Association of Software Professionals

 

 

ISVCon, the Software Industry Conference,  is now opening sponsor registration for the 2013 conference.

Quick Links

About the Conference  Sponsorship Options  Become a Sponsor/Exhibitor

 

Location

ISVCon 2013 will once again be held at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada.  The Atlantis, a 4-Star hotel, was recently awarded the prestigious 4-Diamond rating.  It has a beautiful, modern conference area, with a large, comfortable, and surprisingly quiet foyer overlooking the casino.  The property includes 9 restaurants and 10 lounges, and a cabaret with live entertainment.  It is also just a 10-minute ride from the Reno airport via the Atlantis’ free airport shuttle.

Reno is located in Northern Nevada, a wonderful area with lots to do both inside and outside of the casinos.  Reno is just 15 miles from the California border, and is a popular weekend vacation destination for Northern California residents.

 

New Dates, Days, and Options

ISVCon 2013 will be held September 27-29.  The conference will run for 2-1/2 days, Friday through mid-day Sunday.  We’re hoping to attract lots of new faces, given that Reno is within driving distance for San Francisco/Silicon Valley, and we are also planning to do considerable marketing.

 

Sponsorship Levels

Our existing Sponsorship levels, prices, and benefits received an update this year.  Our Silver Sponsorship is priced at $1299 and includes 2 free conference registrations;  our Gold Sponsorship is priced at $2599 and includes 4 free conference registrations and a free Sponsor Table; while our Platinum Sponsorship is priced at $4999 and includes 8 free conference registrations, and 2 free Sponsor Tables.  All sponsorships include many other benefits, please see our Sponsorship Options page for more information.

Also, we’ve added a new Sponsorship option this year!  Our new “MISV” sponsorship level was added by request, for those industry participants who don’t necessarily want to exhibit, but simply want to attend and show their support for the event.  This new sponsorship level is priced at just $599, and like our other sponsorship levels, it includes a variety of perks and benefits.  See our Sponsorship Options page for more information about this new sponsorship level.

 

Sponsor Tables Instead of Break Room Booths or Hospitality Suites

You may notice that instead of having “Break Room Booths” or “Hospitality Suites” we now offer the availability of Sponsor Tables.  These Sponsor Tables will be set up in the main foyer/break room area of the conference, which is located directly in the path of the session and lunch rooms… meaning that each and every conference attendee must pass through this area in order to get to any of the presentations, breakfasts, or lunches!  The break room is also where all the snacks and refreshments will be located, so the attendees will congregate there between events and sessions.  The Sponsor Table concept was added by request from previous sponsors, and will include tables and chairs rather than pre-defined “exhibit booth” style areas.  This area will be open for attendees during the entire conference schedule, and will also be part of the Welcome Reception and other special events during the conference.  Sponsor Table spaces are limited, and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

Your Sponsorship

Your sponsorship of ISVCon will help support this long-standing industry conference, and give you an opportunity to meet with both experienced ISVs and start-ups in a new, exciting, and professional setting.  The sooner you sign up as a sponsor, the sooner your logo/ad box will be displayed on the ISVCon website for visitors to see.  Early sponsorship also helps support the conference financially, and is appreciated.  And, early sponsorship allows you to receive primary placement for your Sponsor Table areas, which have limited availability and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

Please consider supporting ISVCon with your sponsorship.  To become an ISVCon sponsor, just follow the instructions at our Become a Sponsor page.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I look forward to working with you.

 

Sincerely yours,

Rich Holler
Sponsor Manager, ISVCon
rich@isvcon.org
http://www.isvcon.org

 

P.S.  Attendee registration is ongoing, so signing up for sponsorship right away will insure that your company logo/ad will be displayed on the ISVCon website as more attendees come to register.

Rich Holler Announcements, Articles, News ASP, association of shareware professionals, ISVCon, marketing, microisv, misv, SIC, software business, software conference, software marketing

Prospects are learning more and more about cloud computing. Whether you sell software as a service (SaaS) or applications that run on laptops/desktops, tablets, or smartphones, you need to understand how cloud computing is being sold, and how it is being perceived in the software marketplace.

The February 22, 2013 issue of Processor magazine reports that a recent survey from KPMG International revealed that about half of businesses and nonprofits have moved some of their applications to the cloud.

Here’s what these early adopters of cloud computing are finding:

About one third of the people surveyed said that the costs of moving to the cloud were higher than they had planned. This means that whether you’re offering solutions that run locally or in the cloud, you need to weave both the expectations and the realities of cloud computing expenses into your marketing message.

About one third found that they experienced “significant implementation challenges” when moving to the cloud. Again, microISVs need to weave this information into their marketing presentations. If you offer desktop/laptop applications, then tout the control, security, and stability that businesses enjoy when data and programs reside on computers that they control. If you offer SaaS, then explain why moving from the desktop/laptop environment to your cloud-based application won’t be burdensome.

