Helium Foot Software

A Daring Marketing Plan

Having released MercuryMover (everyone's favorite app that lets you move and resize windows from your keyboard) a little over a month ago , i have neither expected to see, nor have i seen the type of traffic that i saw during my launch. My PRMac press release was very successful and got me a fair amount of coverage (see my previous post) which in turn led to traffic that is an order of magnitude greater than my regular traffic. Raising my profile and increasing my traffic are my primary goals for the first half of 2008. To that end, i'm embarking on my first marketing endeavor.

I've always been a fan of Daring Fireball mostly for the essays written by the site's proprietor, John Gruber (see this post). In addition to the original writing, he also links to items of interest to the Mac, tech and general geek communities. Most importantly for my purposes, he has a well read RSS feed for which he offers weekly sponsorships. His audience is just the type of audience that an indy Mac shop wants to reach, and by sponsoring the feed, you get a direct message to the users (not an eminently ignorable banner ad).

So i have the goal and i have the means to reach it; unfortunately, i don't have the means for this means. My revenue for all of 2007 (which granted only included december) would not cover the fee for the one week sponsorship. Thinking that there are probably other indy shops in the same predicament, I emailed Mr. Gruber and asked if he would be willing to experiment with the normal parameters of the one sponsor one week format. He was game and what we came up with was the one week, four sponsor format. The Daring Fireball RSS feed will still only include the one sponsor message, but said message will include links to four different developers, each of whom paid a portion of the sponsorship fee.

A quick call for volunteers on the MacSB list yielded a multiple of the necessary three volunteers so here is what i've come up with for how to choose my running mates:

• The cost will be $290 for the top spot, $270 for the other spots (both are in US dollars). The "top spot" means that you'll be listed first in the sponsor message.
• There will be two lotteries, one for the top spot and a separate for the remaining spots
• You can enter both lotteries
• You enter the lottery by sending me an email with the subject line "Daring Fireball Sponsorship". Please state in your email whether you plan to enter just the top spot lottery, remaining spots lottery or both. My address is keith at (the domain of this site).
• You must enter by 12 noon (central time) on thursday 10 Jan 2008.

If you're reading this and you're not on the MacSB list, but a) are an indy Mac developer and b) would luck to try your luck, then these rules apply to you too.

Daring Results

As I described in a recent post, as part of my effort to raise Helium Foot Software's profile, i'm organizing a conglomerate to share the costs of a pricey-but-worth-it sponsorship of Daring Fireball. There was much more interest than space on the ticket, so the participants were chose by lottery. And the winners (in the order that they will appear) are:

1. Dejal Systems
2. Decimus Software
3. Xeric Design
4. Helium Foot Software (your host and maker of MercuryMover the keyboard controlled, window moving and resizing utility for your Mac).

The response for this project has been terrific and i really hope to have more opportunities to collaborate with other folks in the Mac developer community soon.

Conversion-sation

A few weeks ago (ok, i had really hoped to do this post sooner), there was a thread on the MacSB list about conversion rates. In web parlance (of our time), a conversion is when you get the user to do something that you want them to do. For Micro-ISVs, that usually means buy your product. To get a handle on my conversion rate (number of downloads divided by the number of purchases) i just did the math based on every download and purchase since we went on sale on 3 December 2007. I had assumed (based on no data) that a 1% conversion rate was pretty good. Thus, i was pleasantly surprised to see my rate come out to 1.3%. Then i followed the links in the MacSB thread and found 1.3% to be the lowest conversion rate of anyone that i could find who went on record. Most of the other developers out there were seeing better than 3% with some going as high as 10%. So much for my wholly unearned smugness. At 10%, i'd be in shouting distance of the brass ring, quitting my day job and doing this full time. At 1% i'm, well, i'm blogging when i should be sleeping (so that i can get up when the 4.5 year old alarm clock goes off). The MacSB thread threw into stark relief how much room for improvement my conversion rate has. I decided then and there, that i would add increasing conversion rate to my 2008.0 goals (check back in about 4 months to hear about goals for 2008.5)

The timing of this internal discussion (did i just admit that i talk to myself?) was fortuitous as Bob Walsh had just released his new E-book. The book is called "Micro ISV Sites that Sell" and covers how to think about your web site in terms that will get your customers to buy your product. More importantly, the book gives you a model for how you can turn your site into one of the ones that really sells the product. Bob is a bit of a mentor of mine, in that i read his "Micro-ISV From Vision to Reality" as part how-to and part inspirational text as i was putting Helium Foot together. I liked the micro ISV book (and it really is the micro ISV book) so i plunked down my $19 right away. I've enjoyed the book and it would be a bargain at twice the price.

I'm going to refrain from giving a full review, but here's the executive summary: If you have your own micro ISV and you don't already have a strategy for how to get your website visitors to buy your product, then you ABSOLUTELY should get this book. What i liked most about the book is that the information in it is eminently actionable. After reading this book, i have a very clear plan for how to make my site more effective and over the next two weeks or so, you'll see the effects of those plans on this site. Additionally, there are very good examples of how some other micro ISVs have acted on this same information and what it does for them. If i had to give some criticism, i would say that Bob takes his marketing-as-design-pattern metaphor past the point of useful example and into the realm of gimmickry. However, this is pretty hollow criticism since the book is terrific with or without the metaphor, and the design pattern metaphor does lend itself to some lively prose.

Stay tuned to see how i put these dreams into action.

