One easy way to keep costs down is to take advantage of the services that we offer on WamdaCard. Starting today and until October 12th, startups can get access to hosting services, mailing platforms and other cloud-based services for $100 per year (instead of our regular $149). 

Apply today, and you could save more than $3,000 on your expenses this year. Here are five ways to take full advantage and cut costs while making your startup more efficient: 

1. Get on the cloud - $500 credit on Amazon Web Services; claim this deal.

The ‘internet of things’- the internet where devices communicate and share information directly with one another, creating a network of devices- is growing. Cisco estimates the number of “things” that come online every second to be around 80 (check out their real-time counter). This means that your clients are becoming increasingly connected, and with that, they expect to find your business anytime, anywhere.

To help startups get set up without having to depend upon local servers, WamdaCard is offering a $500 credit on Amazon’s cloud-based services. 

2. Streamline your customer service - up to $600 less per year; claim this deal.

How do you keep track of all the feedback, whether bugs or feature requests, you receive? While Google docs, Excel sheets, and free services can help you as you build your way to your first 200 customers, a solid customer support platform can help your startup take a leap forward. A centralized database of all client interactions can help you significantly reduce ticket response time and allow you to generate insights on performance and customer satisfaction.

Technical co-founders, rejoice! WamdaCard is offering Zendesk, for up to US $87 less per month, and even bringing the cost down to $0 if you have 3 agents or less. Catering to over 30,000 customers, Zendesk’s solution to customer support offers a wide range of features, from the possibility of using predefined answers, triggers and automation, down to automatically turning tweets into tickets.

3. Build on solid SEO practices - up to $900 off on your next SEO or social media campaign; claim this deal.

Whether you're just starting up or on the verge of finally bringing your business online, building in a solid SEO strategy can greatly increase your ranking in search results and make you more visible to prospective clients. A study conducted earlier this year shows that the first result of a search on Google gets around 33% of traffic, while the third result listed receives a measly 11%.

Wissam Dandan, the founder of SEO and Social Media agency LEBSEO, has written a number of popular posts on healthy SEO practices for websites, both in Roman-character languages as well as Arabic, and startups can now benefit from his SEO expertise with a discount of up to $900 on their next SEO or social media campaign.

4. Mind the data - up to $1200 less per year; claim this deal.

Drawing data out of user behavior is essential to any online startup; bringing more customers onboard involves understanding the behavior of existing startups. A long time darling of the early Arab startup ecosystem, global anlaytics platform Woopra can provide startups with a huge leg up, offering unique real-time statistics that Google Analytics doesn't quite approach. Woopra was also one of the earliest WamdaCard partners, now offering access to their Woopra Small Business Package with over two years of data retention and up to 15 agents, for up to $100 less per month. 

[Disclosure: Wamda Capital has invested in Woopra]

5. Don’t snub old school; take advantage of email - save up to $720 per year; claim this deal.

While the vast array of marketing tools social networks put at our disposal is impressive, newsletters remain one of the most important communication instruments brands can use to get in touch with their clients. In fact, if you're completely ignoring the advantages this slightly more traditional method offers, you may be compromising your business.

Being proud clients of SendGrid ourselves, we thought we'd bring them on board for WamdaCard so members can benefit from their cloud email infrastructure service. SendGrid's newsletter tool takes the hassle out of designing and scheduling, and the platform offers analytics to help determine how your emails are doing. WamdaCard members can save anywhere between $10 and $60 USD a month on any of SendGrid’s plans. 

WamdaCard is always dedicated to seek out products and services that could make our members’ lives easier. Feel free to email the team suggestions at card[at]wamdacard[dot]com, or drop them in the comments section!

Start cutting costs now and apply now to save more than $3,000 this year!

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Stephanie Nour is Community Manager at Wamda. She's an avid reader, a big fan of music, and loves discovering startups and testing new apps and platforms. Connect with her on Twitter @stephanienour, Google+, LinkedIn, or by e-mail at stephanie[at]wamda.com.