More than 400 people spent time last week in Denver learning how to go from being an “introverted geek” to a savvy software marketer and seller.
The 15th annual Shareware Industry Conference drew software developers and marketers from around the world, each with a special interest in profiting through the use of shareware.
Shareware is not a particular type of software but a “try it before you buy it” marketing technique. After a certain number of days or uses, the company asks users to send payment for full ownership and continued use.
WinZip, a program that allows people to extract documents from a large Zip file, is one of the most popular shareware programs in the world.
Freeware, on the other hand, is software that is entirely free, such as instant-messenger programs, games and various Web browsers.
“People come here to learn from those who are successful at it, how to market and package (shareware) and network with representatives from big companies,” said Michael E. Callahan, chairman of the Shareware Industry Awards Foundation, which sponsored the conference at the Denver Tech Center Hyatt Regency.
Three days of workshops were focused on industry trends, new technologies and sales and marketing.
“Most of the people here are introverted geeks and aren’t terribly social,” said Sharon Housley, vice president of marketing for text-messaging software provider NotePage Inc. of Hanover, Mass. “When it comes to marketing a product, they want to talk tech talk. … The language they use isn’t something (everyday) people could understand.”
In addition to advising developers to speak in laymen’s terms when it comes to describing their products in person and online, Housley and others said developers should research new methods of marketing their brands and distributing their products online.
Developers should also write and post relevant content or information about their software or niche on their websites. That content can be posted to other sites, and prompt surfers to visit and download a company’s shareware.
Check for results of marketing efforts, said Phil Schnyder, product-acquisition manager for Avanquest, a Paris software developer and distributor with operations in Westminster.
“You’ll know if what you’re doing is working or if you’re losing (customers),” he said.
Mike Hummell, president and chief executive of StompSoft in Irvine, Calif., and maker of data-protection applications, said there are so many choices of software out there that it’s hard for users to choose.
“Being a shareware company gives users the opportunity to make educated choices,” Hummell said. “If I give a user a chance to try it out, the educated buyer is less likely to be unhappy.”
Shareware has been around for more than 20 years and has endured the negative stigma sometimes attached to it as second-rate, unreliable software. But even representatives from Microsoft say shareware isn’t dead and drives software innovation.
There are “many things Microsoft has started as small (applications). We know that we don’t hold the monopoly on new ideas,” said Michael Lehman, a technical evangelist for Microsoft.
Last year, Microsoft purchased Lookout Software, a Silicon Valley shareware company operated by two people. The company’s desktop search software is now integrated in MSN Messenger.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
