sepehr 640fcb26f7 fix: improve note interactions and markdown LaTeX support

## Bug Fixes

### Note Card Actions
- Fix broken size change functionality (missing state declaration)
- Implement React 19 useOptimistic for instant UI feedback
- Add startTransition for non-blocking updates
- Ensure smooth animations without page refresh
- All note actions now work: pin, archive, color, size, checklist

### Markdown LaTeX Rendering
- Add remark-math and rehype-katex plugins
- Support inline equations with dollar sign syntax
- Support block equations with double dollar sign syntax
- Import KaTeX CSS for proper styling
- Equations now render correctly instead of showing raw LaTeX

## Technical Details

- Replace undefined currentNote references with optimistic state
- Add optimistic updates before server actions for instant feedback
- Use router.refresh() in transitions for smart cache invalidation
- Install remark-math, rehype-katex, and katex packages

## Testing

- Build passes successfully with no TypeScript errors
- Dev server hot-reloads changes correctly

2026-01-09 22:13:49 +01:00

36 KiB

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Monetization Analysis - Memento Project

Executive Summary

Comprehensive business analysis for monetizing the Memento note-taking application while maintaining open-source status. Covers "Pay me a coffee" donation implementation, alternative revenue streams, and sustainable open-source business models.

Project: Memento (Google Keep-inspired note-taking app) License: Open Source (MIT/Apache recommended) Primary Monetization: Donations + Freemium Target Release: Q1 2024

Pay Me a Coffee Implementation
Open Source Monetization Strategies
Revenue Stream Analysis
Platform Comparison
Implementation Roadmap
Financial Projections
Legal & Compliance
Recommendations

Pay Me a Coffee Implementation

Overview

"Pay me a coffee" is a micro-donation model where users voluntarily contribute small amounts (typically $3-5) to support the project. Low friction, high transparency.

Popular Platforms

Platform	Fees	Payout	Best For
Buy Me a Coffee	0% transaction + ~5% processing	Weekly	Casual donations
Ko-fi	0% (Standard)	Instant	No-fee donations
GitHub Sponsors	Variable	Monthly	Developer-focused
Patreon	5-12%	Monthly	Recurring support
Open Collective	5-10%	Monthly	Community-run
Liberapay	0% platform fee	Weekly	Privacy-focused

Platform Detailed Analysis

1. Buy Me a Coffee

Website: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/

Pros:

✅ Very popular among developers
✅ Simple integration (single link or widget)
✅ One-time and recurring donations
✅ No monthly fees
✅ Customizable profile
✅ Social proof (supporter count, total raised)
✅ Goals/milestones feature
✅ Extra features (posts, updates)

Cons:

⚠️ ~5% payment processing fee
⚠️ Withdrawal fees ($3-5)
⚠️ Less customizable than self-hosted
⚠️ Platform dependency

Fees:

Transaction: 0% (platform)
Processing: ~5% (Stripe/PayPal)
Withdrawal: $3-5 per withdrawal
Currency: USD only (conversion fees apply)

Integration:

<!-- Simple Button -->
<a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/yourusername">
  <img src="https://img.buymeacoffee.com/button-api/?text=Buy me a coffee&emoji=&slug=yourusername&button_colour=FFDD00&font_colour=000000&outline_colour=000000&coffee_colour=ffffff" />
</a>

<!-- Widget -->
<script data-name="BMC-Widget" data-cfasync="false" src="https://cdnjs.buymeacoffee.com/1.0.0/widget.prod.min.js" data-id="yourusername" data-description="Support me on Buy me a coffee!" data-message="" data-color="#FFDD00" data-position="Right" data-x_margin="18" data-y_margin="18"></script>

Payout Options:

Bank transfer (US)
PayPal (international)
Stripe (automated)

Minimum Payout: $5

Best For: First-time creators, casual donations, quick setup

2. Ko-fi

Website: https://ko-fi.com/

Pros:

✅ 0% platform fee (Standard plan)
✅ Instant payouts (no minimum)
✅ One-time and recurring donations
✅ Shop functionality (sell digital products)
✅ Commissions feature
✅ Goals/milestones
✅ Custom branding

Cons:

⚠️ ~2.9% + $0.30 payment processing (Stripe/PayPal)
⚠️ Gold plan has fees ($6/mo for advanced features)
⚠️ Smaller user base than BMC

Fees:

Standard Plan: 0% platform fee
Gold Plan: $6/month (advanced analytics, custom branding)
Processing: ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Withdrawal: No withdrawal fees

Integration:

