Project monetization: 8 + 4 ways to earn nothing

This, apparently, is the third article ( first , second ) on building a software business in Russia from scratch. In the past, they asked to talk about our monetization models - I tell them (the emphasis is on the models themselves, and not on building software sales channels in general.)

In short, the choice of monetization model (according to my personal strong conviction) is individual for each project / business. And the model itself can and should change over time and the emergence of new trends / paradigms in the market.

But all in order.

Zero approximation: freeware

If we take chronologically, then our main product - WEBO Site SpeedUp - began as not only Open Source, but also a free solution ( Web Optimizer ). Over time, Open Source has not disappeared anywhere, but paid editions of the product have appeared. Why is that?
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It was a well-founded decision. In April-May 2009, a small experiment was conducted to raise money for the creation of the first product interface. We collected (seemingly the necessary solution, which, of course, was not as convenient as we would like, but solved its tasks) 2,700 rubles (per month).

If it seems to someone that it is not enough (for such a seemingly necessary product), then for comparison, I will give figures on fees for books on client optimization (of course, fees have never been promoted anywhere, but books have already downloaded about 20-30 thousand people in aggregate). For the first book came about 700 rubles, for the second - 1200.

As you well understand, for such money no one will create a truly high-quality solution. Therefore, in the summer of 2009, the final decision was made on the choice of other monetization methods (however sad it was for me as a supporter of free Open Source solutions).

Monetization: donations .
Effect: close to zero .

First approach: subscription

In the autumn, a business plan was written for WEBO Software, in which it was supposed to distribute the product by subscription depending on the number of page views (in fact, in direct proportion to the benefit brought). Ie, for example, up to 5,000 page views per month are free of charge, from 5,000 to 10,000 - 10 rubles per month, etc.

Due to the technological complexity of implementing the billing and supporting this scheme, it was almost immediately set aside (it is necessary to correctly calculate the number of site views, while ensuring maximum performance, which somewhat contradicts each other), in addition to the target users, the payment scheme for the product was not completely is obvious: why does the neighbor pay 100 rubles for his site, and I pay for almost the same - 500?

This scheme was somewhat simplified, and an annual subscription appeared (Premium version of the product) at a price of 2,000 rubles ($ 100) per year. In principle, if you stretch for a year, then the amount is very small (167 rubles per month), and for most sites it pays back costs.

Monetization: annual subscription to the product (a-la antivirus).
Effect: relatively good .

Approaching one and a half: product line

But as it turned out, not everyone was willing to pay even that kind of money for the full version of the product. Therefore, almost immediately after the release of the Premium version, Lite appeared, which costs 500 rubles ($ 25) per year ( full version comparison ). It is much better than all similar solutions and is perfect for a simple acceleration of the site (such as is now attributed to the base).

Monetization: product line (several versions with different functionality).
Effect: good .

Approaching the second: installing and configuring the product

Initially, the product itself was conceived as a rejection of any services to speed up the site. Those. the idea was to “hit the button - the site sped up.” In the process of implementing the idea, we are faced with a huge number of difficulties (starting with technological and ending with psychological ones - for example, I often meet incredulous questions: how does it work, isn't it just another charge from the air?). We managed to overcome most of them, but it is still far to a full final. There are a lot of ideas on how to get to this very final (taking into account the constant development of the web and its complication, yes-yes), and we will implement them by the end of this year.

But with access to the small and medium business sector (when you need to speed up enough visited or profitable websites), it turned out that there is little to no expert on speeding up websites. So no one is ready to study solutions and explore their functionality at all. It is much easier to ask for a certain reasonable amount to “speed up the site” (and it’s not so important how accelerated it is by a boxed product or services). As a result, we began to offer a line of services for installing / configuring the product, and from some point on, and technical support . This is due entirely to the fact that we wanted to "cut the dough", no. In fact, the reason is that quality feedback rarely comes from users, and we are not ready to explain to each user personally how the product works (instead of improving it) (and I don’t know any companies that would do it). in the framework of promotions).

