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Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

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Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#21

Post by olefoo »

You can't monetize it without it being a business. So accept that and manage it like a business; decide how much time you want to devote to it and what are acceptable revenues to justify the time you are giving it.

Look at different business models and pick the one that works for you. If you want to hang ads on it, do that. If you want to work with the certifying authority for the sport and have the sports association pay you a yearly fee to provide the software to all official events, start investigating if that's possible. If event promoters find value in the software figure out what they are willing to pay for it and sell them licenses ( yearly, per event, lifetime, whatever works ).

Don't half-ass it by thinking you aren't in business, fully ass it by making it _your_ business.

Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#22

Post by bhnmmhmd »

TL;DR:

Sell it per download.

Why?

If it is to be run in areas that rarely have access to the internet, then your target market isn't probably interested in buying a license or any thing that even remotely makes the app hard to use.

Go easy on your customers. From the moment they visit your website to the moment they have the app up and running should not take more than 3 clicks. Just my 2 cents.

Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#23

Post by Eire_Banshee »

ebiester wrote: post #3

Sell it like a normal product. This was the way commercial software worked for decades. They buy a license. They download it and register it while connected to the internet. They then take it offsite. Then, have an option to be paid to be on call for support when a meet is happening. That way nobody is surprised if something doesn't work.

I think this is the right answer... not sure why I was so resistive to it. Maybe its the hive mind :p

Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#24

Post by DanielShir »

I wrote an electron app and I just charge per license. It's an Apache Parquet format viewer https://www.parquetviewer.com

I've actually specified that a single license is per a single user but can be installed on multiple machines. I've had several users request this.

Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#25

Post by bostonpete »

> weightlifting events are rarely held at locations with internet.

Really? Even mobile networks? Are you familiar with floarena? Seems like a similar idea for wrestling events and it works great online -- allows people both at the event and remote to follow what's going on...

Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#26

Post by kabdib »

Encrypting results seems indistinguishable from holding the customer's data hostage. That's not a great place to be, especially if an event is in Outer Qlyphm and the participants want their results now, not when the caravan returns from civilization.

Just charge for the software, provide a download link, and have a simple activation step. Most of your users are not going to be technically capable of bypassing even a very simple registration system. And if they are, it will be very difficult to win that arms race without alienating your honest customers and destroying your product's reputation.

Choosing a good price and treating the customer fairly are the most effective anti-piracy measures you can take.

Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#27

Post by privong »

michaelt wrote: post #19
aerojoe23 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you say normal product, do you mean users will have to buy the next version? We should be responsible developers with the ability to patch insecurities in the software we sell. You're also going to have feature requests you'd like to publish to your users. As a sole developer one evergreen version seems much easier to maintain for both these concerns. And I think a subscription model or some recurring payment mo…

How many insecurities are there going to be in software that doesn't connect to the internet or process input from untrusted users?

> How many insecurities are there going to be in software that doesn't connect to the internet or process input from untrusted users?

In principle there are ways this can be exploited, though I know the poster's application is likely a less interesting attack vector than uranium centrifuges (e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet).

But there may still be user-facing bugs that would require fixing.

Re: Ask HN: How would you monetize software that runs mostly offline?

#30

Post by tylerrobinson »

moehm wrote: post #29
tylerrobinson wrote: post #20

Hey, I’m working on a similar product for a different type of fitness competition. Email is in my profile if you’d like to catch up and compare notes.

> Email is in my profile No, it's not.

Oops, my bad. Fixed.
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