Ask HN: Any programmers here that are able to make a living selling their own programs?
If so, feel free to share any advice you might have, and plug your own product as well.
I'm a programmer always looking for inspiration, and my dream is to make a living writing and selling my /own/ software, from my /own/ computer chair.
58 comments
[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 20.3 ms ] threadJoin the Joel on Software community (http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/?biz) would be my advice.
Don't count on donations is my other advice :-)
Selling consumer software: very tough, but can be done by one individual.
Selling to businesses: very specialized, much easier to make your first $100K, but you can't be a one-man shop.
For me, the hard part is coming up with something "worth" taking the time and effort to go through with. I've had some ideas -- but I want to do something unique, that has a chance to really take off. But should I target the everyday user, or should I target businesses (who are less likely to pirate, from what I read)? Should I make something that has the chance to be wildly popular among all computer users, or that is targeted towards a niche audience?
The good thing about knowing how to program, though, is it's essentially all you need (besides a good idea) in order to make a living on your own.
Of course you need some other skills, such as marketing, but it seems to me, if you've got a program that does something that people think is useful enough to pay for, you're set.
Looking forward to what you guys have to say. For what it's worth, I also posted this topic on reddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8f4dk/any_progr...) about a week ago.
I think it's a good option for those potential customers who are iffy about making the purchase.
From your home page, the link to "our products" doesn't work, it stays on the same page. So I'll never know what products you have!
Your CSS template needs a refresh. The single-column layout looks like it's from the 90s. Just add some kind of right column, a few frames with light-colored backgrounds, and it will look much better.
About piracy: forget about it, it's not as big a problem as you think. First, those who use pirated software would most likely not have paid for it in the first place. But more important, people on pirate software they want. And if you found a niche that people want, then you'll get plenty of legitimate customers.
Last (you are bringing up so many interesting points, I have to stop somewhere): marketing is very important. I sort of covered that point on my blog (http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/03/11/the-great-startup-id...), but I'll probably repost something more specific.
Just because you wrote an interesting program doesn't mean that anyone will ever know or use it. How disappointing is that? Marketing is not about fluffy balloons and pink super bowl ads. It's about being smart and figuring out where your customers are and how to reach them. You can do a lot of marketing on a null budget, if you spend some time. A good rule of thumb for a programmer is to dedicate one hour a day on marketing activities.
I can see where that might be confusing. Thanks for pointing that out -- a separate page probably would be better.
The single-column layout looks like it's from the 90s. Just add some kind of right column, a few frames with light-colored backgrounds, and it will look much better.
Okay. To me, it looks elegant and simple, which is what I love, but I have noticed that most websites don't have just one column. I'll see if I can't come up with a better design with multiple columns. After reading some of the other comments here, I'll probably want to drastically change the content on my product page, too.
First, those who use pirated software would most likely not have paid for it in the first place.
I agree with you here.
Thanks for all of the advice, I'll definitely mull over it and see if I can't make some changes. I'll be sure to read your blog posting, too.
I would also spend a litte in 99designs to put some design and logo on the page. After that you should try some ads maybe Google, also I think this can be easily PR to magazines and top blogs.
Anyway its a great product, good luck.
You might actually look into making this into a web service where you store the images on your site with timelines, etc, to help the users sort through it. You may make more with a monthly free for the backend piece than you make on the front-end, but it does require more sysadmin work.
Thanks for sharing.
Honestly, if I was a customer I would have closed down the page within second not even trying to figure out what you're trying to sell. I hope you take this as constructive criticism. Good luck!
A few things:
* Notice the background color is darker than the content; this is to emphasize the actual content of the page. I would make the background color a bit darker.
* You probably don't have as many "categories" so I would put everything in one page.
* Notice the attraction points. Close your eyes for 5 second then open then. What do you notice the first second? This is where people will look first. You need to have the important stuff there or near it. The attraction points are usually images.
* Make a video or what your application does. People expect to be entertained, not to read. Once you capture their attention you can present more text / information. If you entertain somebody, either with a good video or nice eye candy, they will feel indebted to look more into your product. So the stages / levels should be 1: wow them, 2: convince them, 3: educate them
* Pay attention to details in your website and also your product. If your presentation page is good, people will at least give your application a fair shot. Their first impression is your site not the first time they use your application; that's way later.
For more tips: http://www.dnrtv.com/default.aspx?showNum=112 and http://www.dnrtv.com/default.aspx?showNum=123
Good luck.
I appreciate the feedback, and I'll definitely be working out a redesign of the site soon.
