Donationware - does it work?
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Hi! Has anyone reading this ever tried writing software for donations? If yes, then is it profitable? For me, it would be a kick in the back to really start doing something that's useful (mostly for me) knowing that I'll get some money out of it. I'm just that lazy. Oh, and if donationware does work, would that be in my lifetime or do the donations start flowing in after I'm dead? :) What's the most/least/average time anyone's ever waited for donations to come in on a project? Do not post any ideas not related to donationware. IMO donationware is the most user-friendly way of making money. :D So, just how generous would users be? How much would someone (replace with any "anyone" or "everyone" if this doesn't sound right - English really has to cut these down a notch or two) consider donating for a simple media player or a messenger application for example?
Slightly OT, but as a comparison: I now run a blog for about a year and have a PayPal Donate Now-button for people that benefit from it's articles. This raised me exactly....(wait a minute, where's my calculator): $2,00! On the other hand, the Google ads on the blog raise about $60,-/month. So maybe you go the old Eudora way and incorporate ads in your app? Which of course can be removed by the user by sending a small donation... Peter.
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It doesn't work, see ndoc, see ghostdoc, don't expect anything above maybe $100 a year. If you're serious about it, just go the extra mile and build a decent web site for it with a 'buy now' button. Not the most fun part, but at least it's a good exercise to see what it takes to be a micro ISV (and these days it's not really hard to pull it off compared to a decade ago).
Wout
wout de zeeuw wrote:
It doesn't work, see ndoc, see ghostdoc, don't expect anything above maybe $100 a year.
Agreed, and I also confirm the figure.
If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki
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Slightly OT, but as a comparison: I now run a blog for about a year and have a PayPal Donate Now-button for people that benefit from it's articles. This raised me exactly....(wait a minute, where's my calculator): $2,00! On the other hand, the Google ads on the blog raise about $60,-/month. So maybe you go the old Eudora way and incorporate ads in your app? Which of course can be removed by the user by sending a small donation... Peter.
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Hi! Has anyone reading this ever tried writing software for donations? If yes, then is it profitable? For me, it would be a kick in the back to really start doing something that's useful (mostly for me) knowing that I'll get some money out of it. I'm just that lazy. Oh, and if donationware does work, would that be in my lifetime or do the donations start flowing in after I'm dead? :) What's the most/least/average time anyone's ever waited for donations to come in on a project? Do not post any ideas not related to donationware. IMO donationware is the most user-friendly way of making money. :D So, just how generous would users be? How much would someone (replace with any "anyone" or "everyone" if this doesn't sound right - English really has to cut these down a notch or two) consider donating for a simple media player or a messenger application for example?
Donationware only works for pseudo-charities like Wikipedia, where people donate out of a sense of civic duty. If Wikipedia was for profit with a fat cat raking in the cash then I don't reckon it would get a tenth of the donations. Donationware is the least confrontational business model - perhaps that is being confused with user friendly. But it is not a model that can ever be profitable. It can, say, support its running costs if done exceptionally well. But the moment the user base sniffs out 'profits' they will stop donating. If you can engage a community and make something exceptionally popular then you can make a career out of it - but not a profit. For profits you need a nag screen on a free version, or a free cut-down version that encourages payment for the nag-free/non-cut-down version.
"If you reward everyone, there will not be enough to go around, so you offer a reward to one in order to encourage everyone." Mei Yaochen in the 'Doing Battle' section of Sun Tzu's: Art of War. .
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Donationware only works for pseudo-charities like Wikipedia, where people donate out of a sense of civic duty. If Wikipedia was for profit with a fat cat raking in the cash then I don't reckon it would get a tenth of the donations. Donationware is the least confrontational business model - perhaps that is being confused with user friendly. But it is not a model that can ever be profitable. It can, say, support its running costs if done exceptionally well. But the moment the user base sniffs out 'profits' they will stop donating. If you can engage a community and make something exceptionally popular then you can make a career out of it - but not a profit. For profits you need a nag screen on a free version, or a free cut-down version that encourages payment for the nag-free/non-cut-down version.
