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Side projects I've built since 2009
- EdA1 1y agoWow, you've sold a lot of sites. How does that work?
- monsieurbanana 1y agoMicroacquistions maybe? I haven't looked much into it and I don't want to link to a random $$$ website, so instead here's the subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/microacquisitions https://www.reddit.com/r/microacquisitions
- diggan 1y agoCreate public project, have a contact-form/email somewhere on the website, if someone is interested in buying it, they'll reach out to you and you discuss the details. Isn't much more magic than that :)
- MrGilbert 1y agoAnd also finding your niche idea, that also solves a real world problem and is interesting enough for someone to acquire. Generate enough visibility. I'd argue there is some kind of magic here.
- johnisgood 1y agoHow do you get any visitors to begin with? By posting it on HN?
- martin_a 1y agoOr share it with friends and coworkers, write an article about it, write good texts on the website itself so that search engines can pick it up, etc. pp. Solve a problem and people will probably find your site.
- diggan 1y ago"Show HN" (https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html) is a great way of getting a general (but very techy) group of people to try it out and give feedback. Otherwise, if you're solving a specific problem in a niche, start hanging out wherever those people hang out, participate in the community and share your solution if it's applicable to the discussion. Make sure not to spam/self-promote a lot though, as it comes off as really tacky in most places.
- wahnfrieden 1y agoIG reels, TT
- johnisgood 1y agoYou would have to have enough followers though, don't you? So that begs the question: where did you get so many followers from? :P
- wahnfrieden 1y agono, that's not how the algos work anymore. they test content with a couple hundred viewers, and push out further based on engagement. even if you have followers, it won't push content to them if it doesn't engage the initial test audiences (whether followers or not). this is part of why many now pay creators to start new accounts to post viral organic content rather than to their existing followers. when you find a video format that works for your product, you can create many accounts (or pay people to do so) and keep posting the winning formula
- naeemnur 1y agoI've sold through Acquire.com, Flippa, and also had people reach out to me directly
- FiberBundle 1y agoWould you be ok with giving a range of selling prices?
- naeemnur 1y agoSure, Highest was $8,000 and lowest $250. Total so far is a bit over $35k. Thinking of adding the prices to the page soon.
- nonethewiser 1y agoThank you for sharing and congrats.
- Bigpet 1y agowell looking at the list of projects and seeing the site `ZeroAcquire` there it looks like he asked himself the same question and sold the solution
- naeemnur 1y agoHaha yeah, I guess I built the problem and then sold the fix. Didn’t plan it that way, but it worked out.
- jonplackett 1y agoI should make a page of ‘Every Side Project I haven’t quite finished building since 2009’ But it would be so huge I can’t afford the hosting bill.
- mickeyr 1y agoAnd if you’re like me, you probably wouldn’t finish the list either…
- alentred 1y agoPreach. Sign me up when you finish this side project, I will list mine there too :)
- jonplackett 1y agoThis is actually quite a good idea. SideProjectCemerary ? You upload your side projects’ data/github/seni-working-prototype, it performs a very quick ritualistic ceremony/blessing and buries it in a little marked grave. Visitors are free to go grave robbing if they wish.
- butlike 1y agoI like the idea. The cemetery could be a large scrollable top-down map where the user could click on each headstone to get a synopsis and a link to where it's hosted.
- ridiculous_leke 1y agoWould be cool to see what kind of side projects remain unfinished.
- mfalcon 1y agoAnd you probably won't finish that too :)
- 90s_dev 1y agoMaybe someone can make a curated wiki page of people's unfinished and/or abandoned projects so everyone can put theirs there? (Oh wait, that's just github.)
- mcteamster 1y agoLove it, especially your latest post on bringing back fun websites. Bought a block on ‘Stack your project’!
