See how the business that give free things away use it effectively.
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"Free." What do I mean by that? What I'm talking about is a popular marketing tool. A powerful tool, but often abused.
To be specific, I'm talking about when you give something away with the hope of gaining (or keeping) customers. It's often risky to use this tool, but it can be used safely and effectively.
One of the best (and most commonly cited) examples is that of the Eastern food vendor at the food court in the mall. You probably know exactly what I'm talking about. You walk into the great circle of vendors... and are surrounded by a dozen choices. Each vying for your attention. You're starving, but you can't decide if you should get a salad or a hamburger.
But your state of indecision is interrupted by a polite young server, offering you a sample of the food from the Eastern vendor you're standing next to. You take the sample, and before you know it, you're at the counter. Ordering lunch. That's the tool of "free" being used successfully.
Why does it work so well? I've narrowed it down to three fundamental reasons:
Rule #1: Be practical
The food sample idea works because it's based on an obviously effective principle. If you're starving, you want the first thing that satisfies your need. In this case, your need is for nourishing food. The sample meets that need, so you naturally want more.
But suppose the server in the food court offered you a piece of gum. That's nice, but it's not what you need. You need something to satisfy your hunger. So you'll probably leave the gum vendor as quickly as you came.
As ludicrous as that example seems, the mistake is made all the time. Businesses continually try to promote themselves with freebies that have nothing to do with what their prospects need. Why? Don't they realize the mistake they're making? Or don't they care?
Meet your prospects' needs. Give them something they can use.
Rule #2: Never just give it away
You'll notice something else about the food court example. It's when the server offers you the sample. If he or she knows what they're are doing, they won't just ask if you want to try a piece of food. Nope, not if they know what they're doing. Instead, they build up the value of what they're offering...
"Would you like to try the chicken teriyaki? Everyone loves it! The spices in it make it taste wonderful."
And then they hand the sample to you... almost ceremoniously.
Granted, that doesn't happen every time you're in a food court. But when it does, don't you get a great feeling about the vendor?
To use "free" effectively, you can't just give something away. You have to make it special. You have to give your prospect a good feeling about what you're offering. And for that same reason, you should limit what you give away. If you give away practically everything, no one will want to pay for anything. You've lowered the perceived value of what you're offering.
And obviously, that's the reason food court vendors use toothpicks for samples - instead of plates.
Appeal to your prospects' feelings. Show them that they're getting something valuable.
Rule #3: Keep it from backfiring
There's one more critical element if you're going to use "free" effectively. And it's probably a good deal more important than the other two. Because if it fails, everything fails. What you're offering has to truly be high quality.
Back to the food court example. What would happen if the server handed you a sample that tasted like it was three days old and had the texture of asphalt?
If that happened, it wouldn't matter how well the server met your needs by offering you a sample. Or how pleasant they were when they gave it to you. You'd forget all that. And you'd probably hurry away, forever disillusioned about the entire chain.
Of course, when considering your own business, it's tempting to think, "Isn't it enough that I'm giving something away for free? Do I really have to worry about quality?"
You'd better! Realize that everything you offer your prospects is a reflection on your entire operation. Even if it's free. In fact, especially if it's free. Since free giveaways are often a prospect's first experience with your company, it's CRUCIAL that you make an outstandingly good first impression on them.
Give your prospects quality. Especially if it's free.
So there you have it. The three rules of "free." Now I realize, what I've just told you is probably nothing you haven't heard before. But do you really apply it like you should?
It's surprising how many people don't. Spend a little time poking around the internet. Look for businesses that offer freebies. I guarantee it, you'll find a lot of shoddy and poorly written free ebooks. Plenty of "newsletters" with hardly any real, helpful content. And hardly any of this free stuff gives you a good feeling about the businesses they're supposed to be promoting.
If your business offers any sort of freebies, make sure that they don't make these mistakes. And if they do, fix them! Spruce up your ebook. Get a unique and quality graphic "cover" for it. Make the contents a little more visually appealing. See if you can improve the quality of the information it. Same thing if you have a newsletter... or any sort of freebie for that matter.
But fix the problem before it causes any more damage. Because you can never really gauge how much damage these kind of mistakes cause.
Above all, remember, "free" is a powerful tool. But like all powerful tools, it needs to be used with extreme care.
Jonathan
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Jonathan Bostrom is a professional copywriter who's special FREE service can be found at FreeCopyWriter (and the PDF of this article can be found here). This is a special, never-before-seen service that stretches the limits of "free." Be sure to take advantage of it before it's gone! You can also visit his new blog. That's also free!
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