the lucrative WordPress theme industry isn’t as difficult as you may have thought. Through outsourcing and contracting skilled developers you can easily get your business off the ground with just a single well-constructed theme. And considering that just one theme can bring in thousands of dollars, your investment can be recovered very quickly.

This report was written to provide you with a quick introduction to the world of theme creation and distribution,

Claim your share of this evergreen giant and skyrocket your income like nothing you’ve ever experienced before!

Check Back here soon for some FREE Best WP Themes I am setting up in a GIVEAWAY…