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Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

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Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#51

Post by skuvnar »

adinobro wrote: post #39

My Dad has been selling his software for almost 8 years now and I know a number of people that have sold there own software. I will eventually do the same but I'm too busy at the moment. That being said there are a couple of things that you might want to think about. 1. Most products have a short self life. Think of all the iPhone apps. In 5 years we will probably be on the 3rd version and there will be lots of new f…

wow this is really great advice. Currently building a educational game but having a bit of trouble of how to market my software. How effective, in your opinion, is google adwords?

Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#52

Post by harpastum »

joshsharp wrote: post #47
harpastum wrote: post #31

I just released Tranquil Checkers ( http://www.tranquilapps.com ), last thursday. I've only got three sales so far, but the first wave of 7-day trial expirations is coming up this thursday. I'm only a college student, and I'm excited to join the fray.

Congratulations, and good luck with selling it. How/where do you advertise or market it? Or are you just hoping people will stumble across it and buy it?

I've mostly just put it on the major software download sites (versiontracker, etc.), although I'm planning on doing some AdSense investment once I get a reasonably accurate conversion ratio.

Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#53

Post by boundlessdreamz »

doubleyooexwhy wrote: post #4

I'm trying. I wrote AutoScreen ( http://www.16software.com/autoscreen ) about a year ago, and I'm getting 2-3 sales a month -- the majority of those sales seem to come from small businesses -- with $0 in advertising (can't afford it, to be honest). I've been kept fairly busy adding new features for my users, but it's time to focus on another app, because 2-3 sales/month is definitely not enough to survive on. For me,…

I agree with others. You definitely need to spruce up the site. I expect good software to have good websites.I would never buy anything from a site which looked like that simply because I would think how much effort went into making the software work well if the website is shoddy. Good websites also create a desire. Whenever I open this product page http://culturedcode.com/things/ I'm tempted to buy.

I don't know whether you have any experience in web development but polish is essential in making people try out and buy products.

If you need further convincing check out the story of convertbot and weightbot (iPhone apps)

Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#54

Post by brc »

Yes you can make a lving, and it can be a good one. I make a fulltime living selling my own software. I have no boss and set my own hours, which are either insane or lazy-to-the-bone, depending on how I feel.

The thing you have to remember is that the 80/20 powerlaw distribution seems to be welded to this area. 80% of the money in your niche will go to 20% of the apps on sale. 20% of your products will make 80% of your income. 20% of your problems will cause 80% of your support load. And on and on. So when you find yourself on the wrong part of the 80/20 distribution, take steps to get yourself to the 'right' part.

Oh, and discard your hackers 'everything must be perfect' mentality. Get it professional and stable, but most customers will probably not care how elegant the code is, or which platform you use. To make money you need to be solving their problems.

Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#55

Post by andrewljohnson »

doubleyooexwhy wrote: post #4

I'm trying. I wrote AutoScreen ( http://www.16software.com/autoscreen ) about a year ago, and I'm getting 2-3 sales a month -- the majority of those sales seem to come from small businesses -- with $0 in advertising (can't afford it, to be honest). I've been kept fairly busy adding new features for my users, but it's time to focus on another app, because 2-3 sales/month is definitely not enough to survive on. For me,…

I don't understand why the first thing you say on your website is you are small. Is that really a selling point? As a former ad copywriter, let me tell you that ad copy is not the place for self-deprecation.

Why don't you tell them what an awesome product you have and how awesome a programmer you are, instead of saying you are a one-man band that could disappear at any moment.

Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#56

Post by harpastum »

pbz wrote: post #45
harpastum wrote: post #31

I just released Tranquil Checkers ( http://www.tranquilapps.com ), last thursday. I've only got three sales so far, but the first wave of 7-day trial expirations is coming up this thursday. I'm only a college student, and I'm excited to join the fray.

I guess I'm a UI critiquing mood right now, so here it goes: 1) There's a little bit too much white space around your logo 2) There's not enough contrast on the menu bar between the lime and the white text. If you want to keep the same colors try to make the text in the menu larger (16/18px). 3) "Tranquil Checkers" rivals the logo in terms of importance, i.e. needs to be smaller or make the logo smaller. Basically, m…

Thanks a lot for the input! I'm really not too experienced with design, so every little bit helps :)

Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#58

Post by jamesbritt »

jamroom wrote: post #34
jamesbritt wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a Mini for ~ USD $700 (and got a free-but-for-tax printer!) to test my own desktop application (JotBot, a time-tracking tool). What else do I need to do iPhone dev? Won't I need some sort of actual device aside from an emulator?

Pick up an iPod Touch - it runs pretty much all of the apps that the iPhone does, but you're not stuck with the monthly charge from AT&T. I'm using a Mini for iphone/ipod dev work, and the ipod touch works great.

Oh, very good. Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?

#59

Post by jamesbritt »

pz wrote: post #37
jamroom wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pick up an iPod Touch - it runs pretty much all of the apps that the iPhone does, but you're not stuck with the monthly charge from AT&T. I'm using a Mini for iphone/ipod dev work, and the ipod touch works great.

I agree. I don't even have an iphone, i just picked up an iPod touch (although it makes me want an iphone even more). Before that I would swipe my roommates iPhone to test things out but that got old fast :) If you want to develop an idea around the GPS or the camera, you might need an actual iPhone. Mac mini's are great, or pick up an old model macbook. I would also highly recommend the book "Cocoa Programming for M…

Thanks!
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