<!-- Button -->
<a href="https://ko-fi.com/yourusername">
  <img height="36" src="https://storage.ko-fi.com/cdn/kofi2.png?v=3" border="0" alt="Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com" />
</a>

<!-- Widget -->
<script src='https://storage.ko-fi.com/cdn/widget/Widget_2.js'></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
  kofiwidget2.init('Support Me', '#29abe0', 'yourusername');
  kofiwidget2.draw();
</script>

Best For: Fee-conscious creators, digital product sales

3. GitHub Sponsors

Website: https://github.com/sponsors

Pros:

✅ Integrated with GitHub (where devs are)
✅ Recurring monthly payments
✅ Tiered sponsorship levels
✅ Matching programs (GitHub matches some sponsors)
✅ Professional credibility
✅ Tax documentation (W-8BEN for international)

Cons:

⚠️ Requires verified GitHub account
⚠️ Processing fees (varies by country)
⚠️ Must be open-source project
⚠️ Limited to GitHub users
⚠️ Not ideal for one-time donations

Fees:

Platform: ~5-10% (varies by region)
Processing: ~2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe)
Payout: ACH/direct deposit (varies)

Tiers Example:

# .github/FUNDING.yml
github: yourusername
custom: ["https://buymeacoffee.com/yourusername"]

# Sponsors tiers
- $5/month: Bronze Supporter 🥉
- $15/month: Silver Supporter 🥈
- $50/month: Gold Supporter 🥇
- $100/month: Platinum Sponsor 💎

Best For: Active GitHub projects, developer audience, recurring revenue

4. Patreon

Website: https://www.patreon.com/

Pros:

✅ Established brand (everyone knows Patreon)
✅ Recurring monthly subscriptions
✅ Tier system with rewards
✅ Private community (Discord integration)
✅ Content gating (posts, videos, early access)
✅ Robust analytics

Cons:

⚠️ 5-12% platform fee (Lite: 5%, Pro: 8%, Premium: 12%)
⚠️ Payment processing: ~2.9% + $0.30
⚠️ Payout fees ($0.25-$3 per payout)
⚠️ More suited for content creators than software

Fees:

Lite: 5% platform + 2.9% processing
Pro: 8% platform + 2.9% processing
Premium: 12% platform + 2.9% processing

Best For: Content creators, educational content, exclusive updates

5. Open Collective

Website: https://opencollective.com/

Pros:

✅ Transparent finances (public expense records)
✅ Community-managed (not just one person)
✅ Fiscal host available (tax-deductible donations)
✅ No platform fee (donors can optionally cover fees)
✅ Multiple contributors can receive payouts
✅ Integrated with GitHub

Cons:

⚠️ 5-10% payment processing
⚠️ Fiscal host fees (5-10% if used)
⚠️ Slower signup process
⚠️ More complex than BMC/Ko-fi

Best For: Open source projects, community-owned projects

6. Liberapay

Website: https://liberapay.com/

Pros:

✅ 0% platform fee
✅ Privacy-focused
✅ Open source itself
✅ Recurring donations
✅ No withdrawal minimums
✅ No exclusive periods

Cons:

⚠️ Payment processor fees (2.9% + $0.30)
⚠️ Smaller user base
⚠️ Less polished UI than competitors
⚠️ No custom branding

Best For: Privacy-focused projects, European donors

Platform Comparison Matrix

Feature	BMC	Ko-fi	GitHub	Patreon	Open Collective	Liberapay
Platform Fee	0%	0%	~5-10%	5-12%	0%	0%
Processing Fee	~5%	2.9%+	2.9%+	2.9%+	5-10%	2.9%+
Min Payout	$5	None	$10	$50	None	None
Recurring	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
One-Time	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅
Shop	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
Tiers	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Widget	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅
GitHub Integration	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅
Popularity	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐
Ease of Setup	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommended Platform Strategy

Tiered Approach (Multi-Platform)

Primary (Free/Low-Fee): Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee

Why: Zero platform fees, easy setup, popular
Use: General donations, "Buy me a coffee" links

Secondary (Developer Audience): GitHub Sponsors

Why: Integrated with GitHub, recurring revenue
Use: Monthly sponsorship tiers for developers

Tertiary (Optional): Patreon

Why: Exclusive content, community building
Use: Behind-the-scenes updates, early access

Single Platform (Simplicity)

Recommended: Ko-fi

Zero platform fees
One-time + recurring
Shop functionality
Instant payouts
Custom branding

Setup: One profile on Ko-fi, link everywhere

Implementation in Memento Application

Option 1: Simple Link (Easiest)

