The Linguist - language learning should be fun

Help LingQ Win a Design Contest !

For anyone who is so inclined, I would like your help in promoting LingQ. For those who are not so inclined, please continue following my blog in any case.

LingQ was recently entered  in a design contest, based on the recent redesign of our site. The contest is for websites which completed a design project using service providers, designers, developers etc.. from Odesk, an online services marketplace.

Help our design win the contest by voting early and voting often! Click on this link, http://tinyurl.com/yl8tnz4, to cast your vote. Or, click on the button in the sidebar.

Winning the contest should help us promote LingQ. Many thanks to those who vote.

Brad Pitt on LingQ?

Should Brad Pitt use LingQ? I think so. Here is what he had to say in an interview with Parade magazine

His foreign fantasy. 

“I wish there had been an emphasis on learning a foreign language where I grew up. It frustrates the hell out of me. I’ve studied French. I don’t speak it. I’m working on it. It’s real slow going. Oh, how I suffer! Those synapses never formed! They’re dry-docked for good!”

Now how do I get the message over to him? Brad, come to LingQ and get your synapses firing again.

Maybe he could tutor English at the same time.I wonder if he would be a popular tutor?

Marketing and the impulse buyer.

Someone told me today that at LingQ we are missing out on 95% of the market, the impulse buyer. 95% of people who buy Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur never use them, or use them a little and do not continue. They buy them in a store on an impulse. The product then sits at home on a shelf, hardly used.

The impulse joiner of LingQ either never does anything, or does a little and quits. Only the serious learner stays with the system, and only a small portion of those ever become paying members. We are aiming at a small segment of  small segment.

I agreed with him, and of course we would also love to get revenue from the impulse buyer but, 1) We do not have a package that can be sold in stores 2) We cannot afford to build a brand, that costs a lot of marketing money. 3) We rely on gradually improving the product, with the help of users, free and paying, and if we are successful in doing this, the word will spread 4) We think there are enough serious learners in the world to support what we are doing. 

We hope that some of the changes we are now introducing will make it easier for people to use and enjoy LingQ. We have a few more steps yet to take to improve some of our functions and the way members interact. We believe we will reach a tipping point. We think we have not yet scratched the surface. Very few people know of LingQ.

What do you think of different language systems available on the Web?

I wonder if any of my readers have tried Live Mocha, Mango and the ChinesePod, ItalianPod series, or other competitive products. I wold be interested in hearing about the strengths and weaknesses of these different websites, some of which have won awards.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of LingQ?

How to increase our traffic at LingQ.

I believe that LingQ is the best language learning site on the web. Many of our loyal users agree. Yet when I look at the rankings of different language websites I see a different story.

What can we do about it? Are there things that you, the readers of this blog, can do to help us, if you like LingQ?

The Alexa rankings are as follows. LingQ is not even close.

Livemocha         4,968

Rosetta Stone   16,531

englishtown         4,427

LingQ              254,417

We do not have the means to pay for major advertizing or public relations campaigns. Most of our limited resources go into development and customer service. This blog and my youtube videos are part of our PR effort, as are articles that I occasionally write for more influential blogs. Our EnglishLingQ podcasts, and other languageLingQ podcasts are another means of promoting the site. My radio appearances, and podcast interviews also drive traffic.

I am curious to know if there are "guerilla marketing" opportunities that we could use, that would allow us to grow gradually, within our means. I welcome ideas on what we could do better?

How many people are serious about language learning

Language learning is a lot of work. It takes a lot of time and effort to really improve in a language. It takes commitment. You cannot just go to someone who will correct your mistakes, or your accent, and then you will be all set.

Many language systems are sold in stores, but 1) people often never really do anything with them or 2) they are content to learn to say "hello" and "how are you." What percentage of language learners are prepared to commit the time and effort required to really learn to speak another language?

What do you think? How should this affect LingQ's strategy?

