
Ask HN: How do you monetize a side-project? - yanis_t
Hi guys,<p>I need an advice on how would you try to monetize a project like those ones that I have here:<p>- https:&#x2F;&#x2F;todox.app (personal task manager)
- https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.candlapp.com (book&#x2F;readings tracker)<p>Those guys have been around for a while and both of them have some modest popularity (around 100 active users &#x2F; day each ). But I&#x27;m having trouble trying to get some money out of it.<p>Not that I&#x27;m planning to get reach or start a multinational corporation. Just want to organize some small but stable cash income that would be enough to keep the projects running.<p>I&#x27;ve found that even when you have many devoted users, it&#x27;s extremely hard to actually convert them into paying customers.<p>So if you have some wisdom to share, please I need some honest advices.
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beatgammit
I pay for stuff that gives me good value. To convert me to a paid version of
the app, I need to have a good experience with the base app and see clear
value in additional features.

For example, for a TODO app, charge for more than a certain number of
projects, recurring tasks, integration with some other service, notifications,
shared task list, etc. I didn't look into the specifics of your app, but
that's the general free -> paying pipeline.

But don't just randomly develop stuff. Figure out how your users use your
product and add stuff they may want to a paid tier. Maybe that's asking them
to take a survey, maybe it's some form of telemetry, that's up to you, but you
need to get an idea of what your customers value.

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cheez
Start with the customer, problem and value to the customer before you write
code

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yanis_t
But if I have users who are using the service for free doesn't it already mean
that there is a customer, a problem and a value?

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cheez
I guess I wasn't clear. The calculation you need to do is:

    
    
      NumberOfCustomers * RevenuePerCustomerPerMonth >= MoneyINeedPerMonth
    

Then you need to back out the product and marketing from this equation. For
example, for your TODO app:

    
    
      NumberOfCustomers * $3/customer/month >= 2000
    

So at $3/customer/month, you will need ~670 customers.

Next you figure out: where the hell am I going to get 670 customers? I've been
running one business for over 10 years and I think I have only 1500 customers
in total. Finding customers isn't easy.

What I suggest is:

    
    
      NumberOfCustomers = 10
      MoneyINeedPerMonth = 2000
    

Create a product that 10 people will pay you $200/month for.

Now, no one is going to pay you $200/month for your TODO app as-is. But...
What can you change to make it so useful that 10 people just throw money at
you?

This is how I develop my ideas that are profitable from day one. There is a
new software product I've recently created that I designed to make me
$15K/day.

And it's working. Sometimes. But still, it's working, sometimes.

Edit: the worst thing you can possibly do is slap a price on what you've done.
The reason is that you're just slapping a price on it, not because you've
investigated the value added. If you really wanted to add a price of $3/month
to people who are already using it, then add something that's useful to them.
Perhaps integrate with Google Calendar as a pro feature. But now, you need to
find 670 people who want your Google Calendar integration and need your
particular TODO app. Not easy by any stretch.

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forgotmypw
How much money does it take to operate these projects?

If you're just trying to pay for hosting, resources, and Apple tithe, why not
just add a PayPal button and call it a day?

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yanis_t
I pay around $20 for hosting + DB + AWS services (s3, cloudfront)... But the
idea I guess is to get some more money to keep the interest

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ruffrey
$3 / month - try charging yearly?

Add testimonial from reputable company.

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minraj
Good project

