I find this response a little odd. Absolutely respect the work you’ve put in, but explaining that it doesn’t have a free license because you’ve been unemployed

I find this response a little odd. Absolutely respect the work you’ve put in, but explaining that it doesn’t have a free license because you’ve been unemployed is just bad marketing. “It doesn’t have a free license because I believe in the product and think it stands out enough to warrant people paying for it” is probably the route you want to go.