Rosetta Stone guarantee

I have read that Rosetta Stone offers a guarantee if you buy directly from them. If you do not like the program you can return it, in other words satisfaction guaranteed. I am sure there are people who never use their Rosetta Stone, and some who do not like it, and I guess a small percentage of these people return it. Good marketing.

This evening I was watching television with my wife, when I saw Michael Phelps the Olympic swimmer describing how he was using Rosetta Stone to learn Mandarin. The ad said that Rosetta Stone guarantees that it is the "fastest way to learn a language".

I am curious about several things.
1) When do they consider a language to be learned?
2) If person A learns faster on another system  than person B on Rosetta Stone, then person B can get their money back. This is the same as the satisfaction guarantee. The implication is, however, that their system is the fastest way to learn. I wonder what, if any, data they have to back this inference. I wonder if they need to have data, however arrived at, to support this boast.

I realize that they do not say that it is faster, they just guarantee that it is. Good marketing I guess.

We like to say that LingQ is simply the best way to learn languages. We believe it. We have no proof. But the word "best" is a little more general and subjective than the word fastest, which suggests that some kind of objective test or measurement has been applied.

At any rate, I am impressed at the amount of money Rosetta Stone has available to spend on advertizing. I wonder if Michael Phelps will "learn" Mandarin faster on Rosetta Stone, than if he tried another method, or if he will learn it at all. It really does not matter. I am happy to see language learning promoted and big name stars involved in promoting language learning.

In fact I would love to see those those LPGA Korean golfers, who need to improve their English, try LingQ. Or maybe Barack Obama, who has spoken out in favour of Americans learning more languages, can get on LingQ and learn Spanish to get more support in the Hispanic community in the US.

Meanwhile, we are happy that our users like LingQ,  here is what some of them have said.

LingQ is a killer app!

A report on LingQ was just posted on a site called Killer Startups.

http://www.killerstartups.com/eCommerce/Lingqcom---Learn-Languages-Online/

This is an opportunity to make more people aware of LingQ. If you want to help LingQ, it would certainly help LingQ if you go this site (just click on the link) and then, at the site, click on the "Killers" button, with the number on it, on the top right hand side .

Every time this button is clicked the number increases. A high number will increase the awareness of LingQ on the web, and make more people come to have a look at our site.  If you would like to help us, please click on the link and then click on the "Killers" button. Many thanks if you do so, but do not feel any obligation.

http://www.killerstartups.com/eCommerce/Lingqcom---Learn-Languages-Online/

Welcoming video at www.thelinguist.com

The Linguist web site is now a source of content and information for language learners. It is full of content in many languages, available free of charge. It takes advantage of the established name of TheLinguist.com and attracts a lot organic visitors because of all the content on the site. Thus it is a way of explaining our method of language learning and telling people about LingQ.

I am going to redo the videos that are there now in different languages, because they are out of date.

I have started doing a few new videos and would appreciate any feedback on the content, length or any other aspect of these videos. I have only done the English, French and Japanese ones.

More to come, but first I would like some feedback, if possible.

Seven habits to get lucky

Here is the podcast

I believe that we need luck to succeed. I believe I have been lucky in business and in life. Recently I submitted a short paper on seven habits that help us get lucky. I will only submit the headings here with reference to my present activities.

But I believe these are key. Napoleon did not want brave or intelligent marshals, he wanted lucky ones. If I want to get lucky in spreading the word about LingQ, I need to follow the steps that got me here. But there are no guarantees.

1) Act rashly but do not bet the farm.

    That is the whole LingQ project in a nutshell

2) Trust others.

We will only get there with enthusiastic members and tutors, and we have them

3) Play your strong cards.

I will stay on subject and that is language learning

4) Give more than you take.

We will continue to provide ideas, advice, and  free resources

5) Get and stay fit. 

    I work out physically, and mentally with my Russian learning.

6) Be a good communicator.

I am trying.

 7) Be true to what you are doing.

We believe in what we are doing, and we believe in doing it well.