Comment by delgaudm | Hacker News Reader

Comment by delgaudm | Hacker News Reader

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>Those who email me with questions never donate.

Can you ask them to? It's not exactly the same problem, but I have a modestly successful youtube channel, and I get unsolicited email questions seeking help every day, and I personally try and answer all that I can. I've used the following technique and it helped me receive donations to offset the support effort.

I added a quiet but clear call to action my support replies. It's in a smaller font and below the actual support reply, but it significantly increased the number of donations, and it helps offset my support time. I went from getting no donations, to donations on over 80% of the support questions I answer. Maybe this would work for you too.

Here is what I add at the bottom of help questions I receive:

----

As you might expect, I get a lot of requests for help. If you found my response helpful, a small donation for my time is totally optional, but appreciated so that I can continue to offer it as a service. http://buymeacoffee.com/boothjunkie

I've noticed something similar in my line of work.

One of the major "metrics" that we track is how much a customer has to put effort in to fix an issue/ticket. This is measured via a survey that's sent out after ticket closure, but many customers never see it or choise not to respond.

A few months ago, I started adding a little post script "A survey is sent out after this case closes. I would appreciate it if you answered it!". Response rates for the survey jumped from 11% to 75%. Many of the responses were generally positive as well, trending our scores up by 11% and still climbing.

Sometimes asking nicely is a powerful tool, for good and potentially evil.

I bet you could get that much close to 100% if the resolution email just included the survey link.

If I get that in the midst of solving the problem I always click - if the survey comes hours or days late I may not make the effort.

The website already earns enough. Donations wouldn't make a big difference, so I don't feel comfortable directly asking for them. Nonetheless, I'll give it a try. Thank you for the suggestion!

The parent reply here is arguably just "priming" the reader to remember that donations are an appropriate way of showing thanks for the help. It's not that people are unwilling or unable to afford to give a donation (although some cannot), its more that they don't even consider it in the first place. A gentle reminder, even smaller and simpler than the above example, just prompts them to consider if they would donate.

I was going to say that I think people kind of build up an immunity or aversion to those sorts of requests as they become more common, but after some consideration there's a difference between individual vs mass communication in that regard.

Think of it this way. I really like donating to free software. But sometimes I have to actively hunt for a donation link. So in my opinion, it would be good to low-key advertise it whenever appropriate.

Also, while we're on the subject: I would love it, if free software came with a token product. For example: a "star" tier that shows up in your online profile, or something. This way, people can donate and make it into a business expense.

Nicely formulated. It is a clear ask, without making things too "transactional" (which can sometimes degrade the experience for everyone).

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