As you know I've decided to now also offer Premium Themes alongside the free ones. I stumbled upon some sites that publicly rail against me while still using my free themes. They write about hoping that I don't sell a single Theme and other sad things.
Some thoughts to all of them
- Try finding good Webdesign for free
- Try finding free Themes that are always up-to-date.
- Try finding supported free Themes
- Try finding free Theme authors for customization of these Themes
Everyone has to pay bills. Although I love designing templates and themes, I have to contentrate on activities that make money. The alternative: leaving everything as it is, and no more designing new Themes - and that helps no one. Actually, that happens very often - once free Theme authors realize that 'DONATIONS' and thankfulness are VERY RARE. Concerning TheBuckmaker, I received about $0.001 per theme download, and most of the donations that are to be seen on the Donor Wall are paid customization work that I agreed to declare as donation.
I know that the internet and web2.0 brings along some kind of everything-must-be-free mentality. I think that has got a lot to do with thinking that companies like Google provide everything for free - which they DO NOT. Designers like me have the disadvantage that we can't monetize our work as subtle and hidden as the big companies.
Although it seems to be a cold world out there, I'll go on with my way. I don't want to support these guys that use my themes on one hand and rail against me on the other hand any more. I will offer good webdesign and customization for affordable rates, and I'm sure YOU understand: Life's not for free, and if you want to do what you love, you've got to monetize it.
