🤩 Personal milestone - My first GitHub sponsor!

— 2 minute read

2 days ago I subscribed to GitHub sponsors to fund my work on the GraphQL API for WordPress, and I already got my first sponsor!

GitHub sponsors
GitHub sponsors

Following the example set by Caleb Porzio (who's making more than u$d 100k/y doing open source), I have decided to use the sponsorware model to fund my project. It works like this:

  • Whenever I get 10 new sponsors (at u$d 14/m), I start developing the most up-voted feature from a special "Sponsorware" list (which I'm completing as I'm writing this milestone)
  • Once implemented, the new feature becomes available to all the sponsors, via a private GitHub repo
  • As soon as I get 50 new sponsors, the new feature becomes open source, accessible to everyone via the public GitHub repo, and is integrated into the plugin

Sponsorware features
Sponsorware features

In a few months, I will also start creating instructional videos, explaining how to make the most out of the plugin. According to Caleb, this is the biggest money-making strategy.

I have also decided to add a middle tier (at u$d 70/m), where I provide Slack-based personal support, to help users of my plugin set-up GraphQL with WordPress, troubleshooting, and answering their questions. A user needed help to develop a functionality, so he decided to sponsor me <= my first sponsor ❤️

Finally, I added a higher tier (at u$d 700) for corporate sponsors. I plan to ask around in the WordPress community if their companies may be interested in participating. That would be a win-win: They get plenty of face from contributing to open source, and I get the certainty that I can make a living wage from my work and can focus on the development of the plugin (and not on marketing, which is not my forte).

My sponsors and sponsored projects
My sponsors and sponsored projects

I hope the sponsorware model works, and I can make a living while working on open source. I'll keep writing updates on how it goes, here on my blog, and on IndieHackers.

Update 15/09: The list of sponsorable features is ready permalink

I have now listed down all the features I plan to implement if I can get the funding. Right now, there are 23 of them (some of them are low-effort, so they can be bundled together):

Features looking for sponsors
Features looking for sponsors