Freebies attract browsers to your website. When you have browsers, they may turn into buyers. Also if your freebie is linked to your key products and service, they provide credibility and help to build trust. The key is to increase the perceived value of your freebies so they will be more attractive to your audience.
- You could tell them what the freebie is worth with an amount. For example, “Subscribe to my free IBS monthly e-zine! A £40 value!”
- You could add other freebies to your freebie that will increase the value. For example, “Subscribe to my free e-zine and get discounted products or free access to the subscribers only section of the website”
- You could tell them the freebie is only available for a limited time. For example, ” Download our free e-book. This free offer will only be available until September 30 2013.”
- You could tell them the freebie is only available to a limited number of people. For example, ” Our free template will only be available for the next 50 people that download it.”
- You could give more details about the freebie e.g. benefits, features, what problems the freebie will solve, etc.
- You could describe your freebie to sound more attractive. For example, instead of “free report” you could say “unique information that you must have “
- You could list testimonials for your freebie which will increase your freebies value.
- You could tell people how many people have already received your freebie. For example, “10,000 people have already subscribed to my free e-zine! Can they all be wrong?
You can increase sales and profits by offering freebies to people who buy your main product or service. They increase the overall value of your main offer and in return people feel they’re getting more for less.
Multiply your marketing all over the internet by creating freebies for other business’ products. Include your ad somewhere on the freebie.
TYPES OF FREEBIES
It’s important that you have a high enough profit margin so you can afford to give the freebie away. Some freebies can be created without a lot of expense; like electronic information products. Below are some popular types of freebies:
e-coupon/e-gift certificate
Give your visitors free electronic coupons and gift certificates from your products or services or from other businesses you’ve made coupon deals with.
Members-only site/section
Give access to a private part of your web site where customers can find helpful information non-customers can’t access.
Gift
Offer a free gift if they buy your product or service. Giving the value of the free give will attract them to purchase your main product or service.
Checklists
Create a list of things to check for a particular process related to your business’s topic e.g. a checklist for creating and delivering a stress management workshop.
Templates
Design a template that will make a certain action easier for your target audience e.g. a template for healthy eating.
Transcripts
Create an e-book of text transcripts of a related live event. It can be a seminar or interview etc.
Dictionary of Terms
Publish a web directory or e-book dictionary of terms relating to your specific business industry or subject.
Research
Offer a free service where you search for sites or information your visitors or customers can’t find online.
Plans
Create ready-made plans for a particular project your target audience wants to accomplish.
Forms
Offer printable, ready-made forms your visitors or customers would use regularly.
Email reports
Publish a quarterly email report that contains new research discoveries, surveys, and statistics about your related industry. The reports could be in auto responder form or in text format.
Online services/utilities
Give your visitors free online services or utilities. They should be ready to use from your web site.
Internet services
It could be free e-consulting, search engine submissions, web design, etc.
Interactive game
You could hire someone to create it. The game should be related to the theme of your web site.
Interview articles
You could compile an e-book or report of interviews you’ve given to experts from your particular industry.
Online gallery
You could compile a free online gallery of pictures, graphs, charts, or graphics related to your target audience.
Webcam
You could set up a webcam so your customers could view a particular environment or place they are interested in.
E-zine
When people read each issue they’ll be reminded to revisit your web site. They’ll see your product ad more than just once which will increase your orders. Give something extra with the free subscription. You could offer a free gift or advertising when people subscribe. Allow other sites to publish your e-zine on their site. Include your web site’s ad and link in each issue you publish. This may also help you increase the number of people that subscribe to your e-zine. Exchange ads with free e-zine publishers.
You could bundle all your old e-zine issues together into an e-book or member’s web site.
Survey results
You could compile together the results of all the surveys you’ve taken from your web site visitors. It could be an e-book or report.
Personal blog/journal
You could publish a personal journal of daily actions you take that’s related to your particular industry.
Calendar of events
You could publish a list or e-book of events related to your target audience e.g. trade shows, seminars, fundraisers etc.
Top lists
You could publish a list or e-book of top ten lists that your customers would be interested in. It can be about related products, people, etc.
Software
Offer your software as an extra free bonus to the people that buy one of your main products.
You could offer free online tools visitors could use at your site e.g. search engine submitter, ad or letter templates, e-book compiler, etc. It could be freeware, shareware, demos etc.
Publish your free software on disk or CD-ROM then include it with your direct mail packages.
Build your opt-in e-mail list fast by asking your visitors to give you their contact information before they can download your software.
Tell people they can download your software at no-cost if they link to your web site.
Give away software to your current customers as a way of letting them know you appreciate their business.
Affiliate programmes
Offer a free affiliate program from your site which could be pay per sale, click through, two tiered, etc. Pay them commission to sell your products or services. Just give them an affiliate link to track their sales. People will link to your web site to make extra money.
