April 26, 2007

7 Reasons You Should Make It Free

Posted by Curt Finch at 3:46 PM

If you're running a software company, here's why you might want
to give your software away for free (for a version that is limited in
some way):

Everyone will know you're a nice guy/gal

Brand recognition: It gets more people using your stuff

Drive your competitors nuts

Discourage new shoddy market entrants: In my company's
case we are mainly talking about 2 guys in a garage trying to
copy what we've spent 10 years building.

Get rid of lame substitutions: Many software applications
can be replicated in Excel but there are always problems with that.

Your best ideas often come from your user base. A larger
one means more good ideas.

Gets your foot in the door at large companies. Often big
companies have horrendous purchasing processes that prevent
likely customers from trying your product in the first place.

Free helps alot. Everyone will tell you you're crazy but it
actually builds your business faster than most other forms
of marketing on a per dollar basis. Even if you're not selling
software, surely you can find something to give away. Whitepapers,
demos, buyer's guides -- something.

Curt is the CEO of a project accounting software company