W3i to Distribute Cozi’s Photo Collage Screen Saver Application

St. Cloud, Minnesota, July 14, 2009 – W3i, provider of marketing solutions that increase distribution, revenue, and engagement for Windows applications, announced today that Cozi is now part of W3i’s Application Network.  Cozi, a free web service that helps busy families organize and simplify their daily lives, is using W3i’s Application Network to introduce its Photo Collage Screen Saver to a broader audience and grow its user base.

“W3i’s Application Network can be a significant source of new users for growth companies with Windows applications and various types of plug-ins,” said Rob Weber, VP of Business Development at W3i.  “Cozi joins a network of application companies in their efforts to ramp up user acquisition at a known ROI.  During the installation process, W3i’s Application Network leverages the demand for popular free applications by matching users with companies seeking distribution, such as Cozi and their Photo Collage Screen Saver, giving the user a value-add.”

The Cozi Photo Collage Screen Saver automatically finds digital photos already stored on the PC from vacations, birthdays, kid’s sports events and other family activities and displays them in dynamically generated photo collages on the computer screen, organized by event.  Cozi also offers a shared family calendar and solutions to organize household lists, share information and stay in communication.

“W3i’s distribution capabilities are helping us reach new users with a focus on family,” said Robbie Cape, CEO and Co-Founder of Cozi. “W3i’s Application Network is an effective way for us to promote the Cozi Photo Collage Screen Saver and expose this audience to all of the benefits of Cozi.”      

About W3i:
W3i increases revenue, distribution, and engagement for Windows applications and plug-ins. W3i uses a network approach combining the demand for free applications monetized by the distribution of relevant applications when the consumer is in the installation mindset.  W3i’s Application Network uses Install IQ, W3i’s proprietary Windows installation manager, the first installer to be certified in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program.  Tested and optimized on over 250 million installs–currently 7.1 million installs monthly and growing, W3i will prove to be a valued distribution partner in growing your application business. To learn more, visit W3i’s Application Network.

About Cozi:
Cozi is a free web service that helps families organize and simplify their busy lives.  With Cozi, families have the tools to manage schedules, track shopping and to-do lists, organize household chores, and share family updates – all in one solution. Families can access Cozi from any computer at home or at work, and can get shopping lists, schedules and messages on any mobile phone. Located in Seattle, WA, Cozi was founded by veterans of Microsoft, Expedia, and Amazon with a vision for creating technology tuned to the family. Cozi has more than 1.5 million family members, and is available for free at www.cozi.com.

Press Contact:
Deborah Manthei
Director of Marketing Communications
320-257-7571
deborah.manthei@W3i.com

The names of companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Are you concerned that no one will notice your app?  There are now hundreds of thousands of apps available with a varying selection, accessible on almost any platform, whether it is mobile, web, or the desktop.  Is it possible for an app developer to build a sustainable business? 

Popular opinion suggest that you are not alone if you share these concerns:
Apple App Store: Overpopulated with Apps Nobody Uses – Mashable
The iPhone Success Stories That Are Fueling Copycats – mocoNews
Facebook Grew To 33,000 Apps And 400,000 Registered Developers Within 14 Months – Wikipedia

Our company, W3i, was founded by developing desktop apps to meet the demands of users.  Today, W3i is helping other developers distribute and generate revenue with their own desktop apps.  W3i installs more than 7 million desktop apps monthly and has distributed over 250M installs to date.

To help you succeed, I wanted to share with you a few suggestions: first, research the market and consider your resources; second, review and assess marketing options; and third, document and implement a marketing plan.

First:  Research the Market and Consider Your Resources

• Market Research
  • Market Focused: Before you build your app, research to see how much demand there is, as well as how competitive advertising inventory is.A few tools to consider:
    • Google Trends for keyword trends
    • Google AdWords: Keyword Tool for advertiser competition and keyword discovery.
    • Top 25 iPhone Apps
    • AppData.com for Facebook app and developer leaderboard
    • Wakoopa for the most popular Windows and web app
       
• Budget and Business Model Consideration
  • How much money can you afford to spend on marketing?
  • Have you explored business models to make money so that you can offset most of your user acquisition costs while you develop your primary business model(s)? You could even profit from the user acquisitions via paid promotions for your app if you have done a solid enough job with market research.Consider the following supplementary business models:
    • Windows
      • W3i’s Application Network – Get paid for the Windows application installations you distribute, which include software recommendations powered by W3i in your installer
    • Mobile
      • Google AdSense for Mobile Apps – Not just your typical text ads. Google now offers graphical ad units specifically optimized for mobile apps.
      • Greystripe – Recently, they launched a guaranteed CPM program because they were confident they could out pay their competition.
    • Facebook
      • Virtual Currency – Sell favor points leveraging Paypal or Zong or allow your users to earn them through taking offer-based advertising from Offerpal or SuperRewards.

