Hint, Hint
Where Keith gets an unexpected, yet extremely gratifying boost
Since the end of the Daring Fireball promotion, traffic has gone back to being pretty flat (as in panckakes on the midwestern prairie flat). I like to check the download log regularly and recently there's been only a handful that take place during my workday. Today, the downloads were scrolling by fast and i knew that someone big must have linked to me. A quick check of the google analytics showed me that the culprit was none other than MacOSXHints! I've been a fan of MacOSXHints for years and was excited by the prospect that someone might have mentioned MercuryMover in one of the comments. Even better than a link, MercuryMover was selected as a Pick of the Week! If we had been linked from MacOSXHints and selected as a pick of the week, but not given a glowing review - that would have been enough for us. However, Rob Griffiths, the MacOSXHintman himself gave us a score of 9 out of 10(!!). Traffic is way up, downloads have been extraordinary (more than 30% of the visitors today have downloaded the free trial) and sales are up, too! Additionally, the story was also picked up by MacUser (who also gave us a very nice write up). To show my gratitude to the MacOSXHints and MacUser communities, i'm offering a special discount this week (until 5 May 2008). Enter the code "Hints" when you purchase MercuryMover and you'll get a 20% discount.
Daring Did
Where Keith gets to see what it's like in the show
Not too long ago, i and a few of my compatriots got together to sponsor the Daring Fireball rss feed. I can assure you that my post sponsorship wrap-up is coming in better late than it would have never, but i do apologize for that late part. The executive summary is that it was very valuable, and i'm really glad that i did it. As for the details...read on.
What i wanted
I had these goals in mind when i put this program together:
- Get more people to hear about MercuryMover
- Make contact with (and become more known by) other indie Mac Developers
- Make contact with (and become more known by) John Gruber of Daring Fireball
- Make some money
These goals are more or less in order.
What i got
1)I got some very decent traffic (thousands of visitors, up from my usual tens of visitors). This is not quite as good as i would have hoped, since Daring Fireball has a readership in the millions and an RSS subscribership of over 50,000; but as my dad would have said: it's better than a sharp stick in the eye. Even better, at least one of those visitors not only bought MercuryMover, but he gave me a really nice review
on his blog.
2)I put out a call for volunteers to join me in this unique sponsorship (usually, there is only one company sponsoring the feed, not four) on the
MacSB yahoo group as well as on my blog. The response was pretty terrific so i definitely feel like i made a splash with other developers. Even better, i have a really nice rapport with some of the other participants who did this with me and i'm grateful to count them as my colleagues.
3)Gruber and I had a fair amount of dialog as we worked out the details of how this sponsorship would work given that it was slightly unique. He was very pleasant to work with and i always felt like our effort was in really good hands. Unfortunately, i can't really say that i (or my app, or my outfit) really made an impression on him. Hopefully my next app will catch his (and the other cool bloggers) eye(s) a little more.
4)For a little company like mine, this was a pretty expensive sponsorship. Not only did i make money on it, but i had my best day ever; the kind of day, that if i had this many sales every day, i could quit my job and devote my working self fully to Helium Foot. If anything, this was actually the most powerful part of the experience: tasting what it's like to be that successful.
What i learned
Marketing is important! Traffic and sales had been pretty flat and this provided a really nice boost.
Web sites are still better sources of traffic than RSS feeds. I got more than twice as many referrals from daringfireball.net than i did from the Daring Fireball rss feed.
Position matters. During the week of the sponsorship, i compared notes with David Sinclair of
Dejal Software (the guy listed first in the sponsorship). His traffic was much higher than mine. My original thought that, due to the
primacy/recency effect, the last spot was probably the second most valuable, was likely erroneous.
You get what you pay for (and sometimes you pay more). When i
solicited for volunteers to join the sponsorship, i specifically priced the the top slot higher. Part of the reason for doing so was that i wanted the guy in the top spot (which we've seen is definitely more valuable) to subsidize everyone else just a tad. The top spot was $20 more and was probably worth much more than that. Also, since i collected the fee from each of the participants (via paypal) in order to pass it along to Daring Fireball, i had to pay the processing fees. This resulted in my paying slightly more than $290 but i still got the last spot.
Would i do it again
In a heartbeat. I definitely got a lot out of it, but if i do it again, i'll definitely take the top spot. Also, i would think more about how to brand the individual companies more than branding the group (ie, make Helium Foot Software more prominent than our collective moniker of MacIndieDeals.com)
What's next
I've been working on raising my profile for the past few months and now it's time to start working on having something worth talking about. For now, i'm working on a new version of MercuryMover and a top-secret new product. Will we get these releases out by the end of Spring? Stay tuned.
Ich Bin Ein Podcaster
Where Keith talks to you and you can't talk back
I was planning on writing a longer post about my first podcast, but my weekly review took a little longer than i had planned. So here's the quick summary as taken from the Mac Developer Network:
Mac Software Business: Year One
This is a new four part spin-off series presented by myself, called Mac Software Business: Year One, The show will cover the life of three new Mac indie start-ups, with one seasoned veteran provided for good measure. The first episode covers how 4 intrepid Micro Mac outfits got from conception to launch.
I really want to thank Steve "Scotty" Scott from Mamooba Software and the Mac Developer Network, Kevin Hoctor from No Thirst Software and Gus Meuller from Flying Meat for so generously giving their time to record this podcast with me. I learned a lot from each of these guys, and i'm sure you will, too. Also, i want to give a second shout-out to Scotty for both hosting the podcast on Mac Developer Network, and also for his technical assistance which resulted much better sound quality. If you like this podcast, then stay tuned because we're doing another one in about three months.
