The Software Industry is one of the most changing and volatile industries in the world. Overnight, software companies and products emerge and seemingly vanish or are bought up by larger organizations. Just look at “hotmail”. This company was first its own commercial entity until Microsoft bought it. Remember Netscape and its Navigator? Of course those guys didn’t stand a chance against Microsoft which was able to release its Internet Explorer browser free along with its Windows Operating System, as a bundling tactic.

So, how does one make it in the software industry? Of course, there is really no clear explanation or answer to this question, other than three major “milestones” that one should achieve, at least as I see it, and that have been seemingly accomplished by many of the software companies that really made it during their season of the evolving market.

Step One. Create your product and make sure what you have created really has a demand. What is the point of making something that nobody even wants to download if it is a free download? If you want to turn a dollar with a software product, from what I can infer over the past fifteen years of IT experience, it is that the product must have true usability, have a demand, and in time users will come to appreciate what you have developed.

Step Two. Market successfully. This is the hardest part, and perhaps this is the reason why I am just a Technical Writer and not software marketeer. For the most part, people need to learn about you and your product, and in this way develop confidence that what you have to offer is a good thing. Again, this is easier said than done, of course, I know. However, with the presence of the Internet, which runs 24/7, one can create a site that features the finished program. Perhaps you offer a trial version, or a freeware version and then also offer your customers a premium version that actually costs something. I know that Microsoft Money is available in both a free version and a premium (paid) or more extensive version. This has been a topic of debate on the web for some time now, but I think this is a common approach of many vendors.

Step Three. Invest wisely. If you actually make some money with your product, then don’t just waste it on useless things. Invest your money wisely, and allow your product to establish itself, and slowly make your site better, your brand better, etc. That is what I would do (I am still in Step One, BTW). So, good luck in these challenging times, and at least be glad we all have the web and many great open source programs we can use to develop if we don’t have the money for development platforms like Microsoft Visual Studio.

All The Best,

Keith

Disclaimer: Keith Johnson is not a Business Consultant in any way and this blog post is pure conjecture. In no way is Keith encouraging anyone to follow these ideas. By reading this post, I release Keith from any liability that may be associated with following the suggestions and ideas of this blog post.