The Power of the Word Free

Never underestimate the power of the word free. It’s one of the most alluring words in all marketing. It’s also one of the most overused words in promotions. When you see this little word be sure to check it out carefully and don’t just run because it’s free. As you well know behind every free gift in marketing is a reason for giving.

Why is it so alluring? Well everyone likes a free gift but nobody gives one just like that without a pretty good reason. Here are some reasons for giving free gifts.

• A thank you gift to your subscribers for signing up for your newsletter. This starts your relationship with your subscribers on a good note. One small tip here always be sure that the gift is a good one and that your subscribers will like it. • A lure to join your list: you see this all the time. Some marketer offers you a free gift and when you sign up for it you find that you have been subscribed to one of their buddy’s lists. This is OK if the gift is worth it. • A free gift if you buy something: read these carefully and be sure you really need the product, otherwise don’t sign up for it.

How can you make it work for your marketing?

This may very well be very important section of this study. • Building lists: offering your subscribers a free thank you gift often persuades them to join your list, and as mentioned above is a nice goodwill gesture. Just like a hand shake when you start a friendship. If you make your gift relevant to your market and valuable to your subscriber they’ll stay on your list and will very likely read your newsletter. • Free gifts as bonuses: you can offer free gifts as a bonus for buying products, as mentioned above. • Free gifts to promote a product: we’ve all read those free reports and mini courses. A little information with links to a product. Some are good others just ads. • Free trials: for a limited time you can try out a product for free, then after that period you’ll be charged.

Different types of free things:

• Free reports: as mentioned these gifts are informative pieces with just enough information to make you hungry for the main course, the product the marketer is selling. Some of these courses are full of good information and make you want to click through to check out the product. This is called incomplete information that’s complemented by the product. This is what you need to aim for when using this gift. • Free mini courses: these are useful little 7 or five day daily lessons, that you can use for a couple of purposes. Firstly you can give it as a thank you gift to your subscribers. I’m sure that many of you have received this from me when you signed up. At the bottom you’ll find a little sig file promoting a product that you may be able to use. This product should fulfill a need for your market and be extremely relevant. • Free newsletters: we all know about these. This is one of the most popular forms of relationship marketing. The subscriber gets some good information in the form of articles and the publishers gets to offer their product and even accept some paid 3rd party ads. • Free e-books: these are sometimes useful and sometimes not. If you want these to be an effective marketing tool be sure to make sure they’re valuable and have a link to your product or an affiliate product. Make them free giveaways so that you can take advantage of viral marketing.

Cathy Q is the publisher of the free newsletter A-Y-B. Full of tips and information on how to start and grow your business. To sign up for a free subscription visit http://advertise-your-business.com