DISQUS

Dave Navarro · 1 year ago

I've been holding back on doing this based on price, but $49 looks attractive ...

One question - without a screen to tell you which track you're on, wouldn't the shuffle be a little confusing for figuring out what tracks are available and where you are?

shane · 1 year ago

dude that a super simple and great idea!

wonder if you can set up an rss feed to a pod cast in there as well so your stream is pre-populated and they get further ones if they don't wipe it.

John Jantsch · 1 year ago

Shane - you could certainly suggest the feed idea in your audio but they would have to subscribe on their own using iTunes or some other podcatcher.

John Jantsch · 1 year ago

Dave,

Yes it's not perfect from that standpoint - heck, let's go for it and get the video one and just create a bunch of video messages, of course the $399 price tag would change the ROI a bit.

Susan · 1 year ago

The trouble is, the Shuffle is just not that good for things like podcasts, audiobooks, etc. But the good news is, I actually replaced my old-style Shuffle for just this reason with a 2GB Sansa which I got for only $35, and it *does* have a display. So if you weren't set on the idea of giving away an Apple product, you could probably find a low-cost MP3 player with an actual display that would work just as well for this idea.

The Shuffle is brilliant for music, but since I listen to more audiobooks than music, it wasn't as good for me as I'd hoped.

wannabeMogul · 1 year ago

A great marketing idea. It would be even better if iPods would allow users to have access to the files. Giving them an iPod would allow them to listen to your audio, but only on the iPod. There are very few easy ways to get the audio off of the iPod to keep/archive.

Using a simple zip drive would also be another similar solution. It might actually be better to use a zip drive because if the recipient wants to quote your audio or reuse it somehow, they will need access to the files.

John Jantsch · 1 year ago

Hey Susan,

Fine idea and the display is a good add-on - part of the appeal of course is that people are a bit gaga over iPod anything. I think the device itself would sell some product.

Cindy @ LifeLovesMe · 1 year ago

What an amazing idea! Now if only I had something to market I would definitely use it...

Doug Mitchell · 1 year ago

Darn. I thought I was unique :) I actually deliver the latest 8GB nano pre-charged and with our content pre-loaded. Since we use audio and video, a screen was requisite.

We actually don't tell the clients about this "bonus" we offer. We simply send it out with a bunch of other goodies to sear our brand into their brains.

Our subscription price supports this $200 "freebie". If your business model will support a mere $50 Shuffle giveaway...you'll certainly be more memorable.

We do the same thing with web cam/mic combos so our clients can video chat with us. Granted, IT departments sometimes don't allow it, but that doesn't stop the client from having early meetings from home with us...or just using the web cam to chat with Grandma in Peoria. For the $20-$50 investment...we believe we're being more sticky.