Some time ago I asked a friend of mine what kind of web-service I could make to a bit of money and she suggested some kind of "ticker site", as she thinks many people would agree to pay to get a ticker with caption(s) in their native language (we're both Latvian) (for an example of "ticker" see e.g.
Lilypie.com). I expanded on this idea and eventually created a windows application that can be used to create a custom ticker from scratch + server-side scripts that would manage and display this ticker. You can check out a working
prototype here.
So my question is :
How can a software and/or service like this be made to generate income?
I've thought about making it a subscription-based service, but I haven't been able to find an affordable third-party credit-card processor (
CCBill comes close but they have an unpleasant surprise for anyone wanting to accept VISA cards, too (>$700 setup)).
Another thing that has been bothering me is - where can I get the neccessary artwork? Obviously a site like this needs lots of ticker templates etc. Although I pride myself as having nonzero artistic talent
I feel I couldn't do it all myself on a satisfactory level. Hiring a professional artist isn't financially feasible (me : just out of university, unemployed, monthly income ~$60
)
Any comments and suggestions would/will be appreciated.