I Built a Side Project with Great Engagement—But It’s Still Not Making Money

Six months ago, I started a side project in the consumer AI space: opencharacter.org. It’s been a grind, but I’ve built something people actually love—high retention, strong engagement, and users spending a ton of time on the platform. By all product metrics, it’s a success. But financially? It’s not quite there yet.

The biggest challenge hasn’t been technical, managing infrastructure, or even dealing with a community. It’s distribution. Getting people to actually find and use your side project at scale is insanely hard.

What’s Worked

• Reddit – Thoughtful, non-spammy comments in relevant threads drove early users.
• Instagram – Short-form videos brought in surprising traction.
• Paid ads – Somewhat effective, but tough to balance customer acquisition costs and revenue.

What Hasn’t (Yet)

• TikTok – Dozens of videos later, still struggling to make it a reliable growth channel.
• Discord – Great for engagement, but not a strong acquisition channel.

Recently, I brought on a co-founder who has done over 100 million views on Instagram Reels in under two years, so I’m hopeful we can crack the growth formula. Because without a scalable system for getting users, even a great side project won’t reach its potential.

If I could start over, I’d think much more about distribution before building. Would love to hear from others—how do you drive growth for your side project?