What We Can Learn From Twitter // Random Thoughts
by Josh Levine
A common marketing tool is to offer free trials. The thinking goes that if I give you 30 days to start using my product, you’ll discover how much you like it and want to pay. Or in the case of software, it’s that once you get all of your data in, the switching costs will be higher than the cost I want to charge you.
These companies need to learn from Twitter.
You may remember a time — say 6 months ago — when most people you spoke to thought Twitter was completely worthless and didn’t understand why anyone would waste their time. I’m sure some people still feel that way, but over time Twitter’s usefulness has increased exponentially as more people are using it and figuring out better ways to leverage the technology.
If you’re giving me a 30-day free trial, chances are you’re not allowing me enough time to get past the phase of not fully understanding how it will benefit me. We’re all pretty busy, and 30 days passes in what seems like about 5 minutes. When I consider things like CRM or project-management solutions, I know it’s going to take me at least that long to even get up to speed.
This doesn’t mean free trials should never be used, but creative marketers may need to think beyond the obvious. I’d probably not recommend using it for software — from my experience the free level that can be upgraded to premium is far more effective.
Technology is not the Problem // Random Thoughts
by Josh Levine
You may have seen this New York Times article making the controversial statement that the DVR may be helping, rather than hurting TV ratings. They ...
Marketing Playlist for Week Ending 8.21 // Reading for Rebels
by Josh Levine
What we're reading this week: Facebook and Gaming Connect - Business Wire Gaming site, Candystand.com teamed up with Facebook to allow users to sign on to play ...
Science of the Time // Headlines: Rebel Makes News
by Josh Levine
The newest edition of Science of the Times is fresh off the press on the web, including a piece by your humble servant about LA's ...
MySpace // Don’t Believe The Hype
by Josh Levine
Social networks are not brands... A recent TechCrunch article quotes MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta as saying “Our users don’t know if we’re a social portal, ...
Make $ on Twitter? // Random Thoughts
by Josh Levine
While we're on the subject of Twitter and how to do things that aren't stupid, let's check out Amanda Palmer's story, "How an Indie Musician ...
@MakeMeLaugh // Random Thoughts
by Josh Levine
Mashable's article on "85 Comedians to Follow on Twitter" gave me a business idea. If you're a comedian, why not develop your brand by spitting ...
The Internet is Bad // Rebels At Large
by Dennis White
From Josh: Dennis White is one of the most creative people I know. When he's not inventing new names to call himself (Static Revenger, ...
Micro-blogging // Hate It or Love It
by Josh Levine
I've been wondering how long it would take to see various iterations of Twitter's micro-blogging revolution, other than on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, who ...
Transparency Is All There Is // Random Thoughts
by Josh Levine
What exciting times we're living in! For those of us whose values include transparency, integrity, and natural law, it's pretty amazing to watch the chickens ...
