Software Vault: The Gold Collection

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████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ SHAREWARE MARKETING - FILL A NEED! ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ To begin at the beginning, you have a software package or at least an idea for a package. The first question is does your software fill a market need? And is the need so great that someone will pay money for your solution? It is easy to confuse the hard work and frustration of programming - which is considerable - with the perception that the package must be worth something since you worked so hard to produce it. In reality there is NO relation between your programming effort and the real need for the program. Spend some time imagining and researching a group of computer users who have a REAL need for a package you could produce. Successful shareware fills definite market needs. Glance at the list of successful shareware authors which I will provide in a few paragraphs and consider how your package fits into the market pattern of these documentable winners. You don't have to offer a similar package, just something that fills an existing or emerging niche. Serious authors offer SEVERAL packages or one mainstream package and develop it to near commercial quality. Complexity and a wealth of features tend to sell in the shareware arena. Shareware marketing methods require SERIOUS work committment despite the fact that you can get by without substantial startup cash - at least for a while. Another pattern is that some successful packages tend to be mainstream (databases, spreadsheets, serious utilities, accounting) BUT NEW IN CONCEPT. Shareware winners hang in there for the long haul. They have patience measured in a duration of years. Speed is crucial. Successful shareware authors bring a program to market quickly before other competitors. In some ways this is the advantage of remaining an independent programmer: program features can be rapidly implemented and a fresh idea or programming algorithm can be brought to market FAST. Excellence - successful authors continually refine and hone their programs to be the fastest and most user friendly. Then continuously update them which itself attracts market attention. Next a list of recognized shareware authors and companies. You might want to obtain and study several of the packages mentioned. Several companies, for example Buttonware and Datastorm, market both commercial and shareware versions of their products. However, in most cases these enterprises STARTED with shareware marketing methods and may still maintain shareware products at the time this article was prepared. RECOGNIZED ENTERPRISES WHICH DERIVE INCOME FROM SHAREWARE JP Software - 4DOS McAfee Asoc/Interpath - Viruscan Datastorm - Procomm Apogee Software - Commander Keen, Duke Nukum Trius - ASEASYAS, Draft Choice Quicksoft - PC-Write, PC-Browse, PC-Write Lite Brown Bag - Powermenu, PC-Outline, Homebase Contact Plus Corp - Contact Plus Magee Enterprises - Automenu, Treeview Buttonware - PC-Calc, PC-Type, PC-File Expressware - File Express, Express Calc, Check, Graph, Onside PKWare - Pkzip Hooper International Inc. - Cheque it Out, Takin' Care of Business Progressive Solutions - Back & Forth AM Software - AM-TAX Mustang - Wildcat Starlite - Galaxy/Nova Word Processor Jerry Medlin - Medlin Accounting, PC-GL Eric Isaacson - Zipkey Obtain shareware catalogs from larg disk vendors such as PC-SIG, Public Brand, Software Excitement! and others listed in the database which accompanies this package. Closely examine these marketing treasure troves and determine if similar packages to yours exist or, from a contrary viewpoint, if market gaps for your package are apparent. This is basic research costs little and can prevent frustration when you discover that the superb printer utility you had planned already exists as 23 different variations in the the shareware market. Look carefully for market gaps in a variety of shareware catalogs before you start writing code! A shareware programmer without a LARGE stack of shareware catalogs next to his/her computer is flying blind. ██████ TIP ██████ Know thy timeline: it will take 3 to 5 years to build critical mass behind your product. Be patient and hold on to that mail room job for a while. Fill a need. Don't program games (low registration potential) if you can program an application. Don't spend hours programming a killer database when 760 databases already exist. Find a niche market, create a niche market or spot a problem that isn't being solved. Watch for commercial software packages that seem new or unusual in concept then see if you can "shareware" the same concept to market quickly. Study other shareware that is "almost" market perfect but somehow misses the mark. Consider weaving the good ideas from several packages into one package. Consider collaborating with another shareware author. You will have to write more than one package if you are serious about shareware as a marketing method! As a starting point, consider these concepts for shareware packages: Mapping and plotting of contours, conversion of satellite imagery, business plan creation tools and templates, decision making software, IEEE 488 interface programming tools, contractor accounting package for DOD 2002. How about an OCR package with spell checking and AI, Criterium clone, AI resume generator? Other ideas include Windows 3.1 programs and toolkits, toolbook clone, libraries in C and pascal, dBase compilers, label printer with AI which can scan in any source document and find and format label information, Rbase clone with royalty free runtimes. As another variant, clone any of the programs in the PowerUp software catalog, Reflex database clone. If you have expertise in a specific technical area, consider complex vertical market management and market research packages for banking, law, medicine, statistics, accounting, biotechnology. A winner if you do research carefully might be database compilations of selected mailing lists, magazines, package- specific tutorial systems, home business planning and marketing packages, shareware distributor inventory and billing packages, direct mail planning and marketing kits. Also consider a package covering how to deal with lower back pain for computer programmers, planning and pricing a move to another state, job finding kits, foreign investment guides, lists of Russian entrepreneurs, emerging home office income opportunity newsletters, tropical fish disease database, packages for senior citizens on a state by state resource basis and on and on! This is just a little from the "fat idea file" on my desk! Another great idea is to scan each issue of Compuserve Magazine which is published monthly for Compuserve members. Within the pages is a detailed list of "popular and recommended shareware" downloads. Study the list carefully and ask yourself the question: could I clone a better variant of a particular shareware package which is ALREADY POPULAR? The key here is that these are POPULAR downloads by a vast array of Compuserve users which means the marketing research is done! The idea is obvious and updated every month for your perusal in Compuserve magazine! You are not charged for the magazine subscription, only for Compuserve connect time which can be as much or little as you like! Obviously, if you develop a package, you should upload it to Compuserve as a nearly instantaneous way to distribute it to a mass market. Upload time is at no charge. If you want to stretch your thinking, go down to your local library and scan through shelves of books and magazines and ask the question: could I program a package similar to this book or magazine as an interactive data/tutorial system? Could I find the precise market niche for the resulting product? Books and magazines are still the best and most original random access device invented by man - a floppy disk and computer are the same thing with a a bit more speed, intelligence and grace. Both my packages, PC-Learn and The $hareware Marketing $ystem are "books on a disk" rather than more traditional applications packages. A beautiful concept for a package I had is a TOTAL management and billing control package for a person taking care of a senior citizen - the package would manage medical billings, physician appointments, banking and money, dental claims, unpaid bills, income sources and so forth. With the graying of the baby boom generation this is sure to be an explosive opportunity. I have hundreds of ideas and more like this in a fat folder on my desk. And I don't have the time and programming skills to make these ideas happen! Write me if you want to brainstorm ideas for packages nobody has yet done which may have incredible market potential as the shareware market matures. I would like to see shareware distributors start compiling a list of "needed software" derived from actual requests of their customers. Better yet, this could become the "bright ideas" database within this $hareware Marketing $ystem: you submit an idea which is maybe a little too complex for you to program or team up with a programmer to write the tough code while you work on an elegant user interface. My next bright idea is a shareware DISTRIBUTORS newsletter with a compilation of the best and brightest marketing ideas I have seen and discovered from shareware distributors throughout America. I'll bet most shareware distributors would find such a newsletter interesting and my idea and concept file for that package is already 8 inches thick (still too thin for me to get interested just yet!) Today more packages are published as shareware than as commercial software. It is possible, some would say probable, that in the future all software will one day evolve into shareware . . . ORIGINALITY, PROFESSIONAL EXECUTION, RAPID DISTRIBUTION AND MORE THAN ONE SHAREWARE PACKAGE are the keys and are more important than raw programming skills! "Marketing source code" (mailing lists, ideas for packages, identification of market niches, distribution tricks) at starting point for most successful shareware packages. Avoid the standards which everyone else writes such as bible search programs, text managers, hard drive menu systems, checkbook programs, general ledgers, genealogy systems, tiny little printer utilities, games, lotto pickers and spreadsheets. PC-LEARN evolved in a more or less logical fashion. As the coordinator for a computer club I noticed an insatiable need for a SIMPLE tutorial for beginners. I wrote a few articles for the club newsletter which were avidly snapped up. Next I compiled several articles into what might be termed a PC-LEARN prototype. Response was good, but the articles were deemed too complex! Back to the drawing board and another try. Each time I got a little closer the market told me what to do next. I searched shareware catalogs for competitors to PC-LEARN (there were some, but lacking in some areas of content and simplicity). I checked commercial sources for similar tutorials which gave me further encouragement. Finally I submitted an early version of the package to several BBS systems and PC-SIG which is a large shareware distributor in California. Still more revisions and more aggressive marketing followed. I was prepared to wait about five years and then abandon the product since my commercial photography business was far more profitable with a lot less effort. Then the magic happened and PC-LEARN began to produce registration checks and I knew I might be onto something interesting. Moral: programming a package is the easy part. Marketing persistence and patience measured in terms of years is where the work starts! Reasons to try shareware distribution methods? You can't afford a major advertising and promotion budget. You need extra income but already have a job. Your existing package for a consultation client is good and might be adapted to a larger audience. Your small utility or game wouldn't be attractive in the commercial software market, but a realistic extra $5,000 per year for your small package might be a stroke to the ego. