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Do you think that I am giving away too much for free (common problem in IM)?

by Bkelly301
16 replies
I primarily get my traffic from my YouTube videos. In the links in the description I direct people over to my website which is where I have my course (soon to be multiple courses) for sale.

I have my website set up such that all of my YouTube videos are freely available on the site, but they are organized much better so a user can easily navigate through the various different topics.

In addition to this, I include "written lessons" with all of the videos, as well as links to other relevant free lessons that can be found on my site. The whole purpose of this is to get people to create a "Free membership", which then gets them onto my email list.

I'm wondering if I am possibly giving away too much with this free membership though? Many people sign up as free members to my website and never end up buying what I'm selling. My free stuff is REALLY GOOD.

Do you think that I should have it set up such that my website is literally just a STORE to sell my products? Maybe I should ditch the idea of a "free membership", and instead just get people onto my email list by giving away a free mini-course, ebook or some other "freebie"?

Or maybe I keep the free membership to be REALLY GOOD, such that I keep building a following of fans which ultimately builds my traffic and email list in the long term?

So the options are:

- Give away very little for free on the website, so people will buy courses?

- Give away tons of high quality free content in order to build trust, traffic and a long-term following?

What are your thoughts on this?
#common #free #giving #problem
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  • Profile picture of the author yesacpow
    From your post, it sounds like you are giving away a wealth of information for free. This is good EXCEPT you maybe overwhelming your audience.


    So as a results, they probably don't know which actions to take - and they could be thinking that's the same way your course is structured. Correct me if am wrong.


    I personally would focus on ONE problem my audience is having and only target that section. To give you an idea of what I mean, let's say I'm focusing on website traffic. We know there are a ton of ways to drive traffic but in this case, I would target people who are looking to drive traffic for free.


    Then I could also just focus on persons who want to learn youtube or say Pinterest. Then MOST of my free materials would be on those topics so that i ATTRACT ONLY people interested in those.


    Then I, would give away the "WHY" they need the info in free trainings and then in paid training and would focus on the "HOW".


    Let me know your thoughts.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    The only way that the model works where you give away tons of free information is if you have up-sells that makes accomplishing the things outlined in the free information easier, such as a tool or private 1-on-1 coaching, or a website template (tough to say for sure without knowing what the course is all about).

    A lot of people think they have the time and energy to accomplish the information they get in free courses but whether they admit it to themselves or not, they find that it's too hard to stay motivated, takes too much time to do all the steps or they feel unsure of themselves and just can't pull the trigger. Figuring out a way to help them through those roadblocks with up-sells is the only way that model really works well.

    Perhaps some sort of survey, asking people who have been through your free course what the sticking points are, is a way to develop an up-sell that people will gladly purchase.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Link Bait! Personally, all of my giveaway material requires an optin to my lists.


    Over the years I have done all that you have done and learned the free material works best for list building when there is an incentive(s) for customers.


    Examples:

    Free lessons are all limited in that broad overviews are free whereas detailed lessons are premium (cost money).


    Free membership sites also limited with discounts available wherein registered free members can upgrade to paid membership status at a discount.


    You may want to change your list building strategy to capturing the users email as a requirement to receive your free material. Once you have their email you can make offers.
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  • Profile picture of the author sgalla414
    Agree with yesacpow above. It is important to give away a why, a reason they need your products/services but provide the how (your knowledge) at a cost to them. Also, as Dave has already mentioned a surrvey is a good way to throw a feeler out to see what it is your audience is most interested in. You already have a line up of products you offer, if you are looking to refine them to be more interesting to your audience or create new products, throw something out there to get them talking and asking questions. From that information you can create something you know they need/want.
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  • Profile picture of the author George Flm
    You can make bang without giving away the farm.

    The more you give, the more the tire kicker awakes in the prospect's mind.
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  • Profile picture of the author pheonix44
    I think you should include upsells as someone already mentioned, but make it clear that the upsell in no way diminishes the free info you're providing. The truth of the matter is that if someone values something, then they'll be willing to pay for it.

    Giving away a lot of good information is a bad idea even more so depending on the niche you're in. for super competitive niches there may be a ton of free info out there and most of it mediocre at best. so if you're stuff is truly a cut above the rest and for free, then this hurts you.

    Of course there are other ways to leverage people who do join your list. You can decide to have them leverage their social media in help you out. Maybe you already do this, but you should make it as easy as possible for people to share your free info with as many people as they want through their social media.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marty Foley
    The Freemium Model is a proven one. The trick is to balance how much to give away with how much to give away for free.

    If you're getting plenty of free signups, consider putting more and more of your better stuff behind a toll booth, where people must pay to access it. And encourage buyers to share how they're benefiting from your paid content, to build more social proof and get it to work in your favor.

    Of course you'll get a higher % of buyers when the "tool booth" fee is lower. But you can make up for that through higher volume.

    ~ Marty Foley
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinVPhilippe
    Hey man !

    I've had the same issues, which almost every person selling info via internet will find.