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)
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.
An unexpected side effect is that I can finally tell what time it is in England (for football / soccer matches. Go Arsenal!)
Edit - registered my copy. Really enjoying it!
Edit 2 - The included version 1.0 of Adobe Air raised an alert ("very dangerous") in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009. I went ahead and upgraded to version 1.5.1 of Air, as was suggested by Kaspersky.
This was my first experience selling software, I was always a research oriented, backend sort of guy... usually a few abstractions away from the actual product. So I had to think about a lot of new things, but it was really fun. I wasn't used to thinking about where buttons should go or how the UI flow for creating a new game. And I certainly wasn't used to responding to user feedback. The first version of my first game was pretty buggy and people complained and there was my name next to it in the app store. Not something I was used to. But now I most of the emails I get tell me how much they like the program and as much as I like to say I hate people, it feels pretty good.
So maybe that's inspiring.
Or maybe the fact that its noon and I'm typing this from bed with my dogs asleep next to me will inspire you. Although, the freedom to work on my own terms is a blessing and a curse. This has been covered before on HN, but I would say if you have the self discipline, then its more of a blessing.
I have mixed feelings about writing apps because it can be a crapshoot. I don't think you can go into it expecting to write a huge hit, but I also think its one of the best places for an independent software developer. Apple takes care of a lot of the non-development details for you and you can get your app in front of a lot of eyes very quickly.
PS: I will probably go back to work at another startup someday. As much as fun as I'm having, I do miss working with a good team of folks on something that requires EVERYONE's effort. But for now, I am very happy doing what I'm doing.
What else do I need to do iPhone dev? Won't I need some sort of actual device aside from an emulator?
Mac mini's are great, or pick up an old model macbook. I would also highly recommend the book "Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X".
If I had the money, honestly, I'd do it, but unfortunately I don't.
There's been a lot of press about these blockbuster iphone apps that rescue poor developers from poverty and change their lives. That's all well and good, but I think there is a more realistic middle ground that people should be aware of.
http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8f4dk/any_progr...
At this point, I'm somewhat reluctant to work on new iPhone apps. There are so many apps on the store that it's far too easy to get lost in the noise. An iPhone game that some friends and I released back in December was DOA. I will admit that I haven't fully cracked the marketing nut yet though.
I'm actually looking for an exceptional graphic designer in the SF Bay area with whom to collaborate on some iPhone/Mac OS X projects if anyone is interested.
I've published two of my own apps. One of them fulfilled a specific niche and was picked up right away. Its not a blockbuster but sales have been significant (i.e. living wage) and steady.
My other app disappeared very quickly and i was pretty discouraged. I made a light version and it wasn't much help. Then it miraculously appeared on the "what's hot" list and sales are ok now.
I've had tons of little things and experiments I've done, but of course I selectively mention only those few that worked. I think it's important to just push stuff out there fast and see what happens.
I'm only a college student, and I'm excited to join the fray.
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, my eyes are not sure what's more important, the logo or that text. The icon on the left is also out of proportion with the text on the right. You could move the "Tranquil Checkers" text a bit higher and add a short explanation below (smaller text) so that the height of the changed block of text matches the height of the icon; or just make the icon smaller.
4) The text on the about section makes my eyes hurt. There's not enough contrast. Play around with those colors a bit.
5) "Download free 7-Day Trial" is too large. You could put some kind of icon on the left to draw attention.
6) The two columns of icons looks good.
7) See 5 for the text at the bottom.
Otherwise it's so close... :) I hope this helps, good luck!
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 features. If the application critical it is likely that the feature will be built into the iPhone at a later date or a free version will come out. If it isn't then it will reach market saturation and then the sales will die off.
2. You can make the sales increase by releasing a new version and fixing bugs. Depending on the application this can extend it's life by a number of years. You will also need to learn how to market your application. Do you want to spend time learning about internet marketing, seo, mailing lists, adwords, etc? Some people find it fun. Other people hate it.
3. Think of all the applications that you were using 5 or 10 years ago. How many are you currently using that you paid for?
4. From what I've seen there are two different ways that you can try to make money. Either make a product that people really need NOW and try to hit a home run and make a couple of hundred thousand dollars and if possible sell it to someone else before you reach market saturation. Or try to make try to link the product to a service. If you can make a service and make $10 profit then you only need 500 subscribers and you'll make a good living.
90% of the value is not created in the IDE. If you really understand that, you'll do fine.
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.
Have been working on this for the past year, it pays my bills right now. :)