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One if not the biggest computer magazine for consumers in my country has approached us with the offer to do a thorough workshop of our consumer software. In exchange they want to distribute the full version free of charge. Is this kind of deal usually worth it?

We are working on a major update which could reap some benefits of a wider distribution but don't have a release date yet.

What can and can't come out of this if we take the offer?

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You could incur massive support costs for zero revenue. – CaseySoftware Jan 12 at 19:01

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Many software offers limited time free upgrading say a year, or charge for major updates. If you are one of them, this should be a good opportunity.

What you gain:

  1. Big exposure. The magazine reaches lots of consumers you can't touch.
  2. Credibility increase. Your software featured in famous mag! You can even refer the article in your sales pitch/website.
  3. Lots of new customers. They will use free version at first, but will be charged when major updates or free upgrading expires.

What you may loss:

  1. Revenue. These copies are for free. Some potential customer who want to buy your product may get the free one now.

  2. Complain. It's possible some paid customer will complain your product is free elsewhere.

So, something you may consider for this decision:

  1. Audience overlap. Can the mag reach lots of consumers you can't reach normally?

  2. Method of charging for updates. Do you have method ready for charging the free users in the future? Can you reach them by email?

  3. Version design. How about you make this free version a slightly bit different from your normal version, say remove a little unusual functions, say adding a special logo tailored to this mag?

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