    To get free traffic, u need good info. And sometimes, we get carried away and give too much.

    The most important thing i find to regulate that issue is to understand one thing :

    People look at your free stuff to know a bit more and get motivation to do wtvr.

    People buy your products to get the step by step.

    Free stuff should be a broad overview of the topic. Never go in the details. Let people pay for that.

    That's how I separate those things.

    And another thing, give your people good stuff, give them support. Stop thinking about what's good for you and start thinking what's good for them.

    Free membership ? Great idea man. It's good for them and the clients.

    The more you're in their face, the better. Keep at it man !
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  • Profile picture of the author The Mysterious Marketer
    Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

    I primarily get my traffic from my YouTube videos. In the links in the description I direct people over to my website which is where I have my course (soon to be multiple courses) for sale.

    I have my website set up such that all of my YouTube videos are freely available on the site, but they are organized much better so a user can easily navigate through the various different topics.

    In addition to this, I include "written lessons" with all of the videos, as well as links to other relevant free lessons that can be found on my site. The whole purpose of this is to get people to create a "Free membership", which then gets them onto my email list.

    I'm wondering if I am possibly giving away too much with this free membership though? Many people sign up as free members to my website and never end up buying what I'm selling. My free stuff is REALLY GOOD.

    Do you think that I should have it set up such that my website is literally just a STORE to sell my products? Maybe I should ditch the idea of a "free membership", and instead just get people onto my email list by giving away a free mini-course, ebook or some other "freebie"?

    Or maybe I keep the free membership to be REALLY GOOD, such that I keep building a following of fans which ultimately builds my traffic and email list in the long term?

    So the options are:

    - Give away very little for free on the website, so people will buy courses?

    - Give away tons of high quality free content in order to build trust, traffic and a long-term following?

    What are your thoughts on this?
    In this situation, I would say you have to get your priorities straight...

    What's the main thing you're trying to achieve initially?

    Is it to... get sales quickly, so you can get some capital to re-invest in growth?

    Or is it to... build and develop trust and get them to warm up to you a bit?

    Well, regardless of your desired end result:

    Don't give away too much!

    For one, if there's too much content to go through, and people can't even finish going through your free content, why would they pay for more?

    They already have too much stuff to go through.

    And even if your point is to build trust, it's difficult for people to trust you if...

    ... they never go through your content!

    And that is what most likely will happen if you give away too much content.

    People just won't have the time to go through it.

    They'll feel they have too much to do anyways.

    And they'll just end up being overwhelmed.

    Which is not what you want to have happen.

    Give a small, high quality "taste" of what you have to offer that will keep them coming back for more.

    Just like a drug dealer.

    The first part is free.

    You need to pay after that.

    HA HA HA HA HA HA!
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  • Profile picture of the author webmarke
    My advice to you would to not give all of your content away at once. I would have them optin and drip feed lessons to them.


    This will allow you to gain their trust, not overwhelm them with too much content at once, and promote money making offers to the list that you build.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Newbies are easily overwhelmed and from experience when they feel overwhelmed the majority will click-out and seldom return.


    To ensure the newbies stay in a membership site we first offer videos with "broad overviews" and more importantly "actionable plans" that are emphasized in the videos. We suggest the members review all of the broad videos that explain the detailed videos (paid membership) are structured to follow from the beginning to the end. We also emphasize there is a plan to follow and the plan is easily learned. We also make available the first paid video in the free membership for the potential customer's review.


    WordPress (WP) wise we offer two themes. One is free and the other is a premium theme (paid). Over the years we have not needed YouTube at all as we are already an established agency. We offer many sought after internet technologies such as WP themes without traceable origin and private server management.


    In short, once you have a membership site and the skills it is easy to scale to almost anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author freeabs
    Are you looking to build a Freebies list or a Buyers list? Sure people tel you that Freebies seekers will buy one day after you nurture then for years but do you want to spend years nurturing them? You decide which way you want to go...
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven of Polonius
    I give away a ton of free stuff, but only to people who deserve it. Namely, my BUYERS. My advice, have a launch, build a *buyers* list, and then spoil THEM with free stuff, alongside promotional stuff. Reward the action-takers not the tire-kickers and freebie seekers who are too afraid to invest. There's no point in equipping them. It's a waste. They will never do anything with the info.
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  • Profile picture of the author mike197903
    My oppinion is if you give away too much that is what they will expect in the future.
    Give away tips and golden nuggets but do not teach them step by step because that is where the have to buy the course for.You need to find a way to give away something for free and in order to make it work they need your course, i hope this whas helpfull.
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    With all the free material you say you have then people might not buy for a while if not at all. You might, as other people have suggested, use free material to get people on your list.

    You might also want to put the free material at the other end. What I mean is use it as Bonus Material for people that purchase your main course

    al
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  • Profile picture of the author cearionmarie
    Yes, I think you are. There's nothing wrong with your concept, it's actually very effective in driving traffic but not so much in the sales department. Al here has a really good suggestion, putting the free material as a bonus on the other end.
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