Other developers' advice may not boost your software sales
Every week in the newsgroups, new software developers ask questions such as "What's the best download site for buying banner ads?" or "Should I buy Google adwords?" or "Should I send press releases?". And when some of the experienced authors give advice, a lot of the newer developers follow it, without taking the time to translate it to fit their own situations.
It's only natural for new software developers to look for advice from owners of established software companies. What better role model is there than an independent software developer who has faced the same challenges that you're facing, and who has emerged as a winner?
There are a lot of dangers in blindly accepting advice from other developers, no matter how much sense their ideas seem to make. Here are some things to keep in the back of your mind when you're listening to the advice of the sages:
There is no such thing as a software marketplace
There is probably a marketplace for Macintosh software which uses a drill format to teach multiplication and division to home-schooled 7 through 9 year old kids. If that's the kind of software that you're selling, it makes a lot of sense to listen to the experience of somebody else in your market. But if you're selling a totally different type of application, then you can't blindly accept another developer's advice, no matter how successful their sales record has been.
Software users' knowledge and expectations have changed over time
Listening to advice from somebody who built a successful software company in the 1980's is a risky proposition. The world has changed since the 1980's. The world has changed a lot since last week! While there are some fundamental sales and marketing principles that are eternal, you need to think through how the marketplace has changed, before you accept another developer's formula for marketing success.
Some people believe that users are a lot more sophisticated today. After all, kids are learning about computers before they start school, and in many business fields, there's a computer on every work desk. Some people believe that users are a lot less sophisticated today. In the old days, only the really sharp people owned computers, while today most US homes have several computers running. The situation, of course, varies. You can't casually take advice from somebody who doesn't know your target audience.
Mature software markets are different from emerging markets
Two years ago, marketing anti-spam software was a new concept. Today, introducing a new anti-spam application is a totally different challenge. Your new product would be competing in an established market, with existing niches, and established leaders. Before taking another developer's advice, think through how it must be adapted to account for your software's place in the market life cycle.
The software market is different for leaders, followers, and newbies
Is your advice coming from the market leader, an established brand with a significant share of the market, or a successful new entrant? A marketing plan that works for, say, WinZip might be less effective in promoting PKZIP or WinRAR, and might be a total failure for the less well known competitors in the file compression market. Be sure to translate before implementing other developers' advice.
The rules are different for companies and software with high name recognition
An established company can use brand extension to introduce a new product, and it might enjoy immediate success because of the high name recognition. Following in their footsteps to launch an unknown product could lead to disaster.
Software companies with big budgets can afford to market lavishly
Before accepting advice from another developer regarding buying ad space or adwords, make sure your risk tolerance is roughly the same as theirs. You can lose a lot of money on an unsuccessful advertising campaign.
Don't model your website after a site in a different software market niche
If you're marketing business software, it would be an error to model your web site after a successful game developer's site. Translate and adapt.
The bottom line - Don't rush to follow other developers' advice, no matter how successful they are, and regardless of how sensible the advice sounds on the surface. Take the time to think through the similarities and differences between your software and theirs. Before spending a lot of time or money launching a marketing campaign, look at your marketplace from all angles.
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