Suppose a major WordPress plugin, such as WP Super Cache, All in One SEO pack or insert-name-of-your-favorite-plugin, decided to go the paid support route, would you pay? If they offered the plugin for free, but sold an optional package with some extras as well access to one-on-one tech support, would you go for the paid option? How much would you be willing to pay? (Obviously it would depend on the plugin…)
Theme developers have already started to establish businesses doing this, and I don’t think plugin developers are far behind. I’ve been considering this strategy a bit lately, and I know Joost de Valk has been as well. The question is: How profitable would such a move be?
I would pay if I had a problem and couldn't find a solution elsewhere.
But to be honest, I wouldn't pay until I actually did have a problem. And with most plugins, the only problems I tend to come across are that the plugin hasn't been updated in forever, and in that case, I'd probably be nervous about paying for possibly non-existent support if the author has just vanished
I guess it's a good idea that my plains include other…extras besides support, then.
It's probably not too much of a stretch to assume that a lot of other people have the same opinion as yours.
Would be more than happy to pay for the other extra features, that still sounds like the best plan to me!
Absolutely not.
Some might be happy to pay but I'm tight.
What kind of support queries do you commonly have? If bug reports didn't cost you a cent, but other queries, such as customization help cost a one-time fee of, say $20-40 for an immensely useful plugin you just couldn't blog without, would that sit well with you?