Taking InstantCert to the Big Time

[sgloer]

Very interesting story Frank, and thanks for taking the time to fight for us!

[Urbannaja]

Hmm...what about advertising on MySpace.com? Seems that a TON of people use it, and there are ads everywhere. Dunno though, might be expensive.

[Blue]

there's always facebook as well...it's a controlled environment with all students =]

[rome]

Actually, that is *exactly* how I found out about IC. I was searching for CLEP material, ran across an auction for a membership here that explicitly stated that I did not need to make a bid to get a discount, came to the web site, entered the discount code, got my first month for 14.95, and the rest is history.

I found IC when I was looking for clep acounting help for principles of accounting back in August. But I couldn't find anything very useful. Just the personal subject guide with only fifty questions and it cost ten bucks. Not enough, not by a long shot. While continuing my search, I came across this InstantCert Academy and what had my attention was the near 400 questions available to members . After a couple days deliberation I joined in and started studying for accounting, which I probably would not have passed without IC. I also used IC for Ethics in America (dsst) and supplemented it with wikipedia. So far that's all I've used it for, but I have been very pleased. I did not even know about the forum (nor its importance) till a couple days later. I am presently using advice from there for ECE college writing.:eek:

[pugman]

Hey All!

What about offering the first test for free? Unlike the current 'Money Back Guarantee' - why not offer up 'Heres to your Health' as a free exam (military, ebay, etc.)?

Point being you give them the razor - then sell them the blades? This also may dissolve some of the inertial resistance the military has for paid sites (hey, if one exam is free - it's not a paid site right?)

I would guess that most would come back for more if after they passed one exam...

That would be my first course of action...

Comments?

Greg

[elaw74]

Hi,

I read this thread and it got me to thinking. I am more than likely a one month subscriber because I only have on CLEP to take, and hopefully I will pass it on January 8th. (I am taking American Government) Then I will have all the lower division credits I can take to finish my Accounting degree with UoP. I really wish I had found this site before I started, because I may have gone a different route and saved myself a bunch of money. But that being said, I started thinking about the next step in my career. I plan on sitting for the CPA exam sometime the beginning of next year.

With that, I thought to myself, why doesn't Instacert provide certification preperation? I mean you could even charge premium fees for things like the CPA exam and the bar exam, because I am looking at hundreds of dollars for CPA exam books that I can guarantee are not nearly as effective as your flashcard system. And these tests normally take months of preperation instead of just a few weeks like a CLEP test so the revenue streams would be extended.

You can offer things like the LSAT, GMAT, civil service test. You could also offer SAT, PSAT to get the high school students in the mix. There are a myriad of certifications that you could expand your client base with.

Let me know your thoughts.

Eric

[sgloer]

Hey Eric--

Tests like the SAT that test a lot of basic skills (i.e. reading comprehension and foundational math) we try to stay away from. For two reasons:
1> It's hard to teach those kind of basic skills in a short time
2> The SAT's are about getting the highest scores possible, not just a passing score. Plus, there's already a lot of competition out for them.

CPA exams sound neat. As you study for them, if things become clearer to you (i.e. exactly how well our approach would work with such exams), then please drop me an email at webmaster@instantcert.com

Thanks for your thoughts!

[soltran]

G'day Steve,

I haven't been around here long and am still to see everything IC has to offer so please forgive me if I happen to repeat what may have been said elsewhere.

First off, have you considered trying to expand your market base without deviating too far from your core business. By this I mean, how about including certifications such as Certiports IC3 or MS Office Specialist study material. Both of these certifications have been known to be accepted as credits at colleges and without looking at your computer applications study material I would be surprised if it wouldn't be just a matter of watering down that material for the IC3 certification. This way you could get extra mileage out of material you have already developed and possibly increase your market base by attracting people that do not intend getting a college based qualification (though once they come to the forum and see how positive everyone is they may dcide to take the next step). Another advantage is for those who do wish to continue with their college degree but need some low level computing credits, they may be able to achieve this and receive a basic certification at the same time.

I chose those qualifications as examples because I have been an IT Instructor for years, the certifications are international, Acenet recommends 1 credit per qualification (with the IC3 and MOS that could be up to 8 credits depending on the college) and the material is pretty basic. I would be inclined to look at what other Industry qualifications might be similar and see if they could also be addressed in a similar manner.

You have a very talented member base here and maybe you could ask what other ways people have gained credit beyond CLEP etc to see if that provides some more ideas. You may even wish to ask if any members are interested in contributing to the development of certain material on a commission base or something like that.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw in my 2 bobs worth (or now that I am over here is that supposed to be 2 dimes worth or maybe a quarter but most likely only a pennies worth, this can be so confusing especially if I consider inflation )

Regards

[elaw74]

Hey Eric--

Tests like the SAT that test a lot of basic skills (i.e. reading comprehension and foundational math) we try to stay away from. For two reasons:
1> It's hard to teach those kind of basic skills in a short time
2> The SAT's are about getting the highest scores possible, not just a passing score. Plus, there's already a lot of competition out for them.

CPA exams sound neat. As you study for them, if things become clearer to you (i.e. exactly how well our approach would work with such exams), then please drop me an email at webmaster@instantcert.com

Thanks for your thoughts!

I can understand your thinking on things like the SAT and GMAT.

I will let you know how it goes when I start studying towards the end of the year. I would be happy to give you all the information I can regarding the CPA exam. I do think that your format would work very well for the CPA exam and possibly the Bar exam also.

Eric

[sgloer]

G'day Steve,
how about including certifications such as Certiports IC3 or MS Office Specialist study material.

Hey Ron--

Interesting idea, especially considering InstantCert originally started out offering certification prep (i.e. unix sys admin certs). I'll keep that in mind as we move forward; right now looking into several options, including AP exams.

Thanks!