indie-monetization-strategist

1. Build audience first - Email list is your foundation
2. Start with validation - If people won't use it free, they won't pay
3. Stack revenue streams - Multiple small wins beats one moonshot
4. Price on value, not cost - Premium pricing attracts premium customers
5. Play the long game - Most "overnight" successes took 3-5 years

Use for:

• Choosing monetization models for dev tools
• Setting up freemium/premium tiers
• Pricing strategy decisions
• Email list building for launches
• Sponsorship and donation systems

NOT for:

• Enterprise B2B sales (use sales skills)
• VC fundraising/pitch decks
• Large-scale advertising campaigns

```

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐

│ PREMIUM PRODUCTS │

│ SaaS subscriptions, one-time purchases │

│ → Highest revenue, requires product-market │

├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤

│ SERVICES & CONSULTING │

│ Custom work, implementation, training │

│ → Trade time for money, but validates │

├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤

│ PASSIVE/SEMI-PASSIVE │

│ Sponsorships, donations, affiliates │

│ → Lower friction, good for content/tools │

├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤

│ LIST BUILDING │

│ Email subscribers, community members │

│ → Foundation for all monetization │

└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

```

```

Is your project...

A DEVELOPER TOOL?

├── Open source? → Sponsorships + Premium features/hosting

├── Closed source? → Freemium SaaS or one-time purchase

└── CLI tool? → Pay-what-you-want + Pro tier

AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE?

├── Course/tutorial? → One-time purchase or membership

├── Reference site? → Sponsorships + Premium content

└── Interactive app? → Freemium with advanced features

A CONTENT SITE?

├── Technical blog? → Sponsorships + Newsletter premium tier

├── Showcase/portfolio? → Consulting leads + Sponsorships

└── Community site? → Membership + Sponsorships

```

Freemium SaaS (80/20 Rule)

| Tier | Price | What to Include |

|------|-------|-----------------|

| Free | $0 | Core functionality, usage limits, goal: get users hooked |

| Pro | $9-29/mo | Higher limits, no branding, priority support |

| Team | $49-199/mo | Admin controls, SSO, SLA guarantees |

Gate these: Usage volume, team features, white-labeling, advanced analytics

Never gate: Core functionality, security features, basics competitors offer free

Sponsorship Pricing Formula

```

Monthly visitors × $0.01-0.05 = Base sponsorship rate

Multipliers:

+ Developer audience (2-3x)

+ Niche focus (1.5-2x)

+ High engagement (1.5x)

```

Donation Platforms

| Platform | Best For | Notes |

|----------|----------|-------|

| GitHub Sponsors | Developers | Best for OSS |

| Buy Me a Coffee | Low friction | Quick setup |

| Ko-fi | Creators | No platform cut |

| Stripe Links | Direct | Lowest fees |

The Decoy Effect:

```

BASIC: $9 PRO: $29 (target) ENTERPRISE: $99 (decoy)

```

Price Anchoring:

```

❌ "Only $29/month!"

✅ "$49/month → $29/month (save 40%)"

```

Annual vs Monthly:

```

Monthly: $29/month | Annual: $19/month (billed $228/year)

Annual subscribers have 5x lower churn.

```

1. Premature Monetization

Symptom: Adding payments before product-market fit

Fix: Validate with free users first

2. Race to the Bottom Pricing

Symptom: Pricing way below competitors

Fix: Price on value delivered, not competitor copying

3. Feature Bloat to Justify Price

Symptom: Adding features nobody asked for

Fix: Charge more for LESS but BETTER

4. Ignoring Existing Monetization

Symptom: Building new revenue streams instead of optimizing existing

Fix: 2x conversion rate before adding new streams

5. Crippled Free Tier

Symptom: Free tier so limited it's useless

Fix: Users who never experience value never convert

6. No Email List

Symptom: Relying only on organic traffic

Fix: Build list before you need it - foundation for everything

7. One-Size-Fits-All Pricing

Symptom: Same price for hobbyists and enterprises

Fix: Segment pricing by use case and value

8. Hidden Costs

Symptom: Surprise fees after signup

Fix: Transparent pricing builds trust

9. Ignoring Churn

Symptom: Focus on acquisition, not retention

Fix: Reducing churn 5% can increase profits 25-95%

10. Pricing Too Low

Symptom: Undervaluing your work

Fix: Higher prices = better customers, higher expectations

| Stage | Monthly Revenue | Meaning |

|-------|-----------------|---------|

| Ramen Profitable | $2-5k | Can quit day job (barely) |

| Comfortable | $10-20k | Good indie income |

| Scaling | $50k+ | Time to consider hiring |

Reality check: Most indie projects earn $0-500/month. $2k/month = top 10%.

Add Payments (5 min with Stripe)

```typescript

// See references/stripe-integration.md for complete guide

const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({

mode: 'subscription',

line_items: [{ price: 'price_xxx', quantity: 1 }],

success_url: 'https://yoursite.com/success',

});

```

Add Sponsorship Button

```html

```

Launch Email Sequence

```

Day 0: Deliver lead magnet + welcome

Day 3: Best content piece

Day 7: Your story/why you built this

Day 14: Soft pitch

Day 21: Social proof

Day 30: Direct pitch with deadline

```

| File | Contents |

|------|----------|

| references/pricing-templates.md | HTML/CSS pricing page templates |

| references/email-sequences.md | Complete email sequence examples |

| references/stripe-integration.md | Full Stripe implementation guide |

---

Covers: Monetization Strategy | Pricing Psychology | Freemium | Sponsorships | Email Marketing

Use with: content-marketer (distribution) | web-design-expert (pricing pages) | product-strategist (positioning)