4 ms·

I'd almost question if $400/mo. warrants the time put into creating the book and subsequent marketing efforts to continue making $400/mo?

sciencewolf 7y ago
This is a great point. It's $400 in sales per month. I'm willing to bet hosting, domain, any paid ads, any fees from leanpub, etc. makes up at least $100-200 a month. Probably be better to just do freelance/consulting on the side and make an extra $100/hr in a day.
- batt4good 7y ago
  Glad someone else shares my perspective. As a frugal person who watches their finances closely and also enjoys having profitable side-projects, said side-projects still have to be worth my time to really "enjoy" them if I intended to make money. As someone with a tech background, the cost and time involved in marketing / support is something I still underestimate.
- ativzzz 7y ago
  > Probably be better to just do freelance/consulting on the side and make an extra $100/hr in a day. Creating a technical book about a specific subject is a great way to advertise yourself as a freelancer/consultant as well.
- ksahin 7y ago
  OP here, the number I gave is after fees. The website is static, hosted (for free) on Netlify. It’s not just about the money as I said in the tweet! It’s about being (a little bit) paid for doing something I like (writing)
  - sciencewolf 7y ago
    Totally fair, thanks for clarifying.
  - nif2ee 7y ago
    >It’s not just about the money as I said in the tweet probably web scraping, along with SEO, is one of the most shameless niches in tech and is crammed with people with nearly zero tech skills and are only for the money. Maybe for your case you just happened to love web scraping, but this niche itself is the lowest of low. Thankfully Cloudflare and the low barrier to entry/increase of supply make sure that no one can make much more than he should (which is $0 imho).
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - throwaway55554 7y ago
      For all the people who somehow think HN is a better class than Reddit, I present to you the above comment (and my own).
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
majkinetor 7y ago
Life is not that simple. What if: - He actually needs to do it for regular job or pure interest, so the time is already lost. This way, you kill 2 flies with single shot - Hosting and other stuff can be done for $0 nowdays What I learnt here (not really, just improved current understanding) is that people suck at deduction and resort to simplistic observations that have no roots in reality.
147 7y ago
I used to think side projects / businesses needed to replace my income for it to be worth it. After I started getting into the habit of budgeting I started to realize that a even a few hundred extra bucks a month can go a long way. Since this is a one time sell product there's little support to spend time on (just give them a refund). The author also has organic marketing with SEO.
blondin 7y ago
author did not put too much effort into marketing as explained in the posts. the target audience was already figured out and the blog acted as a funnel... hosting is $0 as per author. so yes, this is totally worth it as a side project.
remir 7y ago
Your comment shows a lack of perspective. Depending on where you live, $400 could be a good amount. OP could be living in another country where this kind of money could be very interesting.
fencepost 7y ago
Depending on what you're doing there can also be significant value to being perceived as both an expert and an authority in your field.
Koshkin 7y ago
Well, then, it would not make sense to publish a free ebook, would it?

sciencewolf 7y ago

This is a great point. It's $400 in sales per month. I'm willing to bet hosting, domain, any paid ads, any fees from leanpub, etc. makes up at least $100-200 a month. Probably be better to just do freelance/consulting on the side and make an extra $100/hr in a day.

batt4good 7y ago
Glad someone else shares my perspective. As a frugal person who watches their finances closely and also enjoys having profitable side-projects, said side-projects still have to be worth my time to really "enjoy" them if I intended to make money. As someone with a tech background, the cost and time involved in marketing / support is something I still underestimate.
ativzzz 7y ago
> Probably be better to just do freelance/consulting on the side and make an extra $100/hr in a day. Creating a technical book about a specific subject is a great way to advertise yourself as a freelancer/consultant as well.
ksahin 7y ago
OP here, the number I gave is after fees. The website is static, hosted (for free) on Netlify. It’s not just about the money as I said in the tweet! It’s about being (a little bit) paid for doing something I like (writing)
- sciencewolf 7y ago
  Totally fair, thanks for clarifying.
- nif2ee 7y ago
  >It’s not just about the money as I said in the tweet probably web scraping, along with SEO, is one of the most shameless niches in tech and is crammed with people with nearly zero tech skills and are only for the money. Maybe for your case you just happened to love web scraping, but this niche itself is the lowest of low. Thankfully Cloudflare and the low barrier to entry/increase of supply make sure that no one can make much more than he should (which is $0 imho).
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - throwaway55554 7y ago
    For all the people who somehow think HN is a better class than Reddit, I present to you the above comment (and my own).
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

majkinetor 7y ago

Life is not that simple. What if: - He actually needs to do it for regular job or pure interest, so the time is already lost. This way, you kill 2 flies with single shot - Hosting and other stuff can be done for $0 nowdays What I learnt here (not really, just improved current understanding) is that people suck at deduction and resort to simplistic observations that have no roots in reality.

147 7y ago

I used to think side projects / businesses needed to replace my income for it to be worth it. After I started getting into the habit of budgeting I started to realize that a even a few hundred extra bucks a month can go a long way. Since this is a one time sell product there's little support to spend time on (just give them a refund). The author also has organic marketing with SEO.

blondin 7y ago

author did not put too much effort into marketing as explained in the posts. the target audience was already figured out and the blog acted as a funnel... hosting is $0 as per author. so yes, this is totally worth it as a side project.

remir 7y ago

Your comment shows a lack of perspective. Depending on where you live, $400 could be a good amount. OP could be living in another country where this kind of money could be very interesting.

fencepost 7y ago

Depending on what you're doing there can also be significant value to being perceived as both an expert and an authority in your field.

Koshkin 7y ago

Well, then, it would not make sense to publish a free ebook, would it?