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ SHAREWARE MARKETING STEP TWO PROGRAM LOGISTICS ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ The best shareware adheres to certain common formulas. Strive to have your package run on humble monochrome machines as well as sophisticated VGA graphics computers. Can your software auto-detect various graphics resolutions and adjust accordingly? Remember that there are more monochrome machines out there than anything else. The customer can't send you a registration if he/she can't even read the registration request screen! High end packages have a very narrow base of support for registrations. Make the program run by intuition. Can the user fire it up and run your program without even glancing at the documentation? Good shareware is self-documenting as it runs. Don't rely on Windows specific programs unless you are willing to wait until the majority of users run Windows. If you must, offer a version for windows and a non-windows version. Don't program specifically for 386 CPU chips or math co- processors unless you want your program to leave the majority of users behind. Auto-detect these chips but don't hardwire instructions for these chips directly into your code. Make sure the program is REALLY bug free. If necessary reduce your program features even if you suspect a bug might be contained in a flashy graphics or machine code sequence. Shareware has a reputation for being buggy in the eyes of many users. Consider having the program display a copyright and registration notice as the first welcome screen. This protects you and reminds the user of the need to register. In the shareware trade this is usually called a "beg screen." The most productive registration schemes force the software to start with a beg screen and short pause then request a random keypress number or letter (which defeats automatic macro-induced startup by the user). Next the program runs. Upon program completion, a small reminder message to register the shareware displays and the opportunity to print a registration form with a mandatory yes/no keypress. This elaborate process induces registrations from folks who use the program frequently. With some programs, the registered version is free of these mild "cripples" which is an additional inducement to register the program. Upon registration, the author mails to the user an inexpensive postcard which reveals an undocumented software command which shuts off the annoying messages. Simple and clean. Will your program fit in whole or logical portions of standard 360K floppy disks? This is essential. Don't require a hard drive unless the program absolutely needs it. Provide two versions - one hard drive compatible and one floppy compatible, but don't neglect the big market of users with simple machines. While we are speaking about drives, do not hard code a floppy drive or directory into your program. Always allow a default directory and user selectable switching to other drives and directories. If necessary provide either a separate configuration program for drives, colors, and options or provide choices from a menu within the program. Not everyone's computer is the same as yours! ██████ TIP ██████ Consider "brain bartering" Example: your package has many software features, but you need some excellent documentation upgrades for your package but aren't a good writer. Try swapping some programming skills with another shareware programmer whose package needs some revision or bug fixes in exchange for that author doing a serious rewrite of your documentation. No matter how proud you are of your programming skills, there is another shareware author out there who is better at machine code, documentation production, beta testing or something you can't do. Make a list of what your program needs but you don't know how or have time to accomplish. Post a message on a BBS system or write directly to another shareware author. Brain bartering! I would like to list in this publication a brain barter database: send me a note about what programming skill you can offer and what programming skill you need. Write it like a little want ad, ship it to me on ASCII disk and we thus have the brain barter database. Crippleware (a program with severely limited features, date or time traps, or other cripples) is a sure looser. Few crippled programs have made it in shareware! At one time the famous WAMPUM database had a date trap cripple which has now been removed. Moral: As soon as a user even faintly smells a cripple your program is out of the running for that registration check! If you make references to DOS commands be PAINFULLY clear. A lot of users still don't understand statements such as "boot DOS then diskcopy your master floppy onto a backup diskette and prepare two HD subdirectories, one for the program and one for the data." This seems pretty simple, but will confuse a lot of users who will not even try your program. Explain DOS commands clearly in both your program and documentation. Consider offering a detailed DOS training course in your documentation which some users will register even if they could care less about your program! Many good shareware distributor catalogs always have little mini-DOS courses on the inside cover. Commercial software houses such as Borland include mini- DOS courses in the appendix section of their program manuals. Moral: there are a lot of computer novices out there who need clear instructions and will send you a registration check if you can keep your documentation clear, simple, useful and educational. If your program prints files, documentation or reports, be sure to have the program include an extra form feed at the end of the printout to eject the paper from the printer - this is especially true for laser printer users who will be most annoyed that the final sheet of your report or screen display remains inside the laser printer and is overwritten with yet another document when they go to use the printer again. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ SHAREWARE MARKETING STEP THREE DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING LOGISTICS ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ The final product, pending yet another inevitable revision, is the DISTRIBUTION DISK which is duplicated and submitted to shareware vendors, computer clubs and unsuspecting neighbors. Checkpoints: Always include a file named README on the disk. The README file must be sorted to the top of the directory listing so it can be found quickly. I suggest avoiding a file extension (e.g., don't use README.TXT.) Here is why: when you sort the files in final distribution order (best by extension then filename) the README file will sort to the top of the directory where it belongs and where it will catch the eye and serve its purpose. Within the README file the first item at the top of the should be the program name, version number, how to start the program, author mailing address and a provocative description including a few "sizzle words." The top of the README file is the most valuable real estate in a shareware disk. Use it well! It demands more programming time and thought than the rest of your program code. A program description must be provocative and precise. A reviewer will look for this first and frequently use it verbatim as a catalog listing. A user will be encouraged to try the program. The description isn't just a description, it must sizzle with what might be termed marketing adjectives! Obviously don't overdo the sizzle to the exclusion of the steak. Look again at an example README file: THE $HAREWARE MARKETING $YSTEM (c) 1990, 1991 VERSION 91.02 (Year: 1991, Revision: 02) Suggested BBS name, this version: SMS9102.ZIP A shareware software package from Seattle Scientific Photography Editor, Jim Hood (206) 236-0470 Mailing address: PO BOX 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040 To start: A>GO <then press return/enter key> DETAILED DESCRIPTION The $HAREWARE MARKETING $YSTEM is a detailed two part resource for shareware authors who need creative marketing ideas and a RATED mailing list of over 2,300 major shareware distributors, large computer clubs, key contact names and recommended BBS systems. The first part of the package, the mailing list database, contains addresses, phone numbers, a UNIQUE MAILING LIST RATING and other detailed data which can be used to prepare envelope mailing labels or BBS calling uploads. The database file is rated by a unique quality ranking so you can mail shareware to vendors, computer clubs and BBS systems ranked A, B or C. The database file is supplied in standard dBase III (DBF) file format which can be imported to your database! You can sort lists of shareware distributors, computer clubs and BBS systems by zip, state and other criteria. Foreign and U.S. source lists are included. The second portion of the package is a detailed newsletter and marketing strategy guide which has been prepared by an established shareware author and contains dozens of creative tips, tricks and traps which every shareware author should review. Written by the author of the PC-LEARN computer tutorial which has accumulated over 9000 registrations in 3 years, the $HAREWARE MARKETING $YSTEM provides detailed and experienced information in a frank, candid and sensible style. This is a package for the shareware author who desperately needs CREATIVE IDEAS for positive financial results. Program runs on ALL systems and does NOT require color or special graphics. You will need a database program such as PC- File, Wampum, dBase, Rbase, Reflex or any database program which can load files in dBase III format (DBF files). Other file formats such as Lotus, Paradox and ASCII file formats are available from the author. Hard drive suggested, but author of program can also supply mailing list files in smaller portions suitable for floppy systems if requested. Updates are planned (4 issues per year) and monthly updates are contemplated. (end of example) Notice that IMMEDIATELY the reader locates the essentials: what is the name? What is the version? What is the description? Is the description interesting? How do I start the program? If space permits within the README file also include a list of files and their descriptions, sizes and dates as well as further instructions on how to start the program and print the documentation. The top of the README file also includes a suggested ZIP file name for BBS use which is rarely supplied with most shareware packages but aids standardization if you go into national BBS distribution or if shareware distributors decide to archive/zip your file to conserve space on a floppy disk. I suggest you investigate the shareware program PKZIP and LHA if you are not familiar with archiving and file compression technology. A distribution disk should be defragged, date cleaned, EN sorted and spell checked. What does this mean? 1) Use a file defragmentation program to make all files contiguous prior to preparing the distribution disk. 2) Run a small utility like TOUCH.COM on the disk so all files have the same date/time stamp. 3) Run a file sorter like Norton on the disk to sort the files first by extension then by name (EN sort). 4) Use your word processor's spelling checker to clean up unprofessional documentation spelling errors (we're all human!) 5) Never use subdirectories on your main distribution disk which vendors and customers receive. This will drive most disk vendors and BBS SYSOPS wild and you will hear from them rather quickly! The idea is that many programs are archived on BBS systems and subdirectories on a distribution disk works against the "all files in one primary floppy root directory" philosophy. Create subdirectories, if you must, when the distribution disk installs to a hard drive. Prepare thorough documentation in ASCII text for your program. Include instructions on how to print it for the novice user. Maximum suggested text width is about 65 columns to allow for margins and printer variations. Consider ALL of your documentation for novices and prepare it accordingly. Document all auxiliary programs, special drivers and configuration programs as well as the main program! Don't use jargon; give examples of steps you intend. Good software gets the customer interested, but good documentation gets the registration sent. When you release a first or early version of a program, be prepared to listen to suggestions for updates and changes. It is tempting to dismiss requests for program changes since "you know the program bettter than anyone else." Don't let indpendence and ego get in the way. Software is most of all attention to detail. Abide by normal keyboard conventions which most users expect: F1 should bring up help screens. Escape should back a user out of a situation or menu or undo a previous command. F2 is an edit function in many programs. The slash bar or alt key activates a menu to open in many programs. F10 continues the program action in some older programs. Stay with conventions unless your program REALLY needs a novel interface. If your program asks for a filename, try to show a list of all names availble as is common with many word processing packages. If possible allow the up and down plus right and left arrow keys to move through a table of filenames to select the file in question. Explain error messages. Cryptic errors such as: "67878 overlay abort" are curious and unfriendly. Think in terms of fuctional error messages like: "disk drive door open." The rudest insult is to allow the program to abort and simply drop to the DOS prompt and lose all user data in the process. Try to return the computer to the same defaults it began with when your program exits: same screen colors, video mode and screen column width. Close all files and reset clocks and dates as necessary. Many programs require adjustment of the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files. Explain this in detail and give examples! You cannot explain BATCH files, AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS too frequently! Installation programs should provide the user with the option for the program to automatically modify the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT or continue installation WITHOUT the modifications. Check out your program with a