@3 MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT @2 PART THREE STEVE BYE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ @1 In the previous two articles I covered submitting your product to commercial software houses and to Licenceware outfits. If you didn't get issues one and/or two then don't forget back issues are,always available at £2.25 + a stamp. This issue though, we come down the ladder another step. I am now going to tell you how best to go about getting your program released as Shareware. Before I start this article proper, I would like to point out that the following information is just MY way of doing it. This isn't necessarily the best or only way to do it but most of it is common sense anyway. If you think I am wrong or have forgotten something important or you would like to add your comments/ideas/experiecences to this series then write in and tell me about it. Right, let's party! @3 WHAT EXACTLY IS SHAREWARE? ---------------------------@1 When you release a program as Shareware it means that you retain copyright to the program, but it is freely distributable. In other words, anyone can copy it and PD Libraries can sell it. But the program remains your property. The idea is that the person using your program will like it enough to register with you as a user, and pay you a small fee. In return you give the user a newer version or a version with no features disabled and/or some extra goodies such as the source code. @3 QUALITY PRESENTATION AND POLISH GRAPHICS/MUSIC SOUND FX PLAYABILITY/EASE OF USE ORIGINALITY ------------------------@1 I have covered the above headings quite thoroughly in parts one and two of this series and it seems pointless going over old ground. @3 WHAT FEATURES SHOULD I DISABLE? -------------------------------@1 Good question, but impossible to answer really. Broadly, Don't be to tight-fisted as the user needs to get some use out of it and a good idea of what the program is capable of. If it's a game, say a 100 level platformer, just let them have the first 10 or 15 levels. If it's a util you could put annoying messages at regular intervals (See Edword Pro demo for a good example it's on AZ Supplement Disk 1) You could disable some features of a util that aren't essential but are useful, something a regular user would want enough to register for. There are literally thousands of ways of going about this. I suggest you take a look at some Shareware programs to get some ideas. As far as how much you should charge, all I can say is the same. Look at what the author of a similar program is asking and be competitive. In genereal though £5-£15 seems to be the norm at the moment. @3 DISTRIBUTION: -------------@1 The question here is: What's the best way to spread your program through the Amiga world? Send a copy to every big PD library you can find. Although in my experience you only need send it to 17 bit software, as it seems a good portion of Amiga PD users buy their stuff from them. Most other PD libraries buy stuff from 17 Bit as well. Not only that 17 Bit sell PD across the world. An added bonus is, if 17 Bit like your program it may get in their adverts, fame at last! Of course it won't hurt to send a copy of your program to the other big boys such as, PDSoft, NBS etc. Look in the mags for full page adverts, these adverts can cost up to £1200 a page, so logically if the library regularly advertises then they must be selling thousands of disks to recoup the money. If you have a modem you will obviously up-load it to other boards yourself, but if you don't have one try to get someone to up-load it for you. Your next step should be to send all the relevant magazines a copy for review. By relevent I mean, it's pointless sending a game to Amiga Shopper for review and pointless sending The One a util to review. As far as I can tell there are no fast and hard rules to getting a review in a mag (Write in if you know different!) but you can help the reviewer and stack the odds in your favour. Follow these guidelines and you stand a good chance: * Check the program loads and runs properly on the disk you are sending. * Check the disk for viruses and Read/Write errors. * Make sure there are sufficent instructions included on disk. * Write on the label clearly the following info: TITLE VERSION NUMBER (V1.0 etc.) YOUR NAME AND TELEPHONNE N0. (Just in case they want to do a cover disk version or have a problem) LOADING INSTRUCTIONS (Self Booting, Workbench, CLI or whatever) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (Megs required, Workbench 1.3, 2.X, 3.X etc.) EXTRA INFO (Like HD installable, ASCII Doc on disk etc.) Address your letter to a pacific person at the mag who deals with the reviewing of your type of program. Don't forget to mention you would be happy for them to use your program on a future cover disk and that you could make some small changes, if necessary. If your product is a game then send a copy to the Assasins and you may end up on their next compilation. Assasins game compilations are stocked by just about every Amiga library in the cosmos. I think they also do utils compilations, but they are not quite as popular. If you have a util to spread try sending that to the mega famous Fred Fish and your proggy may end up on the next Fred Fish CD, also stocked by most libraries. Whenever you correspond with other Amiga users, send them a copy too. Personally I think Shareware is great for the public and useless to programmers! Why? because it will only make you some decent money if it's of very near commercial quality, and if it's that good why not get it released commercially? The only exception I can think of, and I am sure you will write in and remind me of anything I have forgotten, is of course programmers who are pig sick of the way commercial software houses treat (i.e rip-off) programmers, Shareware is a way they can make a few quid without letting "The men in suites" get their claws in. @2 CONTACTS: =========@3 17 Bit Software, 1st Floor Offices, 2/8 Market St, Wakefield, West Yorks. WF1-1DH @2 Assasins ========@3 Stu,(nice bloke) 32, Ripley Ave, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29-7SA Tel: 091-2586418 @2 Fred Fish =========@3 Amiga Library Services Catalog Disk Update 610 N. Alma School Road, Suite 18 Chandler, AZ 85224-3687 USA @2 ISSUE 4 =======@1 I'll go into selling your product by yourself, how to get the best advertising deals from the mags and some warnings on the tricks they play on you and the response you can expect from the outlay. I am looking forward to revealing some little known (or spoken about) gems in this issue. The series may continue from here if I can think of anything else. Let know if you have any experiences or ideas on this subject. @3 KEEP CODING.....Steve Bye.