Free Report vs Low Price eBook

[illinimatt81]

Looking for input from warriors on the following.

Scenario: You are selling physical affiliate products.

Would you rather:

a) have a free report that is only accessible by opting in to an email list that leads into a sales script and links to the affiilate products

or

b) sell the report as a low cost eBook, such as $7, providing information of value to the buyer and then having some very soft sales cues such as visiting the website with information on the affiliate products. This way you do generate an income from the report

It seems I could be monetizing my report instead of just trying to build a list and potentially increase my revenue streams.

I have affiliate products and a blog on a website already and I am thinking of charging for my current free report I am using only to build a list.

Let's hear some thoughts. I'm sure some other Warriors have thought of this too.

[steveblum]

I would offer a free report, get them on my list, start building a relationship, while at the same time dripping e-mails promoting an affiliate product.

Looking at it from a customer's standpoint I would be more willing to give up my name and e-mail for a free report, video, e-book, etc. than to buy from someone right away - unless their product was something I needed.

I think of it as more of a long-term benefit than short-term. Just my 2 cents.

[free2rock]

Originally Posted by JMueller129

Building your list should be first. I would say that by offering the low cost eBook, you're driving away potentially interested leads who are simply not willing to spend money upfront on a product.

Jason

I have to agree with Jason opinion here, people do like things Free and it's important to build relationship with your potential customers.

[pharris1]

I have to agree, building a list will likely be much more profitable in the long term than what you will make selling a $7 ebook (unless you hit a really hot topic and have alot of traffic flowing to your site).

Peter

[joshril]

A $7 ebook is a great thing to offer to your list subscribers! Get 'em on the list with a freebie and butter them up with a $7 ebook. Or even better yet, a $1 trial offer or report with a OTO.

Or a $7 report with a OTO...

[AlonzoTJones]

i would agree with the majority of warriors. Building a list and relationship will pay off many times over. While you may make a few dollars up front on the ebook, you may not get the chance to sell to these same customers in the future and would thus be counter productive.

[James_Harkin]

Maybe only give them a sample through your mailing list ... a synopsis ... because one thing I know, if its offered entirely free, people will consider it junk, even if its great information.

If it were me, then I would offer a brief overview, a synopsis via email, so the potential customer gets the idea of what your report/book is about and then offer to give them the full version for $7 ... therefore you have generated interest in your ebook ... and provide value because when they see the full version is only $7, they should buy it. You therefore generate a bit of income from your hard work creating it, even if you are offering a high ticket item on the back end.

Sell it with Master Reproduction Rights so that they can sell it or give it away ... it will then hold more value than a freebie.

My own personal experience with freebies ... I just archive them and might get to them, because its cost me nothing to read them, I don't spend the time. However, if I am buying a report because I want the info, then I will read it.

Hope this helps.

Regards

James

[sahi]

Giving a low cost ebook will be much better as compared to just giving it free because with low cost book you will have made some money plus you would have a list of buyers which is far better than having just a list of those who downloaded your book for free, and you won't have any idea who is serious and who is not.

With a buyer list you don't spend that much time and energy in building trust and relationship which you may have to spend with a list of free subscribers.

[jagsenghera]

Originally Posted by sahi

Giving a low cost ebook will be much better as compared to just giving it free because with low cost book you will have made some money plus you would have a list of buyers which is far better than having just a list of those who downloaded your book for free, and you won't have any idea who is serious and who is not.

With a buyer list you don't spend that much time and energy in building trust and relationship which you may have to spend with a list of free subscribers.

I agree with sahi, offering your ebook for a low cost is a better option then giving it out for free. Its the best way to weed out the freebie seekers who will never invest in your products and you will be wasting your time and resources promoting to them. I usually get better results promoting to a buyer list then to a freebie list

[crystalq]

B] I would do a $7.00 report and build a list of buyers after they purchase
and yes an OTO would be a good idea too.

[Kevin Riley]

I have to disagree with the majority here. I see many opting for the free e-book. I'd go the other route - and I have to great success.

I prefer building a high-quality, responsive list with low-cost front-end guides. My under $10 guides selling on $7 Secrets script keep my list supplied with the kind of members who are customers.

[Slin]

Offer a free report, then advertise your product to your new list.

After you give them helpful advice and tips of course.

[illinimatt81]

Thanks for all of the good replies. I have been giving away the report for free this month so what I am going to try doing is selling it for $7 starting November 1 and re-evaluate in December.

I like the thought that those that buy the low cost eBook are serious buyers and a higher value to my list than anyone who just signs up. I also agree with the thinking that the material will be read and valued more than if given away for free.

I'll report back and in the meantime always open to everyone's ideas.

[-Jericho-]

Free report with the list for sure. Unless you are offering really good information that is easy to sell the free report will do you more good. Especially if helps you to become an authority which makes up-selling later easier.

[Alexa Smith]

Very interesting, to see the differences of opinion, here.

I think Kevin makes an excellent point above, and one that's widely under-appreciated.

