Is Free Working For You Or Against You?

[Guest Paul Nulty]

I have been studying the sales process of online marketing and almost everywhere on almost every sales page there is a free offer. I have promoted lot's of different offers in the past for both online and offline business's. My general feeling on this is that people will run from free offers because they are assuming there has to be a catch or the product is not so good.

 

Here is my take on it.

We most often see a free offer as a way to get people to take action on signing up to a program or a list and from a marketers stand point that seems like a great idea, however if a genuine buyer/consumer wants something of good value then they expect to pay for it.

 

Different people have a different opinnion. I'd like to know what your thoughts on this are as a marketer?

 

 

[Darren Olander]

You need an entry point for people to enter your realm of influence.. the easiest way to do that, and to get the most people is to have something for free. Now, all your products should not be free.. Like I said it is just an entry point. After that point you could have products at various price levels even going up to very high levels. Once someone gets on your list for free, or even gets a free report and you've built some trust with them, they will then be far more likely to buy something from you, even perhaps a high ticket item.

[Guest Paul Nulty]

You need an entry point for people to enter your realm of influence.. the easiest way to do that, and to get the most people is to have something for free. Now, all your products should not be free.. Like I said it is just an entry point. After that point you could have products at various price levels even going up to very high levels. Once someone gets on your list for free, or even gets a free report and you've built some trust with them, they will then be far more likely to buy something from you, even perhaps a high ticket item.

I agree Darren, The concept of giving something for free in order to gain trust is definetly a great way to introduce people to learn more and is almost along the same lines as taking a free test drive of a car before making a purchase. I think the offer on the sales page should however be so compelling and explained in such a manner that the prospect does not lose interest or disregard the offer as free junk or as a trick. So I think it kinda makes sense to have the most informative and compelling ad copy to ensure prospects that they will expect true value after taking action. Thanks for the feedback.

[Matt Koshko]

When I look at using services on the web, whether it's a CRM, project management tool, or joining an advertising service, "free" is usually compelling. Why? I'm the type who loves to try something before I buy. Let me through the gates, show me the sexiness if your product/service, and I'll either want to upgrade or not. The "freemium" model is attractive because it allows a consumer to get a taste of what you're offering...without giving it all away.

 

I know nearly all services I create going forward will follow along those lines, mostly because I know it works but also because I think it's the most effective way to building happily paying customers. These days if you don't focus on your customers' experience, they can EASILY switch to your competitor in nearly any niche.

 

Would you rather a consumer signup for your paid service, find out they are unhappy, and then have to refund that purchase...or have them signup free, check out what it has to offer (even if you give them a paid version for a limited time), and get a happily paying customer?

 

The customers' experience (using your service, or whatever your product may be) is one of the most important needs you could focus on, along with customer support (which is directly connected). And on that note, I'm happier paying for something where I know they product/service comes with healthy support over the same (or better) product/service which doesn't have the healthy support.

[John Bell]

I would do a free something to generate opt-ins, but nothing else.  Giving away freebies on your site that you want people to get in and ultimately purchase things is not a very good route to go, from my experience..

 

..but giving them a free guide on how to do something as the hook for opting in to your email list - then providing value to that list and later advertising that site you want them to get in and ultimately purchase things, can be very effective -- you've used the freebie to get them in (the hook) but then once they were in you've built a trust relationship by providing legitimate, actionable, value; so when they get to the point in the funnel that you want them to begin purchasing, that barrier is much smaller because they already trust you and your judgement.

[paulserban]

That's right John Bell, after the free offer is more important to have a good relationship with your audience offering bonuses, tips and tricks, good value materials in general (but only in the niche you recruited them).

I saw a lot of advertisers that after the first free offer come with tons of offers to your emails, finally making you to get unsubscribe to them.

First, the people must trust in you!

[johnmcclure]

MY thought own the matter is , If a program is as good as they say then let people try it before they buy it .If they don" t have any thing to hid .I am a old country boy . We use to grow all kind of things like,Tomatoes, water melons ,and so on . When people came by we would let them try it before they bought it . Chances are if they like, it they would buy more.You have got to put your self in other people shoes. They have all heard about scams and they  are getting scared . 

[xiqual]

The free offer/content is a way to sharing,

making buzz and starting some kind of relationship...

 

You can as well skip free content,

but then will be forced to use a completely

different business model/blueprint...

not so easily scalable!

[Sean Supplee]

Your "Free" product should give away quality information but also build up what your Paid product is. So say you are selling an ebook or training you would take one method out of it go into full detail and then expand on the other 7 ways to earn which they can get right now for just $7

[Steve Man]

FREE is good if there is some sort of value in the FREE offer ? How many FREE offers have actually value. Well to some people a FREE offer has value and to others they cannot see the value in the FREE offer for lots of reasons.

 

So FREE does work for me because quite often I can see the value of the FREE offer and use it to my advantage.

[KarriDaltonHull]

I think free trials are awesome and essential. I rarely buy into something online that I cannot try for free first. That being said, we all know how much harder free advertising is and if someone is relying totally on free marketing they may get discouraged and quit before seeing any success. But in my opinion it is about offering options and free should be an option

[Len]

Iv'e heard a lot of top marketers say that when you give something away for free it should be of value.

[LifeTransformation]

It always depends on your target customer. How much money do they have to spend?  Are they new, established, up and coming?  You really need to know your customer, and then test.

 

I've experienced that a $1 trial offer works better than a free trial offer.  I can only speculate as to why, but I'm really not sure...it could simply be 'perceived value'.

 

So the flow that works best for me is 'lead magnet' (the free info that someone signs up to your list to get), $1 trial to your membership site (followed by regular monthly automatic rebills), then a profit maximizing upsell (maximizes customer value to me, also maximizes value to customer).

