Selling software online: How do you present your software?

<h1>Selling software online: How do you present your software?</h1>Author: <a title="Adriana Iordan" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/adriana-iordan/6771.htm">Adriana Iordan</a> The list below offers tips on what you should do:<ul><li>Have real users test your software product. You may think you have created an easy-to-use intuitive piece of software, yet in the end it is not you who decides this. If you plan on selling software online successfully, you need to have real people test it to see how quick they understand how it works and learn how to use it. Not to mention their help in squashing the bugs you might have never noticed on your own, thus making your product as error free as possible.</li><li>Provide an accurate description of the software product. You need a clear and short description of what the software is and what it is used for, so that people can see whether they need it or not. Additional details should be provided somewhere else for those who really wish to know more.</li><li>Make screenshots available. They say a picture makes a thousand words, so screenshots are a very helpful tool when selling software online. The screenshots tell the users if the software product has a well designed interface and let them get a good look at the menu bars and toolbars, for instance, which helps them quickly assess whether the required functionality is there.</li><li>Use a ‘try before you buy' approach. Don't just say your software is ‘easy to use'. If your software product is as easy to use as you say it is, then why not let people see that for themselves? Offer them the option to download of a copy of your software and try it before asking them to pay for it. </li><li>Specify supported OS-es and licensing type. A list of supported operating systems is as necessary when selling software online as when selling it in a box in a traditional store. It has to be put in an easy to spot place for potential customers to find out at a glance whether the product will work on their computers or not. Adding other system requirements would be a good idea, too. Do specify the type of licensing for your software product (i.e. freeware, shareware etc).</li><li>Include a help file and support details. Your software product has to have some documentation explaining users how to use it, be it in form of a help file or an online manual either included with the product or that can be downloaded separately. People also need to know where to reach you in case they need support, so do not forget to include such details (an e-mail address, and maybe a phone number, too).</li></ul> Letting people see the product (by screenshots) and try it before they buy, providing help files with your software and support when necessary, properly testing it with real users to make sure it is easy to use are the things that you should have on your to-do list if you plan on selling software online and be successful at it.

Published date: June 27, 2006About the Author: Copyright © 2006, <a href="http://www.avangate.com"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.avangate.com">http://www.avangate.com</a></a> all rights reserved. This article was written by a Web Marketing Specialist at Avangate B.V. Avangate is an eCommerce platform for electronic software distribution incorporating an easy to use and secure online payment system plus additional marketing and sales tools, such as an affiliate management system, automated cross selling options, software promotion management, software marketing services as well as consultancy on how to increase online software sales. 
Read more <a href="http://www.avangate.com/articles/">software marketing articles</a> and learn <a href="http://www.avangate.com/ecommerce-services/">how to sell software online</a>.

This article may be reproduced in a website, e-zine, CD-ROM, book, magazine, etc. so long as the above information is included in full, including the link back to this website.Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/selling-software-online-how-do-you-present-your-software-40495.html" title="Selling software online: How do you present your software?">Selling software online: How do you present your software?</a>

The list below offers tips on what you should do:

Have real users test your software product. You may think you have created an easy-to-use intuitive piece of software, yet in the end it is not you who decides this. If you plan on selling software online successfully, you need to have real people test it to see how quick they understand how it works and learn how to use it. Not to mention their help in squashing the bugs you might have never noticed on your own, thus making your product as error free as possible.
Provide an accurate description of the software product. You need a clear and short description of what the software is and what it is used for, so that people can see whether they need it or not. Additional details should be provided somewhere else for those who really wish to know more.
Make screenshots available. They say a picture makes a thousand words, so screenshots are a very helpful tool when selling software online. The screenshots tell the users if the software product has a well designed interface and let them get a good look at the menu bars and toolbars, for instance, which helps them quickly assess whether the required functionality is there.
Use a ‘try before you buy' approach. Don't just say your software is ‘easy to use'. If your software product is as easy to use as you say it is, then why not let people see that for themselves? Offer them the option to download of a copy of your software and try it before asking them to pay for it.
Specify supported OS-es and licensing type. A list of supported operating systems is as necessary when selling software online as when selling it in a box in a traditional store. It has to be put in an easy to spot place for potential customers to find out at a glance whether the product will work on their computers or not. Adding other system requirements would be a good idea, too. Do specify the type of licensing for your software product (i.e. freeware, shareware etc).
Include a help file and support details. Your software product has to have some documentation explaining users how to use it, be it in form of a help file or an online manual either included with the product or that can be downloaded separately. People also need to know where to reach you in case they need support, so do not forget to include such details (an e-mail address, and maybe a phone number, too).

