3 ms·
I built a service that followed a similar trajectory (memiary.com) a couple years ago. Here are a few things I learnt which I might help: - Some services aren'
by sidyadav 16y ago
I built a service that followed a similar trajectory (memiary.com) a couple years ago. Here are a few things I learnt which I might help:
- Some services aren't meant to be taken to 'the next level'. You should weigh its opportunity and make the appropriate decision. For me, it was to realize that I'd built something 'timeless' that didn't need next-levelling and re-iteration, so I chose to leave it like it is and be content with its 2,000+ daily users. I figured I'd spend my time on other things that had a bigger inherent opportunity than beat a horse that just fundamentally isn't inclined to go far enough.
- When it comes to making money, there are 2 basic options services like ours have: donations and iPhone app. I was lucky to have built a fantastic userbase from the get-go, so the same people who purchased my iPhone app also have given around $600 - $700 in donations when I've requested for it. Sure, it's no major money, but it's enough to support my time and energy and hosting costs, and I'm content with it.
- Appreciate your trickled traffic. I noticed today that 2,000 people have been using my service EVERY DAY for the last 2 years. That means something to me. Not every service is supposed to be a pageview-generating machine. What's important to me is that 2,000 people take the time to go to my website and write down their private thoughts every day. I'd rather have this than 10,000 meaningless pageviews from Google.
- famfam 16y agoThanks for the perspective. I think I want to get to a point where you are. I don't harbor any delusions that this could ever be a quit-your-day-job enterprise or even a real supplemental income. I think I would really like to just get it up to a healthy level of use and then maintain. Just build something and get the satisfaction of having people use it. Learn some lessons that I can put towards something even bigger (and more financially viable :) But I'm an order of magnitude off of 2000 daily users right now. That's the next level I want to figure out how to get to. Your site looks cool. It's kind of funny, because I actually had a very similar idea about diarying (kind of inspired by Keel's Simple Diary), and it's one of the ideas I was considering bringing off the shelf. It was definitely much more social and amenable to virality than To->Done. :)