- methuselah_in 1y agoLooks great
- JoeDaDude 1y agoSymbol hunt is broken :( (FWIW, I had the same error on my website, seems PHP needs to be updated)
- PaulRobinson 1y agoI wish I had this energy again. I've got a list of side projects to get on with. I've made little progress in the last year, and suspect its burn out to blame - I'm just constantly exhausted. I think if you have the energy, this is awesome fun. It might even get to the point where one of them makes some decent income. But if you don't, like me, just realise that there is a reason for that, and it's OK. You need rest and relaxation, and it's OK to prioritise that.
- naeemnur 1y agoTotally relatable. I’ve stepped back a bit since my son was born. It’s a different pace now, but that’s fine. Rest isn’t a pause, it’s part of it.
- 90s_dev 1y ago> I wish I had this energy again. I used to think my youthful energy was gone forever. Then about 3 months ago I had an idea for a project I truly believed in. I was able to write code for 16 hours straight, day after day, for most of the last 3 months. And it's not exhausting, it's rejuvenating. I feel like a young man again, despite my gray hairs! (I was planning on releasing it today actually, but this weekend I had an epiphany that requires a half rewrite for significant gains, which might add another few weeks.)
- dmos62 1y agoHappy to hear this, good luck!
- radlad 1y agoCareful not to fall into the trap of never releasing - it can always be better.
- 90s_dev 1y agoDefinitely something I've worried about. But a major architectural change is different than an improvement. I've left a lot of low hanging fruit for me to fix up after release. But with this change it would literally become a new, backwards-incompatible product. That's where I personally draw the line for when to wait.
- azhenley 1y agoThis is beautiful. I think I'll add a similar page to my website. Side projects are what I look forward to! Right now, I just have my blog + github as a messy portfolio of personal projects, but I like this much better.
- naeemnur 1y agoGo for it! I love creating list sites, so I listed my side projects too. xD
- fm2606 1y agoVirtual hat tip to ya! I finally have four ideas that I think worthy to build that I would like to monetize. All would be well within my abilities to build. No vision of grandeur that I'd retire from any of them and if I made $100 from one site I'd be ecstatic. Two are simple games, one a directory and one a utility type site. No AI, no sign-up, no affiliate marketing, no upselling, just simple sites with ads. However, my "paralysis by analysis" affliction is strong.
- 90s_dev 1y ago> However, my "paralysis by analysis" affliction is strong. The solution is to remember that nothing is perfect, and that all code is eventually thrown away and replaced. So just start writing code and have fun!
- nonethewiser 1y agoStrongly agree. I struggled with the same. A key discovery for me was that this "paralysis by analysis" is a form of perfectionism. I always thought perfectionism was someone who was productive but way too hard on themselves, overworking to achieve some end that's just not worth it. Not necessarily - it can also mean DOING NOTHING because you dont see a way to do it perfectly. This has helped me a lot with writing. Sometimes you just have to write down incoherent slop. Let the ideas flow and be content with knowing they will have to be revised later. By all means if you write with more purpose and structure without getting too bogged down to continue then do so.
- fm2606 1y ago> "paralysis by analysis" is a form of perfectionism > it can also mean DOING NOTHING because you dont see a way to do it perfectly. I had a professor point this out to me while in undergrad.
- skeeter2020 1y agoI think you have the motivation wrong. The cost-benefit economics work if you want to have fun building something, learn a lot and share it with others. It doesn't work if the goal is to make up to $100/month selling ads; getting a part-time job would be a better path. In this scenario not finishing your side project is the correct decision, and not starting an optimization of that.
- patapong 1y agoVery cool! How do you know when a project is done?
- naeemnur 1y agoI just put out the first version once it feels usable (very important) and try not to overthink it. I add features later if it still feels fun or useful.
- williamsss 1y agoHow have you found buyers for your projects?
- msephton 1y agoCheck the other Q&A
- anshumankmr 1y ago:'( I would need to make one for side projects I have abandoned since 2020 (besides my blog)
- giantg2 1y agoThat's a pretty high percentage of sold vs dead products. I think most people would be lucky to sell even one side project.
- mattrighetti 1y agoThat’s the first thing I thought about too. OP how do you sell your side projects? Does people just reach out or are you actively looking for people interested in buying?