LARGE file of dummy data. That accounting package you so carefully crafted may be great with about 100 entries doing simple searches and reporting. Try it with about a year's worth of dummy data (say 5,000 entries). If the program slows down to a crawl, maybe you should consider optimizing a few routines in C, pascal or assembler instead of that clunky Clarion/Quick Basic compiler. Good programs are fast, deep, feature-rich, novel, elegant and magical! If possible provide example letters, files or other data so a user can play with the software with dummy data to quickly see if the package is useful. This makes your software both fun and handy. Always check your shareware disk for incompatabilities with OTHER programs which are popular such as 4DOS. I recently had problems with my PC-Learn package whose installation routine uses a small file called INKEY.COM. To my surprise, a few users found that when running 4DOS, which has an internal reserved keyword named INKEY, my PC-Learn installation bombed out. There are many other shareware and commercial packages which can also conflict. In general you can't fix everything, but be aware of 4DOS and other popular packages which should be at least beta tested with your product. If your package contains Lotus style worksheets or templates will your macros run under both 123 and popular shareware packages such as ASEASYAS and PC-Calc? Many shareware authors ship large programs in ZIP or ARC compressed format. Be sure to thoroughly explain how to unpack to single drive systems, double drive systems and hard drive systems! Harder than it sounds when you consider the variations! Try to construct batch file(s) to unpack or configure the program to various systems. As a clue to unpacking to single drive systems, instruct the batch file to create a ramdrive, unpack the archive file into the ramdrive and then copy it back onto a formatted floppy. Conversely, you could copy the archive into the ramdrive and then directly unpack onto one or several floppies. You get the idea . . . PC Magazine offers a batch file compiler utility which makes slow clunky batch files fly. Consider compiling your batch files. The little compiler is named BAT2EXEC.COM and was discussed in VOL9N15 of their Magazine. The utility itself is contained on many bulletin boards and the PC MagNet service on Compuserve. There are also commercial and shareware batch file compilers which add screen colors, popdown menus and other goodies, all from a compiled batch file which runs quickly! Always include an invoice in standard layout format in several areas of the program as well as an exclusive menu option. Some shareware programs make it an option every time the program exits! Corporate users and Government offices require an invoice to process billings. The simple statement "$30 registration required" doesn't cut the mustard! Include a line for purchase order number if space permits. Speaking of standard formats, consider adding "Print documentation and program instructions" as a permanent menu item! A little shareware program named FASTFILE does exactly this. Whenever you ship a disk to a distributor or customer the prevailing thought is to enclose a pleasant business letter describing the program and asking the reader to consider using it or adding it to his/her list. My own personal opinion is to reprint the README file from your disk verbatim and submit it instead of the pleasant business letter! If you can't submit it verbatim, fix your README file! It should be more effective than the polite business letter because it has a clearly focused market style understandable to readers, reviewers and users of shareware. I feel strongly about a personal theory of shareware marketing I call "critical density marketing." Simply stated: set up up your distribution so that a large mailing/BBS distribution/marketing push of your disk takes place in a short duration of time. Key words: LARGE MAILING/SHORT TIME. Thus 1000 disks and 200 BBS uploads of your new shareware program or update is MUCH more effective in the space of three days rather than dribbled out over 6 weeks. Saturate your marketing push with critical density in a short time! What is minumum volume? Opinion: anything less than 500 disks mailed and 50 BBS uploads is barely minimum. 1000 disks mailed and 150 BBS uploads is decent. 3000 disks mailed and 300 BBS uploads is premium. What is critical duration? About two or three days! Time to payback for raw materials and telephone time with zero net profit? Depends on the quality of your program, but 6 months to a year would be a fair guess for an average new program which is not an update of an existing popular shareware program. ██████ TIP ██████ Make sure you receive a catalog from each distributor to whom you have sent a disk. Jot a note in your computer database about the date you shipped them a disk. Get a catalog from them 4 to 6 months later to determine if your program has been listed. Call their toll free number. Give them the name of your cat and mailing address for a free catalog so they don't cross reference your name on their mailing list. Some distributors are notoriously stingy sending out free catalogs and thus won't send you one if they know you are a shareware author poking around trying to see if your software is finally listed in their catalog - they may have your name on file in their computer, but certainly not your cat's name! Two disk-based catalogs which I especially enjoy are from PrairieWare and Disk Count Data, both of which are listed in the main database. Disk-based catalogs are interesting in that we are beginning to see some distributors exploring new frontiers in catalog production using disks which are infinitely more recyclable than chopping down trees for paper - call this a personal bias, but I wish the shareware industry would head this direction. When you are tired of the disk, put something new on it and send it along to someone else! I don't think most trees will complain, and the petrochemicals used to make disks are already dead! If you are archiving all or sections of the program be logical! Will each unpacked archive still fit on a single 360K floppy? I have seen many archived programs which are too large to unpack to single floppy disks. You can kiss many registration checks goodbye from owners of simple machines. Many BBS sysops will not accept program files in ZIP format if the archive is greater than 360K in size per ZIP file program portion. Summarizing: keep ZIP files in their packed state to less than 360K in size and likewise check to make sure the unpacked version will also fit on a 360K floppy. As an example, my PC-LEARN package attempts on installation to configure itself with a simple menu system onto two separate 360K floppies if that is all the user owns. However when installing to a hard drive or 720K floppy, the installation will omit the simple menus and instead install the deluxe full-featured color system. Flexibility is the key. It takes timing and a little sensitivity to users to second guess what type of computer system your program might run on. Some shareware authors (and even disk vendors) include a copy of the PKUNZIP utility on the disk to assist unpacking a program. Unless you are a commercially registered user or are including the COMPLETE PKZIP utility with documentation, this might be a problem! Legally PKZIP is shareware and it is unlawful to distribute only a portion of the program without all parts and full documentation. Shipping a file in ZIP format is fine. The ZIP file format is available for public use just as you might use a LOTUS WKS format file. For this legal reason, some shareware authors distribute programs in LHA format and include the LHA unpacking utility which does not have similar restrictions. LHA is a copyrighted product, but does not require payment for private or shareware distribution use. Be careful and be legal! By the way, a public domain unpacking/unzipping utility does exist: UNZIP.EXE. Is the archive file name descriptive and possibly hint at the version number? (e.g., THE LAWNMOWER REPAIR UTILITIES Version 3.6 = LAWNUT36.ZIP) Label your disks professionally. On a single label at the top of your disk use a large font for the program name and version, a medium font for the startup/installation command and finally a small font description of the program. Good labels reveal a lot about the disk. Some shareware authors use oversize labels and almost squeeze the entire README file onto the label - which is not such a bad idea! Just as the README FILE is the most valuable real estate inside a disk, the label is the most valuable real estate outside a disk! There are many good label programs which will run on humble dot matrix printers. Many of these programs are shareware or public domain. Speaking of labels, I sometimes print mailing labels on plain paper, two or three labels wide, and cut and glue them to the face of the envelope. Saves money on sticky Avery labels when you mail out a lot of disks. An odd shareware tip to save money: zip or archive SEVERAL programs onto one disk (everybody in the distribution network knows how to unzip files), SKIP the disk label, SKIP the disk sleeve/cover, enclose a one page printout of the README file on lightweight paper, ship in a single weight manila envelope (no metal clasp, just lick and close), do NOT enclose a cardboard to protect the disk from bending and put a SINGLE postage stamp on the face of the mailer which is all it will cost to mail your shareware economy class! Quite inexpensive, VERY unorthodox, and the few disks bent in shipping will be followed up with a "send me another" letter from the .05 percent who get a damaged disk. If you want volume and are willing to go "Volkswagon Class" in your mailing, you can do some incredibly LARGE mailings! Extend this idea by doing a COOP mailing (shared mailing of several authors shipping two or more unrelated programs in the same envelope.) Always update your database list and record to whom and when the distribution disk was mailed. Make a note to check back in 6 months to see if the distributor added your disk to his/her catalog. Don't forget to mail your shareware to foreign vendors! I receive foreign registrations from time to time and the volume is growing. Large shareware authors, for example Quicksoft, maintain foreign translations of their programs and have begun to align themselves with foreign shareware agents and brokers who can facilitate the exchange of foreign currencies from foreign shareware registrants. Foreign shareware sales are growing and will become a dependable income source for more authors as time goes on. The world is a big LUCRATIVE market. Commercial software houses (e.g., Microsoft) now develop a LARGER income stream from foreign sales than domestic U.S. sales! Primary countries in your first mailing should include English speaking countries or those with high English proficiency. Examples: Australia, New Zealand, England, Canada, Germany and Denmark. The shareware concept (try before you buy) is a surprisingly well established concept in some foreign countries (e.g., England) and represents an affordable and respected option. A special word to American shareware authors about Canada which is home to MANY shareware customers, authors, high quality vendors and BBS systems. Make every effort to encourage a sense of "hospitality" in your documentation and shareware which will be viewed by potential Canadian customers and vendors. Small details like currency exchange courtesy will go a long way. Canadian customers and shareware vendors are sensitive to overtones that you may consider them a "foreign country". For example, your registration documentation may suggest $25 registration fee for US customers and $35 for foreign orders. A small notation that "Canadian orders honored at $25 (US funds) will earn you many friends! Likewise be cordial about returning long distance calls to Canadian customers in need of support. Maybe even include some examples of Canadian towns and city names if, for example, your program includes zip code or telephone area code sorting. Canadian zip codes are different than US zip codes. Can your program handle sorting and searching BOTH formats? The bottom line: Canadians resent the status as a "foreign" country and many prefer to be considered as North American neighbors and not foreign trading partners. You'll be surprised what a little fine tuning will do to increase registrations in the Canadian market! Some U.S. distributors maintain operations in foreign countries (e.g., PC-SIG) so if you submit your shareware to them, it will find its way overseas anyway. Foreign distributors in the mailing list database are noted as distributor type "F" (foreign) while U.S. distributors are type "D" so that you may sort and search for those categories to select or exclude when you prepare mailing labels. The foreign distributors listed in the mailing list are also good candidates for research and proposals regarding the "brokerage" of your program to a foreign audience and the subsequent collection and conversion of foreign registrations into dollars. Use "distributor leverage" to get your foot