Ask HN: How would you monetize 360K people?

[cfinke]

I have written a couple dozen Firefox add-ons that have a combined userbase of 360,000 active daily users (assuming no overlap, so let's just say it's 300K). Naturally, I'd like to make some money off of these add-ons so I can justify continuing to develop more add-ons, which I greatly enjoy.

How would you monetize this situation? The problems I've come up against are:

1. People have an expectation that add-ons are (and should be) free.

2. It's hard to find a monetization option that makes sense for add-ons in different spaces. e.g., an RSS-related add-on has different logical monetization opportunities than a productivity-related add-on.

3. The only real opportunities out there right now for add-on developers involve selling premium add-ons (see #1) or adding some sort of advertising to the browser or the users' webpages (which feels scummy, and users typically don't like it).

So what would you do if someone gave you access to the browsers and eyeballs of 300,000 people every day?

[naner]

There's no clear way to profit directly from these addons without doing something sort of spammy. The Mozilla platform just really isn't set up for it and it isn't expected by users. I'm not going to make a ton of money developing small open source utilities, either. You either use it to a gateway into something else (paid consulting/contracting jobs, writing a book, landing a regular job, etc) or just keep it as a fun hobby if it is something you like.

If you'd like to make money on the side focus on platforms where people pay for things or that have a clearer path for indirect revenue. (The web, Windows, Apple, Android, Facebook, etc.)

I know it seems like the numbers are there and you're providing value but it would be an uphill battle. When focusing on income, your energies are better spent elsewhere.

[eggbrain]

Next time you update your add-on, perhaps make it redirect once to your homepage, where you invite the user to make a donation for continued support?

You might not get many donations, but I know that adding ads to a Firefox plugin would make me uninstall it right away and find an alternative.

[cfinke → eggbrain]

> invite the user to make a donation

I forgot to mention this in the main text: Mozilla's add-ons site has support for soliciting donations from users during the install/upgrade process, and I've opted in on several of my most popular add-ons, but it still only brings in about $50/month.

> adding ads to a Firefox plugin would make me uninstall > it right away and find an alternative.

Agreed, I would do the same.

[gacba]

> involve selling premium add-ons (see #1)

I happen to run a Wordpress plugin that is free for the base installation (awpcp.com), but I sell premium add-ons. Wordpress plugins have a similar "stigma" if you will, but the reality is, if you have something of value that significantly improves the "free add on", people will pay for it if a) you tell them about it effectively and b) ask them to buy it, but in a nice way. (e.g. don't spam them, don't throw it in their face every time they use your software, etc).

But you have to make it visible and you can't be afraid to ask. Other plugins follow similar models (e.g. Yoast's All in One SEO)

[cfinke → gacba]

I've tried something similar (see http://www.chrisfinke.com/2010/09/13/my-experience-with-deve...) without much success, but I don't have enough data to determine the exact cause of failure.

[gacba → cfinke]

Given what I see for your add-ons, they are very generic and solve problems that others have solved in other ways. Not trying to sound harsh, but your product probably isn't compelling enough for most folks to pay for because they can get it elsewhere for free, or there are similar things to get (e.g. RSS readers, Twitter posters).

You haven't really cornered your niche, although you probably have some nice functionality for those add-ons. In order to get people to part with their cash you need to:

a) scratch their particular itch and do it well b) not have anyone else scratching it, or scratching it poorly if they do

You've still got 360K eyeballs, maybe you need to find a different itch.

[joelhaus]

First, love this one: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/plain-text-li...

Second, here are some ideas that may or may not feel scummy:

  1. Advertise in non-intrusive spaces.
  Upon update, some add-ons automatically open a window with the 
  changelog. Using this space and the space on the add-on's 
  Mozilla page, to advertise.
  
  2. Get a sponsorship.
  On a related note, pitch to companies that target similar audiences.
  Offer the first few placements for free (or set low enough price that 
  there isn't much risk) and track the traffic. Use these numbers to 
  set a price.

  3. TwitterBar "via" field.
  Twitter links to the webpage for apps that people use to post messages
  (at least they used to). This should give you leverage to rank any other
  webpage highly from all the pagerank juice.

  4. Opt-in link juice/affiliate links.
  A number of the add-ons could potentially have affiliate ID's appended
  or a link included back to your product page (similar to Twitters "via"
  links). Once, you have high ranking pages, the monetization options are 
  unlimited.

