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Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: All Tuesday, January 02, 1996 2:21:03 PM
From: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417#69970
I just wrote a message to someone on FidoNet, and in doing so I realized that the fact that the
discussion has focused on the book means that we've left some other topics alone. Since a lot of the
participants here would be happy to get the attention of the early adopters, much less the
mainstream market, I think it's time to start advice/discussion about how OS/2 ISVs can get their
applications reviewed (and not just in OS/2 Magazine!).
This is just a start... I hope that some of the writers and editors who have been lurking will chime in
with more advice. Also, if you *have* had your product(s) reviewed, perhaps you'd care to share
your experiences (good AND bad) with others... *and especially what you learned, what you'd do
differently next time.*
ES>Do you want to know the secret of getting more OS/2 coverage in PC ES>Magazine? Get more
OS/2 software reviewed. To do that, the OS/2 ISVs ES>have to learn to communicate with the press.
Rv> Most smaller ISV's (like me) that make software for OS/2 don't Rv> know what to do. Nobody
really talks about this, I've often thought Rv> magazines should print a one page set of instructions
once a year.
Well, that's a problem I can help you address, since I write so many reviews. There are a lot of ways
to go about this. There are also quite a few unwritten rules.
The base wisdom is: define whom you're trying to reach, and figure out how to get your message to
those people. To the degree you can avoid wasting bandwidth (sending the wrong message,
sending the right message to the wrong people), you can make this affordable.
Look at who reviews the sort of products you write. If you write an X application for OS/2, that might
mean people who review OS/2 products and will be willing to look at Xs, or it might mean X
specialists. Ie if you write an OS/2 accounting application, you should target the writers and
publications that pay attention to accounting programs as well as to the OS/2 Magazines that might
be interested in reviewing your product because it's available for OS/2. But don't send your
accounting program to a Game Developer Magazine, as you'd be wasting the time of everyone
concerned.
Learn from others' mistakes. Read the reviews of your competitors' products, and note what the
reviewer considered important -- as well as what was reported good *and* bad about the product.
(It's easy to point at the competitor and notice where they screwed up, but harder on the ego to
acknowledge what they do better than you do.)
-- Learn to write a press release or, better, pay someone to do so that is accomplished at the job.
(I.e. NOT your spouse!) Send press releases to the target media people, and offer to send the
product. Compile a list of happy customers who represent the target market for your application, and
who also comprise the sort of reader for the publication to whom you're sending the press release.
(I.e. to continue the accounting example, don't send references of home users to a magazine that is
read by corporate IS staff.)
-- When you read the various reviews, note carefully *who wrote the review.* You'll soon find that
each area has a few specialists that write the lion's share of that type of review. Contact those people
directly (email is fine for this) and ask them if it'd be okay to mail them a copy of the full product as
well as the press release. If they're really the right people, they will be happy to accept the software...
though you should never take their acceptance as a sign that the software *will* be reviewed. (I have
a 2' stack of software I haven't installed, though I never know when something will become relevant.)
For OS/2 software developers, I should be on the distribution list for almost anything that's written for
the general PC user. So should Brian Proffit and Alexander Antoniades ("Sander") from OS/2
Magazine. If it's OS/2 related, we always at least want to know that it *exists.* (Sander will print an
announcement of any new and interesting OS/2 software coming out, so this is a really easy place to
get coverage.)
Where do you get the listings for where to send this stuff? How do you learn to write a press release?
For both of these, I recommend a visit to your local public library. There are several books that
should give you the basics of "how to write a press release." If you're still uncomfortable after you
read the instructions, do your best... but before you send it out GO PRSIG and ask for input from the
professionals over there. Better yet, pay someone to write the release for you.
While you're still at the library, grab a notebook and write down the addresses of the various
magazines out of the masthead, and ALWAYS make note of the right editor's name. (Pick the
Reviews Editor when in doubt, but keep in mind that the different departments don't necessarily
communicate with each other about applications. To reach freelancers, you might have to do more
digging (though often we list an email ID) but if you're familiar with your product area you might find
them easy to reach.
Also, IBM WANTS TO HELP YOU WITH THIS! Contact Neisha Conyers at IBM Media Relations with
the first draft of your press release and a written explanation of your marketing plans. Her phone
number is 1 512 823-1996, and she's an *incredibly* nice person.
When you correspond with the media, *always* stay polite. I once intercepted a message intended
for a PC Magazine senior editor (the message writer hit the "reply" key while looking at a message
I'd written, instead of the editor's). That OS/2 ISV basically said, "I bet you don't have the nerve to
review my package because you're so biased against OS/2." I hope it's obvious why I told that
developer that, had I been the editor, *I*'d sure never touch his product. (If he was that rude before
the review was assigned, what would happen if the review would have been "this product is of
terrible quality"?)
Also, for god's sake, tell the truth. I'm annoyed right now because of TWO vendors who said their
products were shipping on December 15th (neither of which did, obviously) and I arranged to get the
reviews done by January 5th. I don't have either product in hand.
Keep in mind that *nobody* will review beta software. We might occasionally look at it, to become
familiar with your promises, that's it. Tell us about the product when it's about to ship... but that means
"while we're waiting for the manuals to come back from the printers" not when "we just have a couple
of bugs left to fix, and I'm sure we'll ship by the 15th."
