How to sell a project template/boilerplate?
Hello, I'm new in this community and I have my first question :)
Product Description
I'm working on React Native mobile app project boilerplate. I've called it ProductionReadyForms.com. The idea is simple - I create whole project wireframe with the most popular app scenarios like Login, Registration, Navigation between the scenes, contacting support etc.
With this product the developer doesn't need to think about architecture, what tools to use etc - just business logic and design.
My main target with this product is freelancers and software houses.
I know how to make it technically but I need some business advice as I'm new to it. I want to use my blog for product placement and promotion (How-to articles pointing out that my product has already resolved this issue).
My two blockers for now:
1. How to distribute it?
I consider .zip file on Gumroad but I feel like it's kind of unprofessional. Some restricted access repository would be better in my opinion. Unfortunately, Github Sponsors doesn't have such an option. What do you think?
Also, I like the "Build in Public" concept but how to do it with hidden code?
2. Should I concern about piracy?
I'm kind of afraid that only one person buys my product and upload it somewhere as an open-source. How to avoid it?
Any other suggestions for a newbie in the area :) ?
My take on it is that someone who goes out of their way to steal was never going to pay you anyhow. The key is to make sure that you make most of your money on follow-up: premium features, support, consulting, updates, what-have-you.
This is my current idea about this. To deliver more value except for code so people will have additional motivation to take a product from the official source.
You're best just rolling your own distribution system. I've been selling boilerplates for years and have never found a perfect off-the-shelf solution.
Should you be worried about piracy? Maybe, it depends who you're targeting.
As I mentioned in the article - I'm targeting freelancers and software houses. I guess those guys create so many apps that a nice and polished template would make their work easier.
Would you like to share some links to your works? I would love to check out how you organized the whole process.
Sure, https://usegravity.app
Wow! This looks so professional. I'm aiming to create something much smaller (as for now). I also read your history (Sickness, Thailand etc.) and I have similar thoughts about startups&stress. Truly inspirational!
Thank you :)
Thank you :)
We created our own dashboard based on our own boilerplate that automatically gives access to a user that bought our product. It's pretty easy to provide. You also can do it manually - as soon as you have a new customer, take his/her Github account name and add it to the list of users having access.
This article describes how it works for users: https://www.saasforge.dev/docs/subscription
I saw it and even found the clone of my other open-source project. I wrote them and asked to remove it. But in the case of more serious trouble, it will be harder. I don't have a good answer either.
Adding people manually can cause frustration that they paid and need to wait till I add them manually. I will try to avoid that.
Someone told me that Github sponsors have webhooks so it should be easy to write a small microservice to give access to a private repo. I just need to consider if the repo is actually something I want.
Still wondering between repo distribution vs simple zip + readme distribution.
This may not help you, but I recently discovered a tool, basetools.io which I think fits your needs.
Hi, yeah I'm watching closely at this tool. It is still in early stage though.