They are Always Right

Since reading Bob Walsh's book, i've been working very hard on the exercises. Who knew that spending $19 would privilege me with homework? Exercise one is about clarifying who your potential customers are and there couldn't be a better time for me know my customers. In about two weeks, we'll be sponsoring Daring Fireball (a very popular site for Mac geekery) in order to get the word out about MercuryMover (soon to be your favorite program for moving and resizing windows on your Mac via your keyboard). We'll be cosponsoring the Daring Fireball RSS feed during the week of 24 March 2008*. This will hopefully bring me some eyeballs, but you can't sell software to eyeballs. Bob's book really drives home the point that this is your best (and possibly only) opportunity to hook your customers and get them to want to try your product. Your best shot at this is to say something that WILL appeal to the person who's reading (or probably just skimming) your page. So nu? How can you appeal to the readers if you don't know who they are?

When i first conceived of MercuryMover, i was proud of the fact that the potential user base was so large. By developing a general purpose app that would appeal to any savvy user (at least the keyboard oriented ones) i could cast a wide marketing net and then start counting the money. In truth, having such a wide potential customer base has hurt more than helped thus far. When anyone can be your customer, how do you market to them? What language can you use to appeal to "anyone"? After working on this exercise, i've identified a few smaller customer segments that i will target with the language on my site. I'm going to try target Web designers, graphic designers, bloggers and software/web developers specifically. I'll still try to have some catch-all language to try and appeal to your general LaunchBar lovin' power user. So loyal reader...do you fit into one of those categories? Are you in the catch-all group? Something else entirely? Comments are open (and operators are standing by) to let me know.

* My co-conspirators (err... co-sponsors) are Dejal Systems, Decimus Software and Xeric Design.

Quintessence

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.

The Hook

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?

Helium Foot Site++

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.

Helium Foot Site++ plus

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.

You'll never believe me on this, but i actually had written exactly 1000 words about the site update. Of course, which would you rather have, 1000 words or this:

The graphic shows my old home page with the new one superimposed. Let's hit the highlights, shall we?

1) Site Tagline
The old tagline "Software that's lighter than air" had zero meaning. None. Nada. Effes. Zilch. The new one ("Making your Mac more agile, more powerful and more fun") is only slightly better, but it is what Helium Foot Software is about and hopefully as we roll out more products we'll be able to fulfill that vision.

2) Buy Link
The old link to our software store said "Store". Fair enough...it is a store. "Buy" is more of (in the parlance of our time) a "call to action".

3) The Hook
The purpose of the hook is to be the ONE THING that capricious surfers are likely to read. If your hook can interest them in the first few seconds that they come to your site, then maybe they'll give you a few more seconds to interest them further. The old hook was "Making your Mac more agile, more powerful and more fun". This might look familiar, but it wasn't very hooky. In fact, it was possibly the least hooky hook that ever hooked (or even attempted to do so!). The new hook (which was developed here) is much hookier: Don't let the mouse slow you down! Move and resize windows on your Mac with the keyboard. Here we get across the most compelling benefit of MercuryMover: without MercuryMover, you're movin' as slow as a mouse.

4) Unique Selling Proposition
The old site didn't really put forth a Unique Selling Proposition. Instead, in this spot, the old site had the MercuryMover icon with the pretty somnolent hook of "Move and resize any window on your Mac with your keyboard". If i've hooked you with my hook, then hopefully this stuff will get you to download the free trial.

5) Screencast
MercuryMover is the kind of product that is at once, very easy to explain ("Move and resize any window on your Mac with your keyboard") and difficult to convince users that they want it. The best way to show you MercuryMover's coolness is to, well, show you. The old site had a bit of relevance building content here which was one of the only things that i did right on the previous version. Of course, i can't take any credit for it, it was a suggestion that Bob Walsh himself suggested.

6) Building Relevance
To get you interested in MercuryMover, i try to show why it will appeal to YOU. My once and future plan for this spot is to link each bullet point to a screencast showing MercuryMover at work amidst the types of activities that the target group performs on their Mac every day. Unfortunately, screencasts are very labor intensive and it took me most of a day to make the one that i have. Look for more in the coming months.

7) Building Credibility
The people who like MercuryMover, seem to really love it. That's, of course, terrific news. This is just the sort of news that you want to keep on the just tell everyone you know. If these guys like my software so much, wouldn't you? When i put the new stuff up 4 days ago, i had 2 testimonials. Two days later, MercuryMover was the subject of a glowing review, a quote from which has since become our third.

8) Guarantee
This was a suggestion from my wife (who makes a cameo in the screencast). I offer a 60 day money back guarantee, so i list it here and also link to a page describing how to get a refund if you want one. This was a credibility building exercise which i hope says: "they're so confident in their program that they not only have a guarantee, but provide instructions on how to claim it!". That's what it says to you, right?


So, how'd we do? Well, it's a little difficult to tell since we're in the middle of our Daring Fireball promotion. However, the preliminary results are pretty good. From Monday to Thursday two weeks before the site changes (as well as before the DF promo) we had 101 visits and 18 downloads. The same period this week (post site update and during the DF promo) yielded 485 visitors and 91 downloads. That brings our conversion percentage from about 17.5% to 18.5%. Even more important, sales are way up for this week (from 0% of downloads to 10% of downloads!). None of these are really statistically valid results, but they are certainly good news. Stay tuned for an update in a few weeks when i can collect more data.

Daring Did

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:

1. Get more people to hear about MercuryMover
2. Make contact with (and become more known by) other indie Mac Developers
3. Make contact with (and become more known by) John Gruber of Daring Fireball
4. 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.

Scoring the Gig

Not too long ago i wrote about my friend Alexandra Levit who is a writer focusing on the careers of twenty- and thirty-somethings. Her new book How'd You Score that Gig was recently published and might be of interest to the aspiring entrepreneur reading this blog. Alex was even kind enough to mention me in a recent podcast that she did with Pamela Slim (of the excellent Escape From Cubical Nation blog.)

Congratulations, Alex!