That's a start.
Any questions? Comments?
--Esther
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417Tuesday, January 02, 1996 10:36:26 PM
From: Felix Cruz, 72274,3102 #70025
Esther,
Some notes of my own:
> Where do you get the listings for where to send this stuff? <
I examine the masthead of the magazines in which I want to have our products reviewed for contact
information for beat writers, "Just Announced" editors, and "First Looks" editors. Then I send them an
email message politely asking if they are the ones who write said pieces, and if not, to whom I should
send my software for a review or listing.
> How do you learn to write a press release?
I *just saw this* announced _today_ (let me think a minute...I believe it was posted in CIS...no, on the
internet, no...)
Perhaps someone can pitch in and help; a book is available for $7.95 with a title like "How to Write a
Press Release which Editors will read". It describes how to make an editor's job easier.
(Light bulb blinks on) Aha! Businesswire's newsletter announced it today. I will retrieve it from my long
term storage device (ie, rectangular wastebasket) tomorrow and upload the information later.
We've been fortunate to have generally favorable reviews written about our products, but the "bad"
news is just as important to know; it helps us to orient our product development to improve on the
inevitable shortcomings of our offerings.
Felix Cruz
SofTouch Systems, Inc
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Felix Cruz, 72274,3102 Wednesday, January 03, 1996 9:14:14 AM
From: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417#70052
Esther nods approvingly. And your company DOES get its products reviewed!
I'd like to get my hands on that "How to write..." book. I wonder if we could get the author online here
for a few days? (Folks? Would you like us to try?)
--Esther
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417Sunday, January 07, 1996 12:25:23 PM
From: Warrick Wilson, 76514,1743 #70496
> I'd like to get my hands on that "How to write..." book. I wonder
> if we could get the author online here for a few days? (Folks?
> Would you like us to try?)
Based on what I've seen in PRSIG, it _may_ be Marcia Yudkin. She's got some books out on press
release creation., plus some really useful files in PRSIG (note: her files are really teasers to get you
to read her books <g>...almost like marketing...hmmm<g>)
I'd be interested in the book, too, as I've got a need to do some press releases about a non-OS/2
project (a dog show <g>). But this lurking stuff is educational, too!
WW
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Warrick Wilson, 76514,1743 Sunday, January 07, 1996 2:59:09 PM
From: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417#70517
Hey, hey! Lurkers shouldn't _stay_ that way!
--Esther
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417Tuesday, January 02, 1996 10:36:26 PM
From: Felix Cruz, 72274,3102 #70025
Esther,
Some notes of my own:
> Where do you get the listings for where to send this stuff? <
I examine the masthead of the magazines in which I want to have our products reviewed for contact
information for beat writers, "Just Announced" editors, and "First Looks" editors. Then I send them an
email message politely asking if they are the ones who write said pieces, and if not, to whom I should
send my software for a review or listing.
> How do you learn to write a press release?
I *just saw this* announced _today_ (let me think a minute...I believe it was posted in CIS...no, on the
internet, no...)
Perhaps someone can pitch in and help; a book is available for $7.95 with a title like "How to Write a
Press Release which Editors will read". It describes how to make an editor's job easier.
(Light bulb blinks on) Aha! Businesswire's newsletter announced it today. I will retrieve it from my long
term storage device (ie, rectangular wastebasket) tomorrow and upload the information later.
We've been fortunate to have generally favorable reviews written about our products, but the "bad"
news is just as important to know; it helps us to orient our product development to improve on the
inevitable shortcomings of our offerings.
Felix Cruz
SofTouch Systems, Inc
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Felix Cruz, 72274,3102 Wednesday, January 03, 1996 8:52:26 AM
From: Felix Cruz, 72274,3102 #70048
(Aha! I found it!)
"The AP Style Book (AP News Features; $9.75) is the bible in newsrooms, and, ergo, PR shops and
departments".
"When you follow the AP Style Book, you are saving editors some editing time." "Editors are your
customers, to put it bluntly; you are trying to sell them on
your 'story'. Put roadblocks in their way via faulty style and they are likely to take their business to
someone else's release."
You may order style books directly AP News Features, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY, 10020.
Price is $9.75, s&h is $2.50.
Felix Cruz
SofTouch Systems, Inc
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Felix Cruz, 72274,3102 Wednesday, January 03, 1996 9:14:14 AM
From: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417#70052
Esther nods approvingly. And your company DOES get its products reviewed!
I'd like to get my hands on that "How to write..." book. I wonder if we could get the author online here
for a few days? (Folks? Would you like us to try?)
--Esther
Subj: Getting apps reviewed Section: Marketing OS/2 Apps
To: Esther Schindler [EXEC], 72241,1417Wednesday, January 03, 1996 11:31:31 AM
From: Jon Duringer[IdeaFa, 71732,3361 #70067
>> Would you like us to try?)
Let's focus on Moore until we finish the book. Then lets focus for two weeks on writing press
releases. After that, lets takle other marketing topics serially.
That will give you some time to invite the author to join us, and will ensure that while she is involved,
the discussion will be focused on press releases rather than wandering from topic to topic.
For my part, I will try to limit my comments about meterware to those that directly bear on the Chapter
in Moore that we are discussing.