Why Free Sells

Written on April 22, 2009 by admin

Do you give anything away on your website? You should.

By offering something for free, you are building confidence in your brand and product.

Think about it. At the grocery store, a nice little old lady hands out cheese spread on a cracker. Mm! That’s good. You buy a jar. At conventions, companies give away tschotschkes in the hopes you’ll  stop and find out what they’re all about (I actually have mastered the art of taking schwag and running before they even see me. Call me Schwag Ninja).

So why shouldn’t you give something away?

It might be a free ebook, which could be a collection of your best blog posts, like the one I gave away at Christmas. Or a special report. Or a bonus when someone buys something from you.

David Meerman Scott, in his new book World Wide Rave, says you shouldn’t ask for anything in return. I was always of the mind that you should get an email address in return for something free, but he has a point. It will spread faster (much like the world wide rave he discusses in his book; look for my review soon) if you give it away with no strings attached.

Freebies help you:

• Establish yourself as an expert
• Educate potential clients on the benefits of your product or service
• Create confidence in you and your brand
• Make new sales

So think about what you could give away. You may have to develop something, such as an ebook (and if you’re not a writer, hire Egg to write it for you). There may be a little cost involved, but consider the free product marketing and build it into your marketing budget.

Once you decide what you’re giving away, post it in the comments here so we can help spread the love!

Posted in Branding, Marketing 2.0

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