Courses
If you have extensive knowledge on a particular subject, you could create a free course for your site visitors which should be related to the theme of your site e.g. wellness. You could offer the course in html, auto responder, and e-book format. You could increase traffic by allowing advertisers to include their ad in the course. Ask them, in return, to advertise the free course at their web site. Just have them link to your web site. There are many other formats you can use to create your free course; downloadable text, pdf, print format, fax-on-demand, cassette, video, etc.
Offer a free e-course on a topic related to your product or service. Add your back-end product ads to each e-course lesson. They could email your follow-up auto responder and be sent a lesson each day.
e-books
You could offer text or a course in a downloadable e-book format. Include your business ad in the e-book. You could allow other people to give away the e-book by uploading it to their own server. The e-book should be related to your target audience. If you don’t want to take the time to write one, you could ask other writers permission to use their articles.
Offer an e-book related to your main product or service. Inform potential customers that it is a limited time offer and it will only be available before a specific date.
Search option
People will stay longer because it gives them the option of searching through your web site using keywords.
Articles
As well as having the articles on your own site, you can submit them to e-zines, web sites and magazines that accept article submissions. Include your business information and web address at the end of the article. If your site is well created and you have an article headed up “Personal Development Coaching: the way forward”, your visitor is likely land on your article page. At the end of the page, you then have a link to your Personal Development Coaching sales page and off they go to have a look. When you write an article about your specialism, it presents you in a credible light and builds trust with punters. Consider what you want your readers to gain from the articles you write: better health – self-understanding – inspiration – reassurance – to change thinking/behaviour. You need to ensure you show through the articles: genuiness – warmth – quality information and knowledge – originality.
An online contest
Holding a contest can draw a lot of traffic to your site. Send out press releases about your contest to sites that list free contests. Ask entrants to your contest if they would accept offers from your business in the future by e-mail. The prizes should be something original e.g. your product or service and of value which your target audience would need or want. Always offer a main prize and runner-up prizes. Give enough information about the prizes, so people will be interested in entering. Make it easy for people to enter your contest e.g. online entry form on your site or e-mail. Capture as much information as you can when they enter your contest: name, address, phone number, email, website and maybe any other relevant questions which might help your marketing strategy. Provide an “Official Rules” web page for your contest. Include a time period of how long your contest be held. Tell visitors how you will deliver the prizes. Include pictures of the prizes. Tell visitors who will judge your contest. Most people who enter will continually revisit your web site to get the results.
Consulting
People will consider this a huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive. Allow visitors to ask you specific questions relating to the subject of your business. Giving away free advice by Skype, email or phone can show your prospects your expertise and give you instant credibility. Another benefit is when you e-mail them back the free advice or information includes your signature file to get free advertising.
Online directory
The directory could be full of interesting e-books, e-zines, web sites etc. If people find your directory to be a valuable resource they will visit it repeatedly. The web sites should be interesting and helpful. You could offer an article directory by telling your visitors they can instantly add a free article directory to their web site by linking to yours. Just place your ad or banner ad on top of the article directory for your main web site.
Web space
Since you are giving web space for free, request they link to your site by placing your ad or banner to their site.
Online communities
It could be an online message board, e-mail discussion list or chat room. They will want to chat with other people that are interested in the same subject. You could also offer free online classes/seminars in your site’s chat room. You will become known as an expert on the topic. Send a press release to the media announcing your free seminar. You could also allow other sites to use your discussion board for their web site visitors. Have them link directly to the discussion board. Include your web sites ad or banner ad at the top of the discussion board.
Create a web ring
A web ring is a group of web sites on a similar subject e.g. wellness professionals agreeing to link together. To find a web ring to join type keywords “web rings” into your search engine of choice.
Message board
Post answers to visitor’s questions and post appropriate information.
Email discussion list
You could make a private e-mail discussion list only for people that purchase your product.
Chat room seminar/consulting
Offer a free chat room seminar or consulting to give away as a freebie. You will become known as an expert on the topic by electing to do the seminar or consulting yourself. Teach your customers how to better use your product or about a subject that relates to their purchase.
Online membership
Tell your visitors what’s included in the free membership and if in exchange, they link to your web site. The membership should be related to your wellness business. You could give away a free e-mail newsletter for members only. Have a member’s only message board, e-mail discussion group or chat room.
Allow visitors to use an online service from your site
In exchange, they link to your web site. The online service could be an e-mail account, search engine submission, web page design, copywriting, proofreading, etc.
Online video
Allow visitors to download or view a related how-to video or informative seminar over the internet.
Online audio
Allow visitors to download and listen to a recording of an expert that is being interviewed over the internet.
