Certain questions come up again and again on the Business of Software forum. This article attempts to point people at previous answers and related online articles. Hopefully this will raise the level of debate and make the forum less dull for the regulars.
This is a work in progress. Feel free to add additional questions and links.
First created: Andy Brice 26-April-08
Last update: Andy Brice 30-Apr-10
My sales are down x%. Are yours?
For some of us, yes. For others, no. Statistical fluctuations are to be expected. Just check that your shopping cart is working. You aren't going to get enough replies in this forum to see any statistically valid trend.
How do I learn marketing/promote my software?
- The Business of Software - Looking for marketing books
- The Business of Software - Care to share any marketing lessons you learned last year?
- Marketing for Geeks
- FogBugz: Increase Your Software Sales
- FogBugz: Top 50 ways of selling more software
- Promoting your software (part 1) « Successful Software (first of 6 parts)
Executive summary: It's not rocket science, but it is hard to do well.
How do I price my product?
- The Business of Software - Pricing a new product: better to start too high or too low?
- The Business of Software - Rasing prices
- The Business of Software - Pricing at $299 or $900?
- The Business of Software - Capturing consumer surplus - ONCE!
- The Business of Software - Price vs. Value of Software
- The Business of Software - Man, pricing is hard!
- The Business of Software - Can you earn a living selling $20 Software?
- The Business of Software - Is it OK to differentiate by pricing?
- Camels and Rubber Duckies - Joel on Software
Executive summary: Probably for more than you were thinking of. Price sends a signal, so don't differentiate on price alone. Pricing is hard!
Should I use Google Adwords? How do I improve my return on Google Adwords?
- The Business of Software - AdWords - Is it worth it!
- The Business of Software - Going it without Adwords
- The Business of Software - Methodical AdWords Management
- The Business of Software - Adwords suggestion ?
- The Business of Software - Putting your competitor name in the adwords
- The Business of Software - Everything works except AdWords - how come?
- The Business of Software - Adwords $ to sales ratio
- The Business of Software - Does AdWords scale?
- The Business of Software - Adwords conversion rate
- The Business of Software - Resources for Google Adwords Management
- The Business of Software - quick adwords tip
- The Business of Software - Google tips and tricks
- The Business of Software - Google Adwords.. What to track?
Executive summary: Getting your Adwords campaign right takes time and effort. Make sure you understand how it works and start small. Adwords works better for some products/markets than others.
How do I SEO (Search Engine Optimise) my site for Google?
- FogBugz: Onpage SEO for uISVs
- The Business of Software - Good books/articles about SEM/SEO
- The Business of Software - SEO basics
- The Business of Software - SEO - Is there A Way for MicroISV?
- The Business of Software - Rec: SEO analytic tools (no ads, just SEO)
- The Business of Software - SEO
- FollowSteph.com - 12 Search Engine Optimizations (SEO) You Should Always Do
- Why You Shouldn’t Pay Any SEO You Can Afford « MicroISV on a Shoestring
- The Big Book of Getting People to Link to You « MicroISV on a Shoestring
Executive summary: Nobody really knows except Google, and they aren't telling. 'Black hat' techniques probably aren't worth the risk.
How do I get an idea for a new product?
- The Business of Software - Still Struggling with Ideas...
- The Business of Software - What's wrong with asking people on this forum for software ideas
- The Business of Software - How do you come up with your software idea?
- The Business of Software - How did you discover your money making idea?
- Paul Graham - Ideas for Startups
- (need more links)
Executive summary: Talk to other people (not just developers) and look at your own life. What day to day 'pains' could be better solved by software.
What is the best development tool for Windows?
- The Design of Software - Native Code Windows Programming
- Choosing a development ’stack’ for Windows desktop applications « Successful Software
- (need more links)
Executive summary: It depends.
Are desktop apps dead?
- The Business of Software - Poll: Your app - desktop or web?
- The Business of Software - can't build something of value on the desktop?
- How Microsoft Lost the API War - Joel on Software
- (need more links)
Executive summary: No.
Should I port my Windows app to the Mac?
- The Business of Software - porting from Windows to Mac
- The Business of Software - Windows vs MacOSX sales numbers
- The Business of Software - MAC market compare to Windows for your niche
Executive summary: Perhaps.
How do I deal with pirates/crackers?
- The Business of Software - Software cracked! Now what?
- The Business of Software - Is piracy a bad thing?
- The Business of Software - Me vs Crackers
- The Business of Software - Surfulater cracked, oh this is fun.
- The Business of Software - Software Protection / sorry to bring it up again
- Me vs Crackers
- What do I do if I found my software on PirateBay.org?
- FogBugz: Fighting the Software Pirates
- Software piracy « Successful Software
Executive summary: Do enough to keep the honest people honest. But don't make life difficult for your paying customers.
Which payment processor should I use?
- E-Commerce Fee Comparison
- FogBugz: Online Payment Processors
- A survey of ecommerce providers for software vendors
- Cost effective software registration with ejunkie « Successful Software
- Northstar: Summary of Payment Processors Fees and Features
Executive summary: Not anyone owned by Digital River. Non-DR alternatives include: Plimus, Avangate, Fastspring and e-junkie.
How/with whom should I host?
- The Business of Software - What webhost did you use when you started out?
- The Business of Software - webhosting survey
- The Business of Software - Virtual or Dedicated hosting?
- The Business of Software - Ruby on Rails hosting
- The Business of Software - ASP.NET hosting any recommendation ?
- The Business of Software - Renting a Server (yes, we've already covered this).
- The Business of Software - Majorly screwed by web host, need your thoughts
- The Business of Software - Hosting your own servers at home/office
- The Business of Software - Web hosts to avoid
- The Business of Software - Does anyone use shared hosting for their uISV?
- The Business of Software - Hosting Recommendations for Multiple Domains
- The Business of Software - Hosting your web app yourself (rather than using a hosting compa
- The Business of Software - The pain! The suffering! The need for a new ISP!
Executive summary: It depends.
How much money do you make?
MicroISV Salary Survey (Parts One and Two)
The Business of Software -- How much does an ISV earn per month?
- The Business of Software - Anyone making close to ~$10,000 with a ~$50.00 product?
Annual Report 2006 (sales stats & strategy commentary)
2007 in review (sales stats & strategy commentary)
Executive summary: Between a little and a lot, with most concentrated on a little. Many prefer not to say.
