I started by scratching my own itch, made a really simple program, then released it for free. Some people started using it. But that wasn't the great idea. W

I started by scratching my own itch, made a really simple program, then released it for free. Some people started using it. But that wasn't the great idea. What then happened is that a couple of those people found the contact form on my website, thanked me for my program, but also asked "Would you be kind enough and interested to write this [other program that automates a task I do often]." Those ideas are the ones that actually made money for me. So make it really easy for people to contact you and talk about the problems they have. Give something away, to encourage those people to find you in the first place. And put contact forms everywhere, so even launching email or Twitter isn't an obstacle to contacting you.