TLDR:
- Tip Jar/Donate Button: frequent users of your service may be more inclined to donate, especially if you need money to keep it running for example
- Freemium Model: By catering to the unique needs of the niche you’re in, those who are deep within the community would be more willing to pay to satiate them
- Subscription Model: If you’re more on the content side, certain people would be willing to pay for exclusive insights, such as fantasy players for in-depth player profiles
- Affiliate Partnerships: Offering your users products relevant to you and maybe them as well, providing you the luxury of an income stream without directly charging them through commissions for referrals
- Selling: Sell on acquire.com if you’re now interested in working on something else, or don’t believe there’s much else to do.
Maximizing the revenue potential immediately after reaching the threshold
If you have a Chrome extension, app, or other forms of digital products where one can gather users, provided you reach the 100,000 user threshold, you must be thinking about how to monetize by now if not already.
But how do you do it?
We’ll go over 5 avenues to consider maximizing your revenue potential.
1. Tip Jar/Donate Button
If you don’t already, a tip jar/donate button is completely harmless.
If it takes you money to keep everything running, those who find your service particularly useful will be more inclined to donate and help you continue.
Keep in mind that for every 1,000 users you have, x will probably be 0 up until the 10,000-user mark at the very least.
2. Freemium Model
If there are features you have in mind that are unique to the niche you’re in, consider creating a premium version of your service to de-commoditize it.
That way, the free version will be a way for users to get a feel of what you have to offer, weeding out those who aren’t interested beyond the free version, and those who especially see great need in your service for you to cater to.
3. Subscription Model
If your service is more on the content creation side, then consider a subscription for a paid version of your content, which can be composed of aspects such as doubling down on your niche and providing insights that are clearly worth paying for.
For example, if you run a sports newsletter, you could write articles that pertain to more technical player profiles for fantasy users in an upcoming league season.
4. Affiliate Partnerships
Leverage your user base to pen down affiliate partnership agreements. Recommended products or services relevant to your niche audience would earn you commissions for every referral. With this method, you have the luxury of a potential income stream without directly charging your user base.
5. Selling
If you’ve reached the point where you’re now interested in building something else or believe there’s not much else for you to work on, you may consider selling your service on acquire.com
Aside from the 4 percent closing fee to pay, it is free to list and get an appraisal on your service through their Startup Valuation Calculator integrated with Stripe.
Aside from selling your service for good, there are several routes you could take to begin monetizing it, be it ones that don’t directly affect your user base like with tip jars, and ones where you now specifically cater to those willing to pay and those who aren’t. It all comes down to the principle of risk-reward, and your willingness to engage in opportunity costs.