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Comment by miraclepanda | Hacker News Reader

Half a year ago i've started http://www.appstoreoptimization.io/ - screenshot generator for app/play stores. For now there are no paid plans as i want to deliver as much useful functionality as possible before charging people

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A word of advice from an internet stranger: start charging as soon as you can. This will determine whether you are a running a business or a fun side project.

Thanks for your advice. There are couple competitors on a market right now ( launchkit.com, storeshots.net etc. ) and they have richer functionality than my service. So i'm not sure why people would pay for my app rather than for theirs.

Busy devs aren't going to do a competitive services search... they're going to use the first tool they find / hear about. Focus on SEO, SEM, offer a free demo mode with watermarks, then charge around $5-10/mo recurring for unlimited usage for solo dev (maybe $20-30 for team use), and you'll be golden.

Because the features they are offering may not be something a prospective customer values.

If those are your only true competitors, you SHOULD start charging. I like storeshots per credit charge.. instead of a monthly charge.

btw, launchkit redirects to : communautic. com ... looks like they were hacked.

Your site design is great. Did you design it yourself ? Why is this not a web app instead ? That would be easier to maintain & develop (I think).

Quick Tip : The 'Free' part should be highlighted above the fold. The screenshots way down the page should also be above the fold. (storeshots.net get's this correct)

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