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Subscribe Now to Al Harberg's Software Marketing Newsletter, the best way for software developers to get free, usable marketing information. We'll never use your email address for anything besides sending you this twice-monthly newsletter.
It's All About Marketing
One of my cousins called me this week, asking me for software advice. He'd bought a portable music-playing gadget so he could enjoy music while jogging, and he was having trouble finding a Windows application that would help him convert a handful of songs that he'd been given. I visited a bunch of software developers' web sites to try to find the right application for him, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Most of the sites were written in techno-babble language. The sites talked about OGG, AIFF, WAV, WMV, g721 and other strange things. Few of them used understandable English to talk about solving the real-world problems that real people - people with credit cards and disposable income - are having. In the next two weeks, millions of people will unwrap holiday packages containing portable music gadgets. These people will find that: - The devices hold only a fraction of the music that they claim to hold. Perhaps if somebody marketed audio conversion software that would allow users to transform flabby music files into lean, mean music files, they could fit a lot more tunes on their new toys. - The devices won't play songs that were recorded in older formats, or on computers that run less popular operating systems. If only there were audio conversion software that allowed users to translate these out-of-date or off-platform songs into today's format. But, alas, most of the software that I found did things with VOX and Vorbis and other techno-babble things. Seriously, I know that the music conversion software that I'd found will solve these real-world problems. But the end-users who need this software have no way of knowing. These people have no idea what file-extensions are, and they're totally baffled by many developers' web sites. And, of course, the problem isn't confined to music software sites. It's a serious problem with many developers' sites, across every category of software. It's so annoying that your competitor's software isn't nearly as good as yours, but they sell a lot more copies than you do. Perhaps their success is due, in part, to a web site that addresses real-world problems, in ways that non-technical prospects can understand. However, there's no reason that your web site can't be an outstanding communication and sales vehicle. Here are a couple of approaches to thinking about your software in ways that will generate more sales: - Remember why you wrote your software. You wanted to solve problems. Describe these problems, and your solutions, on your web site. Don't assume that your description of the solution alone will get prospects to make the mental leap that they have a similar problem that your software can solve. Give them samples of real situations, with suggestions for using your software to save the day. - Think like a customer. Ask, "What's in it for me?" Asking this question gets you thinking about real-world scenarios and experiences. Talk about the difficulties that you encountered before your program provided the answer, and tape record this information as a source for the straightforward communication you'll need for your web site. Develop a compelling argument for using your software, and present it simply on your web site. Prospects are willing to learn, but you have to help them. If it's necessary to use technical jargon to explain real-world solutions, then give them a simple, brief definition of the tech terms that you'll be using. - Stand behind a computer novice while they read your web site for the first time. Do they understand what they're seeing? If not, translate your site from techno-babble to English. You'll sell more software.
At 8:45pm on a Saturday, I decided that I really needed to replace my LaserJet's toner cartridge. So I took a quick drive to the local computer superstore, and I was able to find a replacement cartridge in just a few moments. The people who designed the store understand merchandising, and they understand how people buy toner cartridges. When I buy a toner cartridge, I have a vague interest in the cost, quality of the toner, and environmental friendliness of the packaging. But my number one question is, "Will this work in my printer?" There are hundreds of boxes of toner cartridges on the shelves. I have no interest in reading what they say about the quality of their ink, the number of copies they will produce, the number of years each printed page will retain its image, or anything else except the make and model of the printer that the cartridge is designed to fit. I'm looking for "Hewlett-Packard 6P". Period. That's how most people buy software on the Internet, too. And I'll never understand why so many software developers make people work so hard to find the answer to the question, "Will this software run on my machine?" I often have to search through web page after web page to find platform information. The developer has carefully crafted a sales pitch on their home page, but I'm not reading it. I'm barely glancing at it. All I want to know is whether the software will run on Windows 98. Period. Q: How much time do I spend reading the Lexmark and Canon toner cartridge boxes when I'm looking for an H-P 6P cart? A: As close to zero as possible. Q: How much time do I spend looking at screenshots and write-ups of software before finding out if it will run on my system? A: As close to zero as possible. I've heard the theory that you don't have to list platform information if you include a screenshot. Everybody can see that it's a Windows XP screenshot, so they know immediately that it's a Windows application. In reality: - Most Windows 98 users would look at the upper-right corner of an XP application's screen, see three stylish icons, and not recognize them as being "Windows" icons at all. - Most computer users have no idea if the three icons in the upper-right corner are computer icons found on Windows, Macintosh, Palm, UNIX/Linux, and other computer systems, or if they're Windows-only icons. - Most users won't download, install, or buy a program if they don't think that it will run on their computer. When people visit your web site, tell them immediately what platform your software runs under. Tell them often. Tell them in terms that they can understand. Once they know that they can use your software, they'll give your write-ups and screenshots a lot more attention.
- It's almost time to change the copyright notices on each page of your web site. By putting them in an include file, you can save a lot of time each year-end. - To become more productive, multitask. One of the greatest opportunities to multitask involves listening to worthwhile audio books while you're performing mundane tasks. For those times when your hands are busy but your brain is free, find some of the thousands and thousands of business, marketing, and sales books available on audio cassette and CDROM. They come in both abridged and unabridged editions, and are available at many public libraries. A single idea that you learn from an audio book could change your business and your life.
Bulk Up with Jake
PowerLiving by Jake by Jake Steinfeld (published by Random House) The Big Picture - PowerLiving by Jake is a combination autobiography and rah-rah book that tries to systematize the key elements that led Jake to mold a successful business and a successful life. Jake Steinfeld is a personal trainer to Hollywood's stars, and the head of a sports equipment company that uses half-hour TV infomercials successfully to sell millions of units. However you define someone else's success, it is usually accompanied by activities and results that can be translated and used in our own lives. Jake discusses the principles that have worked for him. What it Means for Software Developers - One of Jake's major principles is protection of his "Body by Jake" brand. He discusses the smart - and significantly less smart - things that he's done over the years to maintain the image that he's worked so hard to build. Software developers can apply Jake's experience to their decisions about choosing affiliate partners, forming strategic relationships, linking to other developers' web sites, releasing software that's not quite ready to be released, and the thousands of other business decisions that we all make every month. The Bottom Line - You can learn a lot from the experiences of successful people in fields that have nothing to do with software development. A lot of autobiographies are carefully crafted to portray the author as having made the perfect decision at each critical point in his or her life. Jake's story is different. He talks about his good and bad decisions, and how they shaped his successful company. It's an easy read, and it's worth a couple of hours of your time. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this newsletter, send me a note. I'll remove your name immediately and permanently. To SUBSCRIBE to the email version of this newsletter, send me your name and email address. I'll only use your name and email address for this newsletter. I'll never spam you, or let other people have your name or email address. al@dpdirectory.com To SELL MORE SOFTWARE, bookmark this web site, and visit often. There's a lot of free, useful software marketing information on http://www.dpdirectory.com/.
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