Location: Footer, Settings page, About modal

// components/donation-button.tsx
export function DonationButton() {
  return (
    <a
      href="https://ko-fi.com/yourusername"
      target="_blank"
      rel="noopener noreferrer"
      className="donation-link"
    >
      ☕ Buy me a coffee
    </a>
  );
}

Placement:

Footer: "Support Memento"
Settings: "Support the project"
About modal: Donation link
Sidebar: Coffee cup icon

Implementation: Add donation widget to app

// components/ko-fi-widget.tsx
'use client';

import { useEffect } from 'react';

export function KoFiWidget() {
  useEffect(() => {
    const script = document.createElement('script');
    script.src = 'https://storage.ko-fi.com/cdn/widget/Widget_2.js';
    script.async = true;
    document.body.appendChild(script);

    return () => {
      document.body.removeChild(script);
    };
  }, []);

  return null; // Widget renders automatically
}

Placement: Floating button (bottom-right corner)

Option 3: Settings Page Integration (Best)

Create dedicated "Support" page:

// app/(main)/support/page.tsx
export default function SupportPage() {
  return (
    <div className="container mx-auto py-10">
      <h1>Support Memento Development</h1>

      <div className="support-options">
        <Card>
          <CardHeader>
            <CardTitle>☕ Buy me a coffee</CardTitle>
          </CardHeader>
          <CardContent>
            <p>If you find Memento useful, consider supporting its development:</p>

            <Button asChild>
              <a href="https://ko-fi.com/yourusername" target="_blank">
                Donate on Ko-fi
              </a>
            </Button>

            <Button asChild variant="outline">
              <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/yourusername" target="_blank">
                Sponsor on GitHub
              </a>
            </Button>
          </CardContent>
        </Card>

        <Card>
          <CardHeader>
            <CardTitle>💚 Why support?</CardTitle>
          </CardHeader>
          <CardContent>
            <ul>
              <li>☕ Keeps me fueled with coffee</li>
              <li>🐛 Covers hosting costs</li>
              <li>✨ Funds new features</li>
              <li>📚 Supports documentation</li>
              <li>🌍 Keeps Memento open-source</li>
            </ul>
          </CardContent>
        </Card>

        <Card>
          <CardHeader>
            <CardTitle>🎁 Sponsor perks</CardTitle>
          </CardHeader>
          <CardContent>
            <div className="tiers">
              <div className="tier">
                <h3>🥉 Bronze - $5/month</h3>
                <p>Name in supporters list</p>
              </div>

              <div className="tier">
                <h3>🥈 Silver - $15/month</h3>
                <p>Bronze + priority feature requests</p>
              </div>

              <div className="tier">
                <h3>🥇 Gold - $50/month</h3>
                <p>Silver + logo in footer, priority support</p>
              </div>
            </div>
          </CardContent>
        </Card>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
}

Alternative Monetization Strategies

1. Freemium Model

Free Version:

All core features
Up to 100 notes
Basic search
Community support

Premium Version ($5/month or $50/year):

Unlimited notes
Advanced AI features
Priority support
Custom themes
Export to PDF/Word
Collaboration features
API access

Implementation:

// lib/pricing.ts
export const pricing = {
  free: {
    notes: 100,
    aiFeatures: false,
    export: false,
    collaboration: false,
    api: false
  },
  premium: {
    notes: Infinity,
    aiFeatures: true,
    export: true,
    collaboration: true,
    api: true
  }
};

Expected Conversion: 2-5% of users (industry standard)

Revenue Potential:

1,000 users × 5% conversion = 50 paying users
50 × $5/month = $250/month
$250 × 12 = $3,000/year

2. Cloud Hosting (SaaS)

Offer: Hosted version of Memento

Pricing:

Free: Self-hosted (current)
Pro: $10/month (cloud hosting, backups, updates)
Team: $25/month (multi-user, admin panel)

Features:

No setup required
Automatic backups
SSL certificate included
Custom domain support
Priority support
Regular updates

Infrastructure:

Deploy on Render/Railway/Fly.io
Use PostgreSQL (multi-tenant)
Supabase for authentication
Cloudflare R2 for file storage

Revenue Potential:

100 Pro users × $10 = $1,000/month
20 Team users × $25 = $500/month
Total: $1,500/month = $18,000/year

3. AI Credits Model

Concept: Pay-per-use for AI features

Pricing:

Free tier: 100 AI operations/month
Pro tier: 1,000 AI operations/month for $5
Pay-as-you-go: $0.01 per operation

AI Features:

Auto-tagging
Semantic search
Content summarization
Smart categorization
Text generation

Implementation:

