Comments on: Bingo Card Creator Year In Review 2009

By: Bingo Card Creator (and etcetera) Year In Review 2011 | Kalzumeus Software

Bingo Card Creator (and etcetera) Year In Review 2011 | Kalzumeus Software — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:23:05 +0000

[...] right before Christmas every year I release an annual report. See, for example, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. (Crikey, have I really been doing this for that long?) I’ve also traditionally [...]

By: Nicolas Cueto

Nicolas Cueto — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:20:58 +0000

Could you give more technical details about why you switched to ImageMagick from GraphicsMagick?

PS. Thank you VERY much for creating this blog. I am contemplating my own microISV, for image- rather than text-based bingo cards.

PPS. I too lived in Gifu. Comfortable little city to live in, and also has the hottest summers I’ve experienced here in Japan!

By: White Peak Software Blog » Blog Archive » White Peak Software Year in Review 2009

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:31:06 +0000

[...] a good time to post a year in review for 2009. My primary inspiration for this posting comes from Patrick McKenzie of Bingo Card Creator frame. While I make a good living from contract programming, it is not the [...]

By: Rob Walling

Rob Walling — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:50:30 +0000

Thanks for sharing, Patrick. Your annual update is awesome; one I look forward to every year.

Your emphasis on metrics and measurement continue to be impressive. Thanks for giving us a point of comparison for our own apps. Looking forward to hearing about BCC’s growth 2010.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:38:45 +0000

>>
Just curious, are you worried about the growing webapp user base, given that you charge on a one-time basis?
>>

Not at all. Typical user behavior is to use for the event that compels the purchase and then sporadically thereafter, and my system can accommodate MANY simultaneous users. (And capacity doubled yesterday when I switched from ImageMagick to GraphicsMagick.)

I could sell a million copies of Bingo Card Creator and not have to majorly worry about server load, as long as that was a million copies spread over a decent interval of time.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:14:38 +0000

Shafqat asked:

>>
Great stuff – do you publish your average CPC for adwords or your customer acquisition costs? What about average ARPU?
>>

AdWords bounces between $12 and $15 per paying customer (this works out to about 24 cents per trial). My ARPU less cost of goods is $29.

>>
If you had an infinite pool of searchers on Google, would the economics scale and make you rich?
>>

I buy $29 in net profits for $15 in advertising? Yes, that would make me a pretty happy man if it scaled to infinity.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:52:22 +0000

Thanks for sharing Patrick. I think you have made the right decision to quit your job. It will be the best decision you’ve ever made.

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:46:33 +0000

Great post!

Just curious, are you worried about the growing webapp user base, given that you charge on a one-time basis?

By: Shafqat

Shafqat — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:42:01 +0000

Great stuff – do you publish your average CPC for adwords or your customer acquisition costs? What about average ARPU?

If you had an infinite pool of searchers on Google, would the economics scale and make you rich?

(I know your main limitation is that there is a limited supply of searches, but trying to figure out if your aquistion cost < ARPU).

By: Justin

Justin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:13:32 +0000

Nice job! Being a bootstrapped entrepreneur myself, I’ve enjoyed following your experiences throughout the year. Good luck in 2010!