 

After the $1 dollar offer, you will want to segment your list into buyer and non-buyer lists.  A buyer will usually buy again, while a non-buyer will usually need to develop more of a relationship and see more value from you first.  Both email campaigns will be entirely different.  The goal is to always work on increasing the customer's value while increasing your value to the customer.

 

Develop relationships like this, and you will never go hungry again!

[market101]

There is no way I am buying the $10 or $100 ver of any program without trying the free ver first.

[oldbuddy]

Of course the offshoot of this free strategy is give them something that is free and remains free forever, that just happens to produce more and more income for them the longer they use it. You can bet the next time they see an email from you, they are going to at least read it.

[robertdorsey]

If we are looking at the difference between marketing a business without spending a dime, and doing paid advertising, then yes, there is a big difference. Since I have been online I have heard it said that FREE is the most expencive way to market onine. That being said, I have probably looked at every FREE marketing resource there is, and I even teach beginers to use the free resources there is, not for dramatic results, but just to get started.

 

Such as using list building sites where you send emails out to other peoples lists, start with free, and then when you get your foot in the door, and you start getting leads coming into your own list, you can always start experimenting with paid advertising when you have the budget for it.

 

But however you start, paid or free, just get started...

 

It's not the big, instant results you are looking for in the beginning, it's is getting exposure in the market place.

 

Your fortune comes later in the follow up anyway.

 

Just get started...

 

Later

Robert

[oldbuddy]

Robert the problem with that path is you don't know where the dropoff is. It's very easy to start thinking you are not spending enough for advertising when it's not producing what you expect and raise your budget a little more.

 

I can't speak for others, but I don't buy that nonsense that you need to think of it as a business and not a hobby. I have been doing this stuff for over 15 years and now I am quite content with making a few hundred dollars a month and keeping it all. Free advertising works fine for me.

 

I like to say I don't have a business and all the attendant expenses and frustrations that go with it and I don't want one. Just send me the money.

[captkirk]

You need an entry point for people to enter your realm of influence.. the easiest way to do that, and to get the most people is to have something for free. Now, all your products should not be free.. Like I said it is just an entry point. After that point you could have products at various price levels even going up to very high levels. Once someone gets on your list for free, or even gets a free report and you've built some trust with them, they will then be far more likely to buy something from you, even perhaps a high ticket item.

 

Again, I agree with Darren 100%!

 

Free is one of the best ways to get a visitor attention and build interest in what you're offering.

 

I prefer to offer a service that people can join for free with the option to upgrade if they need more features and benefits.

 

Some of the largest companies in the world offer they're services for free:

 

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Google

- Yahoo

- Etc...

[interior environmental]

You need an entry point for people to enter your realm of influence.. the easiest way to do that, and to get the most people is to have something for free. Now, all your products should not be free.. Like I said it is just an entry point. After that point you could have products at various price levels even going up to very high levels. Once someone gets on your list for free, or even gets a free report and you've built some trust with them, they will then be far more likely to buy something from you, even perhaps a high ticket item.

 

I think free trials are awesome and essential. I rarely buy into something online that I cannot try for free first. That being said, we all know how much harder free advertising is and if someone is relying totally on free marketing they may get discouraged and quit before seeing any success. But in my opinion it is about offering options and free should be an option

I totally agree with Darren and Karri as well as many other within the thread.  We do not buy very much without a Free trial and this quote says a lot:

 

Of course the offshoot of this free strategy is give them something that is free and remains free forever, that just happens to produce more and more income for them the longer they use it. You can bet the next time they see an email from you, they are going to at least read it.

[Jasond188]

In almost all case, you earn less or work more but anything is possible with free.

[bestleads]

Offering something for free is an excellent way for building your list.

 

But you have to know how to do it.

 

There are thousands of freebie seekers and tire kickers that will never buy anything from you.

 

If you pay your autoresponder by the amount of messages sent, you will have a financial challenge here.

 

Having hundreds of thousands of subscribers of people that will never buy from you, is to analyse how you are going to work this out.

 

Of course, this will depend on what you are selling.   If you are selling ideas, that's great.   People buy ideas, beliefs, creeds without spending money.

 

If you are receiving thousands of traffic of non-buying visitors this will affect your allowable bandwidth.

 

I understand that TE's, Safelists, and completely free offers sites are honey to freebie seekers.   They join expecting free traffic or that the referrals that they get will buy something.  And this thinking goes all the way down the downline.

 

Few online marketers understand that to really make money online you have to invest money somewhere.

[Darren Olander]

 

 

Few online marketers understand that to really make money online you have to invest money somewhere.

 

That is an excellent point... while the majority of my advertising is on free to join sites such as mailers and TEs, I certainly do not use them for free... I pay money for my advertising on them and that is a big reason why I see greater results.

[preciousns]

I think starting off with a Free offer is a great way to go and you'll probably get more sign ups that way.

 

However, I came across a program that charge $1 for their trial with the purpose of separating the freebie seekers from the buyers.

 

Essentially the idea was to market the product/program to people who are more likely to pay for a product.

 

I can totally see the logic behind that cause it increases your chances of actually getting commissions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Few online marketers understand that to really make money online you have to invest money somewhere.

 

I totally agree. To be honest, it took me a long while to realise this. Now that I understand this my marketing efforts are beginning to improve.

[davepilgrim]

I've paid good money for amazing offers which turned out to be rubbish, and I've used free stuff that's turned out really useful and profitable.

 

I agree with the ethos of offering something for free - if it works well people will upgrade.

[idealfreedomplan]

What do you give away for free? Something related to what you're selling?