OT Do free versions work?

Hi

I sell a business invoice application in the UK and in an effort to drum-up
new customers I am considering releasing a free but feature limited version
of my application. My hope is that people who would not otherwise try my
software (mostly because they don't think they need an electronic invoice
system - lots of people still like paper) will try it and then when they get
used to it realise that they would prefer to move to the full version.

Before I make a free version available I would appreciate any advice or
comments based on other peoples' experiences, i.e. in general does it work,
are there any down-sides that aren't immediately obvious.

If I were to release a free version I would still require the user to give
me their business and email details and I would then generate a serial
number for their personal use, this way I will at the very least be able to
target potential users with special offers etc.

Kind regards

Chris F

PS. I should add that I am not aware of any other vendor offering free
software to my target audience.


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