Maybe some of you have also been in the situation where you want to recommend LingQ to a friend who is interested in learning a language. I certainly have been there several times (because I love using LingQ) but I constantly see why my promotion bears no fruits. I can sum it up to three reasons:
Interface and usability: I know that we can expect major changes with LingQ 5.0 but I think it’s clear what I’m referring to. Aside from the design improvements I also hope that the major languages will get more guided courses because this makes life so much easier for unexperienced users. With this I’m not saying that LingQ should become some kind of Duolingo but that for instance someone who is new to learning languages gets a roadmap as a possible way to follow. For many courses you’re exposed to the utter wilderness after having gone through the Mini Stories. It would be desirable to see collaborations with other content creators so that at least most of the languages had a “course to go” for low intermediate learners.
Pricing: Guys, go with the flow. Babbel and Busuu are dropping constantly promotions and they have a far better pricing system than LingQ. How will you promote your system to a student with a lower income from the Dominican Republic who wants to learn English? LingQ is a great software, I wish more people could take advantage of it.
Trial: For real, the trial LingQ has right now is USELESS. What would you do with 20 LingQs?! That’s pointless, you can’t try anything. Give your paying users similar to Busuu the opportunity to send a limited number of trial invitations to their friends. Furthermore, a trial should be limited through the factor of time, not LingQs.
Well, I hope this is understood just as constructive feedback. I wish you the best of luck with the launch of LingQ 5.0. Happy language learning to everyone!
I completely agree that the trial should be adjusted. If you’re just figuring things out, you’ll use up 20 lingqs in the first lesson you open before you even know how it works. I like your suggestion about having a trial period to test things out instead.
I remember very clearly how utterly bewildered I felt in the few short minutes before I’d used up my 20 free LingQs. Auto LingQ was on (by default), and words were turning yellow so fast, I had no idea what was going on. It was perhaps the worst initial experience of any software I’ve used! Thankfully the support staff was forgiving (even if the software was not). They gave me, I think, a free week, which let me explore and commit to LingQ. Without that free week, I would have abandoned it.
Beautifully stated, and exactly what happened to me. However I didn’t think to contact customer service. I just assumed it was my fault, like trying to put together a bookshelf without understanding the instructions.
I think that the perspective of a brand-new user – to any software, service, system, whatever – is a really special and important perspective. It’s only for a short time that we can see these things with fresh eyes. And it’s hard to replicate this perspective if you are already familiar with the software/service/system. It’s not the only perspective that matters, but it does matter. … Which is to say, I don’t think our initial crash-and-burn experience with LingQ was our fault!
