Why I'm using a pay-what-you-want model and why I think it will work
It's exactly what it sounds like. For each course, you can pay what you want to access different tiers of content. The core content for each course is free, but you can pay to access the StackBlitz challenges and other extra content to enhance your learning experience.
This means that you can get get the most out of LearnVue for your situation depending on what you're looking for.
Different people get different levels of value from the content I create depending on their experience with Vue, age, income, and a thousand other factors that change how much they can get out of LearnVue.
A PWYW structure lets people decide if they're getting enough value from LearnVue to pay for it.
I hope this makes learning Vue more accessible. Anyone with an Internet connection can really take their development to the next level. I've seen the power of this on YouTube, where comments are saying my videos have helped them land jobs in tech (which is still insane to me).
But PWYW leads to a couple questions...
I think it's impossible for me to come up with a one "fair" price for everybody, whether it's purchasing power parity, student pricing, etc. For so many different reasons, any price I set will be limitation on whether or not someone can access LearnVue. I'd like to avoid this.
I learned almost everything I know about programming from free resources online. Granted, this was not an optimal path. There were many nights spent stuck on Stack Overflow only to find the hackiest copy and paste solutions that somehow worked.
My goal with LearnVue is to create developer-focused learning that will teach people those moments. Essentially, I want to make the sort of things that I would find helpful.
This means...
When I was first learning how to code, I was a kid whose only online purchase ever was a Club Penguin membership. But now, I've paid for many online resources. I want to build something for both types of people.
Also, my main goal with LearnVue is to grow a community of likeminded Vue developers. By eliminating cost as a barrier, I believe I can reach this goal faster.
PWYW is an exercise in trust that enough people will pay for the things that provide value to them.
I don't expect everybody to pay. But I'm okay with that.
By paying for a LearnVue course, you're not only saying "yes, this is valuable", but since 25% of all subscriptions go to open source developers, you'll also help support the projects that all of us depend on everyday.
This is where I let you behind the scenes on my thought process. This is some real #buildinpublic stuff, huh.
Regardless of how idealistic I may sound with a PWYW system, I do want to make money with LearnVue. I have two plans to do this:
I'm making a bet that if I make valuable content, enough people will pay to make it sustainable and the LearnVue community will grow to numbers that will attract sponsors
I've been creating online Vue content for 3+ years, and over this time - I've been lucky enough that a decent number of people have decided to check out my content (over 150K a month somehow lol).
I believe PWYW will help me grow my audience at a way faster rate.
Larger audience -> More views -> More sponsorship opportunities.
Honestly, I have no clue what's going to happen. I have my hopes, but at the end of the day - this is me trying something new and learning in public.
So if you feel LearnVue provides value to you? Consider paying. If you want to try it out first, try it out first. There's no harm. My #1 goal is to grow this community of Vue developers into something bigger.
Looking forward to sharing this journey with you,
Matt