// lib/ai-credits.ts
export async function consumeAICredits(userId: string, amount: number) {
  const user = await prisma.user.findUnique({ where: { id: userId } });

  if (!user) throw new Error('User not found');

  const credits = user.aiCredits || 0;

  if (credits < amount) {
    throw new Error('Insufficient AI credits');
  }

  await prisma.user.update({
    where: { id: userId },
    data: { aiCredits: credits - amount }
  });
}

Revenue Potential:

1,000 users
20% use AI features = 200 users
50 buy credits × $5/month = $250/month
Total: $3,000/year

4. White-Label Licensing

Offer: Resell Memento as your own product

Target: Companies, teams, organizations

Pricing:

Startup: $499/year (up to 50 users)
Business: $1,999/year (up to 200 users)
Enterprise: $4,999/year (unlimited users)

Includes:

Remove "Memento" branding
Custom domain/logo
Priority support
Custom features (paid add-on)
SLA guarantee
Source code access (Enterprise)

Revenue Potential:

5 Startup licenses × $499 = $2,495/year
2 Business licenses × $1,999 = $3,998/year
1 Enterprise license × $4,999 = $4,999/year
Total: ~$11,492/year

5. Marketplace/Plugins

Concept: Plugin ecosystem for Memento

Examples:

Calendar integration plugin ($5)
Notion sync plugin ($10)
Markdown export plugin ($3)
Backup to Google Drive ($5)
Custom themes ($2-5)

Revenue Share: 70% to creator, 30% to Memento

Revenue Potential:

100 plugin sales/month × $5 average = $500/month
30% = $150/month to Memento
Total: $1,800/year

6. Consulting & Custom Development

Offer: Paid customization, support, consulting

Services:

Custom feature development: $100-500/hour
Setup & deployment: $500 flat fee
Training: $200/hour
Priority support: $100/month

Target: Businesses, power users

Revenue Potential:

2 custom projects/year × $5,000 = $10,000
10 setups/year × $500 = $5,000
5 support contracts × $100 × 12 = $6,000
Total: $21,000/year

7. Affiliate Partnerships

Concept: Recommend complementary tools/services

Examples:

AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic)
Hosting providers (DigitalOcean, Render)
Email services (SendGrid, Mailgun)
Domain registrars (Namecheap, Cloudflare)

Commission: 10-30% of referred sales

Revenue Potential:

20 hosting referrals × $50 commission = $1,000
50 AI service referrals × $20 commission = $1,000
Total: $2,000/year (low effort)

8. Content & Education

Offer: Paid courses, tutorials, books

Examples:

"Build Your Own Note-Taking App" course: $49
"Next.js 16 Deep Dive" course: $79
"AI Integration in React" ebook: $19
YouTube channel (ad revenue)
Blog (sponsored posts)

Revenue Potential:

100 course sales × $49 = $4,900
50 ebook sales × $19 = $950
Ad revenue: $100-500/month
Total: $5,850-11,850/year

Revenue Projections

Conservative Scenario (1,000 users)

Stream	Conversion	Monthly	Yearly
Donations (BMC/Ko-fi)	5% ($3 avg)	$150	$1,800
GitHub Sponsors	1% ($10/mo)	$100	$1,200
Freemium Premium	3% ($5/mo)	$150	$1,800
Total	-	$400	$4,800

Note: Conservative, realistic for first year

Moderate Scenario (5,000 users)

Stream	Conversion	Monthly	Yearly
Donations	5% ($3 avg)	$750	$9,000
GitHub Sponsors	2% ($10/mo)	$1,000	$12,000
Freemium Premium	3% ($5/mo)	$750	$9,000
Cloud Hosting	1% ($10/mo)	$500	$6,000
AI Credits	5% ($5/mo)	$1,250	$15,000
Total	-	$4,250	$51,000

Optimistic Scenario (10,000 users)

Stream	Conversion	Monthly	Yearly
Donations	5%	$1,500	$18,000
GitHub Sponsors	2%	$2,000	$24,000
Freemium Premium	5%	$2,500	$30,000
Cloud Hosting	2%	$2,000	$24,000
AI Credits	10%	$5,000	$60,000
White-Label	5 licenses	$500	$6,000
Consulting	2 projects/mo	$2,000	$24,000
Content	Course sales	$500	$6,000
Total	-	$16,000	$192,000

Note: Requires active marketing, community building

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Quick Wins (Week 1)

Tasks:

Set up Ko-fi profile (1 hour)
Set up GitHub Sponsors (1 hour)
Add donation links to README (30 min)
Add "Support" page to app (2 hours)
Add donation button to footer (1 hour)