"If you reward everyone, there will not be enough to go around, so you offer a reward to one in order to encourage everyone." Mei Yaochen in the 'Doing Battle' section of Sun Tzu's: Art of War. .
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Again, I must say I'm not really into the money. I just need a kind of reason good enough to start doing something. Money is not a good reason to do that. If anything, money will only make me even more lazy. :)
Then why did you ask how much you'd make? Why not just make it freeware, or postcard-ware, or charity donation-ware? It sounds as though you want to build something useful but want to know that people like it, so maybe you could just build a one-off nag into the app that fires after the tenth launch and asks the user to send you a thank-you email.
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Then why did you ask how much you'd make? Why not just make it freeware, or postcard-ware, or charity donation-ware? It sounds as though you want to build something useful but want to know that people like it, so maybe you could just build a one-off nag into the app that fires after the tenth launch and asks the user to send you a thank-you email.
I was just curious. And why do you assume I'm not happy with making $100/year off a project? That's motivation enough for me. As I said before, I'd be making these projects mostly for myself, but if other people can benefit from them and would consider donating even $1, I'd just be happy knowing they liked the programs I wrote. So, "motivation" is the key word here, not "money". And I am pretty sure I mentioned in the post that I didn't want any other ideas. Oh, and it's bad habit (and really annoying) to answer a question with another question.
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Hi! Has anyone reading this ever tried writing software for donations? If yes, then is it profitable? For me, it would be a kick in the back to really start doing something that's useful (mostly for me) knowing that I'll get some money out of it. I'm just that lazy. Oh, and if donationware does work, would that be in my lifetime or do the donations start flowing in after I'm dead? :) What's the most/least/average time anyone's ever waited for donations to come in on a project? Do not post any ideas not related to donationware. IMO donationware is the most user-friendly way of making money. :D So, just how generous would users be? How much would someone (replace with any "anyone" or "everyone" if this doesn't sound right - English really has to cut these down a notch or two) consider donating for a simple media player or a messenger application for example?
sk8er, Donations can work. The question is what do you consider profitable? I follow the basic idea that others have said here with my website and my software. I offer free, slimmed down versions of my software for free with a free membership to my website. If they like the software they can make a donation and have access to not just that one but all of my software. I also started a new program to donate a portion of my donations to the homeless. So there is much value for my members to donate. And they have been very generous. in the last 2 months i have generated about $147.00 from a handful of members. The internet is so full of free software that it is difficult to get people to pay for something unless they really feel they can't get what you offer somewhere else for free. I have more of a personal relationship with my members also. Many are new developers and i help them with their projects. Many donate about $15 or $20. Some donate $5 or $7. Just depends. One in particular has donated $70 total through two different donations. For me, when i got my first donation i considered my efforts to be a success. I really never expected to make anything. The previous year my advertising made under $3 for the entire year so the first donation ($20) was a tremendous boost. I don't really do all this for the money. I plan on giving much of it to the homeless program i am involved with. But as you said, the donations show appreciation. Why do what we do if it does not serve a purpose. The main goal of the website is easy access to what i have and is a good tool to help my charity program. I create software for business, so my commercial clients are where i make my money. I will probably give a portion of my commercial business revenue to the homeless program as well. Hope it works out for you. If you would like to check out my website and see what i do, it might help you give you some ideas. www.srsoft.us
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I was just curious. And why do you assume I'm not happy with making $100/year off a project? That's motivation enough for me. As I said before, I'd be making these projects mostly for myself, but if other people can benefit from them and would consider donating even $1, I'd just be happy knowing they liked the programs I wrote. So, "motivation" is the key word here, not "money". And I am pretty sure I mentioned in the post that I didn't want any other ideas. Oh, and it's bad habit (and really annoying) to answer a question with another question.
sk8er_boy287 wrote:
Oh, and it's bad habit (and really annoying) to answer a question with another question.
