1. Interact with the users at least somewhat
2. Make a little money

Having released the Variations Editor with only a URL to my blog and to a PayPal page, I got very little feedback and even less money.  I was not upset about this (free is free, so I didn’t expect much), but in the few exchanges I did have with users (with comments, suggestions, and complaints) I found that this was very rewarding in that I could see how my program actually helped people.  And while most of my users were just other admins hoping to get their Farm behaving properly, I did get a couple fairly large companies (who will remain nameless) contact me with questions as to how the app worked so they could explain to their bosses what they were doing to fix a bad Variations install.  So with the Space Monitor, I wanted to do what I could to increase interaction with my users.  But how? 

Before I get to that, I want to address item 2 in the list above: money.  Like any IT developer not coding on Linux, I would like to establish myself as a developer of commercial quality software and make a buck or three.  Now, I have no doubts that I will never be Microsoft.  But I figured that if I could eek out a modest piece of change from developing software – say, enough to buy a couple boxes and an MSDN license of my own for a home-lab – then I would see myself as a success.  But how does one do this without having to establish an LLC or incorporate oneself?  I didn’t know.  But I do know how to use the Googles.

Donationware

I decided that I would go the route of Donationware.  Now, this is not my concept.  Not hardly.  In fact, I found it here: http://donationcoder.com/Articles/One/index.html.  Here’s the gist of it: you give away your product as a full-version, un-crippled, application.  But you add in a registration feature that requires a code to be entered to use the program.  This code will have a short life span (I chose 4 months).  At the end of the life span, the user would have to re-up their code.  So while the program is free and full-featured, it is only good for users who keep in contact.  I figured this is a small price to pay for a free app.  But it also meant that people had to contact me to get a code.  And with the feedback I got, it also encouraged people to comment to me about the program.  Most importantly, it gave them an immediate forum to suggest features that would make the program even more useful.  All in all, this aspect of the project was a HUGE success.  

So what about the money?  Well, that’s where the registration code comes in.  Since the code has a limited life span, the only thing I had to offer in exchange for a donation was a code that would never expire.  So I has something to offer people in exchange for donating to the cause.  Time would tell how well this would work.

My Experience

In the year-ish that this app has been available, I have had 310 emails from users asking about getting a code to try the application.  At first, the emails were slow in coming.  But even now, I probably get 7-15 emails a week asking for codes.  So in terms of getting more feedback, this was a success.  The only drawback is that for some users looking to get started quickly, if they were in different parts of the world where time zones prohibited a quick response, their code would come 6-8 hours after asking for it.  To me, this is too much.  But thus far, nobody has complained about that aspect to me.

So what about the money?  Well, while I am not going to disclose how many people donated money nor how much was donated, I will say that the percentage of people donating is much less than 5%.  My first donation came in on March 26, 2009 and my latest came on Jan 18, 2010.  I thank everyone who has donated.  I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know that you found enough use in something I wrote that you were willing to pay for it.  Thank you.

But, if you do the math, you can see that by no means did I make enough money to change my lifestyle.  In fact, I didn’t make enough money to do much.  But that’s not the point.  I proved that the model can work.  Keep in mind that I achieved this with very little advertising.  In fact, my only press was this blog (and what Google did to find it), a posting on Jamie McAllister’s blog, and the occasional posting on other blogs and forums offering the app to solve a particular problem.  So had I had an advertising campaign, these stats may have been different.

Where do I go from here?

Well, the interest in the application and the feedback I’ve received from it has shown me that this application warrants a v2.0.  The comments and suggestions received from my users have been enlightening.  I now have a better understanding of the needs of the people who need this kind of application.  In my opinion, the feedback received beats focus groups hands down.  Not that I’ve done many focus groups, but still, I like real-world feedback.  So there will be a v2.0.  The process has begun and the program is on its way.  Being a shop of one; however, has its drawbacks.  Right now, it’s a matter of having the time and energy to finish the project.  And since demand for v1.0 hasn’t dropped off, I know that the application is still useful.  So I know I’m not failing my user base by waiting.  Hopefully.

Continuing with Donationware

I have been debating how I want to release v2.0.  I enjoyed the feedback I received requiring an email to get a code for the application.  To be honest, it wasn’t the overwhelming experience I thought it’d be.  I did make a new email account for the application (something I recommend if you follow this model).  But even using my account didn’t hurt anything.  My problem with it is in the lack of automation in responding with codes.  I have tried to respond as quickly as possible, but like I mentioned before, sometimes that wasn’t always possible.  So to combat this, the debate lingers to have some form of the app available without the need for a code.  But not requiring a code will leave no reason for people to contact me and less to donate.  So in the next version, I am considering leaving the Donationware format and offering added functionality.  This makes it for-sale-ware, I know.  Like I said, this is open for debate.  For my users out there reading this, if you were of those that donated, no matter what comes of v2.0, you will get a code for that app for free.  It’s my way of not punishing early-adopters.

In Conclusion

Looking back, I have enjoyed my experience in putting forth Donationware.  I found it rewarding on a personal, though not as much on the financial, level.  Still, I know I gave the application away for free, so any positive is a big positive.  But I write this blog post mainly to show that if you are looking to develop an application as an independent that there are ways to try to marry contributing to the SharePoint community and trying to make a buck.

Thanks again to everyone who tried the program.  I hope it continues to be useful and I hope I’ll get an even better app completed in the near future.