DonationCoder.com Article - One Year Report on our Experiments with Donationware

[mouser]

I think these are good points.. making people go through hoops before they know they want to keep the program is not a good idea.. and perhaps DC needs to re-evaluate asking people to sign up so soon after they start using a program.. it's so hard to get the balance of these things right.

[Marcel25]

reading my last two posts above, you should be able to conclude that I do not have the perfect solution for DOnationware either. I am struggling myself, being a developer AND a user. But here is my third and last post for today (I think): my two cents for mouser/this community.

1. Make the registration rules as SIMPLE as can be, as few options, etc. KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid

2. In case of freeware, small programs, low risk of loss if income: don't ask for any donation before the user is a REGULAR user (6 months or so)

3. The website: the more professional the website looks (I know, mine is not perfect either, updates planned) the higher the chance people will be willing to give their email address and to donate.

The third option may be new to this discussion. It is not my intention to bash at this website, it is meant as a genaral statement. For this website I feel the software could be presented a bit better, a more solid standard (per program three screenshots, etc)

ALl the best to DonationWare, I will keep reading this topic and the site!

Marcel

[f0dder]

But because I find the DOnationware principe and the communicty interesting, I did sign up for this forum with the intention of complimenting the article and give feedback in this particular topic. Unfortunately, gettin on the forum took me multiple registraion attempts, because I did not receive a validation email (only after 30+ min). But here I am, haning in there just to give my feedback!

-Marcel25 (January 14, 2009, 04:29 AM)

Does your email server perhaps use Greylisting?

[Marcel25]

I eventually got the notices (two) but after sendin an email Mouser replied he manually validated my entry. Not sure where the emails got hold up, but that's not a big problem.

 When someone want to join a forum, he is generally on board. The bigger issue remains finding the balance concerning the donations issue. So I think the registration procedure is more important that easy of forum access.

BTW I hope this article / discussion goes on, would be a shame if it would go into hybernation. Maybe it is an idea to move it to a more prominent location? It is now 4 levels deep in the forum. I got here throiugh the article, but a discussion like this could generate more response if placed on level 1 or 2.

[housetier]

no please do not move it.

[Marcel25]

I am missing an argument... I gave an argument for moving it: more feedback.

Instead of moving I would be happy if a new topic would be started in Reviews and recommendations with a less specific title like "The best approach for asking donations/registering - the difficult balance" or a simular title.

I could start this topic I know, but I think such a general topic should be started and monitored by Mouser. The topic could start with the strategies mentioned in the article and in this topic. Then, forum members could all post their personal preferences regarding to the subject.

More discussion on this topic could lead to new ideas and experiments regarding Donationware and micropayments. I am partially a big fan of the current strategy, but I think it could be refined. A new discussion and/or experiment could help all members that contribute to this site.

Thanks