4 ms·

Ask HN: Strategy for distributing promotion codes

7 points by matt1 16y ago

I spent a good chunk of today implementing promotion codes for my freemium web app and now that I've got it in place, I'm not sure what my distribution strategy should be. A valid promotion code will remove any restrictions for a user, the same as paying for an account upgrade would do. My plan is to create promotion codes tailored to specific bloggers and email them with a short pitch and the promotion code, which they can distribute to their audience if they choose write about it. I'm not sure how many free account upgrades I should specify per promotion though. Too few, and I worry it'll be ineffective; too many, and I fear that no one will need to pay to upgrade, which is the ultimate goal. Any suggestions? PS. To show my thanks to HackerNews for its guidance, and to celebrate the introduction of promotion codes, I invite you to sign up for my web app, Preceden, a tool for making timelines, at http://www.preceden.com and upgrade for free with a promotion code of THANKSHN, which will let 5 people upgrade for free (maybe I should have made it 10...)

Osiris 16y ago
I'd like to know the same thing. Is is appropriate to offer bloggers free license keys or codes in hope of a review? I tried emailing the editors of a lot of online tech websites about my app and had very little success. I'd love to know how other people have been able to market their apps through blogs/etc.
- mahipal 16y ago
  For iPhone apps, it's more than appropriate--it's practically necessary. For other apps, it seems like the right thing to do if you want them to be able to review the entirety of your app.
andrewljohnson 16y ago
I offer promo codes to whoever asks first, for my iPhone app. I ask they promote it but don't have requirements. I will sometimes send them to bloggers, but mostly just by linking an offer on my home page.
mattgratt 16y ago
I'm a startup marketer and I write for an iPhone blog, so I thought I'd share the best thing I've seen. The very best practice is to a) send a blogger a pitch along w/ a license code. Also send us a video and some pre-made quotes. Your story needs to be easy to write (and ideally an actual story, but we'll take what we can get.) There are some items for which sending a license code does not make sense - for instance, enterprise software, security software, basically things we couldn't really use or evaluate. ("Another day, still no viruses, UI looks good. 5 stars.") If you think we can successfully use your product, send a license code, but err on the side of caution. A screencast might really can be very helpful for some personal productivity products, especially if it's something built to handle complexity. b) give him/her some set small number of license codes to give away (5 or 10 if you're looking at something w/ a higher price point, more for something lower.) Free trials are really better here than license codes - something that turns off in a month would be just fine. c) give him/her a discount code that they can send to their audience/followers and their followers/audience will get 20% off. This is actually a great alternative to giving people free licenses to give away, and in my experience works pretty well. And, of course, it will give you a much better idea of how your media outreach is working so you know who you should take out to dinner.
- matt1 16y ago
  Thanks, this is excellent advice.

7 points by matt1 16y ago

Osiris 16y ago

I'd like to know the same thing. Is is appropriate to offer bloggers free license keys or codes in hope of a review? I tried emailing the editors of a lot of online tech websites about my app and had very little success. I'd love to know how other people have been able to market their apps through blogs/etc.

mahipal 16y ago
For iPhone apps, it's more than appropriate--it's practically necessary. For other apps, it seems like the right thing to do if you want them to be able to review the entirety of your app.

andrewljohnson 16y ago

I offer promo codes to whoever asks first, for my iPhone app. I ask they promote it but don't have requirements. I will sometimes send them to bloggers, but mostly just by linking an offer on my home page.

mattgratt 16y ago

I'm a startup marketer and I write for an iPhone blog, so I thought I'd share the best thing I've seen. The very best practice is to a) send a blogger a pitch along w/ a license code. Also send us a video and some pre-made quotes. Your story needs to be easy to write (and ideally an actual story, but we'll take what we can get.) There are some items for which sending a license code does not make sense - for instance, enterprise software, security software, basically things we couldn't really use or evaluate. ("Another day, still no viruses, UI looks good. 5 stars.") If you think we can successfully use your product, send a license code, but err on the side of caution. A screencast might really can be very helpful for some personal productivity products, especially if it's something built to handle complexity. b) give him/her some set small number of license codes to give away (5 or 10 if you're looking at something w/ a higher price point, more for something lower.) Free trials are really better here than license codes - something that turns off in a month would be just fine. c) give him/her a discount code that they can send to their audience/followers and their followers/audience will get 20% off. This is actually a great alternative to giving people free licenses to give away, and in my experience works pretty well. And, of course, it will give you a much better idea of how your media outreach is working so you know who you should take out to dinner.

matt1 16y ago
Thanks, this is excellent advice.