Trial version grace period [closed]

Question

How should I implement a full-featured grace period or N-uses scheme to maximise sales of my small $5 social network Windows application, while encouraging continued use of a limited version by users who are never (not yet?) going to pay for it?

Grace-period options:

1. Use-limited. After 20 uses, cripple it.
2. Calendar days time-limited. After 30 days after first-use, the software is crippled.
3. Actual use-days time-limited, eg. 7 days. If used for seven days over the course of 7+N days, cripple it after the seventh day.
4. Time-limited. After 20 hours of use or play, cripple it.
5. Combination of the above with progressive crippling and optional nag screens.
6. Nag screens, which I am averse to.

Crippling software is not favoured by all (especially the open-source camp), but I have to base my decision on happy users and making a living, so I have compiled the findings I side with on limiting software below.

My trialware conclusions so far:

• Focus on making your software good rather than spending time on thwarting crackers. If it is popular enough, it will eventually be reverse engineered.
• Let the client enjoy the full functionality of your software...for a while. Dependent users are more likely to buy.
• Crippled software can sell 5 times more than software with donation nag screens, assuming it is any good.
• Make paying as easy as humanly possible.
• Perceived value counts, but keeping the price low may lead to impulse buys.
• Pricing is really hard.
• Offering a 100% no-questions-asked money-back guarantee will lead to more sales.

I intend to cripple my demo version, but I do want trial users to experience all the features. It's a smallish consumer application with a potentially large user base, so I'm looking at pricing it at ~$5, but I don't know. It may be worth $50 to some users or $1. I'll leave pricing for later. This is about crippling software.

An answer supported by real-world data grouped by software type would be more helpful, but any thoughts on this are appreciated.

Answer 1

If this is an app that will be used for a long time, go with 30 days non-nag (show "trial" in the titlebar and AboutBox, etc., but nothing that needs clicking), then nag for 7 days, then use an escalated crippling. Maybe some watermarking of the output. You probably do not need to fully disable the app. In order for the purchase/abandon decision to tip in your favor, you need to provide high-quality software, and you need to get the user "invested" before they get to that point. By "invested", I mean a combination of time, data, comfort, reliance, emotional attachment, etc.. Note that this strategy won't work well for one-off apps (like business card designers) and games (they can just pick up another game and learn to like it). But for any sort of business app, productivity tool, etc., it will work.

BTW, your observation about the low price wouldn't be true with business-oriented apps or "professional-level" utilities. If it seems low-priced, people will balk. Just today, I bought a HDMI-DVI cable on Amazon (3rd-party vendor) for 30 cents. I kept looking for the "gotcha". Shipping was 3 bucks. So I bit, as I was buying a nice Tent anyway. But I really don't have high hopes for this cable. It sounds weird, but I would have been more comfortable paying $12.50.