I have finally done it! I have published my first paid-for product: Hugo Calendly Shortcode Plus.

In essence, it’s an advanced version of the free, oss version that I released a short while ago - as I’ve mentioned in my previous post.

If you want to grab a copy, I have created a 25% discount code for the first 50 buyers: bespokesy. It should already be applied in the link above.

So, let me try and briefly summarize what has gone into this since my last update.

Distribution: Gumroad

I decided to go with Gumroad rather than xs:code.

Mostly due to the larger cut that xs:code would take (25%) when compared to Gumroad (8.5% + 30 US cents when on a free account).
Another factor was that the installation, in this case, is a simply copy and paste job. I could give instructions on how to add it as a git submodule, but I don’t think there will be many updates (easier to distribute to submodules). And since I expect a low number of customers, the manual labor of repackaging if I need to and resend by email shouldn’t be too bad.

I will keep xs:code in mind for future projects, though. I still think it is a great option for software that might need more frequent updates in particular.

Pricing: One-off

I went a bit back and forth over this. I decided on a one-off price because, again, the low chance that there will be future updates. The code does what it does. There’s not terribly more to add.

And if I’m wrong, nothing stops me from changing the pricing structure.

Alternative pricing tiers: none

I’m not bothering with advanced tiers for this project. I suppose I could offer advanced support, but honestly, I don’t think there’s much need for it. Time will tell, though. And again, if I’m wrong, I can always add another tier.

Documentation: extensive

I have spent a surprising amount of time on documentation for Hugo Calendly Shortcode Plus. There were so many aspects that I added to it. I freely admit: Some of those pieces may be overkill.

The documentation lives on its own Hugo site and encompasses:

• Demo pages and showcases for both the free and Plus version,
• A full rundown of the available parameters,
• A page showing the features side-by-side
• A page showing errors and warnings a user might run into (and how to fix them),
  • Side-note: The error/warning messages in the shortcodes have been updated to link back to that page, too. I’m pretty proud about that bit.
• A small section on where to find additional help and support

I hope the docs will come in handy for future users.

Marketing: minimal, more to come

I’ve fallen far short here. Most effort was spent on trying to highlight the benefits and copy.

At least I have a short list of places I want to keep an eye out that might help me promote the shortcode.
I’ll check for Hugo and or Calendly related questions on Stack Overflow, Reddit, Slack, Discord, et al. that I know the answer to (not to pump BUY THIS links down people’s throats, though).

In addition to that, I have ear-marked a few content marketing pieces. The big one is a short video series on adding Calendly to Hugo. Starting with just copy’n’pasting the snippets Calendly provides, to using the free shortcode, to using the paid one and cascading default and custom values.

So, it’s all done?

From a product point of view: pretty much. From a marketing perspective: I’ve just started. :)

I think the amount of work in that arena might surprise me.

What’s next?

Apart from working on some content for Hugo Calendly Shortcode Plus, I will be looking for the next project.

I have a few integrations in mind and this time I want to take a closer look at the market/audience first. The ones I’m leaning towards have the clear benefit that I might have access to the end-users to find out if there are problems that need solving to begin with.

I’ll share which idea I have picked in the next update.