My product doesn't solve any problem, but still...
Hello IH !
I recently bumped into thoughttrain.cc and progressbarosx.com, two cool status bar apps for macOS and it inspired me to make one of my own 🤔. After learning a bit of swift and how xcode worked, I made this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r5xmd6p4g002ctv/preview.png?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wwjfdgez53w62ol/preview2.png?dl=0
The idea is to inspire the user by displaying a quote in the macOS status bar. It's a bit what momentumdash.com does for chrome. The quote is currently updated everyday.
So it doesn't solve any problem...
...but the friends I showed it to seem to like the idea 😏
It's not launched yet as I'm gathering more feedbacks and fixing bugs. In the meantime I'd like to measure the traction and decide on pricing. Even if it's not much, it would be a great milestone for me to 🚀close my first sell with this app.
💌 Do you like the idea ?
💰How much do you think it's worth ?
Thanks for your help!
$0 because my answer to your first question is "no". I think motivation and especially those motivational quotes/articles/posters/... are food for the people running away from discipline. It makes you feel good but achieves nothing.
Which is OK and doesn't represent the actual value of what you've built. Very, very, very important difference. It just means I'm not your target market.
Reason I posted this anyway, is because it leads to the next questions: So why did your friends like it? And are they part of your target market? If not, where could you find people who are? (and you're right: maybe IH, good start)
Problem and value are abstract. Something that makes you feel good is a solution to the absence of this product that makes you feel good. (In English: if this doesn't exist, people would be "missing out" on the extra opportunity to feel good.) Don't assume it's not a solution, because it could lead to the wrong decisions.
Thanks for the advice. Indeed my app can be seen as a partial solution to the broad problem of feeling good. I guess that's why it's hard to tell if it's solving the problem efficiently or not...
While I agree, such a project can be used for portfolio, building an audience or learn new skills. I would do it, even if it might not earn a dime (I would release it for free of course).
I would not pay for it (at least not for just getting quotes every day).
You know what I would pay for? Curated citations from books. Ones that force you to think hard. The ones that are the essence of a book. And if you could pick a category of books (like a business, logic, sense of life, philosophy)? That I would buy.
I have not seen proper curation service like that yet.
Interesting, so as I understand you don't really care of the format (the fact that it's shown on your mac status bar), but rather in the quality of the content displayed. I was thinking of displaying other things than quotes, maybe looking for more relevant content is the way to go.
Yes, I actually do not have an "i" product (Windows and Android here), but for a paid solution to introduce me to the essence of books/literature/news I could pay.
This definitely solves a problem: The problem of wanting to keep notes on your screen without cluttering up your desktop or screen real estate.
This is actually really cool. If I had a Mac I'd consider it.
I can't tell you what to price it at, but my advice: Aim high. You can always try a sale or drop the price later if you like.
I guess you confused thought train with the app I am actually building, but that's okay :-)
Ah, my bad.
You know what this is worth? Eyeballs. Just put a link to your website in the "About" section, give it away for free, and you'll have a handful of eyeballs coming by to check out your other projects from time to time. When you do have a project that's making money, that's free advertising.