More than one quarter of the people surveyed said that they had experienced significant security-related problems. These problems need to be part of your marketing message, too. If you’re offering SaaS, explain how you’ve already addressed and eliminated the security problems commonly associated with moving to the cloud. If you’re selling desktop/laptop solutions, talk about how safe and secure they are.

Some of the people who took the survey said that they are working on legal and regulatory issues associated with cloud computing. While Processor magazine didn’t go into much detail, there seem to be tax and earnings issues that need to be addressed. Software developers need to monitor all of these cloud-related issues, and weave them into their marketing messages.

Until now, cloud computing was a fresh idea with a handful of hypothetical problems. As more and more businesses move applications to the cloud, the problems will become much more real. Stay on top of the cloud computing movement, and make sure your marketing plan reflects both current perceptions and current realities.

Al Harberg Articles cloud computing, SaaS, software marketing presentation

The May ASPects is available for ASP members now. Al Harberg has explained the first half of his core tips for press release success for microISVs. Danile Heuman talks about getting into Office apps early. And there is industry news, trade events, and more.

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ASPects, May 2013
ISVCon Speakers Announced for Reno
by Gianfranco Berardi

I’m in the middle of reading The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. It’s a short and enjoyable book, filled with anecdotes and practices on living a life of possibility as opposed to one of scarcity…. (page 1)

Trade Show Calendar
ISVCon, September 27-29, 2013 (page 2)

The Sixteen Keys to microISV Press Release Success, Part I
by Al Harberg
You can increase your software sales by sending a well-written press release to editors and bloggers. But emailing a press release that’s badly written won’t get your cash register ringing. In my 29-year career of writing and distributing press releases for software developers, I’ve learned a lot about what the editors are looking for. Here are the most important tips and tricks that I’ve learned…(page 3)

ASP News
2013 budget (pages 4-7)

Apps for Office: A New Frontier
by Daniel Heuman
What made the birth of the iPhone so important for ISVs? A new technology? A new way of accessing the internet? A platform available around the world with apps verified by a tech giant? It was probably a combination of all these factors, so it’s significant that Microsoft has re-created that for Office 2013.
   If you haven’t heard of apps for Office, they’re worth understanding. Built into the Office 2013 ribbon is an option to ‘Insert Apps for Office’. It links directly to the MS Office store where you can download apps… (page 7)

ASP Member News
Jarte – Touchable Alternative in Word Processing (page 8 )
New Book Illuminates Candelas, Lumens, and Lux (page 8 )
Write and Publish Online User Manuals with Manula (page 8 )

News & Press Corner
Amazon Expands Global App Distribution to Nearly 200 Countries (page 10)
Embarcadero Technologies Unveils Multi-Device, True Native App Development Suite (page 10)
FTC Seeks Input on Privacy and Security Implications of the Internet of Things (page 10)
Symantec Internet Security Threat Report Reveals Increase in Cyberespionage (page 11)
AnDevCon $300 Discount Expires Friday, May 10th (page 11)

Jerry Stern ASPects Newsletter

Salt is not boring, Seth Godin tells us in his book “Purple Cow – Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.” Sure, salt has been sold for centuries as a commodity. Today, however, lots of companies are selling exotic salt for very high prices – and very high profit margins.

Is your software more boring than salt?

Then find a way to change the software so you can get people excited about it. Godin isn’t suggesting that you wrap your application in sales hype. He wants you to change the application itself. Convert it into a purple cow that people will get excited about.

Figure out how people in other industries have started with boring products, and made them exciting. Popcorn comes to mind.

“Find things that are ‘just not done’ in your industry,” Godin tells us, “and do them.”

    – by Al Harberg, the Software Marketing Blog guy

Al Harberg Articles boring software, Purple Cow

The April ASPects is available for ASP members today. There are articles about defining a market for your software, finding a partner, and modeling computer security on swiss cheese, and more.

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ASPects, April 2013
Having Purpose in Business, in Life, and in Your ASP
by Gianfranco Berardi
A symphony is an intricately detailed piece of design. It doesn’t work if a violinist can show up halfway through and play any random series of notes. It doesn’t work if the conductor decides to take the night off. It doesn’t work if there isn’t music written in front of everyone that is cohesive and aligned… (page 1)

Trade Show Calendar
ISVCon, September 27-29, 2013 (page 2)

Help Prospects Buy Your Software
by Al Harberg
Consumers know that they have choices. But they don’t know how to decide. So says Sergio Zyman in his excellent book The End of Marketing As We Know It. Zyman says that we should help consumers decide. While Zyman’s experience is in selling Coca-Cola and not software, his advice would be to help prospects decide by defining ourselves, by defining our competitors, and by positioning ourselves in the software marketplace. (page 3)

