Introducing Ghacks Deals
One of my core efforts this year is to reduce Ghack's dependency on a single service or traffic source.
Ghacks Deals is a new optional service here on this site that lists -- discounted or even free -- software packages, services and tech gadgets.
I think it is a great fit for the site not only because deals are usually closely related to the topics covered here on Ghacks, but also because I have used the service before on another site to purchase several Android development courses.
Actually, the core reason why I agreed to running deals on Ghacks was that I bought from the service before and liked the experience and the courses that I bought a lot.
The deals website lists various interests and categories that you can explore. There is also a free section linked at the top if you are interested in getting free stuff for the time being.
Tip: Use the coupon code GHACKS10 to get 10% off any item (expires 5/31).
Here is a selection of free products that are currently offered in the store (there are more):
- CSS Hacker Course (free)
- iOS Game Hacking Course (free)
- Linux Academy 30-day subscription (free)
- Productive Entrepreneur Bundle course (free)
- The 4-Hour Chef audiobook (free)
- WordPress Beginner Course (free)
The following e-learning courses are not free but discounted (often by 80% and more):
- 1-year subscription to "School of interactive Design" Game Building
- Android Coding & Design Bundle
- Essential WordPress Security Course
- Microsoft Office Mastery Bundle
- MSCE Business Intelligence 5-Course Training
- Photography Course Bundle
- Pure Python Hacker Bundle
Last but not least, a selection of products from other categories (all discounted)
- Android Bot Collection Bundle
- Blur Premium Privacy Protection Lifetime Subscription
- Earjax "Lyrics" Noise-isolating Headphones
- myType Bluetooth Keyboard
- TokyoFlash Limited-Edition Breathalyzer Watch
- Voxoda HD Wireless Stereo Headphones
I'll be showcasing two deals each week of which ones is either free or a giveaway of sorts at the very least.
It’s rather frustrating that a lot of the deals are “U.S. shipping only”.
You wouldn’t expect that from a blog run by a German based author.
Great Idea! Im very interested in software deals…
Al
Can’t login to it with either my name or my email using the password I created for this site. Tried to create a new account for it and it refused saying my email address was in use.
Ok, I had it send a password change email and now it’s fine.
Really nice stuff and at good prices. Great addition and I hope it helps with finances.
Martin you are a good man:)
Martin,
I think this is a great idea. For those of us who are long time followers, we sincerely believe in your non-biased comments, and love the banter that your other followers engage in.
My only thought would be to do what you can to avoid the “appearance” of conflict of interest between you, your comments/recommendations, and what you are offering. There could be some uninformed readers that conclude that portions of your comments and reviews are fee-based. In some cases that’s OK (ie: Kim Kommando, et al.) because that’s part of what they do. Independence and separation would seem to be necessary to maintain credibility. You do a great job and I’d hate for some of those naysayers (who show up here from time to time) to try to make an issue out of your credibility. Thanks for all you do.
I love the idea and look forward to the deals.
Mr. Brinkmann.
One Word: YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(We will continue to help you BUILD http://www.ghacks.net and make it the Premier GO-TO Computer and Internet website on Earth – – if it’s not already)
i
Good move, Martin.
Will check often for interesting Linux & Android apps!
– Pale Moon 25.4.1 and FF 37.0.2
– Ubuntu Linux 12.04 (32-bit)
– Samsung Tablet Galaxy Tab3 / Android 4.2.2
You are an honest guy, Martin! It’s nice to see the respect you have for us, your readers and commenters. Not many writers on the internet have it! Keep up the good work :)
Any way to differentiate offers not available outside of the US of A ?
Scott good point, let me find out and get back to you.
I would like an opportunity to get the old Sandboxie lifetime deal, rather than the new one. The new one is a licence for one PC for its lifetime (I haven’t seen how they define or determin what that PC is).
Nice idea Martin :)
I look forward to doing some of my gadget shopping here from now on and helping to support the site.
Thank you Nate!
I’ve used this service on another website and I’ve been pleased with the value and service. I’m going to switch to using your version of it Martin. Hope it helps you out.
Jim thanks so much for your kind words, it will certainly help!
nice idea Martin and certainly not objectionable in any way. I fully support you generating income for your hard work.
Thanks Rich, I like the idea as well and hope that it works out.
Hi Martin. I’m a long time reader and it pained me when you put up the 2 Ghacks is dying posts so I’m glad to see this as a possible solution to supplement / diversify income. In that spirit I’d like to offer some UI suggestions for future deals posts that may be helpful with user conversions.
1) Pictures = 1000 words… Above you have 3 sections with 6-7 bullets each. I read them all today because this is new and sounded important but in the long run I think people will tend to gloss over it because the internet / information overload has caused us to have the attention span of a gnat. Putting a small pictures next to each bullet will pique interest more. From personal experience I can tell you that I pay much more attention to the Gizmodo Deals pages with pics than the ones that just list a bunch of links. Of course this will increase physical page length as well as data volume so a balance needs to be struck so you don’t end up with a page a mile long. Maybe something like 300 x 225 px version of your freebies deals page? Or maybe just list them 1 per row but focus on a fewer number of deals but posted with more frequency like 3 posts a week vs. 1.
2) Order matters… I think putting products first, e-learning courses second, and freebies third would be better. Actually, I think whatever category you want people to click on the most should come first. Presumably this would be the category that gives you the best conversion / commission.
3) Less is more except when it comes to font size… your Freebies deals page is too much to scroll through. By the time I finished scrolling I forgot what was at the beginning. I think the size of the pics should be smaller. Also, the text should be larger – I had to squint to read it. The Freebies banner at the top is wasting a lot of real estate. It doesn’t serve a functional purpose and it makes getting to the deals longer because of more scroll. I would reduce the height significantly. Also, the current layout is 2 deals row 1 and then 3 deals for all the other rows. It is strange on the eyes. I think 3/4 would be better than 2/3.
I don’t know if the comment section is the right place for this kind of user feedback but I hope this is helpful.
Wubba, thanks for your suggestions. I will definitely use a different format in future deals posts.This time, I just wanted to announce the new service and highlight the kind of deals that you can expect from it.
It will definitely improve! Keep your suggestions coming!