Second: Review & Assess Marketing Options

• Consider alternative advertising distribution mechanisms
  • Windows
    • W3i’s Application Network – Access to 7M+ monthly installs. Pay only for completed installs. Target your desktop app using the user’s product interests, geography, required software, and more.
    • Upload.com’s Pay Per Download – A site for desktop app developers to submit downloads and purchase advertising for CNET’s Download.com. Pay for initiated downloads with their Pay Per Download program. Download.com generates 3M downloads per day according to a sales sheet they published as of May 2008. Because of the large number of apps competing on Download.com, you may find achieving significant scale to be challenging despite the high volume of completed downloads by users.
  • Widgets
    • Gigya – Syndicates your widget across the web.
    • ClearSpring – Syndicates your widget across the web including 50+ destinations.
    • W3i – Syndicate your widget to the millions of toolbars distributed by W3i.
  • Facebook
    • RockYou – Advertise your Facebook app within other Facebook apps.
  • Mobile
    • AdMob – Similar to RockYou, only you will be advertising your mobile app within other mobile apps. AdMob refers to this as the iPhone Download Exchange.
       
• Leverage social media to acquire users without advertising costs
  • Create a video demo for your product
    • Publish on YouTube

      • W3i put up demos of screensaver applications and within a short period of time has now generated 88,064 viewings throughYouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/ScreensaverCom

  • Create social networking accounts for your product
    • Allow your fans to help spread the word about your app and stay connected to the latest developments.
      • W3i created a Facebook account for its Screensaver.com applications and within a short time has 556 fans. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Screensavercom/56705948398
        
    • W3i created a Twitter account for its Screensaver.com apps and within a short time has 154 followers. http://twitter.com/screensavercom
      • Post comments at popular media outlets and include links to your app so that people interested in topics relating to your app are aware that it is available. This may also benefit your link popularity boosting your search engine rankings.

Third: Document & Implement a Marketing Plan

• Questions To Consider Answering In Your Marketing Plan
  • What is my positioning to users?
  • Who are my competitors? What makes them unique and valuable?
  • What are the top market segments that would be interested in my app?
  • What marketing strategies/tactics will I focus on for distribution?
  • How will I measure the success of my application?
  • What goals do I have for my application? What goals do I have with each of my marketing strategies or tactics?
• Implement The Marketing Plan
  • Prioritize based on the risk and reward.
  • Measure each strategy and tactic and change course as needed based on the best available facts.

I realize that distribution is a struggle for app developers and requires careful attention if one is to avoid the fate of so many quality apps that never get noticed or that are unable to generate sufficient funds to continue development.

W3i was founded in a dorm room; self-funded with no venture capital funding until after we succeeded with massive distribution many years later.

W3i has been continuously focusing on creating and distributing apps, using principles similar to those described in this post, allowing us to grow to the scale we are today.  Now we are committed to helping other app developers find similar success, and hope you consider W3i for any of your app distribution, revenue, or user engagement needs. To learn more, contact W3i.

Ryan Weber, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Entrepreneur and pioneer of Internet marketing focusing on increasing revenue and distribution for digital downloads.

Application discovery is a big problem.  While search engines index the entirety of the web, making it fairly easy to find content most relevant to my search query, trying to discover applications that meet my needs is a bit more difficult.  Where search engines utilize complex algorithms (see Google Page Rank) to determine importance of a page, searching through application indexes yield results that seem to be based on less sophisticated algorithms.  Seeing as applications are, arguably, more complex than a web page, the discovery process should be more robust.  Here are three ways that I think these indexes can improve application discoverability:

