Hi,
Welcome to the September issue of Software Marketing News, an independent voice for software developers. An HTML version can be viewed at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/author-resource-newsletter45.html .

New Site - RSS Specifications
******************************************
What is all this buzz about RSS?
It is clear that 2004 is the year for RSS. As a result we've created a new portal that tells everything you need to know about RSS!
RSS Specifications - http://www.rss-specifications.com

Blogs for Software Developers
*****************************
Blogs are popping up everywhere. The daily news and tidbits are often quite informational I've listed a few blogs relevant to software developers.

All the time reads -
Software Marketing Blog - An independent voice for software developers!
http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html
RSS - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog-feed.xml

Shareware Promotions Software Marketing Blog - Software marketing - shareware marketing - news blog
http://www.sharewarepromotions.com/blog/

Occasional reads -
The Farm: Tucows - Whether you develop software for fun or for a living, you'll find The Farm a useful resource. Here, you'll find tech news, useful links, tutorials and pointers to resources for developers.
http://farm.tucows.com/blog

Going Independent - only a few post about a developer making the decision to go independent http://dotavery.com/blog/category/44.aspx

JoelOnSoftware - Joel Spolsky talks about software development.
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/

Forums
******************************************
Top reasons to post to forums -
1.) Increased exposure
2.) Become an industry expert and trusted source
3.) Increased link popularity from sites (forums) with related content.
4.) Form synergistic relations with other industry professionals
5.) Solicit critical market feedback on product potential
6.) Announce new products or services to targeted audience (*see forum rules)

Forums for developers -

Software Marketing Forum - software marketing forum for software developers and industry professionals!
http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/forum

Indie Gamers - Discuss business-related topics, including sales, marketing, publishing, serving customers, legal issues, search engines, download sites, and web hosting.
http://forums.indiegamer.com/

Small Business Forum - announce software and post offers to user groups; discuss business and marketing related issues.
http://www.small-business-software.net/forum/

Programming Talk - Discuss programming related issues and software development.
http://www.programmingtalk.com/index.php?

Find Forums - if you are having difficulty locating a forum try this forum directory.
http://www.small-business-software.net/forum-directory.htm or http://www.forumdirectory.com

Competing with GoogleGroups
Lycos' new forum discussion search tool appears to search independent site forums, msn groups, yahoo groups and google groups. Lycos tool searches bulletin boards and groups where people are discussing your topic of interest right now.
http://discussion.lycos.com/

Company Names & Product Names
*******************************************
We recently went through the process of naming a new application that is currently in development. In my quest for a name I stumbled upon an article about naming that discussed naming, companies products and services.

The article was extremely comprehensive and detailed six process points to creating a great product and company names.
1. Competitive Analysis
2. Positioning
3. Name / Brand Development
4. Trademark Prescreening
5. Creative / Testing
6. Name and Tagline

The article was fascinating and explained the 4 different types of names and what responses they elicit from potential customers.
1. Functional / Descriptive Names
2. Invented Product / Corporate Names
3. Experiential Product / Corporate Names
4. Evocative Product / Company Names

The article is long but extremely well thought out and a must read for anyone going through the naming process. http://www.igorinternational.com/naming-guide.html I especially found the section on branding helpful.

Articles
************************************
Acceptable Responses - Many online marketers work odd hours, with no beginning of the day and no real end. How does this impact support and customer service inquiries? Some small businesses are afraid to reply to customer queries off-hours, fearful that the message time-stamp will betray them as a small business.
full article -
http://www.small-business-software.net/acceptable-response.htm

Understanding Google AdWords
Google AdWords provide an inexpensive advertising venue for businesses to advertise products or services to a targeted audience. Advertisers have the ability to control their budget, target their advertising based on keywords. Advertisers are also free to determine the ad contents.
full article - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/article38.html

Yahoo Blog
*********************************************
Yahoo following in big brother Google's steps has started a blog.
A look inside the world of search from the people of Yahoo! a new YahooBlog - http://ysearchblog.com/

Search Engine News
*********************************************
Ask Jeeves - The Ask Jeeves paid inclusion program will only be available until September 30!

Typo Correction -
***********************************
There was a typo in this url last month - MyPressRelease.net - Send your shareware press release to 3600+ magazine and newspaper editors and PC User Groups reviewers all over the world! Prices start at only $100 US. Info at http://www.mypressrelease.net/

CNET Sales Tracking
***********************************
CNET recently announced they would be hosting all downloads on download.com. In addition CNET has changed the way that they link to developer's websites. Download.com now spawns a child window, which prevents the referrer headers from being passed. This means that developers will no longer see download.com as a referrer in their web logs, though the site is likely sending traffic. If tracking CNET traffic and downloads is an important issue for you consider providing a special build.

Conferences
***********************************
In September I will be attending the ISDEF conference in Moscow Russia! I will review the conference in next month's newsletter.

ISDEF - This year ISDEF conference will take place in "Holiday Inn" (Vinogradovo, four kilometers far from MKAD (Moscow Circular Highway), Dmitrovskoye schosse, September 16-19, 2004. Software marketing has been declared to be the dominant theme of this year. http:// www.isdef.org/en

European Shareware Conference - The fourth annual European Shareware Conference will this year take place on the 6th and 7th of November 2004 in Strasbourg, France. The conference offers a unique opportunity for developers, distributors and companies providing related services to meet, exchange ideas and build beneficial relationships. With a variety of different sessions and panels, numerous networking opportunities, and a chance to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by the software industry today, the European Shareware Conference is the premier European event for software developers and companies embracing the try before you buy marketing method. http://www.euroconference.org

Upcoming Schmoozes
***********************************
Grand Rapids Michigan Schmooze - September 16-18, 2004
Get together in an informal settings with other industry professionals to discuss marketing, development and life as a shareware author.
http://www.grandriversoftware.com/schmooze/

Austin Schmooze - October 29-31, 2004 in Austin, Texas an informal gathering of shareware developers and professionals will be held at the Austin Town Lake Holiday Inn. http://www.sharewareschmooze.com/austin/austin.html

Napa Valley Schmooze - March 11-13, 2005 in Napa, California, USA. Visit wine country while network with other software developers!
http://www.medlin.com/schmooze/

Thank you - Spread the Word
**************************************
Software Marketing News tries to present issues relevant to software authors, shareware developers and industry professionals. We welcome feedback and topic suggestions, software marketing resource is an independent voice for developers.

Each month Software Marketing Resource's subscriber base grows and it is a result of the readers, thank you for all the referrals! If you have a friend who would like to subscribe please have them send a blank email to webmaster@softwaremarketingresource.com with subscribe as the subject line inorder receive the SMR newsletter each month.

Thank you for your continued interest in SMR.
Sharon Housley
Software Marketing Resource - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com
NotePage, Inc. - http://www.notepage.net
Small Business Software - http://www.small-business-software.net