Tela-Web

Key #3: Pricing

May 23rd, 2006 ericdes

Because everybody likes free software and your customers too, and they’re readily available on the web, you should concentrate on writing free or almost free software. So what’s the purpose of coding and not making money?

Let’s look at a few scenaris here:

1. Your application is very popular, a couple of bucks charged to each user would make you more than happy. You don’t bother charging small fees and at the same time don’t bother your users either: after all they could leave. You rely instead on revenues from ads, or the fees you charge when you rent the list of your customers. Additionally, you charge extra features not found in your basic version.
2. Your application was not meant to be popular, but was expensive to develop. You must have made some good marketing research beforehand, and preferably started to charge the impatient clients while the work was in progress.
3. You work as a freelancer. You’ll have to bid the lowest amount and / or be lucky to get the job.
4. You’re the trusted computer man for some companies: try to charge as much as the company is willing to pay.
5. Your customers make money directly from your application. Or it saves them quite a bunch (it must be valued): Charge accordingly! It’s an ideal case where they won’t complain.
6. Thinking of case 5: If your application builds wealth for your customers, why wouldn’t you create your own money-making applications? Now think again of case 3 (You don’t like the goto’s, I don’t like them either, sorry about that!): Instead of trying to get that job for a $2000 website, why wouldn’t you build it for yourself and earn a $500 monthly rent from it!

Now I can feel you relax but wait, there’s more to come…

Entry Filed under: Keys to creating software (and making money...)