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I build a self-hosted application (so I guess that qualifies as local-first), how I monetize it: one-time payment to get the product, then yearly (optional) pai

by XCSme 2y ago

I build a self-hosted application (so I guess that qualifies as local-first), how I monetize it: one-time payment to get the product, then yearly (optional) paid support/updates. I am not too worried about piracy, as that is a battle you'll never win (games have been fighting this game for a long time). Create a good product that solves a real issue, get in front of people, and provide a good service, so that they are happy to support you in the future (either for updates on this product or for building new products).

braden-lk 2y ago
At the $800 - $2500 price range, that sounds awesome, but I'm in a market where $50 is considered outrageous. It's self-inflicted pain, I know, but we make it work.
- XCSme 2y ago
  I actually also started with a very low price ($19 on CodeCanyon 13 years ago), but slightly increased the price over time to match the benefits. Lately, I've also switched who I target. Before I was going more for basic website owners, that maybe don't even have a business. There were many problems with this: those customers don't really need such detailed analytics, they maybe don't have the technical expertise to self-host, they don't care about privacy as much, they would rather go for free or very cheap solutions, etc. Now I'm focused more on business and web agencies, which also enables the higher price (for them this is actually cheap, as Hotjar for example has plans starting at $800/month, while this is a one-time payment). Going for the big customers is a lot easier than B2C, unless you have good distribution or get lucky to get viral.
- XCSme 2y ago
  PS: I checked your landing page, your product and landing page look amazing! I'm not into RPGs, but it looks really good.
- XCSme 2y ago
  Also, your product seems to be a good use-case for the current AI boom. You could upsell your current users with AI-generate assets for their game (characters, maps, etc). Host your own text-to-image model, and add an UI in your app. Maybe have a tokens-based system for paying for the generations.

by XCSme 2y ago

braden-lk 2y ago

At the $800 - $2500 price range, that sounds awesome, but I'm in a market where $50 is considered outrageous. It's self-inflicted pain, I know, but we make it work.

XCSme 2y ago
I actually also started with a very low price ($19 on CodeCanyon 13 years ago), but slightly increased the price over time to match the benefits. Lately, I've also switched who I target. Before I was going more for basic website owners, that maybe don't even have a business. There were many problems with this: those customers don't really need such detailed analytics, they maybe don't have the technical expertise to self-host, they don't care about privacy as much, they would rather go for free or very cheap solutions, etc. Now I'm focused more on business and web agencies, which also enables the higher price (for them this is actually cheap, as Hotjar for example has plans starting at $800/month, while this is a one-time payment). Going for the big customers is a lot easier than B2C, unless you have good distribution or get lucky to get viral.
XCSme 2y ago
PS: I checked your landing page, your product and landing page look amazing! I'm not into RPGs, but it looks really good.
XCSme 2y ago
Also, your product seems to be a good use-case for the current AI boom. You could upsell your current users with AI-generate assets for their game (characters, maps, etc). Host your own text-to-image model, and add an UI in your app. Maybe have a tokens-based system for paying for the generations.