Growing your mISV by growing your team
by Jiri Novotny
I think that the two things limiting growth of mISVs the most are insufficient focus on marketing and fear/reluctance to get a business partner (co-founder) or hire the first employee and then continue growing the team from there…. (page 5)

Swiss Cheese for Advanced Windows Security
by Jerry Stern
You can’t function when your computers are down, either down at my repair bench for a cleanup, or in slowdown mode, infected, phoning home with your account numbers, or bogged down sending out SPAM for a bot farmer. And security suites are slowdowns of another variety. There has to be a way for an advanced user to keep computers both fast and safe. Here’s how, but this approach is not for beginners…. (page 6)

Your Tiny Software Marketplace
by Al Harberg
There is no software marketplace. What we call the software marketplace is made up of thousands of tiny niches, each with its own issues and problems. It’s not always possible to take good advice from a microISV in one marketing niche, and apply this wisdom to a different part of the software development industry…. (page 9)

ASP Member News
Aha-Soft Releases Quality App Bar Icon Pack for the Windows 8 (page 9)

News & Press Corner
Adobe and BSA Urge Congress to Support Software Innovation by Improving Patent Quality and Curbing Opportunistic Litigation (page 10)
SIIA Says U.S. Businesses Should Register with ICANN Trademark Clearinghouse to Protect Themselves from Intellectual Property Theft (page 11)
Google to Pay $7 Million Settlement over Street View (page 11)

Jerry Stern ASPects Newsletter

Ok… we hear you!  September is a long way off to make plans.

So, we’ve extended the deadline for our Early Bird discount for ISVCon until the end of March!

So you still have the opportunity to save hundreds of dollars, with conference prices starting at just $295 for ASP members!

-Rich

PS: Also, don’t forget that the deadline for submitting your speaking proposals is coming up soon — please get your proposals submitted to us by March 12th (see http://www.isvcon.org/ISVCon2013-CallForSpeakers.pdf) for details)

Rich Holler Announcements ASP, association of shareware professionals, isv, ISVCon, marketing, misv, product marketing, sic microisv, software business

If you find that the name that you’ve chosen is hurting you in the marketplace, Jack Trout explains, then fix the problem. Trout talks about getting around a bad name in his book “The New Positioning – The Latest on the World’s #1 Business Strategy.”

Two suggestions that Trout makes for fixing a bad name are:

• Revert back to another name that you’d used in the past, or
• Consider sub-branding.

By sub-branding, Trout means that you could use your tag line instead of your product name (or company name) as your brand.

Trout believes that the name that you choose is very important. If you don’t have a good company or product name, then get one.

On a personal note, I chose DP Directory, Inc. as my software marketing and press release company’s name back in the mid-1980s. At that time, DP (data processing) was the popular phrase for what is called today “information technology (IT)”.

When I re-launched my website a couple of years ago, I started putting a lot more emphasis on “Al Harberg” and a lot less emphasis on “DP Directory.” I’ve coined a couple of tag lines such as “Al Harberg, the Software Marketing Blog guy” and “Al Harberg, the Software Marketing Glossary guy.” As Trout recommends, more and more I’ll be using my tag lines as my brand.

Big companies are doing this, too. For example, you can visit Procter & Gamble’s Bounty Towels website – www.bountytowels.com – or you can use their tag line – Quicker Picker Upper – www.quickerpickerupper.com – to get to the same website.

Don’t live with a bad product or company name. Change it. It’s good software marketing.

Al Harberg Articles brand name, product names

The March ASPects is available now, for ASP members. This month’s articles cover productivity, social media marketing, and writing skills for mISVs

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Welcome, Educational Software Cooperative Members!
by Gianfranco Berardi
Members of the Educational Software Cooperative, a non-profit trade association dedicated to the educational software ecosystem, recently voted at a special meeting to dissolve the organization. As part of the decision, they also voted to provide all ESC members with one-year memberships in the ASP… (page 1)

How Important Is the ASP to You?
by Gianfranco Berardi
When you became an ASP member, you joined for 52 weeks worth of access to the discussion groups with like-minded business owners, developers, and publishers. You signed up for12 months worth of access to ASPects, exclusive discounts and offerings, and a number of other benefits, all of which are available to you for less than $2 per week. But do you get the most out of your membership? (page 1)

Trade Show Calendar
ISVCon, September 27-29, 2013 (page 2)

Increasing Your Personal Productivity as a mISV

by Jiri Novotny

If you run a business, there is a direct correlation between your productivity and the success of your business. I define productivity as creating valuable output, which grows your business. And since “valuable output” is always a subjective thing, the value is ultimately decided by your customers. Your effort is either valuable to them and they give you money, or it is not–and they won’t… (page 4)