My question wasn't an answer to your original post, it was a response to your response. Apologies for offering suggestions when you specifically asked for none! I have consequently punched myself in the face twice - I know it won't alleviate the pain I've caused you but hopefully it's some relief to know that I'm suffering too.
Regards Nelviticus
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I'm not really looking to make money. Donation are not just about money. They also mean that work is being recognized and appreciated, as it should be.
If you're looking for appreciation, get a dog. :-D Low maintanence, high return (though they don't appreciate software so much).
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Hi! Has anyone reading this ever tried writing software for donations? If yes, then is it profitable? For me, it would be a kick in the back to really start doing something that's useful (mostly for me) knowing that I'll get some money out of it. I'm just that lazy. Oh, and if donationware does work, would that be in my lifetime or do the donations start flowing in after I'm dead? :) What's the most/least/average time anyone's ever waited for donations to come in on a project? Do not post any ideas not related to donationware. IMO donationware is the most user-friendly way of making money. :D So, just how generous would users be? How much would someone (replace with any "anyone" or "everyone" if this doesn't sound right - English really has to cut these down a notch or two) consider donating for a simple media player or a messenger application for example?
I wrote a program called OWANotify for myself and decided to make it freeware a few years ago. On my website I ask for donations; I get $5, $10 donations every now and then. Sometimes a very grateful IT manager comes along and drops a nice fat $50+ donation. Those are rare though. I think if I was after just praise, then I'd put a guestbook on my webpage and let the recognition roll in. However, it's nice to have some money in the paypal account to buy some random nick-knack led flashlight online every now and then.
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Hi! Has anyone reading this ever tried writing software for donations? If yes, then is it profitable? For me, it would be a kick in the back to really start doing something that's useful (mostly for me) knowing that I'll get some money out of it. I'm just that lazy. Oh, and if donationware does work, would that be in my lifetime or do the donations start flowing in after I'm dead? :) What's the most/least/average time anyone's ever waited for donations to come in on a project? Do not post any ideas not related to donationware. IMO donationware is the most user-friendly way of making money. :D So, just how generous would users be? How much would someone (replace with any "anyone" or "everyone" if this doesn't sound right - English really has to cut these down a notch or two) consider donating for a simple media player or a messenger application for example?
A "donation" entails a good intension for a needy cause; programmer(s) creating a popular app. portray success. There’s no urge, will or need of helping. Maybe code bartering will yield more results. :-D
RS
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A "donation" entails a good intension for a needy cause; programmer(s) creating a popular app. portray success. There’s no urge, will or need of helping. Maybe code bartering will yield more results. :-D
RS
I recently donated $20 to Vincent Cheung for writing FaceDown, a Facebook album downloader. It's the kind of thing I would have written if he hadn't, so he directly saved me a bunch of time by posting his program. Because there are almost no good alternatives, I wanted to encourage his work. The facts that led to the donation were that: 1. The program is really useful. 2. The program is not that popular, so I feel like my donation will make a difference / not that many other people are already donating to it. So, maybe you want to write a killer app and then make it seem like nobody is using it so you really need the donation from the person who just downloaded it.
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I was just curious. And why do you assume I'm not happy with making $100/year off a project? That's motivation enough for me. As I said before, I'd be making these projects mostly for myself, but if other people can benefit from them and would consider donating even $1, I'd just be happy knowing they liked the programs I wrote. So, "motivation" is the key word here, not "money". And I am pretty sure I mentioned in the post that I didn't want any other ideas. Oh, and it's bad habit (and really annoying) to answer a question with another question.