Letting people see the product (by screenshots) and try it before they buy, providing help files with your software and support when necessary, properly testing it with real users to make sure it is easy to use are the things that you should have on your to-do list if you plan on selling software online and be successful at it.

Published date: June 27, 2006

Copyright © 2006, http://www.avangate.com all rights reserved. This article was written by a Web Marketing Specialist at Avangate B.V. Avangate is an eCommerce platform for electronic software distribution incorporating an easy to use and secure online payment system plus additional marketing and sales tools, such as an affiliate management system, automated cross selling options, software promotion management, software marketing services as well as consultancy on how to increase online software sales.
Read more software marketing articles and learn how to sell software online.

This article may be reproduced in a website, e-zine, CD-ROM, book, magazine, etc. so long as the above information is included in full, including the link back to this website.

Rate this Article:

0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s)

Re-Publish

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/selling-software-online-how-do-you-present-your-software-40495.html

Related Articles
Related Q&A

Latest ECommerce Articles
More from Adriana Iordan

Buying Tiffany online

By: kimmy1975 | 14/12/2009
In fact, almost all big brands have net shops as well as physical shops, such as Tiffany, the world NO.1 brand for silver wares. Tiffany has established a perfect net shopping system for its customers all over the world.

Why use Magento Commerce to develop your online store?

By: Ed Cooper | 13/12/2009
Why use Magento as your online store? In summary, I think there are 4 main benefits in developing a website in Magento: Features, API & Integration, Structure & Support.

Guide To Making Money On Ebay, - It's Easy, Read These Top Notch Tips

By: Avery Howe | 12/12/2009
How To Make Money On Ebay Online auctions are helping people create their very own home business. Here are some tips, pay close attention. So you want to make lots of money on Ebay, do you know what to sell? A lot of people try to find the perfect item that will make them lots of money, sorry but that i snot going to happen, the best thing you can do is get started right away and to find stuff around the house to sell, everyone has piles of things you haven't used if year and pr...

Finding The FedEX Phone Number, How To Get In Contact With FedEX

By: Rose Li | 11/12/2009
When there is an issue that you need resolved you need to be able to know how to contact the right FedEX department, to get it taken care of as quickly as possible. In this article, we show you how.

Shopping Cart – The benefits

By: Gaurav Kumar | 11/12/2009
The article on shopping cart is written to share the many advantages of having a profitable online business existence.

Distinct Patterns of Designer Sarees

By: Bharat Peripleko | 10/12/2009
Saree is sign of Indian women. Since a long Indian women have been preserved our rich traditional culture. Now something is changed. Design work are changed, weaving style is changed. Every day new style takes a place in the market. Women also change their dressing style. The Style of fashion is differing among the people.

Wholesale Dresses - Finding Affordable Wholesale Dresses

By: god8858 | 10/12/2009
Enter the wholesale dresses business is reallylucrative. But one must be aware of the fact that women are forever looking for latest design apparel. Females are known to be able to do anything to get a ingratiating wedding gowns for their once-in-a-lifetime occasions.

Make Money Blogging

By: Ronie Fitz | 09/12/2009
Many beginner bloggers are unaware that you can earn cash blogging. There are some folks that make up to $1,000 a month by simply blogging for money. It is actually possible to make money from blogging in your free time. Nothing tops blogging for cash from the comfort of your home and getting paid to blog. It is one of the most wanted at-home jobs that many people overlook. Majority of bloggers blog everyday only for fun don't realize they might be getting paid for blogging. ...

Pricing your Software

By: Adriana Iordan | 11/10/2006 | Marketing
How much do you charge for your software? No one can tell you exact how much you should charge for your software product, but there are some things you need to bear in mind when deciding your software product pricing strategy.

Credibility Wins Clients Over

By: Adriana Iordan | 24/09/2006 | ECommerce
You need to ask yourself what you could do to impress your webiste visitors and make them buy software from you, and not from your competitors. So, what can you do? The most important thing in convincing buyers, especially new ones, to shop on your site, is to add credibility to it.

Software Product Documentation

By: Adriana Iordan | 15/08/2006 | Software
How to write good documentation for your product and why it is important ? The ideal software would be free of errors and so easy to use that everybody would be familiar with it the minute they start the application.