Publishing a free software online

[Fox]

Hi everybody,

I need some advice/thoughts/comments on publishing a small software online.

Let's say I developed a small windows app and it's all done. And It'll be a free app.
The next step is to publish it to a website like Brothersoft right?

And is it possible to earn a profit from free apps?

Thanks.

[Saman]

I don't think you can earn a profit from a free app. You only have following options.

1. Find a sponsor who will put a small ad on your app's interface
2. Collect email address at registration and send occasional emails from sponsors
3. Advertise a professional version with some more features than the free one

[Fox]

Thanks for the reply.

Option no.1 and 2 you posted seems interesting. Can you give some more details about where to start?
I have zero experience with sponsors.

Thanks.

[Saman]

First of all find the target users of your software. Say this is for mobile users. You can contact a mobile carrier and see whether they are interested to sponsor your application. You need to convince them how often the users will see their ad.

So the first thing is to find the target crowd. They find a sponsor in the interested field.

Good luck!

[Fox]

I see.
But my app is a song downloader. When you type the names of the songs it will automatically download them. So the target users will be music lovers I guess. I'll search for a sponsor. If you know any company that accepts things like that, please tell me.

Thanks.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Saman]

Upload.com (A CNet site) seems providing the service you want. Looks like you need to bundle some 3rd party optional applications along with your setup. Have a look at https://upload.cnet.com/2706-21_5-973-1.html.