How could one make money on obscure, free software, tutorials?

7 replies
I have been digging around for money making opportunities on the Internet and was wondering if anyone could give me some ideas on how to monetize something?

I have found a number of obscure software programs that are in use by a lot of people. These software programs are free software - there is no cost involved in getting these programs.

Much of the documentation of these programs is...well...less than clear (I use most of the one's I have been looking at and know this from personal exposure to such documentation).

So...there seems to be a real need for newbie documentation that will show how to do things in a less than geeky way.

Admittedly many of these programs are used primarily by geeks but not always. Some would be used by newbies if they could be taught how to work with them.

My question is...how could one make money from writing better documentation and slapping it up on a website - giving it away for free?

Adsense? Not likely. Not much retail wise going on at all in these software niches. Most don't even have Adwords ads anywhere in sight.

Selling the better documentation probably wouldn't work either. Most people who use these programs are geek types so they don't really need the better documentation. I suppose newbies might buy better documentation but I don't want to bank on that.

No one is going to pay to become a member of a membership site that has better documentation.

Hosting affiliate sales might be doable. This might be the best bet I think.

Anybody got any ideas on how to monetize these types of niche markets?

Writing excellent user documentation to go along with obscure but relatively popular software programs which have poor documentation.

I like writing and think I could write some really good documentation but I don't want to waste my time if it's too difficult to monetize these types of niches.

Thanks.

Carlos
#free #make #money #obscure #software #tutorials
  • You would be offering value and content so hopefully that will be you some traffic. Try to get people to join your list. Then monetize with affiliate programs.

    Basically you would be in the software niche so their are plenty of opportunities for you to promote paid software products.
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  • Profile picture of the author GarrieWilson
    1. Opt-in to download docs then a OTO for video tutorials.
    2. Sell the docs or video tutorials.
    3. AdSense might still work in the niches.

    -g
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Delos
      Originally Posted by GarrieWilson View Post

      1. Opt-in to download docs then a OTO for video tutorials.
      This. Though I'm not sure how valuable that list would be or how well you could target them.

      Offering affiliate alternatives (if available) might work as well.

      I guess it comes down to how willing the intended audience is to buy something. If they're using free programs, they may be open to better, more powerful paid alternatives you recommend.

      Adsense in my (rather limited) book is always the last ditch option. If you can't find anything else that works, then adsense it.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Create user friendly manuals for popular devices first. People will pay for these. I run into people (mostly Baby Boomers) that are clueless on how to operate many of the latest gadgets. Offer full manuals or special reports with "Tip Sheets" for the most common problems and solutions of the most common devices. They have to be written from an engaging, non technical standpoint.

    If you're successful with manuals for popular devices you can branch out into many other directions like the obscure software apps you brought up. If I had a clue about making technical stuff easy to understand I'd likely be doing exactly this but I'm not wired that way.

    Think of how many _______ for Dummies books have been sold along with Idiot's Guides. There are literally 100s of not so popular devices that still need similar easy to understand manuals. Fill that need and you could become a household name.
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    • Profile picture of the author BamIPD
      I was going to say offer a paid upgrade to video tutorial.
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  • Profile picture of the author run
    How about locking some important parts with CPA conent locker!

    Most of them won't take their Credit Card to buy such a thing, but they probably could complete the offers to get the documentations which are very useful for them.
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    I just wanna tell you that most of the links in the signature are trash and/or a trap to make you pay!
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