- loveparade 1y agoI think "sold" probably doesn't mean what you think it means here. Have you looked at the projects? Nearly all of them are just statics lists of things. Like "a list of all country flags" or "a list of modern inventions" Maybe it was some SEO related sale with the domain and bit of ad revenue that someone bought for $100, which probably isn't the definition of selling a side project that most users on HN have. In fact, looking at the domains, the domains were probably worth more than the content on those sites. That's why I originally flagged this post because I thought it was a bit misleading. I didn't think most people here would consider simple lists of things as side projects.
- nonethewiser 1y agoI think this is a good clarification, although I think it's still a solid accomplishment.
- butlike 1y agoIf you follow the sold side projects, a majority (maybe all; I didn't check) are now defunct/parked, which corroborates your hypothesis.
- giantg2 1y agoI'd love to make $100 on a side project
- liamkf 1y ago
- 90s_dev 1y agoI once had a list similar in time and length. It was a great portfolio, but I slowly realized I just made it to remind myself I'm not a perpetually incapable imbecile. Deleting it and giving away those projects was so freeing. I had nothing left to prove to myself or anyone else. Now I can just write code for fun, code that I believed in. Not saying this is OP's motivation or anyone else's, but it was definitely mine.
- bix6 1y agoWhich was your fav? Fun site!
- dakiol 1y agoHow does one pay taxes when selling minor side projects? I have never been a contractor/freelancer and I have never setup a company. This is the main pain in the ass for me when it comes to generating some side income. I'm in Europe, so it makes it worse I think.
- msephton 1y agoIt depends on the country the funds originate. Some countries have tax treaties each other. So it can be complicated. The easiest way is to get an accountant to deal with it. Then you can spend your valuable time building more stuff.
- eastburnn 1y agoVery impressive “Sold” list! I’ve created a similar portfolio site for myself, but haven’t added a “Sold” section. Seems obvious, so I think that’ll be in my next update. Link below for reference: [1] https://www.itschrisray.com/ https://www.itschrisray.com/
- msephton 1y agoNice work, particularly the amount you've sold! I keep a similar timeline of projects on my website, going back to 2004 (older stuff going back to 1990 is there, but not as organised) https://www.gingerbeardman.com https://www.gingerbeardman.com
- naeemnur 1y agoThat is super cool
- neonwatty 1y agovery nice! where did you sell your "sold" apps?
- danvoell 1y agoCats of the web made me laugh. Thanks!
- wtf242 1y agothat's awesome! I've had many many side projects launched in the past 2 decades, but the only one still going is my books site https://thegreatestbooks.org https://thegreatestbooks.org I created it 17~ years ago mostly as just a tool for myself and now it gets roughly 8 million views a month. The hardest part of any side project is actually launching it and making it somewhat production ready. I always spend the vast majority of my time dealing with devops/deployment issues/tasks
- hiAndrewQuinn 1y agoThis is the last that got me into Marquez, excellent work.
- butlike 1y agoWhat font is that used on the mildspring splash page? I first saw it in a band's logo and now am seeing it pop up everywhere.
- thih9 1y agoThanks for sharing and congrats! How do you deal with updates? I.e. how do you decide whether to maintain a product or move it to "dead"?
- naeemnur 1y agoIf a project stops getting traffic or I lose interest, I just don't renew the domain.
- jasondigitized 1y agoGenerally curious, why would someone buy a site like Google Cemetery. What is the ROI calculation here?
- whycome 1y agoIt's listed under 'sold' but the domain doesn't seem to work right now. I'd think it's something that gets traction in the media every so often. That can lead to a spikes in traffic that you can potentially monetize. It's a basic site so it wouldn't take much to maintain. So, I guess there's value.
- DustinBrett 1y agoHere I am building the same side project since 2021. I just can't quit it.
- tiffanyh 1y agoUnsolicited feedback, on the individual project pages - can the website url listed (for thr project) be clickable.
- naeemnur 1y agoLinks are now clickable!