The great application idea needs to be your driver. I suggest you take the leap of faith and believe that if the application you create for yourself is great then others will think so too. Next create a place, like this, where your users can ask questions and place feedback. The camaraderie generated from such interaction could well be all the satisfaction you are looking for. If this approach gets you motivated to start, build the application such that you can decide on release date which route to take regarding payment. While difficult to manage you could progressively move through all of the various payment methods with successive versions as the users assist you with improving the application as bugs and features are addressed. Sadly this may alienate your loyal following though. :( In the end your popular application may not directly generate the revenue but the place that hosts it may pay you a cent for every download that is free to inquisitive surfers. Would 100,000 cents be of interest? Note that without the forum arrangement mentioned above this payment would, in itself, not be satisfying. All the best.
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I was just curious. And why do you assume I'm not happy with making $100/year off a project? That's motivation enough for me. As I said before, I'd be making these projects mostly for myself, but if other people can benefit from them and would consider donating even $1, I'd just be happy knowing they liked the programs I wrote. So, "motivation" is the key word here, not "money". And I am pretty sure I mentioned in the post that I didn't want any other ideas. Oh, and it's bad habit (and really annoying) to answer a question with another question.
Yeah, I was curious to see if it would work for me. I've had a donation-ware screensaver/desktop changer (http://gloss.ildica.com/) for the opensource Gallery photo hosting project (http://gallery.menalto.com/) available on my website for about 3 years now. Out of about 1900 downloads (based off Google Analytics) I've probably had about 10-15 donations in total, but averaged over the time I've made it available, it's mostly covered my hosting costs, which is what I thought would be a nice goal. My motivations were almost the same as yours.
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sk8er_boy287 wrote:
Oh, and it's bad habit (and really annoying) to answer a question with another question.
My question wasn't an answer to your original post, it was a response to your response. Apologies for offering suggestions when you specifically asked for none! I have consequently punched myself in the face twice - I know it won't alleviate the pain I've caused you but hopefully it's some relief to know that I'm suffering too.
Regards Nelviticus
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I was just curious. And why do you assume I'm not happy with making $100/year off a project? That's motivation enough for me. As I said before, I'd be making these projects mostly for myself, but if other people can benefit from them and would consider donating even $1, I'd just be happy knowing they liked the programs I wrote. So, "motivation" is the key word here, not "money". And I am pretty sure I mentioned in the post that I didn't want any other ideas. Oh, and it's bad habit (and really annoying) to answer a question with another question.
"Say what I want to hear, or say nothing at all." ;P OK, I wont offer any suggestions. Though I have 2 ideas that have both worked quite well at making me feel "appreciated" over the years. You may not want to read this next part because it will offend your sense of nobility: by "appreciated" I mean, I made some good money on the projects. So I will just answer your original question: Donationware does not work. You will not gain any "appreciation" from it. It's a concept invented by the communists over on ThePirateBay.org. If you are looking for validation, get their phone number when they download and then call them in the evenings asking "how many time did you use my software today?" and "isn't it the bomb?". And then add, "If you donate, these phone calls will stop." Sorry, I just realized I am not longer discussing Donationware......that is more like "Extortionware". If your goal is to earn $1, then find some other way to market your project. What other way? Sorry.....I can't tell you. That would be really annoying on my part.
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"Say what I want to hear, or say nothing at all." ;P OK, I wont offer any suggestions. Though I have 2 ideas that have both worked quite well at making me feel "appreciated" over the years. You may not want to read this next part because it will offend your sense of nobility: by "appreciated" I mean, I made some good money on the projects. So I will just answer your original question: Donationware does not work. You will not gain any "appreciation" from it. It's a concept invented by the communists over on ThePirateBay.org. If you are looking for validation, get their phone number when they download and then call them in the evenings asking "how many time did you use my software today?" and "isn't it the bomb?". And then add, "If you donate, these phone calls will stop." Sorry, I just realized I am not longer discussing Donationware......that is more like "Extortionware". If your goal is to earn $1, then find some other way to market your project. What other way? Sorry.....I can't tell you. That would be really annoying on my part.
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A "donation" entails a good intension for a needy cause; programmer(s) creating a popular app. portray success. There’s no urge, will or need of helping. Maybe code bartering will yield more results. :-D
RS