How much revenue can an independent open source project with 1 million installations make in a year? This problem is both a practical challenge and an ideal pursuit for many independent developers. Take H5player as an example. This well-known browser plug-in has 2.5K stars on GITHUB and a total of more than 1.1 million installations. It has powerful functions and can add video enhancement functions to many H5 video websites such as Bilibili, Yin, Xun, Qiyi, etc., such as video double-speed playback, video screenshots, picture-in-picture, etc., solving the pain points and pain points of many users. need.
However, for such a plug-in that is in huge demand, the author said that he only made 330 yuan a year from it. For many people, this number may not even be considered a big meal, let alone enough to make ends meet. The source of this 330 yuan is mainly the reward QR code under the project. Chen Shaoyu, the author of TRAGP and web, who owns up to 30 open source projects on GITHUB, also said that the total rewards received were only 6,000 yuan. It can be seen that for developers, relying on rewards alone cannot obtain ideal income.
So, how can indie developers actually make money from this? There are two good examples worth learning from. The first one is Apple's shortcut accounting tool. This tool has sold tens of thousands of copies across the Internet, bringing the author hundreds of thousands of dollars in income. Its success lies in the fact that it attracts consumers to buy through convenient methods such as no installation and Apple's own accounting, and it requires almost no operation and maintenance costs. This example tells us that independent developers need to find a way to convert their technology and capabilities into economic value, and this way often needs to be innovative and practical.
The second example is an entrepreneur named Hodgney in Sydney. By quickly implementing his video display website, he attracted annual membership orders of US$216 to his project on the same day. This example shows that working on independent open source projects can not only increase personal influence, but also find better job opportunities. However, to become super-individuals, we need to pursue commercialization pathways to convert our technologies and capabilities into economic value.
Going back to the example of H5player, although the current income is not ideal, the author has also begun to explore some monetization methods, such as adding a small amount of user experience products or project promotions in the form of text without affecting the user experience. Link. Although this attempt may bring some controversy and challenges, it is at least a direction of effort.
Finally, I wish every independent developer can get the benefits they deserve. Independent open source projects are not only a technical challenge and pursuit, but also an economic reality and ideal. Only when we can find a way to combine technology and economics can independent open source projects truly be sustainable and profitable. At the same time, we also hope that more people can pay attention to and support the development of independent open source projects and contribute to the open source community.
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
Indie123
Comments
There are currently no comments