1. Download count isn’t the only thing that matters: If there’s one common bond between app indexes on the web, it’s that download count (or user count) seems to have the greatest influence on the results rank. Ok, I get it; more users must mean it’s a better application, right? Sure, fair indicator, but it’s not the only thing that matters. Give me more ways to sort the results. How about the ability of the app to solve a user’s problem? How important is an app to a user? App indexes need to figure this out. Implied data is good, explicit data is better. Look at usage, user life, reviews/ranks. All of this information matters when showing me relevant quality results.
2. Index Features: What if I’m looking for a particular feature in an application? Right now I am limited to two behaviors: One, download the app, see if it has the feature(s) I’m looking for, and uninstall if it doesn’t. Rinse and repeat. Two, navigate out of the index to the app site, try to find a feature list and make a decision from there. Features need to be clearly identified and meticulously indexed so my decision making process can be streamlined. Think of application indexes being a “decision engine”, just like Bing.
3. Eliminate the Techie Skew: Two of the main app indexes out there (Wakoopa and Software.Informer) require a user to install an application that indexes and then tracks your applications and their usage. But, let’s face it, the users that download these apps are skewed as techie users. While I consider myself a techie, I know there are other app user personas out there and that relevancy can only be improved by ensuring all apps get a fair representation from all constituents. These indexing services need mass appeal to provide a service that truly encompasses the world of apps.

App indexes are moving in the right direction towards solving the problem of application discovery.  I visit these sites regularly because it’s amazing to see what the thriving world of apps looks like when it’s indexed.   There is room for improvement, however.  Indexes like these should, and undoubtedly will, become better at enabling users to discover what apps will best solve their problems.  And don’t get me wrong, it’s no easy task; indexing applications and their related attributes is not like indexing web pages.  It’s not like you can pull a standardized feature set right out of an app; much of this information is crowd-sourced.  But it must improve; the discovery process needs to be more relevant, higher quality and more streamlined.  There needs to be a “killer app” of app indexes.

Eric Montag, Product Manager, W3i Holdings, LLC
Eric uses his experience in graphic design, mobile, and internet marketing to lead the charge in product research, planning, and execution, from both a consumer and business standpoint. 

About W3i
If you need help with increasing distribution, revenue, or engagement for your Windows applications, contact us.  W3i has over nine years experience with over 250 million installations. App marketers join W3i’s Application Network to grow their application companies.

Applications are an effective vehicle for keeping users connected to your content and re-enforcing your brand message.  Through your branded application, you increase repeat users that are more profitable than new users because there is minimal cost of acquisition.  Here are several things to consider for improving your apps effectiveness:

1. What is your objective?
   • Increase frequency of brand/content with existing users
   • Expand your reach to new users
   • Generate revenue
     • W3i’s Application Network helps Windows application providers generate revenue from the distribution of their applications.
2. How will you distribute?
   • Through your web-site, newsletter, or blog
   • As a recommendation with other software you distribute
   • Through paid advertisements
     • W3i’s Application Network provides Windows application advertisers with access to millions of installations every month. Target to users based on their technical profile, application interests, geography, and more.
3. Why should I create one now?
   • Stay top of mind with your fans
     • Do you feel that there is no need to be in the browser? Consider the impact of not acting. Your users are more accessible to content from competitors than from you.
4. How can I create a killer app?
   • Create convenience
     • What content do you have that your users would value accessing on a routine basis?
     • Don’t limit yourself to your own content. Consider what other content you might be able to syndicate to improve your relevancy. If you outsource the creation of your browser plug-in, ask the third party what content they have available.
     • Let your users customize your app to suit their needs
     • Consider whether creating different configurations for different segments is appropriate so that users can download what is most relevant from the start 
   • Fully leverage technical capabilities.
     • Would your app benefit from other desktop applications or the operating system?
       • Convenient access to relevant files
         • Encouraging users to share their local files with others on the web
         • Easier uploading of files to your service
         • Understanding the technical profile to filter content which is most appropriate
     • Would your content benefit from web browser features?
       • Detecting when the user visits a particular web-site to deliver an important message
         • Need to clearly disclose the functionality of your app and provide an easily understood value proposition
       • Enhancing the browser chrome
         • Display important information in real-time through the chrome
         • Toolbars are common, but there are other shortcuts and integration possibilities dependent on the browser your app is developed for 
   • Build Or Outsource
     • Is this core to your business?
     • What are your essential (urgent) features versus important (desirable) features?
     • Will you have resources to build and maintain your app internally?
       • Have you considered how you will manage upgrading the application?
       • Have you factored in maintenance for browser or operating system updates?
     • For most companies, when these factors are considered outsourcing is more cost-effective. Some technology providers, like W3i, will even pay you for creating and distributing your app using their platform.

