[renownedmedia]

For a few months I had the ability for users to sign up for a paid account, but I never pushed it. After that, I just disabled the feature altogether.

The most advertising I did do was a 125x125 ad on a website used by web developers (DavidWalsh.name) for one month. I didn't get a single user through that ad though.

The biggest lesson learned is that an app like this really needs someone who is good at marketing. I'm just a programmer, but if I had found a marketer and pursued the development of the app, I'm pretty sure it could have been successful.

Another take away is to research competitors. I never looked them up since I actually built this mostly for myself at first, and just kept adding new features as it got bigger. It turned out the market was very crowded (This page has a list of 17 competitors: http://thomashunter.name/blog/shutting-down-and-open-sourcin...).

Also, "piss or get off the pot". I spent a lot of time developing this but I didn't devote enough of my time to it for it to be successful.

[atomical]

I wouldn't describe a market with 17 competitors as crowded. Maybe others would disagree. I'm building an invoicing app for a niche market so I'm probably biased.

[Alan01252]

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply!

Also I know you're getting a lot of stick in this thread for the code which I feel is unjustified, I just want to say I commend you for open sourcing it.

[renownedmedia]

Thanks for the encouragement! I get flack from everything I open, must be a sign.

[scoot]

It's a sign that people are interested in,and paying attention to your code. Take it as a compliment!