Chapter 12 - Creating a Hot Software Product with No Programming Experience

Producing an information product is easy. If you can read this book, you can write an ebook. There are really no special skills required beyond the ability to write and some basic knowledge about the subject. Producing a software product on the other hand does require some special training. It needs someone who know how to program, who understands how a computer works, and who knows how to construct software. It’s a fair bit more complex than putting words on a page. It’s also much more profitable.

With the right software product, the sky’s the limits for profits; Bill gates proved that. But Bill Gates didn’t become a multi-billionaire by just being a great programmer—most decent programmers will tell you he’s barely that. And if you’ve been using Windows for a few years, you’ll know exactly what they mean. He became rich by combining some basic programming talent with some outstanding marketing skills. It’s that combination that we’re going to put together in this chapter.

There’s no two ways about, you’re going to need an idea. You might have one already. Lucky you! But if you don’t, it’s time to whip out your pen and paper, and start scribbling. There must be some kind of tool that you wished you had on your computer, or a program that you use every day that just drives you crazy. Maybe you wish your Media Player stored favorites better, or there was a graphics program that was as simple to use as Paint but as versatile as Paintshop. Put down your ideas and then check out the competition.

Do a quick search on Google to find out what other products are already on the market that are just like the one you want to create. There’s no point in putting a ton of effort into creating a product that’s already out there. Check them out, figure out what’s wrong with them and aim to create a new version that’s just the way you like it.

(You'll also need to be sure that competition is selling. If they aren’t finding a market, what’s the chance your program will?)

12.1 Building an Outline

Programmers always begin with a written outline—at least the good ones do. When you come to hire a programmer, the better your outline, the easier the project is going to be and the more successful the outcome.

12.1.1 Feature list

Just as it sounds, the feature list is a list of all the benefits you hope your product will contain. Put as many down as you can think of. You’ll find that the list will come in handy not just to explain to your programmer what you want your program to do, but you’ll also use it when you come to put together the marketing material. In effect, you’re writing a list of unique sales points.

You might end up with something like:

• Capable of handling gif's, jpeg's and bitmap images
• Easy, one-click picture editing
• Simple to use, fast to learn

and so on.

I usually find that this is the most enjoyable part of the whole project. As you come to think of each little feature, you’ll find that you actually get quite excited. The project will begin to form in your mind and each feature should lead naturally onto the next.

<< Previous    [1]  2  3  4  5  ...6    Next >>