Shareware Sales - a Reality Check

I'd like to share with you all my surprise at how wealthy I've become after my foray into shareware marketing.  In reality, however, the response has been less than wonderful and I can only report that my financial situation hasn't improved at all!  I was certainly excited and hopeful when I released my products for sale, but I don't think my expectations were naive or unrealistic.  After several months and a disappointing number of sales, I'm a little discouraged and perplexed.  

There have been many hundreds of downloads of the trial versions which implies that my products fill an existing need in the market.  Also, although feedback has been infrequent, it's invariably been extremely positive and very encouraging.  I am still confident that my products are well designed, realistically priced and useful.  I use my products on a daily basis as I continue with project and support work and find them invaluable.  Surely I am not so biased or unusual that others can't see the benefits too?  I can only scratch my head and wonder where I'm going wrong.  

Some possibilities are that:

• There is a reluctance to make payments via PayPal, despite the fact that a PayPal account isn't required in order to use their payment facilities.
  
• The instructions for setting up the first of my products - Project Monitor - are not clear enough and prospective customers are scared off.
  
• My familiarity with the products has blinded me to difficulties experienced by first-time users.
  
• Competing products are light years ahead of my own. 

Not wishing to give up, I have taken a long hard look at the wording used within the applications and have made an effort to simplify text used within them, recognising that English is not always the first language of my customers.  Where Project Monitor is concerned, I have also aimed for greater consistency in my instructions, replacing all instances of words like "relationships" and "associations", with the word "links".  Hopefully, changes as simple as these will assist new users to find their way around the applications and improve their understanding of the process involved in initial setup.

With a huge reliance on user feedback, I've also added a "Send feedback" link to my web site's product pages.  If I receive positive responses, it will reinforce my belief in the products.  If the feedback is negative, I will at least be in a position to evaluate the criticism and act on it.  Only time will tell whether people are prepared to make the effort to provide such comments.

Cheers

Pete

Shareware Download Sites

With a software product finally released and available for purchase from my web site, it's time to begin the arduous task of submitting it to the myriad of shareware download sites out there on the internet.

If you're faced with the same daunting task, here's a link to a spreadsheet I put together using the search results returned by Google Directory. With apologies for the bad links and defunct sites it contains, please feel free to download it for your own use. If I get any indication that it's a useful resource, I may even keep it up to date in a spare moment - let me know of any notable omissions.

Google Directory returned a list of well over 200 sites, most of which - thankfully - accept submissions using the Portable Application Description (PAD) file format. In fact, many shareware download sites accept submissions only by way of a PAD file. There's a useful tool called PADGen available from the Association of Shareware Professionals which allows you to generate the necessary PAD file for your application. Click here to download the current version.

The simpler sites allow you to submit by way of a PAD file but do not give you the opportunity to review your listing before it's displayed. As there's scope in the PAD file to insert separate product descriptions of varying lengths, it's worthwhile considering that the site you're submitting to may use any one, or more than one of them in your listing. Make sure, therefore, that your descriptions make sense in the face of that inconsistency - don't simply extend the shorter versions.

Cheers
Pete

What's On The Workbench?

I guess my developer's toolbox has grown slowly as needs have arisen, but over the past few months as I put the final polish on a couple of saleable applications, acquisitions have become a more frequent event. As a software developer who has only recently thrown off the shackles of "real" employment to go it alone, there are several tools I've not previously had cause to use which have become indispensable.

For those of you who may be in the process of acquiring a suite of developer tools or updating their existing arsenal, here's what I use.

Primary development platform: C#, using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional SP1

Databases: Microsoft Access, SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition, SQL Server 2005 Express, SQL Server Compact Edition 3.0

Integrated help: Microsoft HTML Help Workshop

UML and Data modeling: Enterprise Architect

Desktop virtualisation: Microsoft Virtual PC 2007

Version control: VisualSVN/Subversion

License key management: Infralution Licensing System

Purchasing: PayPal

Automated license key generation: IPN.NET

Application installation: InstallAware Express

FTP client: FileZilla

Web forum: AspNetForum

Please feel free to suggest any other items you feel no Windows desktop developer should be without, keeping in mind that as a fledgling micro-ISV I've chosen affordable - if not free - products out of necessity. I'm pleased to note some Australian products in the list!

Cheers
Pete

Product 1 of n

After what seems an eternity, I find myself on the brink of offering a software product of my own for sale from my web site.

Rather than being born in one intense burst of developer zeal, Project Monitor has evolved steadily over the past couple of years, sometimes in brief fits and starts and at other times when the flow of other work has eased, in a slightly more concentrated manner. I've used my product on a daily basis throughout that time and I strongly believe that this - together with what's turned out to be a lengthy development cycle - has paid big dividends. In the course of using it continuously in one form or another for those two years, reflecting constantly on how it might be improved in terms of look-and-feel, functions and useability, features have been added, refined or even removed. In hindsight, I'm sure that this has resulted in an application that's more mature than would have been the case had it been conceived, designed, constructed, tested and unleashed on an unsuspecting world in a short space of time. If that's in fact true, it's gratifying to think that at least in that sense, the thoughtful, patient solo developers of the world can match it with the bigger players in the industry who sometimes seem driven by deadlines rather than product readiness.

