A decade has passed and we have just started 2020 fully with new year’s resolutions; statistically speaking (read reference) 70 percent plan to have a better diet / eat healthier, 65 percent plan to exercise more, 26 percent plan to learn a new skill/hobby and 16 percent plan to find another job.
Make your ideas a reality this 2020!
For some of us, software developers, a new year resolution could be the purpose of starting a new application, craft a software product, create an online shop or develop any tangible idea achievable by our skills.
Most likely, we plan to monetize from our creations to have the investment returned (either monetary or time) and to produce long term earnings.
Formally establishing a business or having to earn less by publishing our creations on marketplaces may unmotivated us, in some cases to the extreme of making us quit the project.
Where to start?
First, we need to identify what we want to create; we should keep in mind, as a tip, that successful ideas always solve a need and that we should not look further at our skills to find our homerun hit.
Our software could be in the form of a Photoshop add-on, a website plugin, a standalone application or something different; and can be written on Java, C#, Php, Python, Javascript or any other coding language; regardless of the variations described, we most likely have two ways to implement monetization: through a marketplace or our owned online store.
Monetize through a marketplace
There is always a marketplace where we can sell our very software.
Platforms like Unity 3D, Photoshop or similar, usually have their own add-ons marketplace where developers can sell software. Other marketplaces, like Envato, are non-platform-specific, meaning that we can sell anything, from mobile apps to printer drivers, as long as there is a demand for it.
Placing our software in marketplaces has its pros and cons, we benefit from having an established audience, reaching potential buyers much faster and with reduced investment in advertisement.
The catch is that most likely we will earn less money per unit sold since every marketplace will take a share fee that usually reaches around 30% percent of the final price; also, earnings aren’t immediately paid.
Monetize through an owned online shop
Creating our e-commerce and website has its pros and cons.
We benefit from having full control of the DRM (digital rights management) implementation, we have no additional fees over each sell and we can determine how the product is presented to the potential buyer.
But, we will need to invest more money in creating an online shop, advertisement and product handling.
Thankfully our “WooCommerce License Keys” plugin can help us with most of the implementation needed to sell software by ourselves and under a very low budget!
What are you waiting for?
The time has never been better, the start of a decade smells like the beginning of new opportunities.
Don’t wait any longer to make your ideas into fruition, we, as developers, possess many skills that allow us startup new creative ideas that may change the world. Let’s take action!
Did you liked this article? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts and this year’s resolutions!
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