Giving Things Away to Attract Customers

“I've set aside a nice chunk of my advertising revenue each month for giveaways, like a KitchenAid mixer. I like buying them for the audience, because without the audience I wouldn't have the blog or the revenue in the first place.” - Ree Drummond

Why Give Things Away?

Using freebies is a great business success tip for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is more readily accepted than a promotion. While you certainly need to pitch people at some point, it doesn't have to be all you do.

Neither is offering a bunch of informative articles on a web site. This, too, is a good strategy, but it doesn't quite match up to the freebie that you deliberately send out.

Why is the freebie so highly cherished?

When you take the time to find or create something worthwhile to give to your prospects and list members, you are showing that you care. To them, it means that you are thinking about them. After all, why else would you consider sending that particular freebie to them?

With freebies, you build trust and respect. It starts from the moment your product arrives. This might all sound very simple. You might be thinking, "Great. I'll just dig around for some cheap report and ship it off."

Not All Giveaways are Created Equal

You must put far more thought into it than that. Here are some questions to ask yourself.

1. Why did those people find you? Why did they join your list?

Keep that goal in mind when choosing a freebie. If you send them something that is totally unrelated to why they signed up, you will lose them rapidly. They will see it as a feeble attempt to entice them into buying from you.

2. What do you want those people to think about you?

All of your offers, including the freebies, must send the same message. Namely, that you are a serious business professional who has a good reputation. You do that by making sure you live up to your members' expectations and then go beyond it.

3. What quality do you want associated with you and your business?

A majority of cheap giveaway products are of poor quality. Some just do not provide anything new or unique. They cover things that are commonly known facts. If you send such low grade freebies to your members, they will relate that to your other offers as well. It's not the way to win their hearts into respecting you and buying your products.

Additional Reasons for Giving Things Away

Alright. You've established that you know what will tickle your members' fancy. How else does it benefit you?

When people see the quality of your freebie, they will be more likely to take a look at your offers. Your name will be in the front of their minds when they're ready to buy.

What's more, they will be more likely to spread the word about the great experience they had with you. They will tell others about that positive experience and recommend that they join your list, too. Or better yet, direct them to your offer pages.

Who doesn't love a freebie? It perks us up, makes us feel important and special. It just makes us feel good, getting something of value for nothing.

As far as business success tips go, this is one well worth heeding.

Michael Wilkovesky