in the door. Example: once my package PC-LEARN was officially listed by PC- SIG, most other shareware distributors were willing to add it to their library just to "maintain marketing parity" with PC-SIG. Moral: work hard on listing with the big distributors, then let the smaller ones know via a printed letter accompanying your submission that major distributors have assigned your program to their catalog. Include the disk number/catalog number for that major distributor as evidence! Should you distribute to computer clubs/users groups? My personal opinion is to mail to the shareware distributors first, BBS systems second and mail shareware disks to the largest computer clubs in major cities third. The reason, although this may raise the ire of computer clubs, is that most club members are awash in shareware anyway and seldom check each new offering. Only the largest clubs have a newsletter which might feature your shareware as a new addition to the library. The rate of registrations I have experienced in my own documented analysis of registrations coming from computer club sources versus shareware distributors and BBS systems is about 35:1. Meaning I receive about 35 registrations from distributor's clients for every one from a computer club member who directly traced their source copy to the club library. In general shareware distributor catalogs reach more people who need shareware than those who are already awash in shareware! It is not that I dislike clubs, in fact I am a former computer club coordinator. It's just that the registration potential in my opinion is unreliable if cash flow is your focus. Should you distribute to BBS systems? YES! This is probably the fastest method to get your shareware into the hands of people who use and frequently will register a GOOD package. I place BBS distribution as a high priority (right after shareware distributors) on my list of MUST DO distribution methods. See file RAPID.TXT elsewhere on this disk or examine the main mailing list for "A" rated BBS systems which I consider a high priority distribution method. I have healthy respect for all SYSOPS since their "grapevine" opinion of a shareware package travels far and fast! In addition they are genuinely nice folks and have a sincere interest in computers, communications, electronic "pen pals" and shareware authors. Another target is computer stores. Here in Seattle, two large computer chains distribute my PC-LEARN tutorial system on hard disk with every computer sold. Since PC-LEARN is tuned for beginners, most computer stores love to distribute it to lessen the tedious phone calls from new computer users. This is a simple idea few shareware authors are using. Can you distribute your package in similar fashion? It is amazing to me the registration checks I get from huge government agencies and large businesses who purchase a volume of computers from a large distributor and then stumble onto my product carefully embedded onto every hard drive on every computer they purchased. Some commercial software houses would kill to have a demo of their software included with every computer a large distributor sells to a major corporate account. This is a simple trick which a small shareware author can use to "outgun" even the largest commercial software company! ██████ TIP ██████ Two interesting target audiences are 1) folks living in small towns beyond major metropolitan hubs and 2) seniors who have a little more time than most of us and are just getting started in computers. Sounds crazy but many registrations I receive are from little towns and are seniors if you carefully read the notes, questions and comments. However your package must be simple and attractive for this type of audience: a simple database, gardening guide, genealogy system, or personal accounting package would be a good candidate. A cross compiler wouldn't, obviously! Moral: if you decide to buy a small ad in a publication to try marketing your package directly, go for a logical four star choice like the TOPPSQUASH TRAVEL AND LEISURE GUIDE. Or even your own church bulletin if you have a religious software package. Skip the expensive ads in computer magazines. Are you after money or an ego stroke in an expensive magazine? You might consider joining the ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS to further your education if you are serious about your software. The ASP has the backing of major players like Buttonware, Magee and Quicksoft and some fine ideas for marketing and mutual support. Dues are $50 per year. One drawback is that currently information flow is limited to Compuserve meetings on line and personal updates at Comdex. I am not a member simply because I am too busy, but I certainly endorse the concept of shareware authors banding together and helping each other in a constructive fashion. In a sense that is what this package is about! The ASP publishes a disk based catalog which freely circulates among U.S. BBS systems and is essential reading for all. The ASP was formed in 1987 and members subscribe to a code of ethics. No ratings are given to member shareware. The ASP Ombudsman can help customers resolve disputes with ASP members. The ASP maintains four forums on Compuserve: IBMJR 8, 9, 10 and 11. IBMJR 8 and 9 are open to the public. Type GO SHAREWARE at any CIS prompt. In addition, a recent agreement with Compuserve will allow any shareware user who registers an ASP shareware program a free membership to Compuserve and a $15 usage credit. The ASP membership application (on disk) contains a detailed author guide which is similar to this tutorial yet interesting and different. Another file discusses trivial software which will probably not be eligible for consideration by the ASP. ASP members agree to allow their programs to be examined and approved by the ASP the membership board. ASP members must agree not to cripple the program and must provide adequate support and documentation. The trademarked ASP symbol and address follows: ┌─────────┐(tm) ┌─────┴───┐ │ ──│ │o │────────────────── │ ┌─────┴╨──┐ │ Association of │ │ ├─┘ Shareware └───┤ o │ Professionals ──────│ ║ │──────────────────── └────╨────┘ The Association of Shareware Professionals 545 Grover Rd Muskegon, MI 49442 ██████ TIP ██████ You can also try to simultaneously distribute both commercially and via shareware. Kevin King, the brilliant owner at DISK-COUNT DATA shareware distributors, is one of the most amazingly creative people I have bumped into. He developed a little commercial retail package and distributes it to small stores with shareware packed inside. It is easy to understand: Obtain standard 7 x 9 inch poly plastic bags. You can use the expensive ones with ziplock seals from your grocery store or just look in the yellow pages under BAGS and order 1000 count non-ziplock types. Next design some nice artwork via a desktop publishing program and professionally print it onto stiff colored card stock exactly 7 x 5 inches in size. A printer can put two of these labels on a single standard sheet of card stock. Fold the newly made card label across the top of the bag, staple it shut and punch a hole in it for hanging on a rack. Cheap, effective retail packaging. I have extended the concept with PC-LEARN so that users return the yellow label for their bonus disk which tells me they got it from a retail location. Good locations for this kind of humble retail package are college bookstores, retirement homes, libraries, small stop and shop convenience stores and many stores with magazine racks. It has worked for me. Be sure to contact Kevin King at DISK-COUNT DATA for one of his amazing little DISK-BASED shareware catalogs. Next let's examine superb author feedback and shareware distribution the way the pros do it: at PC-SIG and Public Brand (addresses in the main database.) At PC-SIG you will first be sent an application form which must be scrupulously filled out and returned. The review process takes from one to three months. A reviewer will eventually check out your shareware and send you a second response as the process moves along. The front of the PC-SIG form is a combined submission and update form. At the top right is a submission tracking number for packages under evaluation but not yet accepted into the library. Also on the front are spaces for the following: program title, version number, update or new submission checkboxes, author name, address, city, state, zip, day tel, evening tel, checkboxes to acknowledge that you are the author and submitting it as shareware or public domain, signature and date. On the reverse of the form are spaces to assist the reviewer. It is highly suggested that this information be submitted in ASCII on disk. The information on the back of the form is as follows: program title, detailed description, who is intended user, (if this is update,) what are improvements over old version, unique features/why is your program better, program's capacity or limitations such as record capacity, special system requirements such as memory/drives/monitor, how to start program, registration fee, materials or services which come with registration, list of files and one line description (ASCII file preferred). Many packages don't make it at PC-SIG because of poor quality and software bugs. The second advisory letter will acknowledge that PC-SIG is reviewing your program in greater detail. Finally if all goes well, the final acceptance letter arrives noting the formal PC-SIG catalog number. A nice shareware author's newsletter is also sent from time to time to keep you abreast of catalog deadlines and deadlines for their CD-ROM disk of library offerings. When you submit an update, the special submission form always accompanies your disk. Nice, effective and very professional. The newsletters give you an inside track on the shareware industry and you have a chance to change or edit the description of your program if the reviewer places your program in the main catalog. PC-SIG is one of the few distributors which can actually track and tell you how many of your packages have been shipped. They decline to give you customer names and addresses which makes sense when you consider the logistics, but this is a REAL PLUS which few smaller distributors can provide! Public Brand is similar yet different. Step one is a submission and acknowledgement form similar to the PC-SIG method. Step two involves posting on their BBS system for review by many others as well as their own reviewers. Step three, of course is an acknowledgement letter. They do an equally nice job and in some ways their catalog with ratings, registration prices and new releases of previously commercial products like X Tree and (previously Brown Bag Software's VP-Info) SR-Info Relational Database places them among the best. Many other fine shareware distributors exist on the scene, but these two place a premium on author feedback, acknowledgment letters, and logistic support systems which redefine the word distributor. If nothing else, information about these two companies will prepare you for what lies ahead and give you a yardstick by which to gauge other distributors. As a minimum even the smaller distributors should at least send an inexpensive postcard to authors to acknowledge submission of disks - many don't however! Many smart shareware distributors are now paying for or swapping mailing lists of customers. Moral: keep a tight database of customers who register your product and resell it or swap for more names with a shareware distributor. Remember you can make money selling information and information ABOUT information. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ SHAREWARE MARKETING STEP FOUR CASHFLOW AND REGISTRATION CONSIDERATIONS ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ You will never forget the day. The day you open the mailbox and your FIRST registration check arrives! My first check came from Orlando, Florida several years ago. Orlando is a long way from Seattle where I live. You design something and toss it out on an electronic wind called the shareware distribution network and it finds someone who will pay you for your package. Over the space of about three years, many little envelopes arrived. Let's back up a few steps. How much should you charge for your package? A good place to do some research is catalogs from Public Brand Software and PC-SIG which are listed in the main database of this package. These catalogs list the registration fees for many shareware packages and will give you some ideas about what you should charge. In general, graphics packages, games and small utilities are in the $5 to $20 range. Larger applications packages like databases, accounting systems or word processors typically are priced at about 30% to 50% of their commercial counterparts. Specialized vertical market software (e.g., a billing system for a dental office) are priced higher in the $50 to $300 range due to the smaller market and frequent need for higher and more sophisticated customer support. PC- LEARN, my package, is priced at only $25.00. My interest is volume and a more than attractive price. What goodies or "carrots" should you offer to induce registrations? Traditionally a printed manual, telephone support and a free update are commonly needed by users. Update notices should be mailed out giving the chance for customers to upgrade. Upgrades are usually priced at about 15% to 25% of the original package price. Other goodies might be a bonus disk which is the method my package PC-LEARN uses. What's in the bonus disk? Why a BONUS, of course! Another registration benefit is a version of the program without the annoying beg messages and requests for random keypresses on startup and exit. Site licenses for larger software installations, universities and businesses should be mentioned even if no price is given. Other goodies to be considered are newsletters, source code, an expanded version, customization, site license, commission (for passing copies to additional users who themselves register) or utilities which augment or configure the main package to include additional menus, colors or features. Registration cash flow is serious business. As a minimum PROMPTNESS is essential. Train yourself to provide same day or next day response to all arriving registration checks. Even if your package promises no support or update, send out a registration number and thank you letter as a minimum. Going on vacation? Hire a friend to cover your registration system. Visa and Mastercard are good possibilities if you want to aggressively enter the profitable phone order business and is a good thing to mention in your documentation. Your bank can provide information about setup procedures which are fairly simple. A fee is charged to you for each transaction. You will probably be asked for trade references and account status information so be prepared to provide some financial background information. If a customer sends you a check for the older registration price you might want to honor it making it a condition in a polite letter than you will give him/her the newer higher priced version at the old price if they will tell you where they got the old program so you can update it. If a price increase is necessary due to increased support or programming, obviously attempt to announce it via a mailing to major distributors, computer clubs and BBS systems. Telephone support is a Pandora's Box. It seems to be a bottomless pit of time with little recognizable income potential. But just remember that Wordperfect (tm) has become a major word processor for, among many reasons, the unlimited excellence of its support. The toll free Wordperfect telephone number even appears on the help screens of the program itself! One reasonable way to provide support is to note in your documentation that support is available only evenings or weekends or at certain times of the day. Next an amazingly powerful customer support idea from Bob Wallace of Quicksoft and PC-Write fame: The PC Write offices of Bob Wallace use PC-Browse (one of their products) to pop up over ANY application they happen to be running to quickly scan for a registration number via a hypertext link. If the number is there they are talking to a registered user. Yet they don't have to dedicate one computer to a registration database when everyone in the office can pop it up over any screen. Clever, don't you think? Take a second look at PC-Browse with this idea in mind and DON'T FORGET to register PC Browse if you use it. On the subject of unregistered users, it is best to answer a few questions and politely suggest that other calls are on the line and mention that the caller may register for full support. The general logic is not to fret over unregistered users. The goal is statistics: try to get your package into the hands of 10,000 or even 100,000 users where a 5% registration rate still equals quite a few folks. Don't worry about "registration cheaters." Life is too short. I prefer to consider those folks as on an "extended evaluation period" with the possibility of some day registering . . . ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ SHAREWARE MARKETING STEP FIVE COMMERCIAL AND SEMI-COMMERCIAL MARKETING ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ So that is the system, right? Hardly. The next step which the largest and most successful shareware authors have followed is both commercial and "semi-commercial" marketing. This means stepping outside the shareware distribution network into the real world of commercial advertising and marketing. Consider PC-File from Buttonware. A classic product with superb features and ease of use. A shareware product which has also made its way into commercial distribution channels like the Egghead Software Stores. Another is Procomm which now has a commercial version. If you follow the drift, the next target is to push yourself and your product a little harder. Can you convince a local retailer to carry your product on his or her magazine rack? Will a local software or magazine company accept 50 free copies of your product (in attractive packaging) for a test market run in their outlets? With PC-LEARN, my product, I place small ads in local and community papers and allow editors of those local papers to serialize the package in print as a computer column with questions, answers and of course sections of PC-LEARN. I require that the editor run a display ad featuring PC-LEARN next to each reprinted section of the article in each issue of the paper. The traditional channels of shareware distribution can only take you so far. Buttonware knows this and so do most of the major players on the shareware scene. By carefully, inexpensively and cleverly finding or bartering for commercial advertising space you ramp up your project just as the major players do. The point is this: to play for serious registration money you must be prepared to put in as much (if not more) time on marketing than on programming. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ SHAREWARE MARKETING STEP SIX CURVEBALLS AND "SNAREWARE" ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ Into every life a little rain must fall. If you choose to actively and aggressively market your shareware through established distributors, be aware of "interesting offers." Most shareware distributors are reputable and fully understand that authors are their lifeblood. However a few distributors like to put a spin on things and will call you with various "pitches." Examples: one shareware distributor has an interest in offering registered versions of your program in addition to shareware versions. Nothing wrong with that, but be aware that the distributor may want a DEEP discount for volume packages of the registered version which cuts into your profit, depending on your interest. The distributor may propose that deep discount registered versions be offered by you to him as a requirement to listing your program in that distributor's catalog. Other distributors may call asking for exclusive rights which locks your package to them as a sole distributor. Still others may call or write asking you to help pay for advertising or mailing of their catalogs as a condition before they will accept your program. I personally feel there is nothing wrong with purchasing advertising in a distributor's catalog or mailing if the opportunity presents itself, but making this a requirement prior to listing your program is an arm twist of a different sort. Still another distributor who we shall leave unnamed proposes that gold stickers (costing $1.00 each in minimum rolls of 100) be required to be placed on your disk and exclusively available from that one distributor - before other distributors can further pass around your software. The gold stickers arrive with a serious legal contract which other distributors must sign. Human ingenuity can put a mischievous spin on a simple idea (shareware - try it before you buy it.) Basically, be prepared for interesting calls and proposals if you get involved with distributors. For some reason a few distributors seem to feel that they can obtain money both downstream (from the customer) as well as upstream (from the author). Keep your antennae up. By the way, some of these "interesting proposals" have come to me from ASP affiliated distributors which is a curious twist on ethical standards, to say the least . . . Don't allow shareware to turn into SNAREWARE! Finally, I would like to leave you with a personal "core philosophy" concerning successful shareware development. 1) Find a niche that isn't filled or filled poorly at the moment 2) Look at many vendor catalogs first to see what/who your competition is 3) Realize it will take one year and maybe two to achieve market recognition - EXTREME PATIENCE 4) Distribute your disk(s) to at least 500 vendors, 500 computer clubs, 500 BBS systems, 50 magazine writers 5) distribute to the major foreign vendors 6) Start your next package 4 months after you have started your previous package - regardless of whether your previous package is completed 7) Be totally straight arrow with customers: cash checks after shipping goods, be prepared to return long distance calls, have an outside support service (e.g., AGC or other company) do your support and order fullfillment if necessary due to volume 8) Have at least $3,000 to finance your modest startup 9) get outside programming help if your program interface is lacking, you documentation is poor or your customers suggest a change beyond your capability 10) Use the $hareware Marketing $ystem 11) Don't give up EVER 12) Frame a xerox of first registration check to give life reality 13) Spend 50% of your time marketing and 50% programming 14) realize that you are probably doing this because you are addicted to computers and are rationalizing (at the early stage of the game) the possible financial income 15) Have as a modest goal two good packages a year for life 16) Beta test the dickens out of your package then PAY someone to really beta test it 17) When you ship your package to vendors and BBS systems include a piece of paper that makes SENSE to them (who, what, where, when, why, phone number). 18) LISTEN to what others say about your package and don't be defensive - it is just code. Criticism is a form of flattery turned inside out. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ SHAREWARE MARKETING - A POSTSCRIPT ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ An afterthought from a different perspective. In 1990 Tim Campbell, a Canadian shareware author, provided additional thoughts on shareware development which dovetail with this tutorial and provide fresh insights. PINNACLE SOFTWARE'S COMMENTARY (c) 1990 (A shareware software diatribe) from Pinnacle Software of Montreal WRITER, T. CAMPBELL (514) 345-9578 MAILING ADDRESS: PO BOX 386, MONT ROYAL, QC H3P 3C6 SHAREWARE MARKETING BACKGROUND -- WHO THE HECK I AM From my standard corporate blurb (for magazine people and others): Pinnacle Software is a computer consulting company based in Montreal, Canada. It was founded in November of 1985 by Timothy Campbell. In January of 1986, Mr. Campbell started work on the Pyroto Mountain BBS program, Pinnacle's first shareware offering. Since that time, Mr. Campbell has written numerous shareware programs is generally considered to be the most prolific shareware author in Canada. Prior to setting up Pinnacle Software, Mr. Campbell founded Canada's first coast-to-coast consumer telecomputing service, which many called "The CompuServe of the North". Mr. Campbell is a self-taught programmer and has been coding since 1971. So much for the official line. In informal terms, I write shareware -- a lot of it. I'm not a big shareware superstar. I pay the rent with my registration money -- sometimes. Much of the money I get goes back into building up my potential for registrations. As time goes on, I plow more and more of it in, finding that the "free advertising" of shareware is merely a pretty myth. A WORD OF WARNING As my last remark may have indicated, I'm quite cynical about shareware. Even though it brings in nice, crinkly, spendable money, I am distressed by the amount of misinformation and disinformation you can find out there. So when I write about shareware, I tend to push in the opposite direction. Call me a curmudgeon. