education-program
# Education Program This skill guides the design and implementation of student and education discount programs as a customer acquisition channel. Use it when planning discount structures, verification methods, or marketing strategies targeting students and educators, particularly valuable for SaaS, developer tools, and productivity apps where 65% of student users continue as paying customers after graduation, making education discounts a long-term investment rather than short-term revenue loss.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills /tmp/education-program && cp -r /tmp/education-program/skills/channels/partnerships/education-program ~/.claude/skills/education-programSKILL.md
# Channels: Education Program
Guides student and education discount programs as an acquisition channel. Targets students and educators; common for SaaS, dev tools, and productivity apps. ~65% of students who use professional tools in school continue using them in their first jobs—education discounts are long-term customer acquisition, not just revenue loss.
**When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.
## Initial Assessment
**Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for product, audience, and pricing.
Identify:
1. **Product type**: SaaS, dev tool, design tool, productivity
2. **Student fit**: Is your ICP or future ICP student-aged?
3. **Discount structure**: First-time vs renewal; % or fixed
4. **Verification**: .edu, student ID, third-party (SheerID, UNiDAYS)
## Education Program vs Other Channels
| Dimension | Education Program | Startups Program | Referral |
|-----------|-------------------|------------------|----------|
| **Audience** | Students, educators | Founders, early-stage | Existing users |
| **Incentive** | Discount, free tier | Discount, credits | Discount, credits |
| **Verification** | .edu, student ID, SheerID/UNiDAYS | Revenue, team size | None (user-driven) |
| **LTV focus** | Future customers; 65% continue post-grad | Early adopters | Referred users |
## Discount Structures
| Type | Typical Range | Use |
|------|---------------|-----|
| **First-time / registration** | 30–50% off | Apply at signup; drives conversion |
| **Ongoing / renewal** | 15–25% off | Retain students; lower than first-time |
| **Free tier** | Full access free | JetBrains, GitHub Education; highest adoption |
| **Flat academic rate** | Simplified pricing | Easier for students to understand |
**Example**: 30% off on registration day; 15% off on renewal. Align with **discount-marketing-strategy** for financial guardrails (LTV:CAC, qualification criteria).
## Verification
| Method | Use |
|--------|-----|
| **.edu email** | Instant; low friction; US-centric |
| **Student ID upload** | Manual review; global; document must show name, institution, expiry |
| **SheerID** | Third-party; 200K+ data sources; verify → promo code at checkout |
| **UNiDAYS** | Third-party; 98%+ automated; 800+ brands; marketplace reach |
**When to verify**: At registration (recommended when discount applies at signup) or at checkout. Registration-time verification = single decision point; user claims discount where they convert.
## Placement Priority
| Priority | Location | Purpose |
|----------|----------|---------|
| **P0** | Registration / signup flow | User claims discount here; must show when discount applies at signup |
| **P1** | Pricing page | Student tier or "Student discount" block; keeps single decision point |
| **P1** | Homepage banner or CTA | "Students: 30% off today, 15% off ongoing"; top-banner-generator |
| **P2** | Standalone page /student-discount | Optional; for "student discount" SEO or paid ad landing page |
**Principle**: When discount applies at registration, core placement is registration flow. Pricing page and homepage support discovery. Standalone page only if needed for SEO or ads—avoid duplication when persona pages (e.g. "for students") already exist.
## Page Strategy
| Approach | When |
|----------|------|
| **Embed in pricing** | Student as tier or block; link to full pricing; no separate page |
| **Registration only** | Discount claimed at signup; pricing page shows "Student discount available—verify at signup" |
| **Standalone /student-discount** | "Student discount" search intent; paid ad landing; persona page would duplicate |
See **startups-page-generator** for page structure when a standalone education page is needed; **pricing-page-generator** for Special programs section.