Monetization: related services (installation / configuration / product support, related consulting).
Effect: good .

Approaching the third: adware

The idea of ​​adware (use of a product for displaying an advertisement) has emerged 3 times or 4 times in the last year. Since the product itself works on two fronts: the site itself and the administrator interface, there were 2 advertising options, but, first, the product speeds up the website (and any advertising slows it down). Secondly, it is often installed either where advertising is already full, or where it cannot be displayed (corporate sites or online stores). Therefore, the option of displaying advertising on the site itself is still on the sidelines (not a fact that nothing will come of it: we have not yet figured out how to do this as unobtrusively as possible).

The second option: display advertising in the administrative interface. There were several options here, and we (really want to believe) found some thread. Now (in the latest and beta versions of the product) affiliate display (affiliate) advertising of the product has been implemented. Here I would highlight a couple of significant points:

1. Advertising should be as targeted. You can not advertise in the technology web product shampoo. More precisely, it is possible, but the conversion from such advertising will be extremely low. Here we focus on the maximum "hit the audience." Well, if you can advertise the related services or products (as we are going to do, the first swallow is launched now with the site fault tolerance test via loadmpact.com
2. Advertising in no case should not interfere with the functioning of the product. Those. no pop-up banners, stretch marks and media advertising, most likely. Maximum, context and dim banners (i.e., tasks are obtained opposite: advertising should be noticeable, but not stand out).

So far we have no results in this area, but it is quite possible that such use of the product will allow at least some functions to be transferred to a free mode.

Monetization: contextual advertising in the product .
Effect: not yet clear .

Approach fourth: related products

Also as part of the experiment, we are trying to distribute corporate T-shirts (soon, probably, we will include books). There are no results here yet.

Monetization: related products (mugs, t-shirts, books).
Effect: not yet clear .

Approaching fifth: SaaS

We analyzed a lot of requests from users and current trends (including the emergence of services such as popodpiske.ru ) of software distribution and formed the concept (it has not been fully implemented yet, but you can already “feel” when installing the latest beta version) platform for some functionality related to web performance and fault tolerance.

In June, we plan to release this concept in the form of a flexible product edition, where users will have a balance (the design of this solution from the point of view of the legislation of the Russian Federation is a topic for a separate article :), which can be spent on optimizing product functions (for example, 1 ruble per day to use data: URI). Thus, we will solve two issues at once: with flexible billing / billing capabilities (not everyone needs the same sprites or HTML caching) and license renewal (as long as there are funds on the balance sheet, they will be spent in proportion to the connected functionality).

The start of open beta testing will be announced additionally, but now you can download the product and update it (System Status -> Update -> Show information about beta versions) to the latest beta version.

Monetization: subscription, SaaS, flexible billing .
Effect: not yet clear .

Here we returned to the subscription, but already at a qualitatively new turn.

Approaching the fifth and a half: SaaS-platform

Additionally, it is planned to publish an API for developing its modules for the product / integrating them with the existing billing. These can be both services for optimizing performance (for example, optimization of images), and testing services (for example, tapping a site). The potential here is great, but it is too early to talk about it more specifically. Wait :)

What exactly will appear: at the same time with the SaaS edition we are planning to launch WEBO CDN (in Russia) in partnership with NGENIX (but this is still a secret :).

As a model, either revenue sharing or reselling goods or services will be used (which is essentially a logical continuation of advertising programs integrated in the form of advertising).

Monetization: profit sharing, platform / audience provision .
Effect: not yet clear .

Behind the scenes

What we still think about, but so far not very successfully:

1. Sale of product documentation.
2. Sale of additional "covers" (skins) / "chips" (virtual features).
3. Integration with application / game-based social networks.
4. Conduct offline activities related to the product.

Small summary

There are a lot of monetization models. It is desirable, of course, to know them all, but to be guided, first of all, by your audience, in order to find your own way of building a quality solution within a reasonable time. Yes, and the audience itself is usually "pushed" to the correct model. In general, good luck!

PS we are now looking for a team of web technologist (Moscow / region / full-time), details in private.