Tags: kB, tuts

Tuts+ Marketplace Upload Instructions

Before you can upload to the Marketplace, you’ll need to be accepted as an author. You can go through the application process on the ‘Sell Your Work‘ page.

When you want to upload an item, the first thing to do is decide which category is most relevant for your item. Browse the Tuts+ Marketplace category tree by selecting the ‘Categories’ drop-down menu and selecting ‘More Categories’. On this page you’ll be able to see a list of every available category and sub-category. You should pick the category that is most specifically relevant to your tutorial. If your item seems to fit in multiple categories (for example, it uses both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator), pick the category that is most relevant. You’ll have the ability to specify other required software on the upload form.

Note on eBooks: The eBooks category is still being finalized. You’re welcome to submit your eBook, but be aware that it may take up to one month for it to be reviewed. We will only be accepting eBooks of extremely high quality and production values, in line with our current Rockable Press publications.

Need a Tutorial Template?

One of the simplest ways to present a written tutorial is in an HTML file. For written tuts, we only accept HTML or PDF layouts. If you don’t have the time or knowledge to create a professional-looking layout for yourself, you can use our official Tuts+ Marketplace HTML template.

You’re welcome to edit and tweak this file in any way you like. For example, adding your own branding, or changing the typography. To add a new 200 x 200px preview image, replace preview.jpg with a file of the same name. To remove the 200 x 200px preview image, delete it from the HTML document. Use a div with a class of tutorial_image to put a border around images. Dividing lines are made with the horizontal rule element. In this layout, images should be between 600px and 930px wide.

Uploading an Item

When you’re ready to upload your item you can access the form by clicking ‘My Account’ and selecting the relevant category under ‘Begin Upload’ in the sidebar.

1. Name & Description

As a first step, you’ll need to give your item a title. Most buyers on the Tuts+ Marketplace find what they’re looking for through search, so it’s important that your title is as descriptive as possible. For example, let’s say you’ve just written a tutorial on building a calendar widget with CSS3 and JavaScript. For someone to be interested in buying your tutorial, they’d have to want a calendar widget, or be interested in learning CSS3 or JavaScript. As such, that’s probably what they’d be searching for. It would be wise to give the item a title that includes all those keywords, such as ‘Build a Calendar Widget with CSS3 and JavaScript’.

While this might seem obvious, some authors limit their item’s chance of success by giving it an abstract name, like ‘Watercolor’. Maybe you’ve dubbed the technique you use in the tutorial ‘Watercolor’, for example. But without prior introduction, this doesn’t mean anything to the searcher. Descriptive, practical names consistently perform better than abstract names on the marketplaces.

Next, you’ll need to add a description to your item. This is space available for you to really sell your item and increase its chances of success. At the very least, you should describe everything included in your tutorial. Here’s a good template for your item descriptions:

Describe what your tutorial will teach. Why is it useful to know what you’re teaching?
What format is your tutorial? Is it a full-color PDF? Two thirty minute videos?
List the files included in the tutorial download. Do you include source files?
Why are you qualified to teach? Why should people listen to you? This is a good opportunity to describe your experience/qualifications.
Later on, you may want to add testimonials. If you get any super positive feedback about your file, list it in the item description. This will help sales!

2. Files

The files you upload here will be the files that will go on sale if your tutorial is accepted. Take the time to make sure that your tutorial folder is organized, well-documented, and that it’s easy to find everything you said you had included in the item description.

Start with an 80 x 80 thumbnail for your tutorial. This will appear alongside the item’s title in search results. By browsing through the marketplace you can see what other people are doing with their thumbnails. In most cases, your thumbnail will simply be a screenshot of your tutorial’s end result (if there is one).

Your preview image is the first thing buyers will see when they visit your item’s page. This image is many times bigger than the thumbnail you just uploaded, so it’s a great opportunity to showcase your tutorial in all its glory. A big image of the final effect, or a key image from the tutorial, will usually do the trick. Many authors brand the preview image like they do with their thumbnails, adding the tutorial title to the image and some nice effects. Once again, you can learn a lot by what top selling authors are doing with their item listings. The Top Authors list is always available here.

A live preview is a self-hosted showcase of your tutorial. Here’s a list of different ways that live previews can be used across our categories:

Design – showcase of images, or for web design, a live version of the site being designed.
Web Development – a live demo of the code in action.
Audio & Music – an audio recording of what you’ll make in the tutorial.
Video – we allow video previews separately, so this would be best used as a place to add additional videos.
Multimedia – a live demo of the code in action.
3D Graphics – a showcase of what you’ll be making, or teaching.
Photography – showcase of photos.
Mobile development – a live demo of the code in action.
Small business – a teaser/preview for the tutorial.

If you don’t want to host a live preview, item preview screenshots are the next best thing. You should upload screenshots that help buyers become excited about your tutorial. You might show different views of the final effect, or include images of some key moments in the tutorial, where you are deep in the middle of teaching some really valuable techniques.

If your tutorial is a screencast, or your final technique is motion-based, you’ll probably want to upload a video preview. This is a great opportunity to create a ‘teaser trailer’ for your tutorial and show off the final effect, as well as some of the best parts of your tut.

Note that your item can only have up to two preview options. If you have a live preview, you’ll need to choose either screenshots or a video preview. If you have screenshots, you’ll need to choose either a live preview or video preview – and so on.

Uploading your main files is the most important part of this process. Make sure your folders are clearly organized, that nothing is missing, and that your tutorial (if written) loads up all images and resources locally. Note that there is currently a 500mb limit on item size. If you really need to go above this amount, consider splitting your tutorial into two items.

3. Category & Attributes

Select the most specific possible category for your tutorial. Next, select all the different file types included in your tutorial. If your tutorial was in an HTML file with image screenshots, and a CSS source file, you’d select HTML, JPGs and CSS, for example. This is so the user can see what’s included and make sure they have the right tools to open all the files.

Next, you’ll need to select the format for your tutorial. Some buyers prefer to learn by reading, others by watching video. To appeal to the maximum number of people, you can include your tutorial in both written and video versions.

Then, you’ll need to give your tutorial a difficulty rating.

If your tutorial uses any software/code that differs based on version, you’ll need to specify which versions your tut requires. If it works in Photoshop CS2 onwards, select CS2 and then Cntrl / Cmd click the more recent versions it is also compatible with. Select all versions your tutorial is compatible with, not just the minimum version.

4. Tags

Tags are used to further describe your item, and also factor into how search results are determined. It’s important to give your item as many relevant tags as possible (within a 15 tag limit), separated by a comma. To use your earlier example, we might give our calendar widget with CSS3 and JavaScript tutorial the tags: calendar, widget, css3, javascript, intermediate, date, events.