All about Shareware
There's a lot of rubbish talked about Shareware, and many
RISC OS users are a bit unclear as to what it actually is, so I
shall describe briefly the ideas behind it.
If you are writing Shareware, in particular if you have
tried to write Shareware without sucess (and by this I mean
that you haven't made any money) then do read the second
section. You just might learn something, and it may help you to actually
earn some money from your programs.
First, here's what it isn't.
- Shareware isn't free software. You have to pay for it like any other commercial software.
- It's not (or shouldn't be) demo or cut down versions of 'normal' software.
- It's not 'cheap' software, though it may be 'low cost' as the
system is far more cost efficient that the normal distribution method.
- It's not 'a sort of PD or Freeware' though it will often be available on compilation and magazine CDs and via the internet like PD and Freeware.
So, having stated what it's not what actually is it?
Shareware is not a type of software at all, it's a method of distributing commercial software.
The idea is that the greater part of the price you pay for your software isn't actually the cost of the software at all, it goes towards distribution, dealer margins, advertising, promotion, packaging, etc. etc. Only a tiny fraction of the money you hand over goes to the people who produced it. Shareware is a means of cutting out the middle man (or middle men).
The idea is that the program is freely available, often nowadays via
the internet, and you can obtain and try it without payment. What you
get isn't (or shouldn't be) cut-down or crippled. It will be a fully
working program complete with documentation.
So, you've got the program, you've got the manual (well, a textfile
or HTML version), you're using it and it does what you want. That's it
then.
Not quite.
Shareware is essentially a try before you buy
distribution system. What you have is a commercial product but you will
(normally) only be licensed to use it for 30 days. That's
the usual trial period. After this time you do not have a licence to use
the software unless you Register. This means sending a
registration fee to the author. How much this is and how
it's done will vary, as will what you get for it. Sometime you just get
an acknowledgement, sometimes you get the latest version of the program,
extra material, printed manuals, etc. However what you
always get is the full licence to use the program. Without
this at the end of the trial period you are effectively using a pirated
program. There's no difference between using a Shareware program outside
the trial period and a pirated copy of any other commercial program. Not
only is there no moral difference, there's no
legal difference either. Both are software theft.
From the users point of view this is a great system. You have a
chance to try the program in the privacy of your own home and see that
it does what you want before you part with your money. But don't forget
that last part. This is commercial software. You are obliged to pay if
you continue to use it. If you don't want to pay then just stop using
the program before the trial period expires and delete it from your
computer and that's it. You only have an obligation to register if you
continue to use the program outside the trial period.
How to make money from Shareware
You're an experienced programmer with a series of successful titles
to your credit, all of which have been sold through 'normal' software
houses and you'd like to release your new baby as Shareware. It's
absolutely fantastic and (surely) everyone will want it.
You've put it on your web site and announced it everywhere and you sit
back and wait for the money to roll in. Nothing happens.
What's wrong?
Most inexperienced Shareware authors make a series of mistakes. I'm
assuming that the program is fine, and that it works perfectly, but
there's a lot more to it than that. Writing good Shareware requires a
different approach from writing software that's going to be distributed
by conventional methods. If you don't appreciate this you will
never be successful with Shareware.
Other people unlikely to prosper are those who have written a series
of successful PD or Freeware programs and think that all they have to do
to make some money is to declare that their next offering is Shareware
and ask people to send money. This almost never works. Shareware is
not just a matter of tacking a bit on to the !Help file of
a Freeware program saying This program is Shareware - send me
£10.
This is a critical point. It is up to you to make sure that the user
is fully aware of what Shareware is and their obligation to pay. Don't
say Please send £10 if you like this program. That's
not how you do business. In a restaurant they don't say
if you've enjoyed your meal please pay the bill, you are
given the bill and you are expected to pay it. Similarly with Shareware,
you don't plead for your money, you explain the users
obligation to pay and simply describe how they do so and
what they will get from you in return. Be polite, but be firm.
Remember it's up to you to make it clear what Shareware is and that
the user is obliged to send the registration fee. Tucking it away in a
ReadMe file somewhere won't do. Never give the user the
opportunity to say but I didn't know it was Shareware. This
is where banner screens are so useful. If you have a start-up banner
that clearly declares that the program is Shareware and that the user is
obliged to pay then they might still not register but they'll never be
able to pretend (to themselves or others) that they didn't know.
Writing Shareware requires a different approach by the programmer. It
has to be better, easier to use, and do more of what the
user wants than conventional software. With a conventional
program the user pays their money 'up front' and then, somehow, has to
make the program work. If it's got a steep learning curve, if it has a
few annoying glitches, if the sales literature and adverts glossed over
some of its less appealing 'features' - tough. They've paid, so unless
it's absolutely horrendous they'll just have to live with it or pay more
money for another program to do the same job that might not be any
better!
With Shareware the scenario is somewhat different. Your
(prospective) customer can get his hands on your program
before they part with their money. They'll find out all
about it - bad points as well as good. If they can't get the hang of it
very quickly, if it's not attractive and easy to use, if it doesn't work
'as advertised' - it will go in the bin and you've lost a sale. Unlike
normal software they won't have any need to make it
work.
Think about it. Think about it hard. It's whole new
game. You can't hook your customer with glossy brochures, flashy adverts,
sympathetic reviews, demos at shows that don't point out the things it
can't do. You have to hook them with the program. The
program must promote itself. It must be easy to learn - and the
documentation must be very well written. No steep learning
curve - your customer must be 'up and running' right away and you want
them hooked within a few minutes. If you can't achieve this you've lost.
You've probably got about ten minutes to get your customer enthused, if
it takes longer than this then you've almost certainly lost a sale.
People will come back and persevere with a program they've paid for,
they won't persevere with a Shareware program.
Very few normal commercial programs would survive as
Shareware. This is a simple fact. It doesn't mean that the
programs are no good, it just means that they wouldn't pass the test
described in the previous paragraph.
Finally, but extremely important, never, never, try to
make people register. Don't time limit or include
intrusive banners or do other things that annoy. Fact - you can
never force anyone to register. Almost anything you try,
including 'crippling', limited documentation, putting messages on
printouts, etc. has been tried before and it doesn't work!
It's all counter productive. You have to acquire a mindset that lets you
stop worrying about all those people that will (inevitably) be using
your program without registering. Don't worry about it. There's nothing
you can do. If they don't want to pay you can't force them, if you try
they'll just bin your program and use something else, or, even worse,
hack it. Remember - someone using your program without registering is
still a potential customer. One day they might
register. Someone who's binned it because your attempt to 'persuade'
them to register was too annoying is a lost sale.
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