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it. So even if, in the following text, I seem very "down" on shareware, bear in mind that I've been doing it for 5 years, and though I keep threatening to give it up and get a real job, I keep at it. Shareware is my chosen mode of expression, and brings in a good chunk of my revenue. SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTION POINTS -- MY PERSONAL RATING METHOD Let's start by saying that the variable quality of our outlets goes 'way beyond the "ABC" rating system of the Shareware Marketing System project (hereinafter referred to as SMS), though I gather that the subjective nature of rating makes the "ABC" system one of the few that's feasible. I rate the shareware houses in my head, but to make it clear how I think about them, I suppose I could organize my ratings according to this system: X X X │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─ ACCURACY (A) SUPER (B) AVERAGE (C) POOR (?) UNKNOWN │ │ │ └─── ATTITUDE (A) KEEN (B) AVERAGE (C) CRASS (?) UNKNOWN │ └───────── SIZE (A) BIG (B) AVERAGE (C) SMALL (?) UNKNOWN PC-SIG I'd give a rating of AAC. They're big, they push shareware hard, but I've run into numerous problems dealing with them (which means I have to watch them every time I send in a disk). Little T&Z Software (have you heard of them?), get CAC. They're as keen as all get-out, sending frequent letters to authors -- even a Christmas card! Their one-sheet catalog, crammed full of teensey lettering, however, is just too compact to provide people with an accurate view of the products. This is somewhat different from making actual mistakes; they just don't give people a chance to judge what a product does, so the potential buyer can't accurately make a decision on what to get. (I haven't heard from T&Z for a while, so I assume they've pulled up stakes.) Shareware Express, which SMS gives a big warm "A" rating, gets a ?D? rating from me. Yes, "D" for "Beyond Crass". I've sent them many a disk, and my last one even included a cover letter asking them why they never acknowledge receipt of my disks. I really dislike shareware houses that don't realize that the authors are their primary resource. The Software Labs I give a rating of AAA+. Not that I haven't had the odd difficulty there. For example, they latched onto my software and never got in contact with me -- I had to track THEM down. But I knew it would be worth it, because they were doing SOMETHING right. I got a significant majority of my registrations from them (of the regs that came from shareware houses -- more on this later). SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTION POINTS -- MY PERSONAL LIST Before SMS, I had to work hard to find out where to send my disks. Now that I've got the SMS database, I'll be able to mail to my heart's content --until the posties get sick of seeing me at the post office. So my list is rather short in comparison to the SMS list. Nevertheless, I think there's a message hidden in my data that says something about the attitude of the people to whom we authors send our diskettes: Column 1: Used to keep track of the latest product that I have sent these people. Prevents sending duplicate disks. Column 2: the month in which I mailed the software Column 3: the month they acknowleged! Column 4:"-" means they've acknowledged at least once before LATEST OUT ACK CURRENT MONTH IS: DECEMBER FREE31 SEP - Gemini Marketing Inc., 5 Montgomery Crescent, Roxboro, Quebec H8Y 1H3, 684-3522, Barry Dufresne FREE31 SEP Gemini Marketing Inc., P.O. Box 640, 200 1st St., Duvall, WA, USA 98019-0640 FREE31 SEP - Micro-Mart Computer Center, 792 Hamilton Street, Somerset NJ, USA 08873 FREE31 SEP - PC-SIG, 1030D East Duane Avenue, Sunnyvale, California, USA 94086 (408) 730-9291 (list shortened for this article to provide examples. Tim's full list available from SMS. ed.) Notice a pattern? Most of these people just plain grab the disk and don't even say thanks. Don't even drop me a line. (Tim's full list shows lack of acknowledgement, ed.) Well, before SMS, I tried each one a few times, then dropped 'em. No point sending disks into a black hole. That's the way I figured it. Actually, this list is a bit shorter than my "real" list, which includes individuals (mostly registrees). I'm pushing a new concept of using my registrees to spread my software, and I'll talk about that later. I've also mailed to a lot of BBS's, lately, but I haven't kept track of that, since I don't EXPECT a BBS operator to behave, uh, professionally. (That came out wrong ... I mean, if I send him an unsolicited disk, there's no expectation for him to acknowledge it. But a shareware house, by golly, lives or dies on the basis of shareware submissions, no?) DISK VENDORS -- A FEW LAST GRIPES The good ones are REALLY good. Public (Software) Library and Public Brand Software get good marks, though the latter has, on two occasions, made HOWLING mistakes in rating my products (not matters of opinion, but glaring factual errors that caused them to reject the submission -- a concrete example is given later). Boo-boos I can deal with, however. The industry is still new. PC-SIG has weirded me out a little. They used to send me "Free Disk" slips (they no longer do this). I got fed up of getting all these slips, without having a catalog from which to pick a disk (!), so finally I took a huge stack of slips, mailed it to them, with a letter reading, "These are wallpaper, as far as I'm concerned; they're useless to me. How about sending me a catalog?" They sent me their shareware encyclopedia, which I considered a commendable response. I realize that these disk vendors are busy busy busy. But I maintain that my ultimate source of my gripes is always the same: lack of useful feedback. FEEDBACK, OH LOVELY FEEDBACK -- GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE BIG WIDE WORLD As a struggling (though productive) shareware author, I get lots of feedback from my registrees. Most of it, though, is along the lines of "Great program!", which is heart-warming and certainly most welcome, but not very helpful in increasing my ability to get even more registrations. If I lived in California, I'm sure that I'd be more "plugged in" to what's happening. Alas, many of us shareware authors aren't plugged in. Part of my problem is that I live in Canada. I was in touch with somebody over at Gemini Marketing in Washington, and he concurred when I suggested that maybe Americans have a resistance to registering with a Canadian company. There's an imagined hassle with currency (though I take American money and my documentation says so), but there's also another factor. The guy at Gemini encapsulated the problem when he innocently said (to my astonishment), "Oh, if I had to send money to a foreign country, I wouldn't mind sending it to Canada". The term "foreign" is not one that Canadians apply to the U.S.A. The U.S.A. is that big, interesting place to the South, which you have to go through customs to get to. But it isn't really "foreign" to us. In order to deal with this problem, however, I have obtained a mailing address in the U.S. This is a recent development, though, so I don't know how well it will do. I should point out that I had a long, helpful discussion with a shareware author in Vermont (who writes a football-pool program) and he cited his isolation as a major source of irritation. If your area isn't hooked up to something like PC-Pursuit, and you can't afford CompuServe, it's a drag. Authors like us, we look towards the shareware houses to keep us informed and we even look to them for a bit of motivation... Quite seriously, whenever I get a shareware catalog in return for one of my submissions, I feel like I'm getting "a letter from home". Things are opening up, as shareware becomes more "mainstream", but I still feel a quiet thrill when I find a catalog in my post office box. I'm quite sure that many shareware authors feel this way. THE QUEST FOR SOME FACTS PC-SIG, with its "Shareware" magazine, goes a long way in the motivation department. Alas, in terms of "informing" us, it's not so good. They have to paint a rosey picture of shareware (and hey, that's their job), so they tend to portray things as just peachy-keen and everybody's gettin' rich, like. The A.S.P. in particular is of no use to me. CompuServe access is very expensive here in Montreal. And basically, all ASP says is, "Send in your $50 and you can join us on CompuServe". There's no newsletter, as far as I know. As such, it'd be $50 down the drain UNLESS their service is so stunningly indispensible that ... but then, in chatting with other authors, I've gotten mixed reviews... Good information is very hard to come by -- which is what makes SMS so marvelous. It may not answer ALL my questions (or even most of them), but at least it presents, in an unadorned manner, plain facts that I need to know, such as who to mail my diskettes to. Obtaining facts about shareware, it seems to me, is about half the art of playing the game. It seems that some people (Jim Button, for example) somehow acquired the facts early in life. Dummies like me take a long time to figure these things out, I guess. Actually, perhaps it isn't ideal to take people like Jim Button or Bob Wallace as examples, because their products stand head and shoulders above most shareware, simply by virtue of their scope. Let's fact it: there's shareware and there's SHAREWARE! Something awesome like "As-Easy-As" doesn't dribble out of the computer of a casual weekend hacker. Some of these creations are flat-out no-nonsense commercial-level gems! But, then, does this mean that you have to make something BIG to make it big? I don't think so. There are a few smallish programs that (supposedly) have made the author some big bucks. Supposedly. Is this true? HIDDEN EFFORT -- WHAT YOUR SHAREWARE HOUSE WON'T TELL YOU Alas, I don't know. I hear stories, but how many can be believed? And when you DO hear of a "small" product making it big, you usually dig a little deeper and find that while the actual product might not be a whopper like, say, Qube-Calc, the author nevertheless bent over backward to market the heck out of his wares. Take Apogee Software, with their "Kroz" games. I wrote a similar game once, a few years ago, named "Drifting". (It was a guy in a space-ship that was without power, see...) Anyway, after a few weeks of diddling with it, I trashed it, figuring, "Nobody registers games ... why am I wasting my time with this?" I hear that the Kroz games are doing exceptionally well. But as you can see if you download, say, Kingdom of Kroz, the author markets, markets, markets. He mentions, for example, that he poured about $2000 into marketing that game. The average shareware author isn't prepared to do that. That sounds too much like "serious" marketing! I think that -- if he doesn't give up -- every shareware author finds out, sooner or later, that shareware is a heck of a lot of hard work. I've formatted so many disks for mail-out that I can guide a diskette into the slot without looking, while munching on a sandwich and watching TV and chatting on the phone. Sure, some mayonnaise gets on the diskette, but at least it formats quickly with Sydex's super FORMATQM program. (Yes, yes, I registered it.) I once suggested that somebody could make some money by offering to be a mail-out service. You mail him a master diskette, and he mails a copy to everybody on his list. He charges about 3 bucks per disk. Expensive, maybe, but most shareware authors would rather program than format disks. It sounds like a good idea, but don't look at me; I want to program, not format disks. I'm a shareware author. Which is ... hmmm ... why I spent all last night formatting disks. (Sigh) Now you know why this article is occasionally a bit incoherent. I actually write better than this. Honest I do. SHAREWARE FOR FUN AND/OR PROFIT I have a very bad personality trait: I write the shareware programs that I enjoy writing. I don't do market surveys. Ideas pop into my head, and I suddenly declare myself an artist. That is to say, I create my creation for it's own sake, and subsequently find out why the word "starving" so often appears before the word "artist". Which is not to say that I'm utterly beyond help. I do occasionally recognize the need to buy actual food with actual money, so on occasion, I actually create things that are practical. My Area Code Hunter program, for example, was created deliberately to be practical. And just look at all my other practical products ... like, uh, well ... umm. A few little utilities 'n' things, which (as we know) are not the dollar-makers in shareware. It seems to me that when we talk about shareware, we could express its potential for profit in two ways: cash and satisfaction. These two aren't actually separate: I get more of a thrill from a $45 cheque in my mail-box than I ever got from the weekly $600 cheque I received when I was earning a salary. In our society, we tend to express value in terms of dollars, since that's a darn convenient way to talk about things. But there are plenty of people like me (if I may judge from the shareware I see) who program for, well, the ART of it all. But sometimes I wonder if these people are frustrated, hearing about how much money they "should" be making. It would be a shame for their satisfaction to be overwhelmed by a misplaced expectation, when their original motivation was simply to create something for its own sake. That is why I do not appreciate the shareware hype that suggests that any hacker can make big bucks just-like-that; it's not entirely necessary. All this reminds me a bit of the early days of rock 'n' roll. Back then, it was just a guy with his guitar ... just a guy with his guitar ... and don't ya know he's gonna go far ... yeah, 'cuz he plays a mean guitar. A mean guitar. Oh yeaaaah. Now it's a guy with his computer. He CAN go far, but he should remember how many broken guitar strings and hearts littered the pathway to today's rock 'n' roll. Once a musician stops playing music for it's own sake ... it changes. I don't think I have to explain what I mean to anybody who has experienced 60's rock, or compared it with 90's rock. NOT SHAREWARE! Getting back to the subject of disinformation, I find