The mistake, in a sense, is just to compare numbers with numbers. Yes, you'll build a far bigger list giving away a free report - no question about it. But if you do it the other way, you're building a list of buyers. And that tends to be worth much more, even though it's smaller.

(In my opinion this is kind of related to the "short article"/"long article" debate regarding article marketing at EZA: you get far more click-throughs with a short article with the resource-box starting above the fold, but far more buyers from the lower CTR with an 800-word article, because at least to some extent, you've separated out the buyers from the readers. )

[JAIDEEP2959]

Firstly you need to build the list giving away free reports.

Afterwards, You can sell them low priced products or Clickbank products.

Good luck.

[joshril]

On the flip side, I have personally purchased products after joining a list to get a free report. Typically, it's been after the person has created a solid relationship with me.

I think a list of buyers is certainly more valuable, but I would venture to say that there are many "freebie seekers" that will convert to paid clients if information of value is being provided over time and a relationship is built.

I think that giving a report away, especially if you are an unknown person with an unknown product, is a fantastic way to build a list of buyers.

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Very interesting, to see the differences of opinion, here.

I think Kevin makes an excellent point above, and one that's widely under-appreciated.

The mistake, in a sense, is just to compare numbers with numbers. Yes, you'll build a far bigger list giving away a free report - no question about it. But if you do it the other way, you're building a list of buyers. And that tends to be worth much more, even though it's smaller.

(In my opinion this is kind of related to the "short article"/"long article" debate regarding article marketing at EZA: you get far more click-throughs with a short article with the resource-box starting above the fold, but far more buyers from the lower CTR with an 800-word article, because at least to some extent, you've separated out the buyers from the readers. )

[illinimatt81]

Any recommendations on how to host the pdf of the ebook once the paypal transaction is complete?

I am drawing blanks at the names of the best companies to host this...

[Mark Hess]

I use DPD - Digital Product Delivery - Sell Downloads and Run Your Own Affiliate Program to deliver all of my digital products. If you go to the "plans/pricing" page you will see a list of the available plans.

Directly underneath that, you will see: "We also offer a free plan. 1 Product, PayPal Only, 50MB Product Space"

If this is your only ebook (and it's under 50mb) you can deliver it to paying customers automatically for free. Just upload your file, attach a paypal account and you're done.

[SeanSupplee]

Free report coupled with a one time offer will give you the best results. Will build your list, show you who your buyers are and also those that did not buy from you today are still on your list and could buy from you tomorrow.

As per downloading. A membership site is always good however you can always password protect the folder and give out the link and password in the confirmation email you send out.

[JohnMcCabe]

In the past, I've been in the 'free report and build a relationship' camp. Now, I'm really starting to lean the other way.

I've been reading some studies in behavioral psychology that opened my eyes.

First, it turns out that the gap from free to paid is bigger than we thought. The study quoted used candy as the item sold/given away.

In the first round of the test, researchers offered a premium chocolate for 15 cents and a lower-quality chocolate for 1 cent. They measured the number of people who opted for the premium chocolate vs. the plain one. As I recall, about 68% went for the premium chocolate.

For round two, they lowered the price of each chocolate by one penny. In theory, the price difference was the same, so the same percentage of people should opt for the higher-quality experience. Not so. Over 80% went for the freebie.

This finding would seem to support the 'offer it free and build a bigger list' option, right?

On to round three of the test. Subjects who chose the free chocolate were given the option of buying a second chocolate for a penny, or one of the higher priced chocolates for half price. Classic OTO. Over 90% refused both options and settled for the freebie.

So the findings would lead us to believe that crossing the gap from free to paid - even for a penny - is more difficult than bridging the gap from low price to high.

Another study looked at the separation between social relationships and market relationships. I won't go into a long description of the test itself again, but the findings were very interesting for IMers.

If you build a relationship with subscribers based on being 'social' - providing lots of great content without asking anything in return - when you shift gears and ask them to buy something, there's an almost violent disconnect. You're taking a social relationship and turning it into a market relationship.

The fellow who ran the study used this analogy...

The family is gathered for Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey is succulent, the side dishes superb. The wine is a perfect match, and you even get one of your favorite pies as one of the desserts.

Everyone is satiated, leaning back and basking in the glow of a great meal shared with family.

You stand up, whip out your wallet, and ask your hostess how much you owe her for the great meal. You drop a couple of hundred dollars on the table, and head home.

Christmas finds you sitting at home alone, watching TV and eating your turkey TV dinner, wondering why you didn't get invited anywhere...

The implication for marketers is pretty clear. Go ahead and build a relationship, but be very clear what kind of relationship it is. You'll end up like the clod who brings his date home and expects her to put out because he paid for dinner and drinks. That approach turns her from 'pleasant dinner companion and possible lover' to 'whore' in the space of a sentence.

Many of the marketers who complain about giving their lists lots of valuable content only to have the first product offer fall flat or worse are doing the same thing...