On 3/3/10 6:50 PM, "Benedict Lowndes" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi MacSB, > > My first Mac app is nearing 1.0 and I'd like to start promoting it more > widely. > But how do I do that? > > I had thought I'd email one of the large Mac blogs where they feature apps > and invite them to review it. At first I thought of TUAW, but after > reviewing their recent posts it seems like they actually don't often feature > Mac OS X applications, now I'm thinking about MacWorld. First, I'd send email to TUAW, even if they don't cover it, there are humans behind those email addresses and the more people who know about your software the better. As to "will they do a review", well I don't know. I am in the middle of a release week myself (ProfitTrain 2.0) and I sent out lots pre-release PRs and review serials to many of the big site/blogs and have gotten very little media response. I just get the feeling the collective Mac media isn't as interested in apps on the desktop as they used to be. I do plan to follow up with some. Thank them for their previous coverage of the app, explain the new upgrade and see if they have had an opportunity to check it out yet. We'll see. > Is it naive to think I could just email one or two and expect to get a > response? > Can anyone recommend a site with an engaged Mac audience who might be > suitable for my product? Naïve is probably not the right word, but you'd have to be really lucky to get a big response with only 2 emails. I think if you are launching a new 1.0 product and you don't have a history with the Mac media at large its just going to take time to meet everyone. As to who you should approach, well I would start with the people you yourself follow and respect. Send them an email, say how you know them (podcast/twitter/their product/etc), why you appreciate their work, explain you have a new product that does X and you'd like them to have a review copy. Tell them you'd love some feedback. It can be as simple as this to start. > Also, I've seen you all give great feedback to others on the presentation of > their products, so I'd be really grateful for any feedback on WindowFlow, > see: http://windowflow.com > > Thanks! > Ben I gave the website a quick browse but didn't 'get' what your product did until I watched the screencast. The product itself seems cool. Hope to download it later and try it out. One recommendation for the site would be to keep in mind the height of the average browser. IMO, I would spend more time at the top of the page illustrating what the program does (rather than that BIG iMac with a static screenshot. Perhaps overlap some screenshots of the desktop with cluttered windows and then cleaned up. Use CSS, opacity and JS to animate what the app actually does. Come up with a list of 3 things you want the person to do when they land on that page. Maybe: * Watch the screencast * Download the product * Buy the product Make sure these three actions are clear and evident. For me your app icon and the actual UI of the app are secondary to what this utility actually does yet they are at the top of the page. Good luck with the launch, let us know how it goes. ~ Mike -- Michael Zornek Clickable Bliss http://clickablebliss.com/
