Free Study Bible? Really? Clarify Your Promotion, Please!
Dear Logos & FSB,
I am very frustrated with the way the Faithlife Study Bible (FSB) is being promoted. I am working to get our church to implement Faithlife in the new year as a way to encourage accountability in Bible reading and so far we have had a lot of positive reaction. I hesitated for a while to make the push for Faithlife because I don't want to have to talk people into paying an annual subscription for the FSB. The only reason we are now moving forward is because people can use the Logos app for free and still interact with Faithlife.
My frustration is that I am still getting advertisements for a FREE study Bible. On Christmas eve, I received an email with the title "Free study Bible! Can you read through it in 1 year?" If you plan on charging $30/year after March, then this IS NOT a "free study Bible." It is misleading for you to advertise it as such and only divulge in one sentence, on a page that is relatively hard to find, your plans to charge.
Please communicate clearly and definitively what your plans are regarding the cost of the FSB. Do not continue to market it as free if it will not remain free. At the very least, communicate, up front, that it is free for a limited time and there will be a subscription fee in the future. The current marketing practice is not acceptable.
Comments
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Hi Aaron
Aaron C. Fenlason said:If you plan on charging $30/year after March, then this IS NOT a "free study Bible."
Not saying that this is a complete solution to the issue you are raising but are you aware that the deadline for charging for FSB was going to be March 2014 so your church would be able to use it for free during the whole of 2013. See http://community.logos.com/forums/p/51793/382036.aspx#382036 for one of Bob Pritchett's comments on this.
But, on a wider level, the FSB is now included in Logos 5 base packages (i.e. if one buys such a package then one owns the FSB and not on a subscription model).
I believe that Logos are thinking further about the subscription model for those who don't own base packages but don't know when / if they will communicate anything regarding this.
Graham
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I agree with both of you; Marketing should never be deceptive--why would two entities want to yoke themselves together that way? I didn't realize that FSB came as a part of L5 packages, and am happy to hear that.
My wife and I are also thinking about backing Faithlife for our church's read-the-bible campaigns, but don't know yet if we want to do that...still unsure what the "gotcha's" are to those (nearly everyone) who don't currently have Logos accounts.
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Ward Walker said:
My wife and I are also thinking about backing Faithlife for our church's read-the-bible campaigns, but don't know yet if we want to do that...still unsure what the "gotcha's" are to those (nearly everyone) who don't currently have Logos accounts.
I tend to use what people are using already. For me, it is too hard to bring in another social media website/app. I found that it was more helpful to use facebook because it was more likely that they were checking their facebook page daily. Thus, they would read what I posted. I use a fan page for general info about the church, and a group for a smaller subset like a bible study.
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Graham,
Thanks for the link. I am encouraged by Bob's clarification. My objection is not the cost (Logos has the right to charge whatever they deem fit to produce and sustain the product), it is that the clarification needs to be made on promotional materials. I don't want to push to have this as a congregation-wide tool and then have to explain in a year that people will now be expected to pay for it. If it will cost, make that clear up front. If Logos is still uncertain whether there will be a subscription fee, or what that fee will be, then the product should not be marketed so widely until these issues are figured out.
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With today's announcement that it is now FREE ought to make you happy!
[:D]
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Garrett Mercury said:
With today's announcement that it is now FREE ought to make you happy!
Free for 2.5 Million users: http://faithlifebible.com/giveaway
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Randy W. Sims (Shayne) said:
Free for 2.5 Million users: http://faithlifebible.com/giveaway
According to Google, this app has been downloaded 10,000 to 50,000 times. Based on this information, I believe that FSB will be free for a very long time.
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Very good news, indeed. Thank you!
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HI Jelmer- and welcome to the forums
Jelmer Heeren said:Just reading through this, am I right in saying that we won't have to pay, ever?
That's right. It is "free for life" as per Logos' blog post at http://blog.logos.com/2013/01/get-the-faithlife-study-bible-free-for-life/
Graham
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