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[jack_kern]

Hey guys, first post here.    The company I work for (noguska.  com) has a business (inventory/acctg/etc) web-based software that they just moved from commercial/pay to *free* status. 

Part of my job is to market / distribute this thing, but I'm finding out its tough going.  .  . 

So many cheesy things on the web are "free" when in fact they are not, that consumers are skeptical.    Then add the spyware, crippleware, adware, etc.   products, and you'll find very few good free products out there. 

The one they offer:  NolaPro (nolapro.  com) is one.    Completely free with no expirations, no limits, blah blah blah. 

Problem is that this thing can give something like QuickBooks a run for its money IF we can get people to just know about it.    No its not as slick, but its price point is much better and it has much more depth included. 

So what's the best methods for just making the world AWARE of this software?

Keywords / PPC / Banners / Mktg companies are expense, so we just do things manually like website submissions, targeted emails, free download sites, etc. 

But there has to be something better - help anyone?

In case you're wondering the company makes money on value-added services (training, support, industry specific customizations, etc.  )

All feedback is MUCH appreciated, thanks. 

[Lisa Preston]

Hi Jack -
What about submitting it to download.com? I think Mike Hill does that... (He is the List Building Expert on this board)
Getting some reviews from relevant blogs? Other sites, like magazines online?
Press releases?
Articles?
Try doing a search on what people might type into the search bar, see what comes up - then study their promotional tactics. Where are they listed?
How about finding a complimentary product that might be willing to partner on some of your promos.

Hope some of that helps!!

Cheers!
Lisa

[jack_kern]

Thanks for the tips Lisa, we are listed on download. com and most of our new users come from there.

I know the power of blogs and reviews, but the problem is how to get those done?  If there's a procedure aside from "hit & miss" I don't know what it is.

We had a guy do a couple blogs on CNet's TechRepublic and it generated a lot of interest for us, but only short-lived.

Trying to find more of how to get reviewers/blogger interest, thus a reason for the post here where friendly experts (like you) might help.

Thanks much!

[JohnWilliams]

Jack, I suggest that you offer it to snapfiles.com which is one of the two download sites whose reviews (both editorial and from users) are, for me, very reliable.

The other site is nonags.com   Nonags has sites (mirrors0 in other countries.

Is the software USA-centric or can it be used in other countries too?

 If Australians can use it, I'd like some information, please?

You could also offer it to computer magazines in the UK and Australia for inclusion on their free DVD's if it is not just for the USA.
UK.
PC Advisor and .Net Magazine are among the best for utility programs in my opinion.

Australia
PC World
PC User
PC Authority

I haven't seen anything I've wanted on or in the biggest one (Australian Personal Computer) but that might be a good choice for you.

Of course, a couple of the USA magazines have on-line download libraries (PC Magazine for one, I think).
Some of the Australian magazines also have them or are linked to overseas ones owned by the same publishing group.

I hope this ramble is useful.

John Williams

[Quentin]

You can get software that will load your software to all major software repositories.

The other thing to do is to create a pad file as most of them use that to add your listing and many go out looking for pad files. Just add the pad files to the root of your domain hosting account.

http://www.asp-shareware.org/pad/

Here is some submitting software

http://submit-pad.qarchive.org/

You can also submit to software ratings sites which I have also done.

Just a few tips to get you going.

Q

[crystalq]

I recommend uploading it as a torrent you can get a free guide here http://makingbigcash.com/free-ebooks/

[John Ritz]

These are all good ideas. I'll throw my hat into the ring and suggest you figure out a way for users to spread this automatically among themselves (aka "make it viral").

Give them an incentive to pass it along or at least refer their friends.

The "incentive" could be as little as a viral video on YouTube that they'll want to pass around, or it could be an extra resource on consuming/using the tool (i.e. instructions videos, a guide with case studies, more examples, etc.)

John

[Ron Killian]

A number of great ideas already brought up.

With Video being so hot and places like YouTube being so big, think John's idea is a really good one. Even make a bunch of little clips showing what it can do. Maybe a video for each big feature?

Also what about finding forums where you target audience hang out? Become a part of the community with a simple link in your signature?