grahama@bigsur.UUCP (Graham Ashby) (04/11/91)
My boss has a game that he wants to distribute as shareware. What is the best way to do this (to get maximum exposure)? Thanks In Advance ------ Graham Ashby, grahama@bnr.ca <-- this will bounce, sorry
shaunc@gold.gvg.tek.com (Shaun Case) (04/12/91)
In article <1991Apr10.183550.18420@bigsur.uucp> grahama@bigsur.UUCP (Graham Ashby) writes: > >My boss has a game that he wants to distribute as shareware. >What is the best way to do this (to get maximum exposure)? Make it a crippleware virus that installs itself as a device driver as the first line of config.sys, and holds the FATs and partition table hostage until the poor sod sends your boss $15 and a Round Table Pizza coupon. -- Shaun Case: shaunc@gold.gvg.tek.com or atman%ecst.csuchico.edu@RELAY.CS.NET or Shaun Case of 1:119/666.0 (Fidonet) or 1@9651 (WWIVnet) --- It's enough to destroy a young moose's faith!
cze2529@dcsc.dla.mil (Dave Gaulden) (04/15/91)
In article <1991Apr10.183550.18420@bigsur.uucp> grahama@bigsur.UUCP (Graham Ashby) writes: > >My boss has a game that he wants to distribute as shareware. >What is the best way to do this (to get maximum exposure)? > Shareware marketing is not easy and requires a good deal of guidence to not make too many mistakes the first time around. The best way to aquire the proper knowledge is to join the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). They will provide you with a wealth of information. You can contact them via the following addresses: ASP Ombudsman P.O. Box 5786 Bellevue, WA 98006 CIS: 70007,3536 Compuserve: GO SHAREWARE -- "Man who says, 'It cannot be done', should not interrupt man who is doing it." Dave Gaulden Internet: cze2529@dcsc.dla.mil UUCP : osu-cis!dsac!dcsc!cze2529
paulg@bhpmrl.oz.au (Paul Gallagher) (04/17/91)
To change the subject slightly, has anyone out there had any good/bad experiences distributing shareware? I'm particularly interested in the level of user-response programmers have had in various countries. Australia apparently has a bad reputation as far as piracy etc goes, compared to the US and Europe, and after distributing a few programs nationaly with absolutely no response I'm prepared to admit it (they were good programs too - believe me!). How goes it in other regions? Paul Gallagher
hartnegg@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de (Klaus Hartnegg) (04/19/91)
paulg@bhpmrl.oz.au (Paul Gallagher) writes: >To change the subject slightly, has anyone out there had any good/bad >experiences distributing shareware? I'm particularly interested in the >level of user-response programmers have had in various countries. I'm living in Germany and sent three programs to simtel some months ago. Two users reported errors in very special situations. I corrected them. Since then I never heared anything. Not a single registration. Could please somebody with better experiences enlighten me how to state in the docs that this is shareware to ensure that at least some people pay for the programs that they use? -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Klaus Hartnegg, Kleist-Str. 7, D-7835 Teningen, Germany | include standard Bitnet : hartnegg@dfrruf1 or hartnegg@cernvm | disclaimer here! Internet : hartnegg@ibm.ruf.uni-freiburg.de |
frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason) (04/19/91)
In article <1991Apr17.134253.8931@bhpmrl.oz.au> paulg@bhpmrl.oz.au (Paul Gallagher) writes: >To change the subject slightly, has anyone out there had any good/bad >experiences distributing shareware? I'm particularly interested in the >level of user-response programmers have had in various countries. Well, I have has fairly decent response from Australia/New Zealand, but a get a better response form westarn Europe and Canada. The response from USA is by far the best. Not much response from the Far East, ond only a handful of registrations from South America and Africa. Nothing whatsoever from eastern Europe - perhaps not surprising. -frisk
coy@ssc-vax (Stephen B Coy) (04/20/91)
In article <1991Apr18.174809.27389@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de> hartnegg@sun1.ruf.uni-freiburg.de (Klaus Hartnegg) writes: >paulg@bhpmrl.oz.au (Paul Gallagher) writes: > >Could please somebody with better experiences enlighten me how >to state in the docs that this is shareware to ensure that at least >some people pay for the programs that they use? I've written a ray tracer for DOS called Vivid which I'm distributing as "beggarware". In the docs I state that I'm more into this for the fun than the money but that all money would be appreciated. Beer, too. Just to give people something to shoot at I also mention the figure $30 as a good starting point for those that would like to send money. Since I released Vivid 1.0 last fall I've had about a dozen people send anywhere from $5 to $40. I'm surely not getting rich off this but getting a check in the mail with a nice letter beats getting bills any day. So far all the registrations I've gotten have been from the US with Texas and California leading the pack. I have also had mail from Canada and England about Vivid. An aside: even if you don't include your phone number in the docs people will find it and call you, even from Europe. While its not been a commercial success the goodwill it has generated and the people I've been in contact with really make it worthwhile. I feel a lot less cynical than I used to >Klaus Hartnegg, Kleist-Str. 7, D-7835 Teningen, Germany | include standard >Bitnet : hartnegg@dfrruf1 or hartnegg@cernvm | disclaimer here! >Internet : hartnegg@ibm.ruf.uni-freiburg.de | Stephen Coy coy@ssc-vax.UUCP BDIF
chenh@athena.ecs.csus.edu (h philip chen) (04/20/91)
Hi, while we're on the subject of shareware programs, can some of you authors post/email and let us/me know if you have any secret(s) to make the users register. I can understand that a postal address may not be enough to get the users to send you their checks. What other method/trick did you use? Self-destruct programs, eg. destroys itself after X number of executions/runs, etc? ... or nagware (heh-heh) that prompts the user to pay-up each time the user selects a certain function, etc? Any other method or none at all? Please write and tell how did the users respond to the method (if any). Maybe we can all learn something before we send any shareware out the door... Well, thanks in advance. Hope to hear from many of you, -philip chenh@athena.ecs.csus.edu PS. your email replies will be strictly confidential.
