

Ask HN: How do we monetize our free app without getting on users' nerves? - jabo

Our simple app has more than 11,000 users currently and so far everyone has given us rave reviews about the app. Given our huge user base, we're now considering monetizing it.<p>Of course, we aren't going to start charging users for the existing app. Instead we were thinking of building some of the frequently requested features into a paid version. Is this a good idea? If you are a user, would you like the fact we are charging for the features you requested?
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glimcat
Firstly, you might want to consider making your description more "dead
simple." I had to read way too much of that before it became clear what your
extension actually does. Fixing this could improve your bounce rate and lead
to more users.

I would have suggested cloud backup and access as a monetization strategy
since it's a useful recurring addon...but you appear to have recently added
that for free. Whoops.

How about a paid Android or iOS interface?

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jabo
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll work on the description. I thought those media
quotes pretty much summarized the app, and hence added them at the top.

Sync was one thing that too many people were asking for. So we immediately
built it and put it out. We really weren't thinking of monetization back then.

An android / iphone app is a frequently requested feature.. We could charge
for that and still not annoy people, because hey, it costs us money to get
into Apple's developer program!

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sorbus
A paid version with more features seems like a safe way to go; moving into the
freemium model, somewhat. If not enough people buy it, you can always fold the
features into the free version (though be careful about that; people who do
buy a paid version may feel ripped off if the free version has all the same
features). Other than that, you can always put a donate buttons somewhere,
though I'm not sure how effective that would be.

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jabo
Here's a clickable link to the app:
[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/offpaifnchmpbnjhjb...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/offpaifnchmpbnjhjbhpdffahlofdkfb)

Though it's a Chrome App, you can also visit it directly on a HTML5 browser at
<http://scribble.wreally.com>

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damoncali
Go ahead and get on their nerves. Nobody _likes_ to pay for stuff. Hopefully
your users like your stuff enough that the mere thought of paying for it
doesn't drive them away. If it does, you need to get back to work.

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jabo
@Person at Tapjoy: Why did you delete your comment? Would love to know.
Thanks!