that it's easy to be led into believing that the big success stories just uploaded their files here 'n' there and then the money started pouring in. Let's look at the classic "success" companies: NAME OF COMPANY MY COMMENT AM Software ? Brown Bag ? Buttonware M.B.T.R.O.M.S.A. (See note) Datastorm Not really shareware any more Expressware M.B.T.R.O.M.S.A. FormalSoft ? Hooper Inc ? Magee Enterprises M.B.T.R.O.M.S.A. Mustang M.B.T.R.O.M.S.A. PKWare M.B.T.R.O.M.S.A. Quicksoft M.B.T.R.O.M.S.A. Sydex Looks like shareware to me Trius ? KEY EXPLANATION -------- ----------- ? I don't know enough about these people to comment intelligently MBTROMSA Marketing Beyond the Realm Of Most Shareware Authors I am not quibbling about the success of the MBTROMSA people, nor am I playing sour grapes. Hey, these are cagey people who made a success of themselves, and more power to them! What I quibble about is the blithe use of the word "shareware" in application to these people. Shareware (as generally presented to the innocent) tends to evoke images of self- propagating software. No, not viruses, but, well ... it's an image of people ... SHARING! I believe that you'll find that all of the companies mentioned above (not the least of which is Datastorm!) know that Shareware isn't really about sharing at all. AN ACTUAL INTERVIEW WITH AN BUDDING (INNOCENT) AUTHOR Somebody just signed on to my bulletin board, saying he's releasing a shareware product for his ST computer. It turns out it's ... a biorhythm plotter. I asked him what he expected from shareware, and here is a transcript for your edification: ME: What are you expecting from shareware? What do you think it is? HIM: From what I've been led to understand, basically it's released to the public domain [sic] and the author asks for something in return, giving the promise of updates. In my case I'm not promising updates, because the program is basically already as polished as it can be, so I'm basically releasing it and depending on people's good will. ME: Where are you uploading it? How will you distribute it? HIM: I have a friend who will upload it to Genie. ME: Anywhere else? HIM: No, just Genie. ME: How much money do you expect to make? HIM: I'm asking for $2 for the registration. I don't expect to make lots of money. It's just a little ego trip to see my software spread around the world. What can I say? Clearly this is an author who is in need of solid infor-mation. He later told me that he wants to make something BIG (a "cover" of a commercial game), but wants to see what this does, first. In the absence of solid information, it seems that he's going to be disappointed, and we might lose a good author. (Hey, we all wrote biorhythm programs at one time, didn't we?) IF NOTHING ELSE HERE IS SIGNIFICANT, AT LEAST HERE'S SOMETHING STARTLING I track my major products with serial numbers. This enables me to find out PRECISELY what happens when I send a product out the door. And the stunning fact is: PEOPLE DO *NOT* SHARE SHAREWARE TO ANY GREAT EXTENT Most of my registrations are "first-tier". The person accesses a board that I've uploaded to, likes my product, and pays for it. He doesn't give it to a friend. Hence the need for decent marketing. It took me a long time to realize what my distribution figures were screaming at me: the shareware world is NOT a magical conduit for most of us. True, PKZIP gets around. Overnight, it'll spread across North America. But it's the exception. I'm sure that anti-viral software also manages to reproduce wildly across the continent. Here in Montreal, I VERY rarely see even the mighty PC-File, except on boards that are on some kind of ASP mailing list (or something like that -- I wasn't too clear on how the board in question got its updates, except that it was a formal agreement). There IS a solution to all this, I think, and it involves making reality more like the lovely myth. And that would involve getting sysops of BBS's to really push upload/download ratios, encouraging people to go out and FIND things to upload. Is that practical, though? I don't know about your area, but most of the boards here in Montreal are free. Upload/download ratios are an effective way to keep users from becoming software sponges. But in many areas of North America, the big systems are pay systems. And they can't really go for upload/download ratios ... can they? I don't run a big board, so I couldn't say. The last big system I ran was in 1985, on a minicomputer. That was before multi- line micro-based BBS's were around. When I first got into shareware, I naively thought that I'd upload my baby to CompuServe and it'd be spread around the entire continent within a few frenetic weeks. I figured that eager people would want to upload it to their favourite boards, just to "share" the experience with others. That was a very egocentric way of looking at things. As a computer junkie, *I* would behave that way. At least, 5 years ago I would have, when there wasn't a glut of shareware. But it didn't happen. Back then, I didn't know what was going "wrong". Now I know how little sharing goes on, and I have the data to prove it. Now, you might think that perhaps my products just aren't shareable. There's some truth to that! My BBS products would only interest sysops, for example. Yet, that pinnacle of achievement, the super-duper LIST command by Vern Buerg, is UNKNOWN to any business client I've ever had! They all use DOS TYPE, for cripes sake! How can this be? If it was simply a case of quality and value, the LIST command should have swept the world within a few weeks. Personally, I hammer it into every computer I come into contact with, along with a few other "Must-Have" utilities. Try this out: walk into any company that has, say, 10 PC's. Ask them what version of PKZIP they have. You'll be met with a dumfounded stare, probably. Maybe it's different in California; I don't know. But where I am, shareware is a big blank. Most people have never even heard of it. I can only conclude that the "gospel" isn't being shared. SO ... SMALL NUMBERS YIELD SMALL SALES -- HARDLY A REVELATION Getting back to CompuServe ... I was delighted to see that my Area Code program was downloaded 100 times in only a few days. But I was only excited because it was a RELATIVE success. My BBS programs don't get that kind of traffic -- which is understandable, as CompuServe isn't over-run with people frantically looking for some way to become a sysop. A month later, the initial surge wore off, and I had maybe 120 downloads. Some really popular downloads achieve a few hundred downloads in a month. Percentage-wise, considering the active population of CompuServe, that's impressive. But ... just a couple of hundred downloads? Chicken-feed, really. A commercially successful program ships tens of thousands of copies in that time. A few hundred is nothing. So CompuServe isn't THE answer. I realize that most veteran shareware authors know this. All the successful shareware companies must know this. Heck, after a while, even *I* figured it out. But I have the sneaking suspicion that a LOT of new shareware authors DON'T know. They still think shareware is mostly about sharing. WHERE DO BIG NUMBERS COME FROM? Alas, the disk vendors are very careful about not releasing their distribution numbers, even to the authors. I suppose they don't want the information to leak out to their competitors. It's a shame, because it would help us a lot. For example, in one issue of Shareware magazine, my Sapphire BBS product was listed as PC-SIG's #1 telecommunications package (in terms of number of units ordered). Does that mean that they moved 1000 of them? If that was the case, the resulting number of registrations was certainly below par, which in turn would mean that somewhere along the line, I've made a SERIOUS mistake. It would benefit me to know the figures so I could assess the value of my work to the end-user. I'd like to know the facts! Also possible, though, is that it was simply a slow month for them. They only shipped, say, 20 of ANY telecommunications package, and Sapphire happened to ship 21 units. In which case, my product is reaping an awesome percentage of registrations. If that's the case, I'd like to know THAT, too. It means I'm doing something RIGHT! Maybe they worry that we authors would let the numbers leak out, but that's unlikely to be a problem, for two reasons. First of all, even if the numbers for a particular product were SMALL, it isn't a way to judge the entire disk vendor company. Perhaps that particular shareware product was, by fluke, badly described in the catalog, or there was a feature article in the catalog for a competing product. Whatever. You can't derive much information from a single data-point. But maybe they worry that their competition would amass figures by canvassing dozens of authors, building up a database? Not likely to work. In my experience with shareware authors, they're just as tight-lipped about distribution figures as any disk vendor ever was. I've heard some unconvincing claims of "tremendous success", and some ominous admissions of "doing okay, I guess". But actual figures? Never. Nor do I give out actual figures. Quite frankly, I haven't a clue just how many disks ANY shareware vendor ships. I hear that PC-SIG ships lots and lots and lots. That's about as accurate as it gets. What *I* want to know is: how many of *MY* products do they ship? I hear that some shareware houses will release that kind of information if you provide them with a mailing list of your registrees. I hesitate to do that, because I never warned my registrees that I'd be trading their names like baseball cards. I suppose my position, in this big "information vacuum", is a somewhat ... hmmm ... libertarian stance. I figure it this way: if the disk vendors can help the shareware author make decisions more intelligently, it can only improve things... The author will write more marketable software. The disk vendors will receive better product information, which in turn will help them represent an improved product in a more accurate way. More people will be pleased with their products and order more disks. Everybody will win, and we can all go frolic in the fields of clover and fragrant spring flowers! Maybe that's a little too "Ayn Rand". Benefits seldom build up so smoothly. The harsh reality is that diskettes get lost in the mail, and disk vendors can find all their mailing envelopes damaged by a broken water-pipe. My rosey picture of an alliance between disk vendor and author is only an ideal. But having said that, I think it wouldn't hurt if we all shared the ideal. WHO OWES WHAT TO WHOM AND WHY? I do not believe that in the long run it helps to have all those shareware authors groping in the dark. Once again, this reflects my attitude that a shareware houses' PRIMARY resource is the author. I admit that I'm somewhat biased in this regard! A friend of mine once stated the problem in a cynical (or refreshingly honest) way: "If you don't write the stuff, somebody else will. Nobody ASKED you to write it!" He's right, of course. There are probably lots of budding authors who would take my place. Naturally, their (wince) drivel won't be as good as my (blush) deathless masterworks, but hey. The point is, we've got a case where it behooves both parties (authors and vendors) to understand how they work together and how they need each other. I believe that we've got a long way to go before that understanding has brought us to a condition of synergy. To be fair, I'm sure that if I ran a shareware house, I'd have a very dim view of 95% of shareware authors. I've seen a lot of shareware that is just plain awful. So I try to put myself in the shoes of the disk vendor, and I understand that he has a LOT of garbage to sort through, and that quite frankly, many authors haven't even done enough groundwork to DESERVE the red carpet treat-ment. At this point in my commentary, I've got to say, "Dang it! My software is GOOD! They should be NICE to me!" While I acknowledge that the actual value of my software (or any software) is open to debate, I nevertheless maintain that my software is both presentable and saleable. A good portion of my stuff is mere ballast, but in any shareware pack I send to a vendor, a reasonable portion of my wares is good enough that I expect them to say, "Hey, this guy isn't a slug ... let's treat him like a real author!" I've had enough positive feedback from INDIVIDUALS at the disk vendors to know that I deserve a fair shake. The words "Commercial quality" have been used to describe some of my stuff. (Mind you, I've seen some "commercial" products -- that will remain nameless -- which do well financially, yet are horrendous when compared to good shareware). So how do you explain the crassness of some disk vendors? I usually tell myself that they're busy, and having trouble keeping up with growth. I'm sure that this is true. But it hardly absolves them of all blame. DEAR SIRE, WE REGRET TO INFROM YOU THAT YOUR SUB MISSION HAS BEEN REJEECTED Here are a few stories to illustrate the frustrations an author can have: STORY #1 I sent a disk labelled "Grab-Bag" to PC-SIG, along with a cover letter explaining that the various