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Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

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Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#311

Post by rhizome »

shahbaby wrote: post #40

To own a firearm in Canada you have to pass a certain test. I made a simple quiz app ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca2.testprojec... ) that would help people prepare for that test. My main goal was to learn how to make apps. It did generate revenue in the beginning but it was enough to buy coffee a few times a week. Then the government updated the firearm regulations and now everyone has to take a m…

Even with the mandatory course, are failure rates too low to make it worth pursuing as a simple study aid? Assuming pass/fail stats are even available.

Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#313

Post by JohnHansen »

For one project, a picture-based IQ test for autism, I posted an overview a few weeks back. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14595379

Building the adaptive test system for use on the Internet was a great learning experience that felt a bit like a capstone project for a masters program. The two main challenges for monetizing it: 1. Finding a market beyond the small autism research field. 2. Contracts. Since the test was oriented to autism, many of the potential customers were hospitals and universities with the former requiring liability clauses that were perpetual (such as addressing problems from a drug trial 20 years down the road), and the latter requiring a free license to all background IP so that their research could build on any results without any possibility of infringement. Even with the help of a lawyer I was not able to reach agreements under these circumstances. I am still unsure if it is better to have a set terms of use or leave the door open for negotiation with potential customers.

I am still pleased having spent the time as the amount of personal and professional growth has been great. http://hrs-mat.com

Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#314

Post by rhizome »

mailinatorguy wrote: post #211

http://clickrouter.com I built it because of a need and it's worked fabulously. It's hands down doubled my monthly affiliate revenue (i.e. to be clear, that's in the 4 figures). I think where it failed however is that it's really hard to explain and I sure haven't cracked it. I get a few signups a day, few use it at all. It's not for everyone - but it definitely works for me and it would work for anyone in the same b…

I'd add something about before and after behavior. What does a prospective user already have that they're going to affiliatize, bare Amazon (or wherever) links? And then does it take bare Amazon links, affiliate them to Amazon or search for other sites that have the same product?

I suppose people in the affiliate game would already know this stuff, but there's a lot of dumb people like me who might see it as a way to get into affiliate stuff easily.

Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#315

Post by patrickbolle »

mailinatorguy wrote: post #211

http://clickrouter.com I built it because of a need and it's worked fabulously. It's hands down doubled my monthly affiliate revenue (i.e. to be clear, that's in the 4 figures). I think where it failed however is that it's really hard to explain and I sure haven't cracked it. I get a few signups a day, few use it at all. It's not for everyone - but it definitely works for me and it would work for anyone in the same b…

Love the idea of this. I've never done affiliate links or anything before but I'm getting ready to launch a site that has some affiliate links sprinkled in here and there.

Will for sure give this a shot.

Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#317

Post by rhizome »

ianleeclark wrote: post #4

I have a project which may never generate revenue, despite the fact I spent 2 months after hours working on it. I did a dumb thing and dove directly into the project without first finding a fit or customer base for it. More or less, it's a scheduling application that allows a user to set when they're open and allow anyone to book that time for however much the original scheduler valued that slot of their schedule. It…

I gotta tell ya, every X months I think it would be a good idea if there was a turnkey scheduling app for customers to subscribe to a person, with recurring payments, etc., as a way for people not to be beholden to maid-service type sites that take a cut. Of course, hosting and maintenance might balance out the cut that a service site would take, but I do wonder if there's value in the self-hosted independence angle.

Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#318

Post by cyberferret »

I blogged about my first foray into the world of creating a web app that would generate recurring revenue for me here [0]. It was my first attempt.

I attempted two other web apps which also had dismal results, before my fourth (current) one, which is doing great and getting better.

Since writing that blog post, that particular web app (which is still running BTW) has had a handful of users sign up and is generating around $40-$50 per month. It covers the AWS cost, and lets me buy a beer every month, so I figure I will just let it tick along... :D

Feel free to ping me to reply to this thread if you want any more information, but the (somewhat long) blog post pretty much explains it all.

[0] - https://medium.com/@dsabar/the-zero-dollar-web-app-8886bf4ae...

Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#319

Post by docsapp_io »

I built DocsApp (https://www.docsapp.io/) two years ago and launched around 8 months ago.

So far no revenue because I focus on building features. While DocsApp already launched 8 months ago, I still don`t see any growth in term of active users.

So far only one active user with two sites and few users sign up to test then abandon completely, possibly go to competitor site with much expensive pricing.

Here is what I think did wrong:

1. No marketing effort to reach more users.

2. UX really important.

3. Actively reach out to users to gather feedback.

Re: Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

#320

Post by palerdot »

I made hotcold typing - http://hotcoldtyping.com , a touch typing learning tool with instant feedbacks. I released initially as chrome app with free and pro versions. Pro version didn't go anywhere. Since then I changed to 'support developer' version and made the tool free in website also. So far, I had only one buyer for ' support developer' version. But still, I'm proud my work in the app.

I never had any intention to add ads, and always wanted to have a clean, hassle free experience for the learner. Even though, I could make a few bucks from it, I'm not interested in it. It does not have any maintenance costs. Just a static web app hosted on github.

Edit - fixed the web address. was typing from phone :)

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