Sell Software on a Shoestring

There are many talented people out there who have the ability to write scripts, but have limited funds -- and are unsure of how or where to start distributing their script. Hopefully this article will help you earn some spare cash (or start a business that will one day be a multinational giant!), and get your script running on Websites around the world.

Writing the Script

First of all, you need to develop a script or program that delivers value to your target users. Make sure you take your time to plan and develop the script, and test it as much as you possibly can. Think of as many scenarios as possible that your customers might go through on a daily basis where your script might come in handy. And design the database and the script so that you can easily add more features to it over time.

If you're unsure about what type of script to write, surf various community forums -- especially around forums that interest you -- and listen to what people ask for. Make sure you share the community's interests. After all, there's no point writing a script, providing support, and spending a lot of time on the project if you don't have your heart in it from the word "go".

The other thing you can do is rely on your own personal experiences. In the past, did you ever need a script or service that wasn't readily available? Have you ever run a business that required certain software, and the only available products were too expensive, or seemed too complicated? Run a search on your ideas, and find out what people charge now for alternative solutions. This will be an important part of your market research.

Setting Goals, and Market Research

Success depends on a few key elements, such as:

• the quality of your script,
• demand for your script, and
• how you market your script.

So, if you intend to sell scripts as your main business, you'll need to know if the idea you have is viable. Ask around to see if anyone you know would use your script, and research your competitors (if any) to see what they offer. Think about how you can offer the same solution in a different way (and be sure to differentiate your product to make it appear different from products that are available elsewhere).

Add a few features that don't exist in the market, bundle the product up, and show how you're different from -- and better than -- your competition. Most importantly, ask yourself why you want to do this: as a hobby? As a career? The answer to this question will determine the depth of your research.

If you have no direct competitors, look for businesses that offer substitute products. Check out their pricing, and the way they do business. Email them, posing as a customer, to discover how they work -- and plan to do better if possible.

I'd recommend that you don't quit your day job in order to sell the script that you are about to write, unless you can be almost certain (at least 95% sure) that sales of your script can support you (and your family if necessary).

Your Website -- Your Business Place

When you do launch your product, you need to ensure that your site is designed well -- and by this, I don't mean that it just looks good. You need to make the site -- its content, layout, navigation, etc. -- clear and concise. Get to the point, and avoid anything that's too fancy.

Your customer, believe it or not, will take the site design and aesthetic appeal into consideration when making their pre-purchase assessment (costs vs. benefits) of your script. For a quick fix, you can purchase templates from various sites, or, if you're on a tight budget, then you can design your own Website.

Your customer will want to get to the information they seek on your site as quickly as possible. So I recommend you plan your site so that it takes your visitors a maximum 2 clicks from your homepage to get to the information they want. Place links at the top and bottom of each page so the customer does not have to scroll back up to browse your site. Make you content, and your site, easy to navigate!

You must also be sure to set the right META tags on each page of your ebsite. Aim to set keywords that are relevant to your script, and try to provide on each page a description that uses as many of those keywords as possible. Then change your Website's title to contain the keyword that's most relevant to your script. For example, if you're writing a classifieds site, then you might set the title as "John's Classifieds Software".

Although this may seem obvious, there are many sites that fail to do this. As a result, they don't attract targeted traffic -- and targeted traffic, as we all know, is gold. It's better to get 10 targeted visitors then 1000 un-targeted visitors.

One more thing that you should consider is the text that you display on the Website. List clearly the benefits of your script -- don't just describe the features. Customers buy benefits; they don't care about features as long as the script can do what they want it to. Many Websites make this mistake, so try not to do the same. And lastly, always check for spelling mistakes!

Once You've Launched

When you finally launch, the first thing you should do is submit your site to Hotscripts.com (then proceed to submit it to as many scripting portals as you can), and to DMOZ.org. Do this even before you get any customers, as it'll take time for your site to be listed. If you have a budget, then you can sign up for targeted PPC traffic with the search engines that offer these services (eg. Overture.com). Google is a huge traffic generator, and I'd recommend that you try to optimise your search engine listings rather than pay for their AdWords Service.

Don't just limit your submissions to Google or Yahoo! Or any single search engine. You'll probably find that the majority of your traffic comes from Hotscripts.com and Google, though it can take up to 2 months to get a Google listing.

I don't believe that banner exchange programs are the way to go. I wouldn't recommend that you display a banner on your product sales site -- I believe that it detracts from the brand equity you're attempting to build.