Instapaper's free version goes on extended hiatus, dev explains why

Couple of things that I think are important:

1. Marco mentions that the free version had an in-app upgrade, that wasn't really being used. If that switch were being used more, I think he would have put the free version back into the store.

2. He says that he has no way of tracking people who buy the paid version separately from the free version. Meaning that if you tried the free version and then bought the Pro version separately he doesn't have good info on that.

3. He has a specialty app that has a good word of mouth. If he hadn't have had the free app he probably wouldn't have gotten to this point. But the negative feedback on the free product from people who thought the paid product should be free was distressing to him and potential purchasers. Pulling the free app removes the negativity because who's going to spend five dollars to complain that the app should be free?

Discalaimer: I'm biased because I think it is one of the most useful apps on my wi-fi iPad.

@NutMac
I read his whole post earlier and IIRC, he said that the ad supported version was crippled. I have downloaded several free full-featured apps that I later paid for because I was using them daily and wanted to support their devolpment further. If lot of his free app users didn't convert to full app, it probably didn't fit their needs, or didn't see the full potential.

I wanted to try Instapaper because I kept reading about it (I read lot of tech blogs and Marco is sort of a darling of Apple related blogsphere. Gruber @ daring fireball I think has a man crush on him :)). Almost bought it before I realized that I have no use for it. I'm convinced that Marco could charge $20 for it and still do well because of the circle jerk around it/him. Nothing wrong with it, just saying that not all devs are in his position (he mentions this angle in his post but I think he's underestimating the kind of "word of mouth" advertising his app gets).

While I respect Marco's right to write for any platform he wants, I was disappointed to read his blunt remarks re: choosing not to develop for the Android platform. I'm a big fan of Android (disclaimer: I also work at Google, but am NOT on the Android team) and -- like many others -- have been delighted to pay for apps I love.

I keep hearing about Instapaper and am eager to try it on my Nexus S and Xoom, and I hope Marco changes his mind and enables the many millions of us using Android to give Instapaper some money.

Solution: Put ads in the free version of the app (and enable all features if possible). Problem solved. Make sure it's clear to users (top of the settings screen) that they can pay $X to remove ads (where $X is your paid version's price).

Seriously. Many developers have observed that the free-with-ads version of the app often makes more money than the paid version (obviously depending on the price point) over time, due to the fact that A. it's recurring revenue, and B. just a few ad clicks can get you a couple bucks. And C. you will get more volume on the free version because you don't have to make a case first on why they should spend their hard earned money before they even get a chance to try your app.

Also joined the buck-a-month club (subscriber). More at this link: http://www.instapaper.com/subscription. Doesn't add features other than the ability to switch off ads but Instapaper's integration w/Qrank (so you save the source docs for some game questions to be read later) has proven to be invaluable to me so $1 is well worth it.

This is a great argument for Apple wising-up
and allowing time or usage expiring apps.

The try it now with full functionality,
and pay for it later if you like the app, model.

There are so many apps I would try but don't wish to get burned....even $.99 cents on crap/useless apps, sting.

Completely agree with him. His product has value- why is he making a free version for it? Never undervalue yourself.

Of course you could also say that the free version has done its job, in fact done its job very well, and Marco sees no further need for it. Much like giving away free samples of any new product. Once the product is a success, who needs free samples. The product's rep speaks for itself. In any case Marco seems to have nicely massaged the story to neatly sidestep any criticism of shutting down the free app.

And what a surprise: Shut down the free app and sales increase. Who'd have thought if you stopped giving it away then people would have to pay for it? Oh wait, I think some deep thinkers already knew that.

After using Instapaper Free for nearly 1.5 years, I purchased Instapaper, my very first iOS app purchase. Although Marco claims low conversion rate from the free version, I would not have purchased Instapaper without trying out the free version first.

I think Marco can reduce cost further by reducing the need to use the website. Leverage Dropbox. And add more website-only features to the app, such as ability to rename articles. And website is far better at organizing articles (e.g., moving to folder), so close the gap by improving the app usability.

Instapaper is 100% worth the purchase price.