Email Marketers: How do you give quality free info but save enough "content" for your main product?

by Nick Brighton

Posted: 15 years ago 17 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hey all,

Let's say you've got a product which offers coping techniques for a certain condition...let's say anxiety.

Now, some of your leads are finding you using keywords related to symptoms, and getting diagnosed...with me?

Ok, so these people are going to be potential customers/hot leads IF they do end up getting diagnosed, and they are clearly potentially suffering from anxiety or they wouldn't be searching for symptoms etc...right?

Ok, so you start building a list giving them info on symptoms, diagnosis etc.

So far so good.

But then what information would you follow up with via email to provide value, build a relationship etc?

You're trying to start introduce them to your product and at the same time provide them with more info for free...without ending up giving away all of your content...THAT is the dilemma that often troubles me in certain markets.

How do balance the line between giving great free content and not giving away the farm?

Cheers,

Nick

#content #email #free #give #info #main #marketers #product #quality #save

Keith Kogane 15 years ago

In the instances where I've tried something like this, I try to give away stuff that is "useful but incomplete" - depending on the kind of content we're talking about, I give away things to "know" but I sell things to "do". Does that make sense? General info is free, but any tutorials, formulas, recipes, anything that has to do with actually taking action - that stays behind the paid side.

However, most of the time, in markets like this that are tough, I usually just try to build a list using 100% free information and just try to profit by advertising on the blogs and with ezine-style ads in the email list.

Let the guys who are already making money do the hard work, in other words. I just make a site to collect traffic that should be at least peripherally interested.

Hope that make sense.
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talfighel 15 years ago

Nick,

I don't have a clear answer for you but when it comes to email marketing and how to build a good relationship with your list, I would have someone coach you on this. There is a guy online by the name of Terry Dean who is an Internet Business Coach and I totally recommend his coaching program.

I am not affiliated with him at all:

Internet Business Coaching by Terry Dean

Tal
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Nick Brighton

15 years ago

Thanks for the great replies.

I've studied a lot of email marketing programs. One was Chris Rempel's Rapid List Formula.

Whilst great information, I feel that what I am missing is this balancing act.

My content that I give away for free is jam packed and quality. But then I'm left in a position where I've given them what they need at that point, and the only thing left to talk about is the actual main product which is a natural continuation from the free stuff.

It's something I've never really grasped in my years of marketing niche products, which is often why I avoid building lists.

There just HAS to be someone out there who can put me straight, I'm sure of it!

Thanks
1 reply

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Martin Avis

15 years ago

No matter how creative you are, or how well you know your subject, sooner or later you are going to run out of things to say. I know - my newsletter has been running for over 1040 issues.

And that is very much the same as the question you asked - once you've written it all in a newsletter, what's left?

The answer is that nobody is only interested in one thing.

If you were to write about your core topic every single time you talk to your list, you'd frankly, soon become boring. Instead, realise that an interest in your niche subject is just one aspect of your readers' life. There are any number of related things that you can discuss, or even completely unrelated ones.

By all means keep the focus of your writing on topic, but don't think that you have to fill an entire newsletter with on-topic material. You readers will thank you if you treat them like rounded individuals who have other interests.

At least, mine do!

My newsletter is 'about' Internet marketing, but I often write about my views on marketing in general, business ideas, movies I've seen, books I've read - even news items that have whetted my interest.

I think it show respect for my audience to show them that I know they are interested in other stuff and in return, they show respect for me by being incredibly responsive.

And I'm much less likely to run out of things to say!

Martin

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Nick Brighton

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Martin.Avis

The answer is that nobody is only interested in one thing.

If you were to write about your core topic every single time you talk to your list, you'd frankly, soon become boring. Instead, realise that an interest in your niche subject is just one aspect of your readers' life. There are any number of related things that you can discuss, or even completely unrelated ones.

By all means keep the focus of your writing on topic, but don't think that you have to fill an entire newsletter with on-topic material. You readers will thank you if you treat them like rounded individuals who have other interests.

That's actually a really good point. Often we're so focused on RELEVANCE when trying to obtain leads that it actually ends up choking us when we've got them.

