Why I Don't Monetize my Software Projects

July 2 2022

As an amateur software developer, the question I get asked the most is: "When is that million dollar app coming out?"

I tend to say I don't know, or I don't have any good app ideas, but I never give an accurate answer. After all, it's not easy to explain to the average Joe why a hobby OS or a firmware hack isn't making a ton of money.

This is a post explaining why amateur software developers (especially open source programmers) don't monetize or make money off their projects.

I Don't Know How To

At least for me, the biggest reason for me no monetizing my projects is because I have no idea how to monetize. I don't know how to get people to pay money for stuff, or market a product, or manage an online audience. Heck, I can't even figure out how to manage a Twitter account. This is a big reason for why most programmers are better off working for a company with a dedicated marketing team instead of trying to do everything on their own.

And most importantly, I hate marketing and monetizing. If it's just a hobby project, why do something I hate to try and make little money from it?

It's a Hobby

People work on hobby projects solely because it's enjoyable. Whether it's a 2000 Jeep Cherokee, or a command line Bible app, we like to work on them because it's cool and rewarding to see the final result. Trying to turn it into a money project can ruin the enjoyment.