Shareware marketing

Question

I make a shareware application, a good one if I say so myself.

I have a listing on all major and minor download sites, which update automatically when I release a new version. My main problem is that I am only selling hundreds of licenses when I should be selling thousands.

I send out press releases to most newspapers, I get full page coverage in industry magazines and great reviews.

So what is next ? What can I do ? My biggest hurdle is that people think they are stuck with their old software.

So, what is a good way to market a shareware app ? I have no faith in Hollywood marketing. I have been on a few offer sites with 50% off the price and only getting 50% of that price, totally not worth it.

Answer 1

My biggest hurdle is that people think they are stuck with their old software.

What about compatibility with old software? I guess you could make somewhat good marketing based on that.

Answer 2

1, Start by making sure your website SEO is giving you the best possible exposure via organic searches. These are free visits and so the best to have.

2, Find all the prominent bloggers for your area and give them free copies in the hope they will like it and post about your great stuff. Certainly you might be able to advertise on their sites at a reasonable rate.

3, Find magazines for your area and see if you can get your software onto the front cover CD as a free means of getting in front of potential customers.

4, Create your own blog and make it the place to go for information about the product. That brings in more organic visitors and improves the ranking of your site.

Hard to provide specific advice without knowing the actual software in question. So can only offer generic suggestions.

Answer 3

I perhaps should say that the software in question is a Genealogy application, and all decent genealogy application support importing and exporting of gedcom textfiles.

And I do support that. Most of the other software have their own binary databases, so no access, sqlite or anything like that. I use SQLite and Gedcom files.

Answer 4

My personal experience is that most customer don't like Shareware as a term. It has a little negative touch in the last years. So much "Web 2.0" applications that spread out of the ground like weeds are free.

I get some good responses with two versions: A "standard" version with the common features as a freeware and for a lttle fee / donation you may get the "ultimate" version with some nice goodies. So e.g. your Genealogy application may import gedcom files but only export them in the pro-version. It must be useable in the standard-version, no question! But surely there are a few features to reservate for a pro-license.

Also the tips from Phil Wright are good and worth a try.

Answer 5

Knowing it is Genealogy I would suggest making sure you have a differentiator from the big players in the market. Maybe emphasis on your great tree drawing or the ease of making associated photos and scanned documents. Find whatever it is that you do better than everyone else and make that the focus for marketing and advertising. Once they are hooked and download they will see it does all the other stuff as well. But you need a hook that brings them in to your site instead of the big players.

You could try creating some simple 5 minute screencasts showing how easy your application is to use. As most Genealogy users are not sophisticated users you would gain from making them comfortable using your software because they can see a tutorial.

Answer 6

For something as specific as a genealogy app you may want to consider sponsorship of specific forums. Sometimes you have to pay money to make money and all that. You have an advantage in that much of your market share congregates on interest specific forums. Approach some of them about advertising, and/or exclusive discounts/specials.

Really though, your situation seems tailor made for a good targeted traditional marketing program.

Answer 7

For me the beauty of shareware is that I get to "try before I buy". IMHO, the "try" should be 100% full access... e.g. let me see what the entire app has to offer.

then after the trial period, I would still allow access, but begin to limit some options, or add "gentle" reminders that I should consider buying.

If the software is worth it, users will buy it. However if users don't get enough out of it, they will move on.

One final note... I used some shareware about 6 months ago... and 2 weeks after my 30 day trial was over, I got a very cute message within the application that got my attention. (approx. wording)

Hi {username},
Glad to see you are still enjoying {appname}.  We just wanted to let you know that
we'd love to have you as a customer!  If you would like to register (we'll throw in
a $5 discount (click here) however if you are unsure, have a question, or find
{appname} is not quite what you need we would love to know (feedback/feature request)
Your satifaction is our priority.

As it turned out, I did want a feature but I also was quite happy with what the app had to offer already. I registered, AND sent in a feature request. 1 month later my feature was added, thus I'm a very happy customer.

Answer 8

I just visited your website and it took me several minutes to find out what your software does. Your website seems to be written from a technical point a view and not from a sales point of view. This happens to a lot of us programmers.

You have to learn the art of sales and marketing. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I have learned over the years.

People don't care that your software has been in development for two years and that all the bugs are fixed. That's great but it's not what sells. You have to learn to think differently.

Your home page should be like a beacon that shines.

OSK Geneology

The Easy To Use Family Tree Organizer

Learn to talk about your software and what it does in terms of feelings not technical this and technical that.

Answer 9

There's an eBook by Neil Davidson called "Don't Just Roll the Dice" which discusses pricing issues and strategies for software. It's currently available as a free download from the "Business Of Software" website.

Answer 10

I would suggest having your software update itself (after getting permission from the user to do so). For the first xx days, allow unrestricted use of all features. After the trial, limit some.

Then, create a special menu area "Premium" which lists new features that can be accessed if the person elects to purchase a license. Have your app draw attention to that menu area until it is first clicked after each update.

This means, every time you update, your customers see all of the cool new stuff that they could be doing if they spent a few bucks on a license, or remembers how cool a now locked feature was.

I also think you are missing out on a great crowd sourcing opportunity. Present the idea that they are using great software (I looked at your app, it really looks nice!) completely gratis. If they have not purchased a license, they could help in other ways, such as:

• Indicating on their blogs that they use and like your software
• Help other users get started using your software
• Join a beta program to help test new (completely unlocked) beta versions free for xx days.

Make it easy for them to sign up for forums, generate JS / html link / banner code or sign up for beta programs from within the application itself. Don't just present a link and hope they click it.

I would almost dare to assume that people who enjoy this type of research would want to be helpful, especially if your software helps them.