ZIP files contained all my shareware. (At that time, I could still squeeze it onto one disk) It was rejected lock, stock and barrel. Explanation: "No room for documentation on disk." Can you wrap your mind around that one? The guy who reviewed the disk thought the product was named "Grab-bag", and that it did something or other, but it was too big. God knows what he concluded it was FOR, as none of the programs were in any way related to each other. I phoned the President of PC-SIG and he said he'd look into it. Six months later, I came to realize that he'd done nothing, and that none of my products were in their catalog. STORY #2 Last week, Gemini Marketing in Washington called to ask me to resubmit my shareware pack. It seems that somewhere along the line, the papers that accompanied the disks became separated from the cover letter, as were the individual disks, or something like that. Plus, the master disk wasn't any good, see, and we don't know what we did with your disks. Or something. Please resubmit. STORY #3 Public Brand Software rejected one of my programs. Here's the letter I sent to them: April 2, 1990 Public Brand Software 3750 Kentucky Avenue Indianapolis, Indiana USA 46241 ATTN: Software Reviews Dear Software Librarian: I have enclosed your review of my Sapphire Bulletin Board software. I am moved to write to complain about the assessment. My previous contact with your company has impressed me greatly. I've come to expect careless reviews from some disk vendors, but I had hoped that I would be spared the same painful experience when dealing with your company. My feeling is that Sapphire was reviewed quickly. I cite three items in particular: 1. Your reviewer failed to mention the "Zero-Maintenance" aspect of the product, which is its main "selling point" and in fact is mentioned right on the diskette label! Unlike some BBS's that require constant or even occasional attention, Sapphire can be set up and then virtually forgotten. (The sysop may wish to retain the task of validating users, but this is optional.) 2. Your reviewer said that Sapphire is useful where "E-Mail" is of paramount importance. Well, I try to look at my own product fairly, and I must say that my product's approach to private messaging is not what would be called "E-Mail". This is admittedly a failing of the product, so I could hardly take credit for excelling in this area. 3. The most irritating aspect of the review was that I was refused entry into the catalog because the product was "A limited version". This is simply not true. The product is fully functional; registration does nothing but remove the opening screen. Moreover, there is no time limit. The user could "test-drive" the product for years (though that would run contrary to my shareware terms). Please have this product reviewed again. Should you require any additional information, please feel free to call me. Sincerely, Timothy Campbell President I enclosed another copy of the disk. They never answered or acknowledged receipt of my letter. As far as I know, my product is not listed in their catalog. I should point out that in general I find PBS to be very supportive of shareware authors. But they really dropped the ball on this one. STORY #4 I really appreciate the feedback that PBS gives shareware authors. They acknowledge receipt of your disk, and then they send you a copy of the review. They're very organized -- and I appreciate that! I realize that it's BECAUSE they're so organized that any errors come to the forefront. Whatever the case, they dropped the ball again when they reviewed my Free Speech BBS product. Here was the letter that I sent: November 1, 1990 Public Brand Software 3750 Kentucky Avenue Indianapolis, Indiana USA 46241 ATTN: President <-- Note the change in emphasis Dear Sir, On April 2nd of this year, I wrote to protest the exclusion of my "Sapphire" bulletin board product, which your reviewer had written off as "a limited [i.e. crippled] version". This was and is utterly false. Yet, since I wrote you the letter (6 months ago), I haven't heard a word from you on the matter. Now I receive a letter telling me that two people have reviewed my Free Speech software. The first reviewer found that it was fine, but the second found that it failed on an "Error 100". Looking up the error in my Turbo Pascal manual, we came up with several possible explanations, all of which point to an installation error. In any case, we have carefully test-installed the enclosed version and we assure you that it works as advertised. If your reviewer ("A/S") has the same problem again, we would appreciate knowing how his system is configured. (A full disk drive would also cause that run-time error, for example. And if he failed to follow the instructions in the manual about inserting FILES=20 in CONFIG.SYS, this too could cause the problem.) I would like to have both products reviewed again. Should you require any additional information, please feel free to call me. Sincerely, Timothy Campbell President You might say that this problem is my fault, insofar as ANY installation problem is MY problem. If the reviewer had a problem, anybody could have the problem. My program should have been designed to expect a departure from the installation procedure. On the other hand, I have never received a call complaining about a problem with Free Speech installation, except for one guy, whose modem behaved in a bizarre manner. (He replaced the modem and things were fine after that.) Based on my experiences with other reviewers, I wonder how carefully the guy paid attention to the installation procedure OR IF HE'D EVEN BEEN GIVEN THE ORIGINAL ZIP FILE. Anyway, the point is moot, because as you might expect (by now), I never received a letter in response to this letter. I hope that by now they're carrying my Free Speech product in their catalog. But I have no way of knowing, short of sending them money to become a member. OVERVIEW OF THE STORIES As Pat Paulsen says, "Picky, picky, picky!" I suppose I should expect a certain amount of grief, considering how young the shareware market is. But as I said, I'm optimistic enough to keep hacking away at shareware, but not blind to its failings. I have lots of stories like these. I remember at least two other cases where my products were rejected after only a cursory examination that led the reviewer to the wrong conclusion. Again, my complaints aren't really valid if my products are trash. A good reviewer can make a decent assessment of the product just on the basis of the READ.ME file. (If it's got typos, quality is not likely to be forthcoming.) Most of my work is a lot more carefully written than this long missive. I'm doing "stream of consciousness" here and I only intend to proof-read for typos. Actually, I spend an inordinate amount of time honing my READ.ME's. In fact, my HELPME product is kind-of a huge READ.ME. I put a lot of loving care into my packaging. Am I the only shareware author who is occasionally frustrated by the disk vendors? I can't believe that that's the case. I hope that SMS becomes a force to be reckoned with and -- like the Michelin Guide -- encourages the vendors to slave for that extra "star". IDEAS THAT DON'T WORK -- DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME, KIDS! "In order to succeed, you've got to learn to fail". Somebody MUST have said that. In any case, it certainly applies to MY career in shareware. Nowadays, shareware brings me about half my net income. Dollar- wise, it brings in more than that, but about a third is plowed back into promotion. METHOD #1 -- HOPE FOR THE BEST But from the time I released my first product (Pyroto) until I received my first registration ... it took SIX MONTHS! In my wide-eyed innocence, I simply spread it around a few places, expecting it to magically reproduce. I certainly learned the error of my ways. Now, when I release a new product, I send out a few hundred copies at least. It's the only way. Interestingly, I've found that BBS's and telecomputing systems produce far better results than Shareware houses. This may be only my experience. Some authors, I know, bank on the disk vendors. But thanks to my shareware tracking (using serial numbers), I can't help but have more faith in modem power than mail power. I've always felt that if somebody sends in money for a disk, he feels that he's paid for it already. It doesn't matter if the shareware house states otherwise (and come to think of it, a lot of them don't spend much time explaining what shareware is). METHOD #2 -- SHAREWARE SHOTGUN Perhaps I'm "down" on shareware houses because of a bad experience I had once. I bought an issue of Computer Shopper and sent a shareware pack to every single person or company listed in the shareware classifieds. I mailed out over a hundred packages. Only three bothered acknowledging receipt of the disks! I suppose that lots of people figure they'll make easy bucks by running a shareware house, but quickly realize that it's NOT so easy. By the time they decide to change their career, however, they've received hundreds of disks from hopeful authors. I'll bet those ads in Computer Shopper pay for themselves, just in free disks! METHOD #3 -- BIG-BUSINESS SHOTGUN Once again armed with Computer Shopper, I wrote down the names and addresses of the 100 biggest hardware vendors, and sent along my Area Code reference program, suggesting that they include it with every computer they send out. I figured maybe they already included a disk or two of useful things, so tucking in another program would be a snap. It was worth a shot. But no such luck. Of the companies who bother to reply ... neither was interested. So ... scratch $100 worth of postage, $25 worth of envelopes, $40 worth of diskettes, and the price of the gallon of cola I needed to wash the taste of envelope glue out of my mouth. This method failed, I think, because I was asking them to do something they weren't doing in the first place. Perhaps if I'd offered to MAKE the disks for them... It's something to think about. METHOD #4 -- HERE 'N' THERE REVISITED Eventually, by the sheer weight of programs I was sending out, I started getting a so-so number of registrations. But not enough to make me dance with joy (and it wouldn't take much to make me dance, you know). I realized that I wasn't going about this in a BIG way. True, I was hitting the really big shareware houses, and getting my programs on CompuServe. Occasionally, I'd send a pack to some other telecomputing service. But that was no way to make a buck. Y'gotta work harder than that. METHOD #5 -- DOLLARWARE For the past few months, I've sent out hundreds of disks that promise people that, if I get a registration for the product, they get half the registration price. Each product is clearly stamped with their name, and they can test-install the product and verify that their name does indeed show up on the registration form. This method of distribution doesn't work, either. Maybe it's because they only stand to make 5 to 10 bucks per registration. Whatever. I don't know why it doesn't work. All I know is that I've sent out HUNDREDS of disks like this, and my results strongly suggest that most of them get thrown in a drawer, where they gather dust. They're neither uploaded nor shared. It is very time-consuming to make individually-stamped disks, but I'll keep trying the DOLLARWARE concept for a while longer. I've added a few embellishments. Maybe I can polish up the concept a bit and make it work. It sure sounds like a fabulous deal to ME! Hey, all you do is upload a file (no big effort) and it can bring in some money. What more can you ask out of life? METHOD #6 -- ATTACK! Over the holiday season, I am going to use the SMS database to prepare a mailing which I expect will cost me around $500. Five hundred bucks? I've come a long way from the days when I thought I could simply upload my program to CompuServe and let it spread by itself. Shareware may be many things, but a zero-dollar-startup business it ain't. I realize that $500 isn't much by big business standards, but the average person isn't too keen about spending that kind of money. Moreover, I start to think to myself: is this going to work? Will THIS $500 investment make a difference? Wouldn't it be better to go all out and buy an ad in a computer magazine? SOME FINAL MUSINGS In other words, isn't it time to abandon shareware? There. I said it. Well, I'll give it one more go. Or knowing me, I won't give up even if this $500 thing doesn't work. I expect it will pay for itself, of course. I fully expect to make a small profit. But that's not the point, is it? The point is that my marketing costs are no longer anywhere NEAR the "zero" I'd expected when I got into shareware. My costs are maybe one order of magnitude less than small-scale commercial marketing. Moreover, if I went commercial, I wouldn't do it alone. I know people who would be interested in helping me market some of my stuff. I don't use shareware because of the money aspect, I suppose. It's a question of creating something that is mine, all mine. If it does well, that's MY thing that's doing well. And that, to me, is worth a lot. Back to the drawing board. . . Tim Campbell