I have belatedly got around to reading Bob Walsh’s new e-book: “MicroISV Sites that Sell! Creating and Marketing Your Unique Selling Proposition”. This is the first in a series of e-books for microISVs that allows Bob to go into selected subjects in more depth than was possible in his book “Micro-ISV: From Vision to Reality“.
The e-book is aimed very specifically at microISVs looking to create a website to sell their software effectively. It has a lot of detailed advice that I think will be invaluable to anyone creating their first microISV website. I have lost count of the number of microISV sites that make some of the mistakes Bob identifies, including:
- it isn’t immediately clear what the product does
- selling on features instead of benefits
- too much text
- inappropriate use of technical jargon
The content will inevitably be less useful for established microISVs, but you only need to find one useful idea to justify the cost of the e-book. My only real gripe is the comparison between programming patterns and marketing. I didn’t find this a helpful comparison. Marketing is a very different beast to programming and the sooner we face up to it, the better.
You can get a copy for $19 here.
Full disclosure: I got a free review copy of this e-book.
Successful Software 
thanks Andy for the very kind review – and I’ll try not to torture any more innocent similes in future ebooks :)
Great review Andy. I had one comment on the following:
“My only real gripe is the comparison between programming patterns and marketing. I didn’t find this a helpful comparison. Marketing is a very different beast to programming and the sooner we face up to it, the better.”
Personally, i felt that the comparison was a little gimmicky, but still helpful in that it provides a framework for thinking about (and acting on) how to communicate to potential customers via your website. Marketing *is* a different beast, but while the analogy isn’t perfect, i think it is apt.
I liked the book, but the interviews from other microISVs were probably too long. Some of the people whom Bob has interviewed are not mature enough to be interviewed.
Ron.
>Some of the people whom Bob has interviewed are not mature enough to be interviewed.
Do you mean their _companies_ are not mature enough? I have been following the stories of Patrick MacKenzie, Gavin Bowman and Ian Landsman’s companies for several years. I think they are all eminiently qualified to discuss what sells and what doesn’t in their markets.
I liked the book, and also agree that “some of the people whom Bob has interviewed are not mature enough to be interviewed”.
Good luck with the next one!