Just some thoughts on various monetization methods nostr clients can explore now or down the road.
1. Pro tiers. This is the route Snort is going with some features being available only to pro subscribers. As a side bonus, you can focus the product around the feedback from paying members which increases the signal from every feature added. Cheap feedback is... well... cheap.
2. Zap pools. Snort is doing this now. This is basically an option to set aside a pre-determined percentage of every zap into a pool that is then zapped out every hour automatically to anyone who is added to the pool. To enable, add a checkbox to each zap modal to support the client. When checked, a percentage slider is visible and adjustable. Allow user to save their preference so they don't have to go through this every time.
3. Zap Splits. Instead of zap pools, you could code the modal in such a way that toggles a zap split when a box is checked. The split could go to one developer account instead of a pool. Keeps things simple.
4. Fees. Grow your client by empowering users to be creators. This would probably mean building marketplace features and taking a fee from every product listed, every song streamed etc... etc... The fee could be optional, could be "streamed" in real time in the case of music playing, or charged on every sale of a digital product. This monetization method would likely work very well in the Adult Industry and clients that were focused exclusively on that.
5. Zapscriptions. Pablo is doing this well with Highlighter. Enable users to zapscribe to other people. You could create pro tiers and ask for zapscriptions, or allow anyone to possibly zapscribe partially to you (the developer) when a person supports someone else. Not sure how feasible this is technically - just an idea at this point.
6. Donations. These could be coupled with badge or physical merch rewards. If user contributes over X amount, they get this exclusive thing, unlock exclusive merch or something else. Create a tier system where higher donation unlocks better recognition. The point of "unlockables" is purely for recognition and not financial gain of any sort - that defeats the purpose.
7. White labeling. If some company wants to have their own version of your client, you could white label it for them as a service - help them get set up, remove any of your own branding and add theirs. OR, you could turn this into an automated process where they can do it themselves. Charge a monthly fee perhaps?
8. Fiat subscriptions. The same as all of the above, but allow people to pay with cards, Apple Pay, etc... Kind of like Current is doing with their iOS app.
A combination of some or all of these.
Whatever you do, if you wish people to use various functions to support the client, make sure those functions are visible or easily discovered (not hidden behind a menu). What's focal is vocal. If it's not visible, it doesn't exist.
What other strategies have I missed?