 Contact W3i if you would like to learn more about engaging your user with a killer app, expanding your distribution, or generating revenue with a browser plug-in.

Ryan Weber, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Entrepreneur and pioneer of Internet marketing focusing on increasing revenue and distribution for digital downloads.

The allure of the web widget is simple and seductive – the power of technology connecting millions of users with a marketer’s brand.  Unfortunately, beneath the luster of massive scale widget marketing lies a costly truth some marketers aren’t prepared to face: depleted budgets with no intelligent ROI because of costly distribution fees.  

BrandWeek reports that installation or engagement fees can range from $1 to $5 per widget install. According to comScore, nearly 148 million U.S. Internet users viewed widgets in November 2007, representing 81 percent of the total Internet audience. MySpace.com widgets had the widest audience, reaching more than 57 million Internet users. Slide.com ranked second with 39.2 million viewers. Google.com had the sixth widest widget-viewing audience with more than 19 million viewers. Translation for interactive marketers: These numbers can add up to real cash quickly and drain most marketing budgets.

Internet marketing agency W3i, who has earned a reputation as a Silicon Valley-like company in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, is raising the IQ of widget marketing. Founded in 2000, the Minnesota company built its profitable legacy by giving away high-demand downloads for free through an ad-supported business model. Through Freeze.com and other websites, W3i distributes over 4 million downloads each month. With just 60 employees, 2007 gross sales were $27 million.

Recognizing the opportunity and fear in the marketplace among widget marketers, W3i created a clever way to offset user acquisition and maintenance costs by layering on an additional, ad-supported revenue stream during the download process through a proprietary installation system they developed, aptly called, “Install IQ.” 

The way the system works is simple and user-friendly. In short, Install IQ bundles the primary widget download with other high-demand software — like the Yahoo! Toolbar and the Weatherbug Desktop widget. If a user accepts one of these optional offers during the install, the widget marketer makes money – up to a $1 in most cases. To prevent inadvertent installs, Install IQ deploys a unique download manager that allows the user to pause or cancel at any time.

The intelligence inside W3i’s unique installation system continues to impress by allowing for customization, optimization, and suppression. Marketers can leverage their brand equity throughout the entire installation process with images and text. The bundled software offered during installation can be optimized for target marketing. And if the software is already installed on the user’s desktop, Install IQ suppresses the offer and suggests an alternative download. Finally, in an age when best practices in privacy on the Web are carefully monitored, Install IQ holds up under scrutiny by being the first installation system to receive certification in the TRUSTe Trusted Download program.

A number of desktop widget marketers are currently using Install IQ and taking advantage of the high-volume rates W3i has negotiated with top industry partners who are part of W3i’s Download Network.

Case Study #1

An audio and multimedia player deploying Install IQ generated $86,280 in revenue during the first month of use. After achieving such phenomenal success, the online marketing firm representing the software added a dozen more applications to W3i’s installation process.

Case Study #2

A social networking profile editor using Install IQ’s optimization feature increased EPC rates by 33%, install rates by 44%, and CTR rates by 16%, resulting in a 34% increase in revenue. 

Case Study #3

A utility software application that speeds up PC performance earned $263,089 over the course of ten months using Install IQ.

Conclusion

With Install IQ, clients of W3i are monetizing their desktop widget channel in an unprecedented fashion, generating meaningful revenue with minimal drain on their internal resources because nearly all of the set up and on-going maintenance is performed by W3i staff. Install IQ also works with any type of downloadable digital content like music, video, and games. With such a unique opportunity now available in so many flavors, you can take the fear out of widget marketing and embrace the future of software downloads.

For more information about increasing your revenue using Install IQ, click here.     

About W3i:
W3i, owner of Freeze.com, delivers proven, integrated desktop marketing and mobile marketing solutions. With offers and services tested and optimized on over 15 million unique users each month and over 4 million downloads, W3i can increase your revenue from digital content or provide a receptive consumer base for customized, targeted marketing programs. Solutions include: software marketing for shareware and freeware, software bundling and ad-supported installations. The three Weber brothers, owners of W3i, are recent winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2006 Award in the Minnesota and Dakotas region. To learn more about W3i, visit www.w3i.com.