JapanesePod101.com Marketing
As you may know, I'm a fan of the free Japanese Pod 101 podcasts that you can get off of iTunes. But I'm not a big fan of their marketing.
They are currently (written originally in February 2008, but still true in March 2009) offering a free week-long trial to their premium services. This is a good thing. But, each day, they send you a lengthy "better sign-up now" deal with some kind of special offer.
Some people may not object to this, but I would prefer an offer that is straightforward and upfront.
For example, look at this e-mail from day four:
SUBJECT: Mr. NAME, I'm confused. Are you getting my e-mails? BODY: Hi Mr. NAME, There's something that has me confused. I noticed you haven't upgraded your JapanesePod101.com membership to Premium yet and that you only have 4 days left in your trial period. I'm sure there's a good reason you haven't signed up yet. I know that you may not have had the time yet to check out everything we have to offer, like.. * Beginner to Advanced Audio (Mp3) Lessons * Line-By-Line Audio Transcripts * Pronunciation Practice * A Portable iPod Audiobook * Word Dictionary * Kanji Dictionary * Interactive Content, Quizzes And Flashcards * Extra Help With Grammar * Practice"Japanese Language Proficiency Tests" (JLPT) * And more. You still have 4 days to check out the above here: http://www.japanesepod101.com/learning-center4 But I don't want you to forget to extend your membership before your trial is over... so I want to offer you an EXTREMELY special discount if you'll upgrade right now. Monthly Premium membership to JapanesePod101.com costs $25. That means there are hundreds paying us $300/year for a Premium membership. However, there's a loophole you can exploit... If you sign up for a year's Premium Membership, normally we'll give you a heavy discount to $180, but if you act through the special link below in the next 24 hours we'll let you in for 12 months at just $135. http://www.japanesepod101.com/special-yearly-rate That's a 55% savings just for upgrading your membership now. You’ll need your username and password to sign up, so here they are just in case you don't have them handy: Username: USERNAME Password: PASSWORD So if you're not doing anything this moment, I recommend clicking that link now before you forget and accidentally miss this special offer. If you're too busy at the moment, make sure to put this email in a safe place and try to act within 24 hours (while the offer is still valid). Thanks for reading, Peter Galante JapanesePod101.com Learn Japanese with FREE Daily Podcasts http://www.japanesepod101.com contactus@japanesepod101.com ------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from our periodic e-mail messages, please click the following link:Why don't they give this offer to potential subscribers up front? I don't like sales models where the customers who pay the first price they see are suckers, which is the way this site is set up.
I like to trust the price I pay won't suddenly decrease if I say no, so I can't recommend actually becoming a member of the site. At least all of their best content is free!
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I felt the same way too. I
I felt the same way too. I really like their podcasts but felt their marketing seems like of "sleazy" to me. Kind of degrades the image of their website considering the high quality of the material...
JP101's tactics.
I was disgusted by those tactics as well. I was also disgusted by the amount of self-advertising they do on their own site and podcasts, even after you've paid.
Yes, I signed up for a year. I did so only after the full trial week because of the sleezy emails, though. I have been pretty thoroughly disappointed.
The 'lessons' at the beginner level are stupid. They consist of mostly talking in English and joking with each other, and very little actual lesson. In fact, they eventually start putting just the Japanese Speaking part as a separate audio file in the podcast! Lately, there's 3-5 extra pieces that come along with each 'lesson' in the podcast now.
At the end of a lesson, I always -feel- like I've learned something, but it's not long after that I realize I remember nothing from it.
The intermediate level (which I'm not good enough for yet, really) is supposed to be more Japanese and less English, but even the few of those I listened to, they started apologizing for using so much English.
So no, take it from a subscriber: I don't recommend it.
jp101
Maybe there is too much in your face advertising from JP101 "i ignore it", but for beginning Japanese, I found it useful. However, you said that the advanced classes are only at the level of a first year university student? I do not agree. I have not met any 1st, 2nd or 3rd year student at college / university that can follow along proficiently. Since you have done the 一級 test, perhaps it is basic for you, but for people in their second or third year of college, this is still advanced.
Yes, you may say that I was not a high level student. Yes, you may say that I attended a poor University. But from the students I have talked to, including Japanese friends, this is NOT basic.
Just my 2cents worth.