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A Freebie is a marketing tool that allows customers to get to know your brand better, often (but not always) in the form of complementary goods. So how is this useful?
It creates a positive buzz. People love getting things for free: who doesn’t? It makes them feel valuable, and a good interaction will probably get them talking about your business to their friends with the complement of SocialBoosting to create a higher engagement for the business content.
They encourage customers to try other products. After “testing the waters” of your products, customers are more likely to come back for more (offering something for free will help to reduce the hesitation people have of trying out something new.)
It makes your brand look good. Your aim is to make the customer happy, and what better way than to offer them something to try at no cost. It means you are not just in it for the money, but for offering services to those who will genuinely value them.
They make you look confident. If you are confident in the products that you offer – and you certainly should be – then offering one for free is the best commercial for your business you can put out there. It makes customers trust what you are offering and raise the chances they will come back for more.
Why do customers like free stuff?
Because there’s nothing to lose. Let’s say somebody wants to introduce you to a new product, and it sounds very interesting in theory, but you’re not so sure if you’ll like it. Would you still pay to try it out? The answer is probably not. Customers like free stuff because for one, they didn’t have to go through much effort to get it, and two, there is no risk of spending money on something they might not like. It feels like hitting the jackpot.
What can you offer?
In most cases, in exchange for a freebie, you’ll be asking for an email address, and the consumer knows all too well it will be used to send newsletters and promotions. So, to make it worth their time, you better offer something really good. But keep the following in mind:
How will it help the consumer? It doesn’t have to hold the key to the universe, but readers are more likely to sign up when you offer them something that will save them time, make something easy for them, or inspire them. Free memberships, eBooks, audio or video content, are all great ways to entice your potential consumers.
Will it be worth it? In other words, don’t make them feel that they’re getting it for free because it’s so cheap you can afford to give it away. Everybody wants to get a bargain out of it. You should treat the email customers are providing as if it were cold hard cash.
Is it easy to use? If in exchange for an email you’re offering a “free personalized pdf with the solutions to a computer problem written in code”, the customer won’t really go for it. Sure, it could help them and yes it’s free, but it’ll be too difficult to use unless the person can understand code. This is about the overall freebie your offering and how it can apply to a target audience.
Use it to your advantage. Freebies are a great chance to show your customer what you or your company has to offer, from quality to service to worth. Your freebie has to stand out from the crowd