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Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

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Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

#1

Post by macappthrowaway »

I’ve got a paid Mac app that was mildly successful for a time, but trickled off. I’m considering making it free, and creating a Patreon account/blog to talk about technical issues and let patrons ask for specific features. Maybe it could even be open-source — I’m flexible.

I’d also be willing to sell sponsorships to companies, if any were interested (though I have no idea if any would be). Everybody hates ads but done well I’ve seen them work, when they’re not annoying.

Another option is making the app free, and then using an IAP to enable advanced features. Honestly, the part I hate most about that is the complexity I’d have to add to the software. I’d rather just give everybody all the features, and let people who want to financially support me do that. I don’t know how the economics would compare, though.

What other considerations should I have, for this type of change? What am I forgetting? What other alternatives should I consider, to try to monetize an app so I can keep working on it? Has anyone done this, and how did it work out for you?

Re: Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

#2

Post by bemmu »

If you have a natural way to charge money, I would be surprised to see ads work better than that. IAP may work even better though, but I can see how that might be more work to add than you'd be willing to put in if it isn't making much money anymore.

What I'd be most curious about is why were people discovering your app before, why did that change?

Re: Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

#4

Post by ohadron »

First try to analyse what happened to your revenue stream - did something break in the marketing funnel? New competitors? The problem your app solves doesn't exist anymore? Incompatibility with newer hardware/OS?

Once you have the answer to that it will be easier to define possible paths forward.

Patreon + blog is a totally different product which will in turn attract (or not) a different market.

Another option for monetisation you didn't mention is a subscription plan, which is what many apps do today (Just a few open right now on my computer - Todoist, Notion, Slack, Sketch).

Re: Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

#7

Post by wild_preference »

Ads in desktop software are dead. Also, just think of the amount of serious, transient eyeball traffic you'd need which sounds like an unlikely demographic for a Mac app. Especially if you think these same people would be interested in your Patreon. You'd basically have to burn all goodwill to make a few pennies off them.

The only reason ads make a little money on mobile is because of the lack of adblocker penetration + low tech-savviness + compulsive mobile games. When was the last time you even used a desktop app with ads?

Donations aren't a source of income. Though I encourage you to try a tip jar like Patreon just to see how vanishingly impossible it is.

Sounds like you're still deciding if you even are trying to make money. But make no mistake: you won't luck into money by writing cool blog posts and building free features that people ask for.

Building a revenue channel into your application with IAP sounds like the only thing that has a shot and the only thing that might align with your goals.

Re: Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

#8

Post by mikekchar »

wild_preference wrote: post #7

Ads in desktop software are dead. Also, just think of the amount of serious, transient eyeball traffic you'd need which sounds like an unlikely demographic for a Mac app. Especially if you think these same people would be interested in your Patreon. You'd basically have to burn all goodwill to make a few pennies off them. The only reason ads make a little money on mobile is because of the lack of adblocker penetratio…

> Donations aren't a source of income. Though I encourage you to try a tip jar like Patreon just to see how vanishingly impossible it is.

While I agree wholeheartedly with what you said, I still wonder about if Patreon might be a reasonable way to charge for services. There are at least a few people making a living off of Patreon. Of course, I've not really heard of anyone scaling it beyond that. It's possible to make a non-trivial amount of money, though.

What I really wonder is whether or not you could somehow look at Patreon as a normal payment processor for a recurring service. Possibly it's not appropriate for a non-service related piece of software (why am I paying monthly?). But if you had a service attached, I'm not really sure it's such a bad idea. I seem to remember they take 5%, which is not that bad as a payment processor with the benefits they provide. In fact, that's essentially what Youtube people are doing: sign up to my Patreon and I will make recurring videos.

But, the main point is that "I might write blog posts and you get to vote on new features" is not a business plan. Why do I want to spend a monthly fee? Writing new features might be a business plan (For example, Tarn Adams makes between $7-8K a month on Patreon for his work on Dwarf Fortress). However, you need to have an audience that wants new features and is willing to pay for them.

Re: Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

#9

Post by conta »

I have an open-source app called stretchly (https://github.com/hovancik/stretchly) and I allow people to support it via paypal or patreon.

I ask people to support me by becoming my patron on Patreon as Menu item. Right now it brings me 11$/month (https://www.patreon.com/hovancik) and it goes up and down. I could do better by engaging more with people, I guess (in past some people donated when I fixed their issue very quickly).

Over time, some people also donated on paypal (5-15$ a time).

I am thinking to add "premium" features: users can access them after auth via patreon or github (if they contributed).

Premium features will be just some sugar, nothing that normal user could not do.

I also have newsletter where I try to bring some app related stuff that people might enjoy.

some tips:

- watch for mentions of your app on social media and interact

- ask for support, if people like your app they will help

- being open-source also helps

Re: Ask HN: Paid app to free and Patreon?

#10

Post by dvh »

I have mildly successful Android app (10k installs, 150 DAU) with IAPs for cosmetics and mini games and I show "ad" on every start to support me on patreon. In last 3 months I made $15 via IAPs and $0 on patreon. I use patreon as blogging platform on daily development progress but I think it's pointless and I'll soon stop doing it, but I'll keep it there just in case.
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