A Game Making $4,000 Every Month

This business first caught my attention when I came across this article with the header: How did I create a game with $4,000 monthly revenue in 3 days?

Pleased to have its founder onboard in this interview!

Hello! Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your business?

My name is Laszlo, and I'm a 31 years old software engineer from the beautiful city of Budapest, Hungary.

I've spent the majority of my career as a frontend developer, which I've had the opportunity to work for a variety of organizations, ranging from local businesses in my hometown to larger companies such as Morgan Stanley and a startup based out of Seattle, Hiya. For a little over a year now, I have been branching out with my own ventures.

My main project is a fun daily movie-themed guessing game called Actorle, and I've also created its spin-offs, Moviedle (moviedle.xyz) and Actorle.tv.

Additionally, I've launched a SaaS product, RealFeedback, which serves as a user feedback collector chatbot.

How did you start this business? Take us through the process.

Throughout my career, I've often found myself working on little side projects in addition to my regular job.

To be honest, most of these projects just remained that - projects, with a few getting used by friends and nothing more.

However, one day, I noticed the rising popularity of Wordle and it sparked an idea - why not create a movie-themed version?

With this idea, I put my skills to use, utilizing free databases and doing the design and development myself.

Despite being a little rough around the edges design-wise, I was able to bring the first version of this project to life in just three days, all without spending a dime.

How did you get your first initial customers?

When I first shared my game on Reddit, the initial responses weren't exactly encouraging. The game had its fair share of bugs, and even I had to admit, it wasn't as enjoyable as I'd hoped it would be.

The user numbers grew, but then started to fall off, marking it as yet another addition to my 'failed projects' shelf.

However, out of the blue, there was a spike in user activity. As it turned out, an obscure newsletter, b3ta.com, had featured my game.

The built-in Twitter sharing option then played a pivotal role as users with a significant follower base began sharing their scores.

Besides the viral growth on Twitter, I was lucky that the game also got featured in some major news sites like Mashable.

As a result, my game gained unexpected virality, boosting daily active users into the thousands, much to my surprise.

Since launch, what are your marketing strategies or channels to get new customers?

My approach to marketing is straightforward and grounded in the belief that a quality product sells itself.

I focus on creating an engaging game experience that I hope players will naturally want to share with others.

While I've undertaken some fundamental technical SEO, I truly believe that the key to success lies in user engagement.

If people enjoy and frequently use your product, spending meaningful time on your site, Google will recognize this organic traffic and rank your site accordingly, regardless of any specific keyword strategies or SEO jargon.

How does your business make money?

My main source of income comes from displaying ads, which may not offer the best user experience, but has proven to be significantly more effective than other options like donation or affiliate links, especially for this type of content.

On the side, I'm exploring an ad-free subscription model with my game, metime.games, but it's still in its early stages with a limited user base at the moment.

At present, my games are generating around $3K in monthly recurring revenue.

There was a time when the income was higher due to the Wordle trend boosting viewership, but that seems to have leveled off a bit recently.

Notwithstanding, I've noticed a positive trend reversal courtesy of a new game mode I've introduced named 'Fill The Grid'. It's catching on quite well among users, and I'm optimistic about its potential.

As far as expenses go, they're minimal — around $50 per month, mostly for hosting the games on my website.

What is a typical day for you like, running the business?

Managing the game doesn't take up too much of my time, just a few hours each week spent on resolving user issues, enhancing the game's database, and brainstorming new game modes.

My day-to-day involves a schedule similar to a traditional 8-hour job, but with the added benefits of much more vacation days and flexibility. I've found working from home four days a week and spending one day at a coworking space for fresh inspiration suits me best.

Aside from the game, I also dabble in other creative ideas and engage in freelance software development. Off duty, much of my time is joyfully consumed by my family, especially my energetic two-year-old son, which can be both fun and a bit exhausting.

Where can we go to lean more about you and your business?

You can easily find me on Twitter, just look up @LaszloKiss__. Also, check out my personal website at laszlokiss.dev where I've put together more details about the freelance work I do.

Looking forward to connecting with you!