the startups.com platform about startups.comCheck out the new Startups.com - A Comprehensive Startup University
Education
Planning
Mentors
Funding
Customers
Assistants
Clarity
Categories
Business
Sales & Marketing
Funding
Product & Design
Technology
Skills & Management
Industries
Other
Business
Career Advice
Branding
Financial Consulting
Customer Engagement
Strategy
Sectors
Getting Started
Human Resources
Business Development
Legal
Other
Sales & Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Public Relations
Branding
Publishing
Inbound Marketing
Email Marketing
Copywriting
Growth Strategy
Search Engine Marketing
Sales & Lead Generation
Advertising
Other
Funding
Crowdfunding
Kickstarter
Venture Capital
Finance
Bootstrapping
Nonprofit
Other
Product & Design
Identity
User Experience
Lean Startup
Product Management
Metrics & Analytics
Other
Technology
WordPress
Software Development
Mobile
Ruby
CRM
Innovation
Cloud
Other
Skills & Management
Productivity
Entrepreneurship
Public Speaking
Leadership
Coaching
Other
Industries
SaaS
E-commerce
Education
Real Estate
Restaurant & Retail
Marketplaces
Nonprofit
Other
Dashboard
Browse Search
Answers
Calls
Inbox
Sign Up Log In

Loading...

Share Answer

Menu
Website Promotion: How do I sell language courses without having a fancy, expensive website?
DK
DK
David Kelly, Marketing & Operations Lead at SendFox, KingSumo answered:

I'm going to give you advice that's contrarian to what you'll find online. Why? Because most advice out there I've noticed is by people who haven't actually done it.

These strategies worked for our business to generate real, actual revenue for selling a digital product — and it's inexpensive to start.

1) Outreach to friends — with a catch. Everyone has heard the advice that you should email your friends who are interested. I think that's true, and we've closed roughly 20% of our friends who we emailed about our product (or texted). But even for those friends who aren't interested, a good trick is to say "I know you're not interested, but who's one more person who might be? I'm happy to give you an affiliate commission if you refer someone." Because digital products are so inexpensive to produce, you could give $5 to a friend for referring someone because the margins on the sale are typically so great.

2) Partner giveaways. Giveaways still work well. We have a sister company that generates five-figures in net new revenue each month from giveaways. Their secret is partnering with other companies. Use a tool like BuzzSumo (or just Google) to find products in your niche. And then use a free giveaway tool (disclosure: my company makes one, but I don't want this post to be biased so I won't name it... just Google and use whatever you want). You want to aim for 3-5 partners. Just reach out and ask for a free product, in exchange for linking to them and mentioning them on the giveaway page/your promotion emails. That's typically good enough. You will fail with people who turn you down, but the benefit is partners will help you cross-promote which give you 2-5x the number of entrants. You can then promote your product to all your new email subscribers.

Good luck! I hope this helps.

Talk to David Upvote • Share
•••
Share Report

Answer URL

Share Question

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Google+
  • Share by email
About
  • How it Works
  • Success Stories
Experts
  • Become an Expert
  • Find an Expert
Answers
  • Ask a Question
  • Recent Answers
Support
  • Help
  • Terms of Service
Follow

the startups.com platform

Startups Education
Startup Planning
Access Mentors
Secure Funding
Reach Customers
Virtual Assistants

Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.