WordPress developer James Kemp has recently released a plugin aimed at software developers called Simple Feature Requests. With this plugin software developers can collect and manage user feedback about their product.
You might remember James as the man behind Iconic where he makes and sells a host of WooCommerce plugins. We spoke with James about Iconic last year and now he’s back to discuss his newest product with us.
It’s been nearly one year since we spoke about Iconic, your WooCommerce plugin business, and things seem to be going well. How did 2018 end up treating you?
2018 was the best year yet for Iconic. I saw a 147% increase in net revenue, when compared to 2017. I released a couple of new plugins, including the latest; WooCommerce Wishlists.
I also began to see renewals come in after having switched to Freemius back in 2017. The renewal rate in 2017 ended up at just over 68%.
On top of that my network expanded and I managed to make a few key connections with the likes of Liquid Web, Chris Lema, Bob Dunn, Rodolfo Melogli, and others.
I’ve expanded my support team to ensure my customers are always well looked after. With more sales, comes more support requests. It’s really important to me that customers are given the attention they deserve, so finding a support team to cater for that has been a tough task, but I think we’re about there now.
Your newest plugin is quite a departure from the e-commerce products you are known for. How did the idea for Simple Feature Requests come about?
Simple Feature Requests actually came about as a tool for me to use on the Iconic website.
I needed a simple way to keep track of feature requests for all of my plugins, and as such, I began to develop my own solution for it.
The free version has been out a little while to test the water, and I just recently launched the Pro version with some much needed features.
My customers love it; it gives them an idea of where their request is in terms of development. For me, I can easily see which features are important to my customers and act on that data accordingly.
Now that it has been released what was the hardest part of Simple Feature Requests’ initial development?
The hardest part for me was actually deciding which features make it into the free version, and which into the pro version.
I want to make sure the plugin is a viable solution for the problem it is solving, and as such, having a Pro version made a lot of sense to me.
It was also the perfect opportunity to create my first “freemium” product.
What are your marketing plans for getting the word after launch? Did you do some pre-launch marketing to help get things going?
For this particular plugin I don’t have any specific marketing plans. My hope is that it will begin to appear when people are searching for a way to solve the problem of managing user feedback.
To help nudge it in the right direction I’ve announced its release in relevant Facebook groups, on Reddit, and on Product Hunt.
You have monthly and annual pricing options for the Pro version of the plugin. What was your reasoning behind that decision?
I haven’t offered a monthly option before, other than my Iconic Bundles which act like a membership. I wanted to use this as a chance to experiment with that payment model.
You are another developer who is using Freemius to sell their plugins. Without both of us sounding like total shills, can you tell me why you chose them over other options?
For me, Freemius was the full package. They offered everything I needed and continue to improve their offering. On top of that, they offer a good commission rate.
What’s coming for you this year in terms of Simple Feature Requests and Iconic that people might like to hear about?
For Simple Feature Requests, I’ll see what the response to it is like. For the next few months it’ll likely be a case of listening and responding to customer feedback and enhancing the offering.
For Iconic, I have a number of plugins in the works. My aim for the next few Iconic WooCommerce plugins is to make it simple for store owners to increase their overall revenues with useful, and easy to use, tools.
I have a lot planned for 2019, so watch this space!