## Implementation Flow
1. **Define discount**: First-time %, renewal %; align with **pricing-strategy**, **discount-marketing-strategy**
2. **Choose verification**: .edu (instant) vs SheerID/UNiDAYS (broader, automated)
3. **Placement**: Registration (P0); pricing page (P1); homepage banner (P1); standalone page (P2 if needed)
4. **Graduation transition**: Plan how students convert to full price when eligibility ends
5. **Track**: Student signups, conversion rate, LTV of student cohort
## Best Practices
- **Low friction**: .edu = instant; ID upload = clear requirements; third-party = one-click verify
- **Abuse prevention**: Revoke if ineligible; annual re-verification; limit per person
- **Messaging**: "We've been there"; "Grow with us"; social proof ("X students use [Product]")
- **Graduation**: Email before expiry; offer transition discount to full plan
## Output Format
- **Discount structure** (first-time, renewal)
- **Verification** method
- **Placement** (registration, pricing, homepage, standalone)
- **Page strategy** (embed vs standalone)
- **Related** skills for execution (pricing-page, startups-page, top-banner, discount-marketing)
## Related Skills
- **discount-marketing-strategy**: Discount structure, financial guardrails; education is a campaign type
- **pricing-strategy**: Base price; education discount applies on top
- **pricing-page-generator**: Special programs section; Student tier or block; placement P1
- **startups-page-generator**: Standalone education page when needed; same structure for startups + education
- **top-banner-generator**: Homepage banner "Students: X% off"; placement P1
- **landing-page-generator**: /student-discount landing page when used for SEO or ads
- **signup-login-page-generator**: Signup is P0 for student discount; discount block, verification at registration
- **use-cases-page-generator**: "For students" use case; avoid duplicate "for students" pageWhen the user wants to create, optimize, or audit About page content. Also use when the user mentions "about page," "about us," "company story," "our team," "about section," "company overview," "brand story," "team page," or "who we are." For sitewide page planning, use website-structure.
When the user wants to plan, implement, or optimize affiliate marketing strategy. Also use when the user mentions "affiliate marketing," "affiliate program strategy," "CPS model," "affiliate recruitment," "commission structure," "affiliate partners," "affiliate network," "affiliate tracking," "affiliate commission," or "partner marketing." For affiliate page, use affiliate-page-generator.
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit affiliate program page content. Also use when the user mentions "affiliate program," "affiliate page," "partner program," "referral program page," "affiliate landing," "partner landing," "commission page," or "affiliate signup." For affiliate program strategy, use affiliate-marketing.
When the user wants to track AI search traffic in GA4 or GSC. Also use when the user mentions "AI traffic," "ChatGPT referral," "Perplexity traffic," "AI Overviews," "GA4 AI sources," "AI search analytics," "track AI referrals," "AI search traffic," "Claude traffic," or "how to track AI traffic." For AI SEO strategy, use generative-engine-optimization.
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit alternatives or comparison content (page or blog article). Also use when the user mentions "alternatives page," "alternatives listicle," "X alternatives," "competitor comparison," "vs page," "compare page," "best alternatives to X," "switch from X," "competitor brand traffic," "brand keyword ads," or "intercept competitor search." For competitor research, use competitor-research.
When the user wants to set up, audit, or optimize analytics tracking (GA4, events, conversions). Also use when the user mentions "Google Analytics," "GA4," "event tracking," "conversions," "attribution model," "gtag," "data layer," "GA4 setup," "conversion tracking," "event setup," "User ID tracking," or "CTA attribution." For traffic insights, use traffic-analysis.
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit the API introduction/overview page. Also use when the user mentions "API page," "API landing page," "/api page," "API overview," "developer landing," "API marketing," or "API for developers." Note: API documentation (endpoint reference) lives in docs; use docs-page-generator.
When the user wants to write, generate, or create article body content—blog post body, long-form content, how-to guide, listicle. Also use when the user mentions "write article," "article content," "blog post content," "article body," "long-form content creation," "generate article," "article draft," "how-to guide content," "listicle content," "information gain," or "content density." For single post page structure, schema, and SEO metadata, use article-page-generator. For blog index/listing page, use blog-page-generator. For short ad, landing, or email copy, use copywriting.