The fact that this article is so popular is sort of sad.That shows that a lot of people on HN are not making $500 a month from their web apps .We should have higher goals than this.
I'm glad for the author's success so far (and, as another HNer said, that the word "lifestyle" has not yet reared its head in discussion).
On the other hand,back in October, about how my products had brought in $216,000 in revenue in 2010 to date (from $0 in 2008), and I got maybe 30 votes on HN, barely made it onto the front page:
http://unicornfree.com/2010/i-made-216668-from-products/
Which leads to me to wonder: Why is this $500/mo (after 1.5 yrs) essay so popular, but nobody was interested in mine?
For me, it's not just about getting the hits, but getting my message out there (I am all about making & SELLING paid products, not "startups"), so it's a question of effectiveness.
I've observed that HN seems most interested in rags-to-minimum-wage stories, and rags-to-riches stories, but not much in between (which is where I fall -- now). But there's probably also something else going on, whether it's me, my essay, or the audience.
If anyone has any ideas/pointers, I'd love to hear them.
If anyone has any ideas/pointers, I'd love to hear them.
Hi, original post author here! :) I think the main difference between our two posts is that mine goes into more detail about how I created the app and bought in revenue, whereas your posts lists only that you're already making serious dough (incidentally, congratulations! :)), and how your revenues have grown - not a lot about how to get there in the first place.
Why is this $500/mo (after 1.5 yrs) essay so popular
I'd like to take issue with this point, although please do correct me if I'm seeing criticism where none was intended :) This is obviously not a full-on startup - I don't work eight hours every evening on it; in fact I barely put in that many hours on it per month. Maybe I need to clarify this in my next blog post. Either way, I don't understand why you're knocking it for being 1.5 years old.
If we look at stories like ours PURELY as inspiration fodder (vs personal sagas), wouldn't you prefer to read about somebody who ended up with a hundred thousand instead of a hundred? :) That's not to downplay your success at all, because you've gotten what you've wanted in the way you wanted. That's what success is about, IMO.
Thanks for the tip about the specificity, I bet you're right & will try that approach next time.
> wouldn't you prefer to read about somebody who > ended up with a hundred thousand instead of a hundred?
How about if it's presented as "$100,000 with full time hours" compared with "a $100 with a few hours"?
From my perspective at least, I view an article about how to achieve "a $100 with a few hours (spread over a year)" as seeming more attainable and accessible than one about "$100,000 with full time hours (spread over a year)". I'd think "Hey, maybe I could do that" about the former and more "That'd be cool to do that" about the latter.
I like that you've got a "mission" to show that what you've achieved is attainable for others as well and I look forward to reading more about how.
I suppose it's like comparing watching Rocky to watching 2 hours of Lennox Lewis in his prime, you want to see the progression happening, not necessarily look back.
That would be the main point from my perspective and it's simply a matter of preference.