Ideas coming to mind are:

1. Other areas of your life that are affected by problem "x"
2. Some common misconceptions about problem "x"
3. Biggest mistakes and things to avoid with problem "x"
4. Did you know that people with "x" also have "y"
5. Stories of other people's success/failure/mistakes and what we can learn from them as a community

....brain juices flowing. Anyone else care to chime in?

Thanks

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Andreas Armani 15 years ago

Hi,

Have you heard of the term
"moving the freeline".

If you aren´t familiar with
the concept, here´s a quick
recap.

This means that you give away
your best stuff for free.

I am going to give you a quick
insight behind the psychology
below, but first this:

If you can prove to your
prospects that you can solve
their problem, they will trust you.

Trust is key in having your own
profitable email list.

Once they trust you, you will be able to
market to them for many years to come.

You will lose some on the frontend
but bring in a lot of cash on the backend.

The psychology behind this is simple.

Your pospect will think something
like this:

"Wow, if you give me this for free,
your product/products must be awesome."

Depending on the niche, there´s
usually more to tell, even though you
give them the solution.

A customer usually wants more
afterwards, even though they
think they "get it".

I would even recommend that
you don´t just give them the
solution, make them accountable
reaching their goal, help them
to push themselves to success.

Your product can then go deeper.
The format can change
- video
- audio
- coaching sessions
- webinars

The price can also go up a lot...

Give them the solution, solve
their problem for free, give them
the A-ha moment.

They will trust you and respect you,
and more importantly,
they will buy from you.

Depending on your niche, this
might be a free report,video or audio
but not the usual hyped-up
marketing piece, but
the actual soluton in a
superdense, no fluff, package.

Might be worth a try

Good luck

Andreas Armani
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CDarklock 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Nick Brighton

How do balance the line between giving great free content and not giving away the farm?

Use the nine percent rule.

When you went out to build your paid product, you discovered in your research that 90% of everything was crap, and you took the ten percent that wasn't crap so you could use it for your product.

When you looked at that ten percent, ninety percent was still crap when you introduced the added requirement of paying to get it. So you took that out, leaving 1% of what you found in your paid product, and you end up with:

- 90% crap
- 1% paid product
- 9% not crap unless you have to pay for it

Follow me? Use that nine percent as your free content.
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drmani

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Nick Brighton

But then what information would you follow up with via email to provide value, build a relationship etc?...

How do balance the line between giving great free content and not giving away the farm?

Nick

You could teach the WHY, and sell the HOW.

Or give away the OUTLINE, and package the DETAILS for sale.

Or share the BASICS, and charge for ADVANCED stuff.

Hope this helps

All success
Dr.Mani

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Nick Brighton 15 years ago

Originally Posted by drmani

You could teach the WHY, and sell the HOW.

I love that. It's so simple, I've seen it millions of times yet when I come to do it I forgot about this!

In preselling and sales copy I always explain the whys before I pitch the hows...so i guess it's no different in free content via email.

Teach the why, sell the how. So simple, yet so profound.
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robert25 15 years ago

Giving facts, Statistical information, Pre-selling product.
I will give you example related to anxiety. Informative Pre-sell

Title: Myth about breathing technique
Content
Put Pros and Cons of breathing technique in your email.
Ending
At the end suggest the product you are recommending.

You can use this tact for 100 times if you know your niche well.
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bluenetworx 15 years ago

I agree with the Evan Pagen moving the free line approach, I do this and get very good results. However one thing i must say is that not all niches respond well or are worth your time building a list for. So if you are concerned about running out of content straight away I would be considering if this is really a great email marketing niche. I built a list once, only a few hundred in one market and then just stopped it, as it was not profitable for the time investment.

Cheers
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- Nightengale 15 years ago
  
  Keith and Andreas are dead on.
  
  For anything selling your paid stuff (like your free report, free audio, teleseminar, etc.) a simple formula to follow is this:
  
  Marketing document: Give them the What + the Why
  Paid product: Give them the What + the Why + the HOW
  
  Once people are educated on WHY they need to do something and WHAT they need to do, then they want to know HOW to do it. But to learn HOW, they have to pay for the information.
  
