Understand Electronic Software Distribution

Electronic software distribution is rapidly eliminating the use of physical media, such as CDs, to distribute software as most software can now be delivered to the users over the Internet right after the purchase is made. This practice of bypassing traditional mediums of software distribution is making it easier and cost effective to sell software online. It has also opened doors to a huge business opportunity for people who want to sell software online and earn commissions on sales. With electronic software distribution becoming mainstream, it is easier than ever to become a software distributor now.

Choose Your Niche

As a software distributor you have the option to sell any type of software; however, it is important to select a niche and build your software distribution business around that niche. Since software programs can range from accounting software to video editing software or simple word processing software to complex CRM software. The key is to find the type of software that you want to promote and sell. The decision should be based upon your knowledge of the domain and interest in it. On the business side you need to find software that sells and has a large enough market size. Since you want to be earning money by selling software, you may not want to go too niche with the choice as this will reduce the overall market size.

Sign Up With Distribution Networks

To become a software distributor you will need to sign up for affiliate or reseller programs offered by software companies. While signing up for the program, you should consider the terms of the program and also the commission structure. You can also choose to sign up for affiliate programs offered by software distribution networks instead of programs offered by individual companies.

Online software distribution networks are marketplaces that bring software companies and software distributors on a single platform and provide tools and features to sell software online and distribute the software digitally. The benefit of signing up with a software distribution network is that you get a choice of software to promote and sell as a network comprises of several software vendors. As a software distributor, it is also important that you offer choices to buyers and going with a software distribution network lets you do that easily. Another benefit is that you will not need to manage and track sales and payments for different companies because that is taken care of by the network itself.

While choosing a software distribution network you should consider its reputation, the number of software publishers available, commission payment cycle etc. You should find out where all you can promote the software programs, for eg: your website, blog, forums, email list etc. You should also find out the payment options that the network provides to software buyers.

Set up a Website or Blog

Once you have signed up for memberships to software distribution programs, the next step in becoming a software distributor is to set up a website or a blog. Choose a nice professional theme for your website that is easy to navigate and highlight the content. Setting up a website gives you greater flexibility in terms of creativity and marketing. There are several benefits of setting up a website:

• It provides you complete control over the content that is published.
• You can choose to market the website through any available means without being restricted by the terms of the distribution program, for example, a distribution program may not allow you to run email marketing campaigns for products.
• Bring traffic to it through search engines. Search engines always look for content and if you publish good content on the website then you can bring more buyers to the site.

Start Marketing

It is simply not enough to just set up a website and wait for the buyers to come. You will need to market your website as well as the software that you are distributing. Below are some of the marketing activities that you can choose from:

Content Marketing: During the process of buying software, people look for information, reviews etc. A software distributor can increase the chances of people buying a software program by publishing detailed information and a personal review of the program on the website. Publishing content also helps a site by bringing free search engine traffic. You can also build a targeted email list by publishing good content as people often subscribe to websites that publish quality content on a regular basis.

Pay-Per-Click Campaigns: Running a pay-per-click campaign can bring targeted traffic to your website that is looking for the type of software that your website if offering. As a software distributor you want to get more and more leads for the software that you are promoting and running a pay-per-click campaign is one of the most cost effective ways to generate those leads.

Email Campaigns: If you have an email list already then you can promote your website and software programs by running an email campaign. You should choose a good email marketing software to run campaigns as it will provide you an ability to track the performance of the campaign and make necessary changes.

Go Social

People look for recommendations and opinions when buying software programs and social networks are the places where they have the people whom they trust for suggestions. By being available on social networks such as Facebook, a software distributor can increase visibility for their website and software programs that they offer. Maintaining a Facebook page, creating a Twitter account and a large base of followers, participating in forums etc. will help you build your authority as a software distributor and generate more sales. However, you need to be careful that the software distribution program that you signed up for allows you to promote products on social networks. PayLoadz is one such software distribution network that allows software distributors an ability to promote on various platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, websites, forums etc. and provides a simple way to do that.