by Ellen Craw, Ilium Software and Bits du Jour
[Editor's Note: This a 47hats.com Vendor Profile, where I invite someone from a company that I think has something interesting to offer microISVs to make their pitch here. Interested in doing the same? email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com.]
Thanks, Bob, for letting me post. I’m writing to introduce Bits du Jour - a “one deal a day” site for Windows and Mobile software.

If you haven’t heard of one deal a day - it’s a very popular trend right now. Started in 2004 by woot!, there are now over 150 sites that sell one thing only, each day, for a big discount and in limited quantities (see a complete list).

Bits du Jour takes this approach and applies it to Windows and mobile software. It’s a great way to get your title in front of a few thousand people who wouldn’t see it otherwise. And the limited-time big discount means that people who are interested will try it fast, rather than putting it in their “do this sometime” pile. We all know how few of us ever get to that pile.

I’m a big fan of deep discounting for software titles, if it’s done carefully. Offering big discounts too often will devalue your title. But doing it occasionally is a great way to get people off the fence about making a purchase, or even about installing a trial. Bits du Jour isn’t the only way to offer a big discount - if you have something to celebrate, like an anniversary, or winning a big award - a big discount on your own site is a great way to draw attention to it, and make additional sales as well. But if you don’t have a good reason (or excuse), using a third-party site gets around doing anything that looks like just lowering your price. And Bits du Jour gets a different audience than your own site will. People go to your site because they’re looking for your specific kind of product. They go to Bits du Jour to find a bargain, or an idea for software they might not have realized they need.

Will you make much money giving a big discount on your product? Probably not. Bigger discounts sell more, but of course they make less per sale. But you’ll get more users for your product, which translates to more people you can sell upgrades and add-ons to. From an SIC 2006 presentation: people who have already bought one of your products are seven times more likely to buy another one than someone who has never bought anything from you. If you send emails out to your mailing list, current customers are thirty times more likely to respond to the promotion. You can easily turn sales you make into more sales.

And there’s no cost to you - whether you have the sale on your own site or use Bits du Jour. BDJ works as an affiliate, directing sales to your own cart, so just gets a commission on any sales it makes. There’s no upfront cost - and very little work - for you.

You can get complete information on the partner area of Bits du Jour, and of course I’m happy to answer questions as well. And for Mac developers - check out MacZot, a similar approach for Macintosh titles.