  This simple little formula has really helped clarify this for me and helped me write my marketing documents (free report, etc.). It also helps your prospects feel like they're getting some solid info instead of just being pitched.
  
  As Andreas mentioned, though, don't be afraid to give away your best stuff for free.
  
  If you're writing an article or doing a teleseminar for example, give away one or two complete tips or strategies. As he mentioned, it will often make people think "Wow, if he's giving away this much for free, his paid stuff is probably BETTER!"
  
  Also, an e-zine article just isn't long enough to give away your complete system, so it's still only a piece of the pie. Plus, human nature being what it is, you can give complete tips and stratgies in articles, teleseminars, etc. and people often don't act on them. They feel they either need MORE info to do it properly (and buy your complete info product) or they need hand-holding (and buy your coaching or do-it-for-you services).
  
  Hope this helps!
  
  Michelle
  
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Tyrus Antas

15 years ago

Some ideas:

- Be more specific in your product. Go into details and give step by step information. Leave this level of detail out of your promotions/day-by-day interaction with your readers.

- Give more polish to your final product. Create videos, have professionally made graphics and presentations.

- Make one of the benefits of buying the product having access to you or a community. That way you shift the value from the information itself to the feeling of belonging. There are many memberships that survive this way. There's not much in terms of content but people like to belong to the community.

- Some people give their best ideas when they're in product promotion mode. People will become impressed with these and end up buying the product. Even if there's no more "meat" inside the product, those who bought will feel satisfied as they've got the good ideas anyway, even if they were initially free.

Tyrus

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Mark McClure

15 years ago

Where in your sales funnel is this product currently positioned?

One interesting way to give great free information is on a teleseminar.
I liked the way Jeff Herring (the article guy) did this - he's a 'natural' at running calls and usually had a time limited offer for one of his products or for an article writing coaching service.

Even though he was giving away tons of info on the call for free - the 'packaging' of his main offer was well thought out with mp3s, article templates, email coaching etc. And you had to be on the call to get a crack at the limited number of spots available.

A minority of 'self-starters' could probably run with the free info and not need to buy anything from him.
But a % of the other 80% plus would find his offer irresistible. ka-ching!

You could do some email marketing aimed at getting people to register for teleseminars. And take it from there.

Thanks
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Vijay M

15 years ago

While give away your best content for free will definitely work, unless the buyer gets something more after paying, he/she will be hugely disappointed and might even ask for a refund.

I bought a 97$ wso some time back, in which the seller was giving out a free chapter as a bait. This free chapter which detailed 1 technique was awesome and so, salivating at the prospect of learning more techniques contained in the other chapters, I immediately bought his wso, but was hugely disappointed. rest of the chapters held nothing new and I even briefly considered asking for a refund.

While I benifitted from his free chapter, now that I know how he operates, I most certainly will not be buying other stuff from this warrior. So, while giving away his best advice did get him a sale for a 97$ product, he will probably lose out on future sales.

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marciayudkin

15 years ago

You could teach the WHY, and sell the HOW.

Or give away the OUTLINE, and package the DETAILS for sale.

Or share the BASICS, and charge for ADVANCED stuff.

These are great suggestions.

Two things I do in my high-content autoresponder series which do not duplicate the content of the product in any way and yet build interest for it are 1)case study interviews and 2)answer common questions about the topic.

Marcia Yudkin

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JohnHuizinga

15 years ago

Originally Posted by marciayudkin

I can't comment from personal experience in list building but I can say that this is a good summary of how Eben Pagan approached DYD marketing via email (and podcasts).
His email newsletters (which are likely still running) would center around a readers q&a section.
He also had podcasts called "Interviews with Dating G u r u s" (if I remember correctly). Not everyone he interviewed really fell into that category but the interviews helped him continue to offer free material that was quite often more useful for motivation than actually gleaning useful information.

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Email Marketers: How do you give quality free info but save enough "content" for your main product?

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