If you're new here, let me welcome you. I'm Keith Alperin from Helium Foot Software and we make MercuryMover: Don't let the mouse slow you down! Move and resize windows on your Mac with the keyboard.
Helium Foot Site++ plus
Where Keith shows you how he's trying to get his site to sell
When i wrote about updating my site, i had planned to include a lot more information about what i changed but didn't because it was way too far past my bed time. A few days later (and only slightly less sleepy) i can not only tell you what i did, but i can give you some preliminary results.
If you're new to these digs, let me give you brief introduction. I'm Keith Alperin, the proprietor of this joint. Helium Foot Software's flagship (and currently only) product is MercuryMover which enables you to move and resize the windows on your Mac via the keyboard.
Continue reading "Helium Foot Site++ plus"
Daring Do
Where Keith makes you an offer he hopes you won't refuse
Previously, i've written about the upcoming Daring Fireball sponsorship. Well, change that "upcoming" to "happening right now". Helium Foot, along with Dejal Systems, Decimus Software and Xeric Design are sponsoring the Daring Fireball rss feed for this week and all of us are offering a discount. Through the end of march, you can get MercuryMover for over 20% off. For the uninitiated, MercuryMover is our app that lets you move and resize windows on your Mac via the keyboard. MercuryMover users, don't let their mouse slow them down! Like MercuryMover, but never like to pay full price? You can buy it right now (which happens to be very early in the morning when you really should be in bed sleeping.) All four co-sponsors are listed at Mac Indie Deals.
Helium Foot Site++
Where Keith tries to get his site to sell
After a lot of work, i finally updated heliumfoot.com with the new content. Helium Foot Software sells MercuryMover: Don't let the mouse slow you down! Move and resize windows on your Mac with the keyboard. The changes comprise my best, first attempt at defining and implementing a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) as outlined by Bob Walsh in his book MicroISV Sites that Sell!. Given the sheer number of times that i've mentioned Bob's book, you would think that i was getting a commission on it, but really i just found the book to be really valuable. I also want to give a shout out Andy Brice who gave me some helpful tips that were spot on and also to Jon Trainer who (via this blog, no less) helped me refine my own USP.
Curious about what the new content is like? Check it out here. Go ahead, i'll wait here for you. For kicks, i left a copy of my old site up for easy comparisons (caveat emptor: i haven't tested all of the links on the old site and some of them may be busted). Did i hit my marks? I'll follow up with some numbers in a few weeks.
The Hook
Where Keith tries to discover what will bring them back (or at least download)
Another day, another exercise from Bob Walsh's book, "Micro ISV Sites that Sell". One of the best things about this exercise is that it's the last! I've definitely taken a lot from these guys, but it's time to stop exercising and start executing. Today's goal: The Hook. What can i say in < 50 words that will get visitors to want to download and try MercuryMover (our program that lets you move and resize windows on your Mac from your keyboard). Taking into account everything that i think i know about my customers, and what will appeal to them, here's my first draft:
MercuryMover reduces friction when you use your Mac. With MercuryMover, you can move and resize windows on your Mac from the keyboard; position them precisely where you want. By shunning the slow and imprecise mouse, MercuryMover empowers you to work faster and play more.
At 44 words, this isn't too bad. We appeal to users who prefer the keyboard and attempt to answer what MercuryMover will do for them. And what exactly is that? Until now, i've been selling MercuryMover by it's feature's ("Move and resize any window on your Mac with your keyboard"). While MercuryMover does do that, what it does for
you is it makes you faster and removes something frustrating from your work.
I liked that phrase about friction, but it seems like i could cut this down by cutting it out:
By shunning the slow and imprecise mouse, MercuryMover empowers you to work faster and play more. With MercuryMover, you can move and resize almost any window on your Mac from the keyboard, positioning them precisely where you want.
Now at 38 words we're leaner and more focused. Can i say that more succinctly and clearly? I didn't think so, but literally while working on this post, i came up with this:
Don't let your mouse slow you down! With MercuryMover, you can move and resize almost any window on your Mac from the keyboard, positioning them precisely on your screen.
29 words and sounding better. If you wanted to be faster and less frustrated, wouldn't you
try MercuryMover?
CAWUG-bunga
Where Keith finally gets involved with the locals
I went to my first CAWUG (Chicago Cocoa and WebObjects User Group) meeting in four years last night and wanted to give a shout out to my fellow Chicago Cocoa Heads. Everyone that i met was very cool and much smarter than i am. Thanks for letting me join your party; i promise not to stay away for four more years.
Quintessence
Where Keith learns the true meaning of what makes MercuryMover valuable
With about a week and a half to go before the big promotion, i've been working on the exercises in "Micro ISV Sites that Sell" in order to get my site into shape. Step one: Collect information about customers (or in my case, guess.) Step two: Determine what it is about your product that makes it valuable. (As for when we get to "profit", i'll let you know). I really thought that this exercise was going to be silly for my product (MercuryMover, the only app that you need to move and resize the windows on your Mac from your keyboard) since it's so straightforward. All over my site and blog are phrases like "Move and resize any window on your Mac with your keyboard". That's it. That's what it does and that's its value, right? Maybe not so much. After going through the exercise, i think that the value of MercuryMover lies in the experience that it gives the user. By removing barriers (albeit the small one of picking your hands up off of the keyboard) it removes frustration and makes working and playing on your Mac more enjoyable. Quintessentially, MercuryMover makes you happy! While i may not be able to sell you on happiness, i should be able to sell you on decreased frustration and increased productivity.
Never tried MercuryMover? There's no time like the present to download and try it. Tried it before? Share with the class what makes it valuable for you.