Expected Outcome: Basic donation infrastructure

Cost: $0 Time: ~5 hours

Phase 2: Community Building (Month 1)

Tasks:

Create "Sponsors" section in README
Add "Support Memento" banner to homepage
Write blog post about project vision
Share on Reddit (r/SideProject, r/opensource)
Share on Hacker News
Post on Twitter/X
Create Discord/Slack community
Add "Star on GitHub" prompt

Expected Outcome: Initial supporters, early adopters

Goal: 100 GitHub stars, $50 in donations

Phase 3: Value-Add Features (Months 2-3)

Tasks:

Implement user credits system
Add premium tier gates
Build pricing page
Set up payment processor (Stripe)
Implement subscription management
Add "Upgrade" prompts in app
Create premium features:
- Export to PDF
- Custom themes
- Priority support
- Advanced AI features

Expected Outcome: Freemium model live

Goal: 500 users, $200/month revenue

Phase 4: Scale & Optimize (Months 4-6)

Tasks:

Launch hosted version (SaaS)
Create affiliate program
Develop plugin API
White-label offering
Consulting packages
Content creation (courses, blog)

Expected Outcome: Multiple revenue streams

Goal: 2,000 users, $1,000/month revenue

Marketing Strategies

1. Content Marketing

Blog Posts:

"How I Built Memento"
"10 Note-Taking Best Practices"
"Open Source Monetization"
"AI in Note-Taking Apps"

Platforms:

Dev.to
Medium
Hashnode
Personal blog

Twitter/X:

Share development updates
Engage with dev community
Join #buildinpublic

LinkedIn:

Professional updates
Case studies
Job postings

Reddit:

r/SideProject
r/opensource
r/webdev
r/nextjs

3. Product Hunt

Launch Strategy:

Prepare hunt page (screenshots, demo video)
Schedule launch (Tuesday morning PST)
Engage with comments
Offer exclusive PH discount

Goal: Top 5 Product of the Day

4. Directories & Listings

Submit to:

GitHub Trending
Awesome Self-Hosted
Open Source Alternatives
ProductHunt
Hacker News
IndieHackers

5. Community Engagement

Discord/Slack:

Create community space
Weekly updates
Feature voting
Direct feedback

GitHub Discussions:

Feature requests
Bug reports
Q&A
Show & tell

Legal & Compliance

1. License Selection

Recommended: MIT License

Why:

✅ Permissive (allows commercial use)
✅ Simple (no complex restrictions)
✅ Popular (developers know it)
✅ Allows dual-licensing (future)

Alternative: Apache 2.0

✅ Patent protection
✅ More protections for contributors

Avoid: GPL (restricts commercial use, complicates monetization)

2. Terms of Service

For self-hosted:

Disclaimer of warranties
Limitation of liability
User responsibilities

For SaaS/hosted:

Privacy policy
Data processing agreement
SLA
Refund policy

3. Tax Considerations

Donations:

Generally taxable income
Report as self-employment income
May need to register business

SaaS Revenue:

Sales tax (depends on location)
VAT (if EU customers)
Consult accountant

Recommendations:

Open business bank account
Keep detailed records
Use accounting software (Wave, QuickBooks)
Consult tax professional

4. Privacy & Data

GDPR Compliance (EU):

Privacy policy required
Data deletion requests
Cookie consent
Data processing agreement

CCPA Compliance (California):

Do not sell my info link
Data access requests
Opt-out mechanism

Implementation:

// lib/privacy.ts
export async function deleteUserAccount(userId: string) {
  // Delete all user data
  await prisma.note.deleteMany({ where: { userId } });
  await prisma.label.deleteMany({ where: { userId } });
  await prisma.user.delete({ where: { id: userId } });
}

Success Metrics & KPIs

Donation Metrics

Metric	Target	Timeline
GitHub Stars	100	Month 1
Active Users	500	Month 3
Donors	10	Month 1
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)	$100	Month 3
Average Donation	$5	-
Conversion Rate	5%	-

Engagement Metrics

Metric	Target	Timeline
Monthly Active Users (MAU)	1,000	Month 6
Notes Created	5,000	Month 6
Retention Rate	30%	Month 6
NPS Score	50+	Month 6

Community Metrics

Metric	Target	Timeline
Discord Members	100	Month 3
GitHub Issues	50	Month 6
Contributors	5	Month 6
Blog Subscribers	200	Month 6