I'm certainly excited by the prospect of finally having a product ready for sale but I must admit that my unbridled enthusiasm is tempered a little by reality - the recognition that having a saleable product is only one challenge among many and is really just the first step towards enjoying any measure of success.

The challenges now ahead in terms of promoting and marketing my product are unexplored territory for me, but whatever the outcome, I'm sure the lessons I learn will prove invaluable. I look forward in the months ahead to sharing my experiences with you - let's hope that in the fullness of time you're reading an inspirational success story rather than a cautionary tale!

Cheers
Pete

The Software Licensing Dilemma

From the software vendor's perspective, there are many and varied opinions when it comes to licensing schemes. Personally, I've experienced the hassles involved when a software product is tied to a specific PC; when my PC was upgraded, the software no longer worked and the pain that ensued was significant. OK, I know, I should have been aware of the ramifications of an upgrade before it took place!

For any software vendor, attending to support issues like this is at the very least a nuisance; if that software vendor happens to be a sole operator, the implications can be more serious. As one of these sole operators, anything I can do to minimise support calls is desirable. To that end, I've decided to heed the advice of Infralution, the developers of my license system software, and issue individual license keys with few restrictions. The key is issued to the original purchaser on the understanding that the product will be used only by them and installed on a maximum of two computers. There's nothing to stop a dishonest purchaser from ignoring this restriction, but if they're keen to rip me off, I guess they'll find other means to circumvent a more restrictive licensing scheme anyway. As Erik Sink says in his excellent book "Erik Sink on the Business of Software", the best and most realistic approach is to provide the means to keep the honest people honest.

The CodeProject website has an interesting article entitled Piracy and Unconventional Wisdom which lends weight to the theory that an overly restrictive licensing policy may just turn out to be a rod for your own back. Let the vendor beware!

Cheers
Pete

Learning to Whistle a New Tune

As a long time analyst programmer employed on a nine-to-five basis either as a contractor or on a salary, I often dreamt of marketing software products from my own web site; the prospect of writing a software application once, then (hopefully) selling multiple copies was - and still is - an attractive one.

Having then made the difficult decision to turn my back on a guaranteed income to go it alone, the transition from programmer-for-hire to software vendor has turned out to be a protracted one. With a couple of desktop applications in the final stages of testing, all but ready to be unleashed on the world, the problem is devoting enough time to complete the all-important testing and put in place the necessary mechanisms relating to purchase and licensing.

The lag time between presenting my products for sale and realising any income from them is an unknown, despite my confidence that they're useful, attractively-priced tools. In the meantime, the rent needs to be paid on time and having food in the fridge most of the time continues to be an attractive prospect! As a sole operator therefore, striking a balance between earning an adequate income while striving to get a new product to market is the constant challenge.

In reality then, although my dream is ultimately attainable, the transition to fully-fledged micro-ISV is likely to be a gradual one. While I go about the business of earning a living as best I can, I manage to snatch an hour here and an hour there putting the final touches on my first two products, impatient to market them, but always alert to the dangers of releasing them prematurely. My patience, I remind myself repeatedly, will be rewarded in the long term.

Cheers
Pete

The Reluctant Client

I had the opportunity recently to meet with a prospective client who was keen to replace an ancient DOS-based application central to the running of his business. I suspected from the start that money would be an issue but pressed on regardless, listening closely to his ideas about the features he wanted and offering some suggestions of my own along the way.

Reflecting on the meeting later on, I figured that if he was to be enticed at all, I needed to come up with a basic prototype which would impress him enough that he'd give the go-ahead to proceed with development. It was a calculated risk, but one I thought was worth taking.

Some twenty-plus development hours later I had the basic shell of the application ready for demonstration and arranged to visit again the following week. To cut a long story short, I showed him what I'd achieved and presented him with a project proposal and quotation. He was certainly excited about what I'd accomplished but, as I'd feared, baulked at the estimate - perhaps the plethora of cheap shareware products on the 'net had shaped his expectations of price!

The lesson I learned, which seems pretty obvious in hindsight, is that once I have a gut feel for how much a client might be up for, it's best I let them know my thoughts immediately, even if I can give them a ball-park figure only. Had I done so in this instance, his reaction would surely have confirmed my suspicions and I wouldn't have invested time and effort in developing the prototype; at most, I would've sacrificed a couple of hours of my time. Live and learn.

Fortunately in this case, I'm confident the application can be developed further in a generic enough fashion that I can offer it for sale from my web site and recoup my costs - eventually. One more idea to be added to the ever-expanding "to do" list!

Cheers
Pete