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Launching a Mac App and Becoming the Top Paid App Globally

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Re: Launching a Mac App and Becoming the Top Paid App Globally

#11

Post by babuskov »

jobu wrote: post #10

The time-limited trial is essential for selling productivity software, unfortunately most companies are doing it wrong. Beyond Compare[1] has a 30-day trial that is 30 days of use - not just 30 consecutive days. If I actually use a piece of software 30 different times on different days, then it's definitely worth a purchase. It's too bad more developers don't design their trials this way. [1] - http://www.scootersoft…

I find time limited trials useless. For user, it is inconvenient, because maybe the time is not enough to test complex software. For developers it's bad because user can simply reinstall the software again when trial period is over.

In my apps, I limit the amount of data you can store in trial version. So, you can try it as much as you can. For example, if your software was an e-mail client, you could limit it to 30 messages in any folder (inbox, sent, trash).

Re: Launching a Mac App and Becoming the Top Paid App Globally

#15

Post by petejansson »

Purely from a user's perspective, the Mac app store has a considerable advantage in centrally managing updates. Non-MAS apps each have their own eclectic ways of updating. Some support automatic update checks, while users have to explicitly check others. For the ones with automatic updates, there are a number of ways it's handled. Users don't generally want scores of update daemons running, and the whole business of "On launch, check for update, notify the user and let them choose whether to update now" really feels like the web page pop-ups that are so popular. ("I launched the app to do work, not to see if there was an update. The update prompt is in my way.") This cries out for a better user experience.

Re: Launching a Mac App and Becoming the Top Paid App Globally

#16

Post by SyneRyder »

babuskov wrote: post #11
jobu wrote: post #10

The time-limited trial is essential for selling productivity software, unfortunately most companies are doing it wrong. Beyond Compare[1] has a 30-day trial that is 30 days of use - not just 30 consecutive days. If I actually use a piece of software 30 different times on different days, then it's definitely worth a purchase. It's too bad more developers don't design their trials this way. [1] - http://www.scootersoft…

I find time limited trials useless. For user, it is inconvenient, because maybe the time is not enough to test complex software. For developers it's bad because user can simply reinstall the software again when trial period is over. In my apps, I limit the amount of data you can store in trial version. So, you can try it as much as you can. For example, if your software was an e-mail client, you could limit it to 30…

Depends how you do it. Many apps that use time trials will often leave behind some preference file or registry key to block re-installing.

But it's probably not worth building that into your software (I don't) - customers will either get so sick of reinstalling every 30 days that they just buy your software, or they're so poor that they were never really going to be a customer anyway, so you may as well let them continue with the workaround until they can afford it.

Time trials can be useful though. While most customers buy within the first day of use (and typically the first hour!), anyone who tracks metrics knows that expiring the trial version also generates a boost in sales around day 29 / day 30 of the trial.

Re: Launching a Mac App and Becoming the Top Paid App Globally

#17

Post by apineda »

petejansson wrote: post #15

Purely from a user's perspective, the Mac app store has a considerable advantage in centrally managing updates. Non-MAS apps each have their own eclectic ways of updating. Some support automatic update checks, while users have to explicitly check others. For the ones with automatic updates, there are a number of ways it's handled. Users don't generally want scores of update daemons running, and the whole business of…

Update on the way out? ie. Pop up with two options "close" and "update and close", at least this time you've already accomplished what you were after with the application.

Re: Launching a Mac App and Becoming the Top Paid App Globally

#18

Post by jonknee »

apineda wrote: post #17
petejansson wrote: post #15

Purely from a user's perspective, the Mac app store has a considerable advantage in centrally managing updates. Non-MAS apps each have their own eclectic ways of updating. Some support automatic update checks, while users have to explicitly check others. For the ones with automatic updates, there are a number of ways it's handled. Users don't generally want scores of update daemons running, and the whole business of…

Update on the way out? ie. Pop up with two options "close" and "update and close", at least this time you've already accomplished what you were after with the application.

Maybe it's just me, but when I am ready to quit an app the last thing I want to do is go through an update process.

Re: Launching a Mac App and Becoming the Top Paid App Globally

#20

Post by ascagnel_ »

jonknee wrote: post #18
apineda wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Update on the way out? ie. Pop up with two options "close" and "update and close", at least this time you've already accomplished what you were after with the application.

Maybe it's just me, but when I am ready to quit an app the last thing I want to do is go through an update process.

Especially one that will relaunch the app when it's done.

Ideally, you'd want a system-level daemon that downloads and preps updates in the background, and either waits until the system is idle (I think Apple has some tech like this already for running Time Machine backups), with pending updates optionally installed on system shutdown (am I shutting down to save on battery, to restart, or because I'm about to leave the office and I don't care how long it takes for the system to shut down).

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