gmurray@ibmpcug.co.uk (G Murray) (04/21/91)
One tip for getting registrations especially from 'foreign' countries. Accept credit cards for registrations. Especially for lowish priced Shareware, it can cost nearly as much to obtain $(or other currency) money orders or checks as the amount being paid. Paying by credit card is much easier. Graham Murray -- Automatic Disclaimer: The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not represent the views of the IBM PC User Group. --
ressler@galileo.ifa.hawaii.edu (Mike "IR" Ressler) (04/21/91)
In article <1991Apr20.090140.9406@csusac.csus.edu> chenh@athena.ecs.csus.edu (h philip chen) writes: > >Hi, while we're on the subject of shareware programs, can some of you >authors post/email and let us/me know if you have any secret(s) to make >the users register. I can understand that a postal address may not be >enough to get the users to send you their checks. What other method/trick >did you use? Self-destruct programs, eg. destroys itself after X number >of executions/runs, etc? ... or nagware (heh-heh) that prompts the user >to pay-up each time the user selects a certain function, etc? Any other >method or none at all? Please write and tell how did the users respond >to the method (if any). Maybe we can all learn something before we send >any shareware out the door... This is not to be construed in any way to be a personal flame, but why do you (writers of shareware) start with the assumption that your potential users are out to screw you over. I'm not naive enough to think that everyone will mail you the check, but I think there are enough people like me who will play by the rules that you don't really want to alienate us. I've dumped shareware programs which were incomplete distributions ("mail us $30 and we'll send you the real version") or went overboard with the "nagware". Why? Because I want to make sure the complete package does what I need before I part with my increasing scarce dollars and because I don't like having my integrity impugned unfairly. I pay for what I use and use only what I pay for. Surely I'm not the only person who adheres to this belief. Mike Ressler P. S. The shareware programs I respect most (and would then be most likely to use) have a page which asks you to register and gives the pertinent info when you start up (or when you quit), then behave completely normally and unirritatingly, with all features operational, for the rest of the session. -- Mike Ressler - Infrared Photon Jockey ressler@galileo.ifa.hawaii.edu If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger sledgehammer.
paulg@bhpmrl.oz.au (Paul Gallagher) (04/23/91)
frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason) writes: >In article <1991Apr17.134253.8931@bhpmrl.oz.au> paulg@bhpmrl.oz.au (Paul Gallagher) writes: >>To change the subject slightly, has anyone out there had any good/bad >Well, I have has fairly decent response from Australia/New Zealand, but >a get a better response form westarn Europe and Canada. The response from >USA is by far the best. Not much response from the Far East, ond only a >handful of registrations from South America and Africa. Nothing >whatsoever from eastern Europe - perhaps not surprising. >-frisk I guess marketing types would say you've "targeted your market" well. I can believe that anti-virus software would pay since (a) corporations are more likely to cough-up ["quality is proportional to cost"!] and (b) everyone seems to be paranoid about getting the latest virus-signature list. Have you distributed other types of software? How does the response compare? PaulG. PS "The cheque's in the mail"!
c8902348@wombat.newcastle.edu.au (05/10/91)
In article <1991Apr17.134253.8931@bhpmrl.oz.au>, paulg@bhpmrl.oz.au (Paul Gallagher) writes: > To change the subject slightly, has anyone out there had any good/bad > experiences distributing shareware? I'm particularly interested in the > level of user-response programmers have had in various countries. > > Australia apparently has a bad reputation as far as piracy etc goes, > compared to the US and Europe, and after distributing a few programs > nationaly with absolutely no response I'm prepared to admit it (they were > good programs too - believe me!). How goes it in other regions? > There is an Australian Association of Shareware Authors coming about in Australia, fairly soon.. If your interested, drop me a line. Tony