Competitive Analysis

Similar Projects

Project	Model	Price	Notes
Standard Notes	Freemium	$10-50/mo	Encrypted, privacy-focused
Joplin	Open Source	Donations	Non-profit, community-driven
Notesnook	Freemium	$5-50/mo	Encrypted, cross-platform
Simplenote	Free	$0	Owned by Automattic
Notion	Freemium	$8-15/mo	All-in-one workspace

Memento's Differentiators

✅ AI-Powered: Semantic search, auto-tagging ✅ Open Source: Transparent development ✅ Self-Hosted: Privacy, data ownership ✅ Modern Stack: Next.js 16, React 19 ✅ MCP Integration: AI/automation ready ✅ Affordable: Donations vs expensive subscriptions

Recommended Strategy

Start Simple (Months 1-3)

Focus: Donations + Community

✅ Set up Ko-fi + GitHub Sponsors
✅ Add donation links everywhere
✅ Build community (Discord)
✅ Share on social media
✅ Engage with early adopters

Goal: Validate demand, get initial supporters

Add Freemium (Months 4-6)

Focus: Premium features

✅ Implement credit system
✅ Add premium gates
✅ Launch premium features
✅ Set up Stripe payments
✅ Create pricing page

Goal: Convert free users to paying

Scale Up (Months 7-12)

Focus: Multiple revenue streams

✅ Launch hosted SaaS
✅ Develop plugin ecosystem
✅ Offer white-label licenses
✅ Create consulting packages
✅ Build educational content

Goal: Diversified revenue, sustainable income

Final Recommendations

Immediate Actions (This Week)

Set up Ko-fi profile (1 hour)
- Customize profile
- Add story, goals
- Create first post
Set up GitHub Sponsors (1 hour)
- Verify account
- Create tiers
- Add FUNDING.yml
Add donation links (2 hours)
- Update README
- Add to footer
- Create Support page
Write announcement post (2 hours)
- Share vision
- Explain donation use
- Link to platforms
Share on social media (1 hour)
- Twitter/X
- Reddit
- LinkedIn
- Discord

Total Time: ~7 hours Expected Outcome: First supporters within 1 week

Long-Term Vision

Year 1 Goals:

1,000+ GitHub stars
500 active users
$100-500/month revenue
Active community (Discord)
10+ contributors

Year 2 Goals:

5,000+ GitHub stars
2,000 active users
$1,000-2,000/month revenue
Hosted SaaS launch
Plugin marketplace

Year 3 Goals:

10,000+ GitHub stars
5,000 active users
$3,000-5,000/month revenue
Sustainable open-source project
Full-time income potential

Conclusion

Memento has excellent potential for open-source monetization through a multi-pronged approach:

Best Strategies for Memento:

"Pay me a coffee" donations (Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee)
- Low friction, high transparency
- Start immediately
- Zero platform fees with Ko-fi
GitHub Sponsors
- Developer audience
- Recurring revenue
- Tiered sponsorship levels
Freemium model
- Free core features
- Premium AI features
- Export, themes, collaboration
Hosted SaaS
- For non-technical users
- Automatic updates
- Managed hosting
Content & consulting
- Courses, tutorials
- Custom development
- Priority support

Key Success Factors:

✅ Stay open-source (MIT or Apache license) ✅ Start small (donations first) ✅ Build community (Discord, GitHub Discussions) ✅ Deliver value (quality features, good UX) ✅ Be transparent (share roadmap, finances) ✅ Engage genuinely (respond to feedback, iterate)

Realistic Revenue Potential:

Conservative: $200-500/month (Year 1)
Moderate: $1,000-2,000/month (Year 2)
Optimistic: $3,000-5,000/month (Year 3)

Remember: Most open-source projects don't make significant money. Focus on building something useful, engaging with users, and the revenue will follow organically.

Resources & Tools

Donation Platforms

Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/
Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/
GitHub Sponsors: https://github.com/sponsors
Open Collective: https://opencollective.com/
Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/

Payment Processing

Stripe: https://stripe.com/ (subscriptions, one-time)
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ (donations)
Paddle: https://paddle.com/ (SaaS billing)

Analytics & Tracking

Plausible: https://plausible.io/ (privacy-friendly analytics)
Umami: https://umami.is/ (open-source analytics)
Fathom: https://usefathom.com/ (simple analytics)

Email Marketing

ConvertKit: https://convertkit.com/ (creators)
Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/ (general)
Beehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/ (newsletters)

Community Platforms

Discord: https://discord.com/ (chat, voice)
Slack: https://slack.com/ (team communication)
Circle: https://circle.so/ (paid communities)

