Comment by doubleyooexwhy | Hacker News Reader

Comment by doubleyooexwhy | Hacker News Reader

I'm trying. I wrote AutoScreen (http://www.16software.com/autoscreen) about a year ago, and I'm getting 2-3 sales a month -- the majority of those sales seem to come from small businesses -- with $0 in advertising (can't afford it, to be honest). I've been kept fairly busy adding new features for my users, but it's time to focus on another app, because 2-3 sales/month is definitely not enough to survive on.

For me, the hard part is coming up with something "worth" taking the time and effort to go through with. I've had some ideas -- but I want to do something unique, that has a chance to really take off. But should I target the everyday user, or should I target businesses (who are less likely to pirate, from what I read)? Should I make something that has the chance to be wildly popular among all computer users, or that is targeted towards a niche audience?

The good thing about knowing how to program, though, is it's essentially all you need (besides a good idea) in order to make a living on your own.

Of course you need some other skills, such as marketing, but it seems to me, if you've got a program that does something that people think is useful enough to pay for, you're set.

Looking forward to what you guys have to say. For what it's worth, I also posted this topic on reddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8f4dk/any_progr...) about a week ago.

@16software: I took a look at your site. A couple of things are broken and you should fix them to improve your sales.

From your home page, the link to "our products" doesn't work, it stays on the same page. So I'll never know what products you have!

Your CSS template needs a refresh. The single-column layout looks like it's from the 90s. Just add some kind of right column, a few frames with light-colored backgrounds, and it will look much better.

About piracy: forget about it, it's not as big a problem as you think. First, those who use pirated software would most likely not have paid for it in the first place. But more important, people on pirate software they want. And if you found a niche that people want, then you'll get plenty of legitimate customers.

Last (you are bringing up so many interesting points, I have to stop somewhere): marketing is very important. I sort of covered that point on my blog (http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/03/11/the-great-startup-id...), but I'll probably repost something more specific.

Just because you wrote an interesting program doesn't mean that anyone will ever know or use it. How disappointing is that? Marketing is not about fluffy balloons and pink super bowl ads. It's about being smart and figuring out where your customers are and how to reach them. You can do a lot of marketing on a null budget, if you spend some time. A good rule of thumb for a programmer is to dedicate one hour a day on marketing activities.

From your home page, the link to "our products" doesn't work, it stays on the same page. So I'll never know what products you have!

I can see where that might be confusing. Thanks for pointing that out -- a separate page probably would be better.

The single-column layout looks like it's from the 90s. Just add some kind of right column, a few frames with light-colored backgrounds, and it will look much better.

Okay. To me, it looks elegant and simple, which is what I love, but I have noticed that most websites don't have just one column. I'll see if I can't come up with a better design with multiple columns. After reading some of the other comments here, I'll probably want to drastically change the content on my product page, too.

First, those who use pirated software would most likely not have paid for it in the first place.

I agree with you here.

Thanks for all of the advice, I'll definitely mull over it and see if I can't make some changes. I'll be sure to read your blog posting, too.

$.02 worth. If you can target your software or marketing towards a vertical, the relevant magazines and industry associations are starving for articles. You can get free marketing from how to articles targeting a vertical. Then rewrite it for another vertical. A possible idea is how an existing customer is using your product. Better than brochureware.

Brilliant, thanks a lot.

You really need to invest some time in spicing up that page / site. I understand wanting to be minimalist, but come on... It needs a nicer structure / layout, a little bit more color, more pictures / screenshots. Lots of text may be what "hackers" like, but people in general want less; still informative, but less. There are other points, some which have been addressed, but I would start from making it look nice. Don't underestimate the importance of good presentation.

Honestly, if I was a customer I would have closed down the page within second not even trying to figure out what you're trying to sell. I hope you take this as constructive criticism. Good luck!

A few more thing, take this as an example: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/ (not an Apple fan, but they usually get this stuff right; this page is not perfect, but not bad).

A few things:

* Notice the background color is darker than the content; this is to emphasize the actual content of the page. I would make the background color a bit darker.

* You probably don't have as many "categories" so I would put everything in one page.

* Notice the attraction points. Close your eyes for 5 second then open then. What do you notice the first second? This is where people will look first. You need to have the important stuff there or near it. The attraction points are usually images.

* Make a video or what your application does. People expect to be entertained, not to read. Once you capture their attention you can present more text / information. If you entertain somebody, either with a good video or nice eye candy, they will feel indebted to look more into your product. So the stages / levels should be 1: wow them, 2: convince them, 3: educate them

* Pay attention to details in your website and also your product. If your presentation page is good, people will at least give your application a fair shot. Their first impression is your site not the first time they use your application; that's way later.

For more tips: http://www.dnrtv.com/default.aspx?showNum=112 and http://www.dnrtv.com/default.aspx?showNum=123

Good luck.

Wow, I didn't realize it looked so bad. I thought it was easy to see what the program was about, how to download it, etc, and looked clean, but I guess not.

I appreciate the feedback, and I'll definitely be working out a redesign of the site soon.

I agree with others. You definitely need to spruce up the site. I expect good software to have good websites.I would never buy anything from a site which looked like that simply because I would think how much effort went into making the software work well if the website is shoddy. Good websites also create a desire. Whenever I open this product page http://culturedcode.com/things/ I'm tempted to buy.

I don't know whether you have any experience in web development but polish is essential in making people try out and buy products.

If you need further convincing check out the story of convertbot and weightbot (iPhone apps)

This is very useful info-- a weekend or so ago I made an app in this area. With a little marketing I think there are some industries where you could get more sales.

You might actually look into making this into a web service where you store the images on your site with timelines, etc, to help the users sort through it. You may make more with a monthly free for the backend piece than you make on the front-end, but it does require more sysadmin work.

Thanks for sharing.

I don't understand why the first thing you say on your website is you are small. Is that really a selling point? As a former ad copywriter, let me tell you that ad copy is not the place for self-deprecation.

Why don't you tell them what an awesome product you have and how awesome a programmer you are, instead of saying you are a one-man band that could disappear at any moment.

How is TrialPay working out for you?

Better than expected. Out of around 35 sales, 3 came from TrialPay, pulling in $75 in revenue. That's $14 less than if my four customers didn't use TrialPay, but I could've made the MAP (Minimum Acceptable Payout) higher if I was really that worried.

I think it's a good option for those potential customers who are iffy about making the purchase.

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