Free can attract.
And attract well.
See this two stage attraction and conversion?
Stage 1: When Lynda.com offered me a free trial (Yeah, I know it sounds so simple)
Stage 3: Now I’m on their list–and they’re selling. 
So where’s Stage 2?
Stage 2 was the consumption stage, right? So they got me to ‘consume’ for seven days, before they said, “Oops, you have to buy.” (I have to admit, they sent up a follow up email once–I think–in those seven days, reminding to go back to ‘consume’)
But was seven days enough?
Is seven days enough?
And how could Lynda.com have done it better?
4 responses so far ↓
1 Renee // May 5, 2007 at 8:28 am
Personalization of consumption. Lynda.com is huge–you could easily get overwhelmed by all their selections. They could possibly use category interest selection boxes you check when you sign up for a trial. Followup emails make “consumption” recommendation links that are relevant to your interests. The emails could also include tips on how to get the most out of their site, study tips and possibly testimonials.
2 Sean D'Souza // May 5, 2007 at 12:55 pm
How right you are.
See how easy it is to swamp people with stuff?
Indeed, they should have got you to choose just one factor/one program/and then got you to eat just a ’starter’. And once you’ve eaten the starter, only then moved you through the process.
There’s also the time factor, don’t you think?
3 Renee // May 5, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I agree, 7 days is not enough. They’re not thinking about the demanding circumstances of their major market. People in the graphics/video field are probably choosing online courses because they’re pressured for time. All you need is a client’s wackadoodle revisions to put you into overload and working 12-14 hour days. Not much time/interest left for trying out Lynda.com. What do you think would be a reasonable length of time? A month might be too long. 14 or 21 days sounds better.
You’ve mentioned the necessity of focus in many situations. It’s the “too much of a good thing” syndrome, say, walking into a restaurant and the dining area is piled up, wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling with jumbled platters of food. What most people are anticipating is that first heady, aromatic whiff of their favorite dish sitting in front of them and that first scrumptious bite. Not a mountain of food.
Sean, thank you for your intelligent, lively & provocative articles. Always food for thought–and action!
Speaking of which, all this consumption talk has made me ravenous. I’m off to consume comestibles.
4 Sean D'Souza // May 5, 2007 at 4:58 pm
And yet, like a parent, you want to give your ‘child’ the best. And that’s confusing, even when you know your child–so how do you dole out consumption to a group of prospects, whom you don’t know at all.
You still give them seven days, but you go first have to herd them into one section. So don’t give me the run of the ‘restaurant’. Ask me where I want to go. Ask me what I want to eat.
So is it veg?
Or non-veg?
Meat or fish?
Or if that’s too complex, then simply ask me to choose one thing–one program for example.
And then don’t give me access to everything.
Give me access to three core ‘wow factors’ in that program. Maybe something that’s easy to do, but has a ‘hidden factor’ (Which means I’ve not used or known about that feature). And wow me into the rest of the stuff.
This consumption is admittedly hard.
No one said it was easy. So we’ve got to keep it at the back of our minds all the time. Because customers do want everything–even when they know they can’t ‘eat it all.’
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