Example: Complete Implementation

Support Page Component

// app/(main)/support/page.tsx
import { Card, CardContent, CardHeader, CardTitle } from '@/components/ui/card';
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';

export default function SupportPage() {
  return (
    <div className="container mx-auto py-10 max-w-4xl">
      <div className="text-center mb-10">
        <h1 className="text-4xl font-bold mb-4">
          Support Memento Development ☕
        </h1>
        <p className="text-muted-foreground text-lg">
          Memento is 100% free and open-source. Your support helps keep it that way.
        </p>
      </div>

      <div className="grid gap-6 md:grid-cols-2 mb-10">
        {/* Ko-fi Card */}
        <Card className="border-2 border-primary">
          <CardHeader>
            <CardTitle className="flex items-center gap-2">
              <span className="text-2xl">☕</span>
              Buy me a coffee
            </CardTitle>
          </CardHeader>
          <CardContent>
            <p className="mb-4">
              Make a one-time donation or become a monthly supporter.
            </p>
            <Button asChild className="w-full">
              <a href="https://ko-fi.com/yourusername" target="_blank">
                Donate on Ko-fi
              </a>
            </Button>
            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground mt-2">
              No platform fees • Instant payouts • Secure
            </p>
          </CardContent>
        </Card>

        {/* GitHub Sponsors Card */}
        <Card className="border-2 border-primary">
          <CardHeader>
            <CardTitle className="flex items-center gap-2">
              <span className="text-2xl">💚</span>
              Sponsor on GitHub
            </CardTitle>
          </CardHeader>
          <CardContent>
            <p className="mb-4">
              Become a monthly sponsor and get recognition.
            </p>
            <Button asChild variant="outline" className="w-full">
              <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/yourusername" target="_blank">
                Sponsor on GitHub
              </a>
            </Button>
            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground mt-2">
              Recurring support • Public recognition • Developer-focused
            </p>
          </CardContent>
        </Card>
      </div>

      {/* How Donations Are Used */}
      <Card className="mb-10">
        <CardHeader>
          <CardTitle>How Your Support Helps</CardTitle>
        </CardHeader>
        <CardContent>
          <div className="grid md:grid-cols-2 gap-4">
            <div>
              <h3 className="font-semibold mb-2">💰 Direct Impact</h3>
              <ul className="space-y-2 text-sm">
                <li>☕ Keeps me fueled with coffee ☕</li>
                <li>🐛 Covers hosting and server costs</li>
                <li>✨ Funds development of new features</li>
                <li>📚 Improves documentation</li>
                <li>🌍 Keeps Memento 100% open-source</li>
              </ul>
            </div>
            <div>
              <h3 className="font-semibold mb-2">🎁 Sponsor Perks</h3>
              <ul className="space-y-2 text-sm">
                <li>🥉 $5/month - Bronze: Name in supporters</li>
                <li>🥈 $15/month - Silver: Priority feature requests</li>
                <li>🥇 $50/month - Gold: Logo in footer, priority support</li>
                <li>💎 $100/month - Platinum: Custom features, consulting</li>
              </ul>
            </div>
          </div>
        </CardContent>
      </Card>

      {/* Transparency */}
      <Card>
        <CardHeader>
          <CardTitle>💡 Transparency</CardTitle>
        </CardHeader>
        <CardContent>
          <p className="text-sm mb-4">
            I believe in complete transparency. Here's how donations are used:
          </p>
          <div className="space-y-2 text-sm">
            <div className="flex justify-between">
              <span>Hosting & servers:</span>
              <span className="font-mono">~$20/month</span>
            </div>
            <div className="flex justify-between">
              <span>Domain & SSL:</span>
              <span className="font-mono">~$15/year</span>
            </div>
            <div className="flex justify-between">
              <span>AI API costs:</span>
              <span className="font-mono">~$30/month</span>
            </div>
            <div className="flex justify-between border-t pt-2">
              <span className="font-semibold">Total expenses:</span>
              <span className="font-mono font-semibold">~$50/month</span>
            </div>
          </div>
          <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground mt-4">
            Any amount beyond these costs goes directly into improving Memento
            and funding new features. Thank you for your support! 💚
          </p>
        </CardContent>
      </Card>

      {/* Alternative Ways to Support */}
      <div className="mt-10 text-center">
        <h2 className="text-2xl font-bold mb-4">Other Ways to Support</h2>
        <div className="flex flex-wrap justify-center gap-4">
          <Button variant="outline" asChild>
            <a href="https://github.com/yourusername/memento" target="_blank">
              ⭐ Star on GitHub
            </a>
          </Button>
          <Button variant="outline" asChild>
            <a href="https://github.com/yourusername/memento/issues" target="_blank">
              🐛 Report a bug
            </a>
          </Button>
          <Button variant="outline" asChild>
            <a href="https://github.com/yourusername/memento" target="_blank">
              📝 Contribute code
            </a>
          </Button>
          <Button variant="outline" asChild>
            <a href="https://twitter.com/yourusername" target="_blank">
              🐦 Share on Twitter
            </a>
          </Button>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
}

