Because monetizing any business is really really hard. I work on Standard Notes (https://standardnotes.org), which is an encrypted notes app (think of it as an encrypted Evernote alternative). It's fully open source, and I'm monetizing it through paid upgrades.
While the progress is promising enough for me to continue working on it full time, nothing could have prepared me for how difficult this was going to be. I had always been under the illusion that if you had a product you wanted to sell, and there was demand for it, then an automatic transaction takes place.
Not so.
Not so at all. It requires understanding your users, learning about their preferences, learning how to re-engage with them, learning to keep them interested and engaged, and learning how to position your product as one people want to buy.
All of this is very very hard, especially if you don't have a marketing background. It is surpassable though. It just takes time. I'm doing this full time and I still can't keep up. I can't imagine how you could possibly monetize a project part time, unless you're committed enough to spend the next five years of your life on it.
Hey, thanks! The closest to a free trial right now would be the monthly plan, which you can cancel at any time and request a refund. I hope to build in free trials some time soon.
While the progress is promising enough for me to continue working on it full time, nothing could have prepared me for how difficult this was going to be. I had always been under the illusion that if you had a product you wanted to sell, and there was demand for it, then an automatic transaction takes place.
Not so.
Not so at all. It requires understanding your users, learning about their preferences, learning how to re-engage with them, learning to keep them interested and engaged, and learning how to position your product as one people want to buy.
All of this is very very hard, especially if you don't have a marketing background. It is surpassable though. It just takes time. I'm doing this full time and I still can't keep up. I can't imagine how you could possibly monetize a project part time, unless you're committed enough to spend the next five years of your life on it.