Hi Nate, First off, congrats on releasing a new product! That alone is no small achievement.
Based on a first look, I'd make a few recommendations: - The instructions page looks daunting to me. This is partly because there are so many steps, and also partly because the UI doesn't lend itself very well to static screenshots. The first screenshot, for example, looks like everything's accidentally positioned halfway off the window. This makes a lot more sense with the animated UI, but you have to download the app to find that out. I think a screencast tour showing it in action would be a much more useful primary source for instruction (maybe with a pared-down version of the existing page as a "more information" link). - Minor note: your support address is misspelled on the instructions page. :) - I think the Front Row-inspired interface is very cool, though a dark background and slightly slower animations would be easier on the eyes (especially on a TV, which is where I'd expect Photon Star to really be useful). And I personally would take the Front Row inspiration a step farther and start out fullscreen, at least by default. To be totally honest, I think the biggest issue is that your site doesn't make it clear what problem Photon Star is solving. For example, I can use iPhoto to get all my unrated photos in a smart album, and rate them with Command-1 through 5, using the arrow keys to navigate. That doesn't give me a pretty full-screen interface or Apple Remote integration, but it does get the job done in one step per photo. From your site, I can more or less see what Photon Star is, but not what makes it awesome. Does PS make photo rating more accurate? More fun? Easier/faster? My suggestion would be to focus on the fun aspect. The main benefit to PS that I can see is that you can put it up on a TV and sit on the couch with a remote -- and share the rating process with other people. I honestly wouldn't focus too much on the productivity aspects, because it's not the fastest or simplest workflow. (And iPhoto isn't _really_ about productivity anyway!) But the interactivity of the app feels almost like a game to me, so if you can find a way to describe the reasons why it's fun -- or even add some rules to make it into an actual game! -- I think I'd be more inclined to want to use it. In any case, you mention that you believe the app can help people enjoy their photos more. I'd say go with that idea for the site -- focus a bit less on what Photon Star is, and more on why it's going to change my life. :) Again, congratulations on putting it out there! As with any app that people aren't likely to know to search for, you'll be fighting an uphill battle at first, but don't get discouraged! Cheers, Sean On Mar 1, 2010, at 6:53 PM, Nathan Vander Wilt wrote: > Hello all, > > I recently released a new iPhoto-related product > (http://calftrail.com/photonstar/ > ) to not much fanfare. I'd originally thought it would automatically > be more popular than my previous product since it is useful to a > much wider audience and has less technical requirements than > Geotagalog. > > But as I began submitting it to download sites, I realized that it's > really a one-of-a-kind app. I was happy to see one search for > something like "fast iPhoto rating" bring someone on the very first > day of launch, but it's not really an app that most people would > think to look for or see listed as a better-designed alternative to > something else. I really believe in the potential for this app to > help people enjoy their pictures more, but how can I get the word out? > > I already sent out an initial press release for all the splogs to > repost, but I'm rapidly losing the stomach for that kind of > "marketing". When Geotagalog 2.0 is a little closer to release, I am > planning to send out a company newsletter to those who signed up and > of course mention Photon Star as a new product. (And am trying to > decide if it's appropriate to send keys to Apple employees who have > requested NFR licenses in the past.) I also know someone who might > be writing a short review for an online Mac magazine if he's happy > with it. > > So little things here and there might boost interest for a bit, but > I'm wondering how to best find customers for Photon Star in the long > run. I haven't had a ton of luck building momentum/awareness for my > products, so every product seems to bring a new marketing-from- > scratch challenge. I'd much appreciate any advice or suggestions for > finally moving things out of the "hobby" range, especially with this > latest product. > > thanks, > -natevw > Calf Trail Software, LLC > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ MacSB email guidelines: http://tinyurl.com/2g55d6 Use MacSB-Talk for off topic messages: http://groups.google.com/group/macsb-talk Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/macsb/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/macsb/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
