You have reached the point of selling software online. The code has been written, and you have tested the software to find any bugs it might have. You also asked a few people to try the software to see the response to it. Now you want software sales. A detailed guide on how to gain software sales includes examining your target audience, marketing and finding a digital downloads service. You already know what to sell; now it’s a matter of determining where you want to sell your software and learning how to make the conversion from visitors to buyers online.

Target Audience for Software sales

Consumers are out there who may be interested in your software. Online consumers tend to purchase what they need without reservation. Typically, they conduct research on the product and read reviews. Other consumers may be online but rarely purchase items. These people want to see a trial of any product they purchase as a download, especially software. Another type of consumer is one who prefers to have the disc of the software even to download it online. The type of software you have developed determines the target audience you might have.

Certain software sells better online, such as games, photo editing software and Internet utilities. Security software is often a concern for many people, and most folks will not purchase software online unless they know the company. Large companies such as McAfee and Norton do well in software sales online because they have built up a reputation. If you have written a security software program, it needs to be marketed to a different target audience.

Your target audience may use different computer systems. There are Mac and PC users. Others prefer Linux operating systems to Windows. It is in your best interest to have different versions of your program to target audiences with different operating systems. For this section, remember these points:

• Offer more than one version of your software program.

• Provide a trial with limited features for a limited time.

• Research the different target audiences for better software sales.

Marketing Your Software

A wonderful program only sells if buyers know it exists. It can take time to get your name out there unless you have a big marketing plan in place. How to sell your software is mostly about the marketing strategies you implement for your online company. Even moderate programs sell when their marketing engages the target audience. Here are a few ways to market for better software sales:

• SEO and SEM

• Affiliate networks

• Social media

Your own website is the first place to build your brand. It provides the opportunity to highlight your company and your software. A website with a storefront can easily be your first option. The website and store can be marketed using search engine optimization or search engine marketing techniques. If you can write content on your own, SEO can be an economical marketing technique. You can also find professionals who can create SEO content to enhance your website’s position in the search results. SEM is mostly pay-per-click ads shown on search engines that can promote your website on search engines.

Affiliate networks are another way to get your software known. Everyone has a different perspective, and sometimes an independent affiliate can help bring more software sales than you can. Affiliates create their own websites and market your software on their own in return for a commission on each sale.

Social media is rapidly becoming the way to promote a product or service among online users because it helps spread the word quickly and to a large audience. Social media also helps in generating feedback about software that can later be used to promote software among those looking for reviews about software. Facebook provides business pages and advertising options to help you market any product or service. Twitter allows you to post whenever there are new concepts and products. YouTube can also be used for reaching out to a large audience.

Software Sales Platforms

A variety of software sales platforms are out there. When looking for one, it’s best to have a company with the following features:

• Software registration system

• Automated software delivery

• Secure file server

• Multiple payment options

• Storefront

With software sales, it is crucial to have an effective software registration system in place. As a seller, you would not want the software to work for those who haven’t paid for it. A registration system ensures that only registered users can use the software. Several methods are used for software registration, such as passwords, product keys and serials. A good software sales platform should provide options for software registration.

Automated software delivery helps sellers save time and effort by avoiding manual processing of orders. It also helps provide a better purchase experience for buyers. Software buyers don’t want to wait for hours downloading software they purchase. Automated digital goods delivery that can work with your website and storefront ensures that buyers can download their products immediately after they pay.

Ensure the security of your software files so that unauthorized people can’t access them. Make sure that only those who have paid for the software can download it. A secure file server with a strong authentication and authorization system can ensure security of your software files.

Multiple payment options make it easy for you to accept the payment any way your target audience might want to pay. Accepting credit cards, e-checks and transfers are a few of the ways you can be paid when someone buys your software. It is also important to ensure that the sales platform supports multiple currencies, especially if you intend to sell software in more than one country.

When starting in software sales, it is important that you make your software available for purchase from more than one place. You might want to use third-party storefronts such as eBay or a storefront provided by a digital download service provider. This helps reach more people, which should generate more sales for your software.

The Best Software Sales Platform

Many software sales platforms and services exist. If you do a Google search, you might find hundreds of sites and shopping carts you can use to sell your software. One out of all of these stands out: PayLoadz. PayLoadz is one of the best options for selling software online. This site offers all the features discussed in this guide.

With PayLoadz, you can start with a free account to sell software. This gives you access to free file storage, automated delivery and the PayLoadz store. Once you start generating revenue from software sales, consider switching to the paid account. For a small monthly fee, you gain access to more tools, such as marketing and affiliate tools to increase your presence online and enhance software sales. This digital downloads service gives you plenty of benefits, such as instant downloads and access to several payment options like Google Checkout, PayPal and Amazon.

It’s simple to sell software online when you use this guide. Researching your target audience should help you decide which marketing methods to use. Understanding your target audience ensures you have the right marketing campaign for the social media platforms you will use. It is important to have a platform for your software sales that makes your life convenient. You can sell your software 24/7 with automated delivery, especially when the payment platform recognizes when payment is received. Everything comes down to finding the platform you can trust and working with the easiest one to ensure your software sales and marketing campaign can be launched as soon as possible.

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