Book Review: The Social Media Marketing Book
by Gianfranco Berardi
While I am on Twitter (@GBGames), Facebook, and Google+, and use these accounts regularly, I could stand to figure out how to better leverage these services to grow an audience and sell more. I find that no matter how well versed you might be with a particular tool, it’s entirely possible you are muddling through using some aspect of it. You could always learn about better and more effective ways to use it. So when I saw The Social Media Marketing Book by Dan Zarrella on a bookshelf, I picked it up. (page 6)

Writers: Know Your Audience
by Al Harberg

“Write as though you were addressing someone whose opinion you value,” said Patricia T. O’Conner in her book Words Fail Me – What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing. O’Conner urges writers to know the people whom we want to read their sales presentation. Identify your audience. Determine the correct vocabulary, tone, sentence structure, and imagery that you’ll need to use to communicate effectively with your audience. Learn their level of sophistication, their likes and dislikes, and their demographic and psychographic attributes. (page 7)

ISVCon 2013: Call for Speakers

(page 9)

PAD 4 Frequently-Asked Questions, Part II

(page 10)

News & Press Corner

HS Launches National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (page 11)

ASP Member News

Why Rent a Cloud Server When You Can Own One? (page 11)

Healthy Computing with Stretch Break Ergonomic Software (page 11)

Jerry Stern ASPects Newsletter

Twenty-five percent of adult Americans own a tablet computer. Ownership percentages, however, vary greatly based on the level of education of the individual.

So says the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life study, as reported in the November 2, 2012 issue of Processor Magazine.

The study’s tablet ownership results are divided into four education groups -

•  7 percent of people who didn’t graduate from high school own a tablet
• 18 percent of high school graduates own a tablet
• 27 percent of adults who attended college own a tablet
• 41 percent of college graduates own one

On a personal note, I think tablet ownership will increase in the coming years. Lots. As Android tablets become more popular, and as Windows 8 tablets gain market share, the competition will drive prices down. And as overall tablet sales increase, manufacturing prices will go down, and market penetration will go up.

Conversations with my customers lead me to believe that the software development tools available to tablet developers are not nearly as powerful or sophisticated as the tools that they’ve used in the Windows environment. If you’re thinking about developing tablet (and smartphone) apps, you might want to start climbing the learning curve earlier rather than later.

    – by Al Harberg, the Software Marketing Blog guy

Al Harberg Articles education, tablet

ISVCon2013 CallForSpeakers

ISVCon is a non-profit conference for ISVs (Independent Software Vendors). It attracts software developers, publishers, and other professionals in the software industry, all sharing a common interest in software marketing, sales, development, distribution, and other related issues. ISVCon provides an environment of networking, education, and collaboration.

ISVCon 2013 will take place September 27-29 in Reno, Nevada at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.
Please consider supporting the conference not only by attending and/or sponsoring, but also by sharing your knowledge and expertise with others. We invite you to submit your proposal to speak at the conference.

New this year – We will be offering free conference registration for speakers, which includes the conference-sponsored lunches! (Sorry, we are not able to provide any compensation for travel or accommodations.)

SUBJECTS

Speakers are needed on all subjects related to being an ISV. We are especially interested in topics with recent buzz, like mobile computing, cloud computing, software as a service, social networks, etc. Business and marketing related subjects are always popular too. In fact, any subject of interest to ISVs will be considered.

The ISVCon sessions will run in a single track, and will incorporate topics of interest for both start-ups and experienced ISVs.

LENGTH

Most sessions are an hour long, and individual presentations can run anywhere from 15 to 50 minutes, depending on whether you are going “solo” or will be on a panel with other speakers (remember that we leave time at the end of each session for audience questions). If you and a friend or two have an idea for a shared session, each speaker should submit a proposal for their talk, and note their preferred session partners.

PROPOSAL

Your speaking proposal should include the following details:

1. Speaker name
2. Company/Affiliation
3. Contact information
4. Subject of proposed presentation (and/or possible title)
5. Summary of proposed presentation
(please include enough detail to differentiate your presentation from any other proposed presentations on a similar subject)

As with the 2012 event, we will be video taping the sessions, and posting them on our website for viewing by attendees, newsletter subscribers, and ASP members.

Please email your ISVCon speaking proposal to Rich Holler, rich@isvcon.org

DEADLINES

The deadline for submitting your proposal is Tuesday, March 12th.
If your proposal is accepted, you will be notified via email by Friday, March 29th.

VENDORS

If you represent a company that sells products or services to ISVs, you are welcome to submit a proposal to speak in your area of expertise. However, we require that the majority of a presentation be of general interest, with any company- or product-specific information limited to only the last few minutes of the presentation.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the conference, please visit http://www.isvcon.org
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the ISVCon Speakers Manager:

Rich Holler
Email: rich @ isvcon.org

Rich Holler Announcements, News, Uncategorized ASP, association of shareware professionals, ISVCon, marketing, microisv, misv, SIC, software conference, software marketing