Footer Donation Link

// components/footer.tsx
export function Footer() {
  return (
    <footer className="border-t">
      <div className="container mx-auto py-8">
        <div className="flex justify-between items-center">
          <div>
            <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
              © 2024 Memento. Open-source MIT license.
            </p>
          </div>

          <div className="flex gap-4 items-center">
            <a
              href="https://github.com/yourusername/memento"
              target="_blank"
              className="text-sm hover:underline"
            >
              GitHub
            </a>

            <a
              href="/support"
              className="text-sm font-semibold hover:underline"
            >
              ☕ Support Memento
            </a>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </footer>
  );
}

README Donation Section

## ☕️ Support Memento

Memento is 100% free and open-source. If you find it useful, consider supporting its development:

- **[☕ Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/yourusername)** - One-time or monthly
- **[💚 Sponsor on GitHub](https://github.com/sponsors/yourusername)** - Monthly sponsorship
- **[⭐ Star on GitHub](https://github.com/yourusername/memento)** - Free way to show support

### 💡 How Donations Are Used

- ☕ Keeps me fueled with coffee
- 🐛 Covers hosting costs (~$20/month)
- ✨ Funds new features
- 📚 Improves documentation
- 🌍 Keeps Memento open-source

### 🎁 Sponsor Perks

- 🥉 **$5/month** - Name in supporters list
- 🥈 **$15/month** - Priority feature requests
- 🥇 **$50/month** - Logo in footer, priority support
- 💎 **$100/month** - Custom features, consulting

---

**Made with 💚 by [Your Name](https://github.com/yourusername)**

Final Thoughts

Monetizing open-source software is challenging but possible. The key is:

Build something valuable first
Engage with your community genuinely
Start with donations (low friction)
Add premium features carefully
Diversify revenue streams over time
Stay transparent about finances and roadmap

Most importantly: focus on delivering value to users, and the monetization will follow naturally.

Good luck with Memento! 🚀☕💚

36 KiB Raw Permalink Blame History Unescape Escape

Monetization Analysis - Memento Project

Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Pay Me a Coffee Implementation

Overview

Popular Platforms

Platform Detailed Analysis

1. Buy Me a Coffee

2. Ko-fi

3. GitHub Sponsors

4. Patreon

5. Open Collective

6. Liberapay

Platform Comparison Matrix

Recommended Platform Strategy

Tiered Approach (Multi-Platform)

Single Platform (Simplicity)

Implementation in Memento Application

Option 1: Simple Link (Easiest)

Option 2: In-App Widget (Moderate)

Option 3: Settings Page Integration (Best)

Alternative Monetization Strategies

1. Freemium Model

2. Cloud Hosting (SaaS)

3. AI Credits Model

4. White-Label Licensing

5. Marketplace/Plugins

6. Consulting & Custom Development

7. Affiliate Partnerships

8. Content & Education

Revenue Projections

Conservative Scenario (1,000 users)

Moderate Scenario (5,000 users)

Optimistic Scenario (10,000 users)

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Quick Wins (Week 1)

Phase 2: Community Building (Month 1)

Phase 3: Value-Add Features (Months 2-3)

Phase 4: Scale & Optimize (Months 4-6)

Marketing Strategies

1. Content Marketing

2. Social Media

3. Product Hunt

4. Directories & Listings

5. Community Engagement

Legal & Compliance

1. License Selection

2. Terms of Service

3. Tax Considerations

4. Privacy & Data

Success Metrics & KPIs

Donation Metrics

Engagement Metrics

Community Metrics

Competitive Analysis

Similar Projects

Memento's Differentiators

Recommended Strategy

Start Simple (Months 1-3)

Add Freemium (Months 4-6)

Scale Up (Months 7-12)

Final Recommendations

Immediate Actions (This Week)

Long-Term Vision

Conclusion

Best Strategies for Memento:

Key Success Factors:

Realistic Revenue Potential:

Resources & Tools

Donation Platforms

Payment Processing

Analytics & Tracking

Email Marketing

Community Platforms

Example: Complete Implementation

Support Page Component

Footer Donation Link

README Donation Section

Final Thoughts

36 KiB

Raw Permalink Blame History