@Barbara Hobart, my all-time business has been desktop software for macOS and Windows. Since 2001. I have been very successful, but things are changing a lot. I tried merch in the past, but it did not work. I am in a niche where people buy software and ask for support; that's all. I tried to create a Skool community with my almost 10k active users; I got only 40 subscriptions. My customers, mostly businesses, don't want to be part of a community. Using my user base seemed like a great idea, but it failed. That was in May 2026. I finally archived the group in order to create something new that has nothing to do with software development and distribution. I created a few test groups: one offering French courses and another offering Spanish courses, but even though I'm fluent in both, I'm currently teaching French to my two daughters (aged 7 and 10)... maybe French/Spanish for kids... but handling kids is delicate; you need parental authorization, and I am not sure people will pay for that... and I am 57; I look like Santa... maybe people prefer a woman. My wife says I am wrong. Not sure. One thing I know is I'd only pay for something if I really get something valuable, something I can't find elsewhere. I am already writing French lessons for kids aged 5 to 7. My daughters love it, but as a language learner, I know you need video conferencing so students can hear my voice. I also wrote software for kids like kidboost.app for learning math, spelling, etc... Well, sorry for the size of the message; it helps me organize my ideas.

Barbara, that’s a fair distinction. A long time ago, I set up a CafePress store selling T-shirts, mouse pads, mugs and other items with my software business branding. The idea was to generate some additional revenue, but the results were very poor. However, when I created a local Mac club in the nineties, I sold hundreds of T-shirts with the club’s logo, as well as lots of DVDs. Merch worked very well in that setting. Looking back, the difference was probably belonging. Club members wanted something that represented a group they felt part of. My software customers needed a tool to do a job, and buying it didn’t necessarily make them feel connected to my company or to one another. So your point makes sense: merch itself wasn’t the problem. In my experience, it was much easier to sell it to club members who shared an identity than to customers of a software company. 🙂

Thanks!