Starting out with Google Font

Khai Quang Nguyen
Khai Quang Nguyen Posts: 7
in Type Business
Currently thinking about how to enter the font market with my first family. How's everyone's take on starting with open-source 1 master (out of 3) on Google Fonts as a way of reaching your potential customers?
If possible, is there any real data on the conversion rate of Google Font view - GG Fonts download - Further purchase in our website?
If you or anyone you know have experience with this, please share.
Thanks a lot in advance.
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Comments

  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 2,859
    It is my impression that giving away some styles free was an effective promo route maybe 10 years ago, but has since become much less so.

    Also, you are aware that if you open source one style of your font, people can do derivative works, including other styles?

    (Not saying Google would accept such third-party additional styles on their site. Then again, I am not sure Google would be interested in a single style of your family if you intended to withhold/retail the rest. @Dave Crossland?)
  • Eli Heuer
    Eli Heuer Posts: 3
    I recently wrote an essay about a business model for monetizing open-source fonts with NFTs. This model might be worth looking into because you can use Google Fonts for distribution, but also retain the permissionless ability to monetize your work.

    https://www.nan.xyz/txt/libre-type-as-a-veblen-good/
  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 2,859
    Actually, for new submissions for Google Fonts, Google specifically disallows what Khai is asking about. (Rosalie Wagner, who co-wrote the current guidelines, pointed this out to me.)

    https://googlefonts.github.io/gf-guide/onboarding.html

    “The project must be wholly licensed under the SIL Open Font License v1.1.
    There must also be no proprietary/restricted-license versions of the project available elsewhere (such as additional weights/styles).”

  • Dave Crossland
    Dave Crossland Posts: 1,429
    Right. If you liberate a style, you have to assume someone will expand it to match and then surpass what you did but kept proprietary. This is unwise for you and confuses the general public who prefer clean cut, this is libre, this is not, situations. 
  • JoyceKetterer
    JoyceKetterer Posts: 805
    All that said, I often advise people just starting out that Google fonts are a good idea.  It's a good way to introduce yourself and develop a following/portfolio.  
  • Chris Lozos
    Chris Lozos Posts: 1,458
    For me, the point of designing your own typeface is to design your own typeface. If that feels too daunting, you may be asking yourself more than you care to deliver. Your heart should be enough in the work that you look forward to jumping in. Jump in, the water is fine.

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