ShamelessPlug.app

Internet runs on ads. Unfortunately, there is no way around it. Our visitors do prefer to view an ad banner below an article rather than subscribe to a new service each time they download an app or open a new website.

I own a pretty niche iOS app called Watch Case. I designed it to help me manage my collection of analog watches. Turns out I’m not the only one and horology is quite popular. The app is free with a subscription tier once you add more than 3 watches. My for the app is to display ad banners to bring some extra revenue and support development.

With Shameless Plug, I can set up ads that will matter to my users. Highly specific information from watch brands, podcasters, and YouTubers wanting to target watch collectors. I do think that inserting ads like this and possibly extending my free tiers to 5-8 free watches per collection would be a win-win for me and my users. All without selling their sensitive data, creepy tracking, and irrelevant casino ads displayed in an app for watch collectors.

One of the main differences between Shameless Plug and other advertising platforms like Google or Facebook is that we allow/require the developer to be in full control over the ads they display to the end user. This model requires some extra effort from the developer to find advertisers wanting to showcase their products within an app they have access to. In return, devs will keep all the revenue they make, while Shameless Plug handles all the backend work to display ads and provide relevant statistics about the goals both parties agreed on.

Having briefly explained what Shameless Plug does for developers and advertisers, let's talk about our pricing scheme for the upcoming September relaunch.

Once you register for the service, Shameless Plug will be free for development and light usage, allowing up to 300 monthly API calls. We'll monitor usage and make adjustments as needed, but this should be sufficient during development and for those using the service on personal blogs, niche apps, and websites.

Shameless Plug will offer a paid tier priced at $20/month or $200/year. This tier is designed to cover 99% of regular API usage with all features included. We won't take a commission from your sales, so make sure you get your money's worth 🚀.

While we aim to keep things simple with just one paid tier to unlock all features, we will monitor API usage and reserve the right to move you to our 'Enterprise' tier if your usage is exceptionally high.

We believe that Shameless Plug will help you to display high quality ads and messages from advertisers you chose to work with. And in order to do that, we want to give you a quality product you can work with. Hopefully our simple pricing schema will help us achieve that goal.

• Michal

Vincent Ritter, my dear friend who I have known for quite some time now, created Sublime Ads in March of 2020. The main purpose of the service was for developers to be in full control over the ads they serve on websites or their mobile apps. It was designed to prioritize privacy, which is quite contrary to the big services out there.
I started using Sublime Ads in one of my iOS apps shortly after its initial release and loved it. I had big plans to use it as an extra revenue stream on the free tier of Watch Case, sort of like Overcast does with their podcasting ads displayed in the app. It worked well, and I started bugging Vincent to add new features to the service. I must say, I was quite annoying.
Fast forward a few more years, Vincent and I started talking to share responsibilities to push Sublime Ads forward and give it the proper exposure it deserves. We were thinking about how to manage it properly with his development experience and me wanting to take over all the rest of the tasks. We agreed that the best way to move forward would be a fresh start under my supervision and his involvement as a developer. I must say I'm so grateful that he decided to stay active.
It is not a finished story, and we are still trying to figure out the work it will take to re-launch Sublime Ads under its new name and with a few new features. One thing for sure is that with Vincent's help, we will do our best to give this great piece of software the attention it deserves. And rest assured, we will not compromise on the simplicity of the service nor the privacy angle that is so important to Vincent and me.

I always find it quite hard to make a product pitch of my own apps that would be easily digestible for a random person. With Shameless Plug, the story is quite different since I started as a user (iOS developer) who got to know the service quite well from a user's perspective.

Shameless Plug is for devs who are looking into app monetization through ads but are repelled by the disgusting ads served by Google or Facebook and don't want to give away the privacy of their users. The name says it all. As a developer you should shamelessly plug products and services you believe in. Not because you get $0.001 per random click but because you want to promote products your users/visitors might enjoy using. And we think that down the road, this path will increase your revenue.

If you need more convincing, please take a look at this article from 9to5Mac. Somehow the in-house advertising model goes strong for Marco since 2017.

I'm a programmer with almost 20 years of experience building apps and websites. I did start my journey before Apple released their first iPhone and I do remember the time when apps did cost significantly more than they do now. Current app monetization landscape is hard and I do think that Apple did change it for better or worse introducing a free tier and making it a default option for 90% of new apps.

The 'free' tier doesn't really matter for the big fish with funding and resources to sustain their business, but it does matter for indie devs needing to find ways to monetize their users.
Shameless plug is my answer to the free tier problem. I hope it will bring some additional revenue to high quality apps for which going behind a paywall would mean the end.