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Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

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Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#171

Post by mattkevan »

XCSme wrote: post #144
mattkevan wrote: post #77

I sell prints of public domain artwork on Etsy [0]. I’ve automated the print production and fulfillment, so all I need to do is set up the artwork and maintain the product listings. It consistently brings in around £100-300 per month and if I put any time at all into marketing it could probably do a lot better. I also maintain a directory of UX tools, resources and information [1]. It currently doesn’t bring in anyth…

The uxlift directory is pretty cool. Any way to submit more tools/articles to it? I am working on a side-project that's like a self-hosted hotjar ( https://www.usertrack.net ), which might be helpful for the readers.

Oh that’s cool, thanks for sharing. I’ll post it when I’ve got a moment.

There’s a form on the site, but if you’ve got anything else you want to share just send it to uxlift@kevan.tv.

I’m really interested in self-hosted, privacy-respecting alternatives to the big tracking platforms so this is right up my street. (Having said that, I do use GA, but I’m not happy about it.)

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#172

Post by stevekemp »

abc126589 wrote: post #30

My app Twitter Archive Eraser ( https://martani.github.io/Twitter-Archive-Eraser ) used to be free, then I added a donation button and people, while barely donated, used to say that this is something they would have paid for! I worked on a paid tier (learnt a tremendous amount about actually selling an app, integration with payment processors, licensing, more legal stuff than I wanted to etc.) Almost from the get go,…

I've setup a few applications to which people say "I'd pay for this", but when I've added all the payment integration(s) those users disappear.

So congratulations for finding a niche which did actually result in paying users.

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#173

Post by [deleted] »

petecooper wrote: post #167
Scoundreller wrote: post #95

I made a grainy and poor-quality but useful video on how to fix a specific issue for Macs which didn’t have a video anywhere else. Spent 5 minutes to make the video and upload it. Was making $2-3/month, which is a great ROI for 5 minutes of work. All positive comments and upvotes because the video is useful. Then YouTube demonetized all small publishers because they can somehow block spam, but not identify “offensive…

I'll bite - can you post a link?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#174

Post by stevekemp »

mbrameld wrote: post #119
HaloZero wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. I've never heard of apartment posts in facebook groups but I'm in the bay area. Do other people here in the US have this experience as well? I was thinking it'd be Facebook marketplace, craigslist, and apartment sites (like apartments.com)

A Facebook group is the primary source for advertising rental properties in Juneau, AK. Just a normal group, not the marketplace.

Ditto Helsinki, Finland:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/235368102105

I listed my rental flat a bunch of places before using the group, since I started using it I'd not look elsewhere.

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#175

Post by Minor49er »

amelius wrote: post #145
wetmore wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds unethical

Google Search should be smarter about these kinds of practices.

Unfortunately, this is a very hard problem to solve. Google would have to be aware of GP in advance, would have to know their nature, and would have to know that they weren't someone who was given access to the new products early to review. If anything, it would have to be up to those companies selling the product to look for early reviews but even then, they'd have to make sure that GP wasn't a legitimate reviewer

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#177

Post by mattkevan »

nabeards wrote: post #120
mattkevan wrote: post #77

I sell prints of public domain artwork on Etsy [0]. I’ve automated the print production and fulfillment, so all I need to do is set up the artwork and maintain the product listings. It consistently brings in around £100-300 per month and if I put any time at all into marketing it could probably do a lot better. I also maintain a directory of UX tools, resources and information [1]. It currently doesn’t bring in anyth…

Could you elaborate on your automation toolset?

There are a number of print-on-demand companies, like Printful and Pwinty that integrate with Etsy and can print and fulfil orders. Annoyingly there’s no single one that does everything I need, so I use a few, depending on the customer’s location and the type of print they’ve selected.

I’m also working on a Jekyll-based site that uses the Etsy API to build a stand-alone e-commerce site from all my Etsy store listings.

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#178

Post by sjg007 »

robodale wrote: post #121

I own a swimming pool and do most of my own maintenance and water chemistry. I created https://poolforthought.com as a place to organize my knowledge. I later realized other people want the same info, and now 7 years later it's made about $20k USD. Ads and affiliate links drive site revenue. I have about 12k email signups of people who want a pool maintenance ebook I'm creating (for a price). I should finish that thi…

I use your site!

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#179

Post by ta17711771 »

awillen wrote: post #84
hbarka wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sincere question—how do you handle legal, especially with consumables?

On the safety side, I've had crude analysis done (which is the standard nutritional testing for pet food in the US and was $250 per flavor), and I've consulted with a couple of vets to make sure the product is safe. On the legal side, I've got business insurance, which thankfully isn't that expensive. I've been holding off on forming an LLC since that's gonna run me about a grand here in CA including the cost of sett…

Why not incorporate somewhere that's not CA?

Re: Ask HN: Side projects that are making money, but you'd not talk about them?

#180

Post by sjg007 »

dehrmann wrote: post #99

Like everyone here, I get ideas for side projects that might be profitable. At some point, I started looking at the likelihood of success, the time I'd invest, and how much I'd make. The answer is almost always that I'm better off dedicating the time to my day job, or even just relaxing so I'm better at my job. That said, I get it. You get some financial freedom, you get to explore a project that interests you for yo…

You may be underestimating the make your own luck part of the equation.
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