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Ads in desktop software are dead. Also, just think of the amount of serious, transient eyeball traffic you'd need which sounds like an unlikely demographic for

Ads in desktop software are dead. Also, just think of the amount of serious, transient eyeball traffic you'd need which sounds like an unlikely demographic for a Mac app. Especially if you think these same people would be interested in your Patreon. You'd basically have to burn all goodwill to make a few pennies off them. The only reason ads make a little money on mobile is because of the lack of adblocker penetration + low tech-savviness + compulsive mobile games. When was the last time you even used a desktop app with ads? Donations aren't a source of income. Though I encourage you to try a tip jar like Patreon just to see how vanishingly impossible it is. Sounds like you're still deciding if you even are trying to make money. But make no mistake: you won't luck into money by writing cool blog posts and building free features that people ask for. Building a revenue channel into your application with IAP sounds like the only thing that has a shot and the only thing that might align with your goals.

mikekchar 8y ago
> Donations aren't a source of income. Though I encourage you to try a tip jar like Patreon just to see how vanishingly impossible it is. While I agree wholeheartedly with what you said, I still wonder about if Patreon might be a reasonable way to charge for services. There are at least a few people making a living off of Patreon. Of course, I've not really heard of anyone scaling it beyond that. It's possible to make a non-trivial amount of money, though. What I really wonder is whether or not you could somehow look at Patreon as a normal payment processor for a recurring service. Possibly it's not appropriate for a non-service related piece of software (why am I paying monthly?). But if you had a service attached, I'm not really sure it's such a bad idea. I seem to remember they take 5%, which is not that bad as a payment processor with the benefits they provide. In fact, that's essentially what Youtube people are doing: sign up to my Patreon and I will make recurring videos. But, the main point is that "I might write blog posts and you get to vote on new features" is not a business plan. Why do I want to spend a monthly fee? Writing new features might be a business plan (For example, Tarn Adams makes between $7-8K a month on Patreon for his work on Dwarf Fortress). However, you need to have an audience that wants new features and is willing to pay for them.
- gustavorg 8y ago
  This one for example: https://www.patreon.com/YandereDev https://www.patreon.com/YandereDev Used to profit $5000 one year ago.
  - tenryuu 8y ago
    Used to sure, kid stopped using his time to develop games and just started streaming in his free time. I only know people who consider this guy a joke now
    - gustavorg 8y ago
      That depends on which subreddit are you reading. The correct one is /r/yanderesimulator. The other one is just haters. If you check the devblog you can see there are currently real and tangible development.
      - tenryuu 8y ago
        I don't use reddit, I personally know people that worked on the game
- icebraining 8y ago
  It's 5% on top of payment processor fees (which vary according to the number and size of the donations).
macappthrowaway 8y ago
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I've never seen ads in desktop software, and I don't want to go that route. I was thinking more like Vue.js (as mentioned elsewhere here), where companies could pay to have their logo on the webpage as a supporter of the project. Plus I could offer them things that companies want, like better support, better integration with whatever (weird legacy) systems they use, etc. Are there examples of individuals using IAP as a reliable revenue channel? It sounds reasonable but while I've heard few reports of people using Patreon/donations/sponsorships, I've heard no reports of anyone successfully using IAPs as their primary revenue stream.

mikekchar 8y ago

> Donations aren't a source of income. Though I encourage you to try a tip jar like Patreon just to see how vanishingly impossible it is. While I agree wholeheartedly with what you said, I still wonder about if Patreon might be a reasonable way to charge for services. There are at least a few people making a living off of Patreon. Of course, I've not really heard of anyone scaling it beyond that. It's possible to make a non-trivial amount of money, though. What I really wonder is whether or not you could somehow look at Patreon as a normal payment processor for a recurring service. Possibly it's not appropriate for a non-service related piece of software (why am I paying monthly?). But if you had a service attached, I'm not really sure it's such a bad idea. I seem to remember they take 5%, which is not that bad as a payment processor with the benefits they provide. In fact, that's essentially what Youtube people are doing: sign up to my Patreon and I will make recurring videos. But, the main point is that "I might write blog posts and you get to vote on new features" is not a business plan. Why do I want to spend a monthly fee? Writing new features might be a business plan (For example, Tarn Adams makes between $7-8K a month on Patreon for his work on Dwarf Fortress). However, you need to have an audience that wants new features and is willing to pay for them.

gustavorg 8y ago
This one for example: https://www.patreon.com/YandereDev https://www.patreon.com/YandereDev Used to profit $5000 one year ago.
- tenryuu 8y ago
  Used to sure, kid stopped using his time to develop games and just started streaming in his free time. I only know people who consider this guy a joke now
  - gustavorg 8y ago
    That depends on which subreddit are you reading. The correct one is /r/yanderesimulator. The other one is just haters. If you check the devblog you can see there are currently real and tangible development.
    - tenryuu 8y ago
      I don't use reddit, I personally know people that worked on the game
icebraining 8y ago
It's 5% on top of payment processor fees (which vary according to the number and size of the donations).

macappthrowaway 8y ago

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I've never seen ads in desktop software, and I don't want to go that route. I was thinking more like Vue.js (as mentioned elsewhere here), where companies could pay to have their logo on the webpage as a supporter of the project. Plus I could offer them things that companies want, like better support, better integration with whatever (weird legacy) systems they use, etc. Are there examples of individuals using IAP as a reliable revenue channel? It sounds reasonable but while I've heard few reports of people using Patreon/donations/sponsorships, I've heard no reports of anyone successfully using IAPs as their primary revenue stream.