  5. [Lastly] Gather email addresses.
  Perhaps there is a reason users would want to provide their email 
  address? As you mentioned, combining add-ons with a hosted service
  opens up a lot of opportunities. Email addresses can be used to provide 
  value in a number of different ways (e.g. get beta testers, etc.).

Good luck!!

P.S. One more, use your skills to get hired by companies who could benefit from developing Firefox add-ons for their products.

[cfinke → joelhaus]

> Advertise in non-intrusive spaces.

I've tried this one, and it did ok - $500/month or so at its peak, when I happened to release updates to my most popular extensions all in the same month. Still felt a little spammy, but not too much. The user experience did suffer a little, so I moved to simple firstrun pages that focus more on "How do I use what I just installed?", like this: http://www.chrisfinke.com/firstrun/twitterbar.php

> TwitterBar "via" field.

In the "new Twitter," the "via" field is hidden until you click on a specific tweet - the visibility is far too low to be worth it I think.

> [Lastly] Gather email addresses.

I started doing this just last week - see http://www.chrisfinke.com/firstrun/twitterbar.php or http://www.chrisfinke.com/firstrun/rss-ticker.php. Opt-in rate so far has been low - about 1.5%, but I'm doing some A/B testing to work on that.

> Get a sponsorship > Opt-in link juice/affiliate links.

I'll look into these two, thanks.

[snailsnpuppies]

How does a business come to terms with customers' expectations that everything "web" should be free? Is this why some developers flock to native mobile app production? Maybe 30% costs are reasonable for a payment & distribution service AND the customer psychology that it's OK to purchase useful/entertaining software.?

As your second point suggests, your monetization options will vary based upon the product/service in question. That being said, allow potential customers to try your product (e.g. first 7 RSS transmogrifications are free, then they pay OR first 10 days of service are free, then a one-time charge). OR: Consider the time spent on your initial work as part of your FF-Extension-Corp marketing budget. New products will incur a fee. This will be a lot easier for projects where you predetermine your motivations. To improve your skills & learn something new? Or are you in business to provide a product/service to make a profit? No doubt that if you choose the latter you'll still have to content with competitors who selected the former. Your only hope then is to create more value.

[dadro]

As mentioned, ads but I'd view that more as supplemental income. I'd consider making some kind of plugin that integrates with a SaaS you run. The plugin would always remain free but i'd charge for the service once usage reaches a certain threshold. Make the service uber cheap like $1 and people wouldn't think twice about purchasing if it brought value to their daily life workflow.

[cfinke → dadro]

I've experimented with this route as well via FireFound (https://www.firefound.com/) - $20/year for additional capabilities for the basic add-on. It's probably not applicable enough to most people, but subscriptions pay for server and domain costs plus a little more.

[dadro → cfinke]

Cool Service. Have you considered putting it up on something like Appsumo (and lowering price). That has potential to increase volume, exposure and your bottom line.

[danieldeyette]

I think you have the wrong idea... question i would ask is how can you add MORE value by providing/suggesting an affiliate link to these folks for something they already want or need, or by creating a paid version of these tools that they need. Find a need and fill it:)

[contactdick]

Data is valuable and if you have legitimate reasons for collecting any (to improve the service of your add ons) there is always a good chance to monetize there. Highly contextual on what your add ons do though.

[imechura]

I don't think you have provided enough information to really help. What do your addons do? What are the user's interests?

You could try affiliate sales to some users depending on the function. For instance, if you created an add on the is used be web designers you may try to market stock photos.

[cfinke → imechura]

Here are my add-ons: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/user/2519/

They cover areas like Twitter, feed readers, geolocation, productivity, YouTube, and random browser improvements.

[_sagacity]

Depending on the functionality of your add-ons, you could place a rather tiny ad saying: Sponsored by: <Widgets Co>, obviously with a link to their site.

I guess not a lot of people would mind something like this.

HTH

[perry227]

I would re-purpose the apps for other platforms that are easier to monetize. Specifically, I'd make it a monetized app on Conduit.com and I'd make a smart phone version and sell it on GetJar.com.

[mapster]

Its a shareware platform, which has a few options, mainly to gain attention and following for a pay for app or service under the same umbrella.

[worldtize]

Email me....gstacks00@aol.com (zero zero)

I'll tell you exactly how to profit