Marketing was never my thing. I’ve posted here before about the major shortcomings of small software companies; that we understand the developing of the product all too well, but that what comes next - the hard sell - is where so many of us fall down.
Every few days I get an email from someone telling me how much they love PageFour, how it’s so much better than other software packages aimed at writers, such as Dramatica, Treepad, and such. Downloads are increasing, and sales have definitely picked up, but it’s all happening very slowly, and for this I can only blame myself.
There’s never been any real momentum building around the product - no buzz. It’s had mentions on the odd discussion board, and an appropriate number of downloads as a result, but that interest is rarely maintained once the initial posts become old.
I’ve been considering offering free licenses to anyone who blogs about PageFour.
Similar strategies have been tried before by other software companies, and with mixed results. Recently, a company called Axosoft shifted over 2,500 copies of its flagship product by offering them for five dollars a copy, with the five dollars going to the American Red Cross. This generated huge interest and featured on many prominent blogs, as well as leading to a front page post on del.icio.us.
So the question is, could this strategy work? The product is strong enough now to come under any form of scrutiny, so I’m not particularly worried about people trying it out and hating it.
Is there a downside?
There is no direct link from PageFour’s commercial web-site to this blog, so any offer made here would be unlikely to prevent genuine buyers from paying for the product. The only negative I can see would be a slow or non-existent response to such an offer, and though that may be a little embarrassing, it would hardly have an adverse effect on the business itself.
PageFour needs exposure - not enough people have heard about it, so not enough people are trying it out. An offer of a free license to anyone mentioning the product on their blog could provide this exposure, and as long as there was a time limit on the offer, I don’t see how it could have a negative impact.
What’s the worst that could happen?
March 22nd, 2006 at 11:42 am
You know, I think it’s a good idea. Exposure is everything when it comes to marketing, and the more people you have talking about PageFour, the better. To get that exposure though, you need it discussed on LOTS of blogs. I don’t know how many readers you have, but you might want to consider extending the offer to writing-related bloggers who do not frequent your site. Of course, there’s a downside to that as well–by contacting lots of bloggers about your offer, you are sending out spam. Yikes. I personally LOVE PageFour and will do my part to write reviews and mention it on writing boards when I get the chance. Trouble is I’m writing more now and visit writing boards and blogs less often. And to what do I owe my new-found productivity? Why PageFour of course!
BTW, how did your family make out in the cyclone?
March 22nd, 2006 at 7:00 pm
You’re right Michael. I wasn’t planning on just making the offer to my own limited readership. The more the merrier, and the more who’ve never encountered either myself or PageFour the better. How to approach it without coming across as a pushy salesman chasing links will require a lot of thought.
The cyclone turned out disastrous for the town, but thankfully my sister’s house withstood the onslaught and came out the other end with its roof intact. The surrounding trees, sheds and cars didn’t fare quite so well however.