4 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
4 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Don't Send Free Chapters That Are Just Sales Pages

by AnneE
3 replies
Today I received an offer to get a free chapter of an ebook/special report. Thinking that it might contain a tip or two that would benefit me in my next push to raise a website's SEO ranking, I signed up. Yes, a little voice in my head was saying, "Stop.... this isn't part of your plan. You have a plan. Stick with the plan." But another voice said, "read it while you have your coffee. It's free, what do you have to lose?"

What I lost was a bit of self-respect and about 15 minutes because the free chapter was really just a giant sales letter in disguise about the need for the rest of the book.

What the person who sent it to me lost was a newsletter subscriber, as I immediately went and unsubscribed to their general newsletter.

Please, if you are going to send a 'free chapter' make sure it contains at least ONE piece of information that the recipient can use WITHOUT making a purchase.
#chapters #free #pages #sales #send
  • Profile picture of the author Luke Etheridge
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1695912].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author AnneE
      Originally Posted by Luke Etheridge View Post

      Great point AnneE,

      I am taking this approach with my latest Internet Marketing eCourse, I have decided to offer my readers the opportunity to view part of a chapter of my course, which is 22 pages long for free...no details or nothing.

      The idea is that this person will enjoy the content enough to go ahead and sign up to my eCourse. I agree that if you are going to give away a chapter it has to be a genuine chapter from your product with insightful content (it doesn't have to offer masses of value but just something worth reading with a few decent tips) with no real sales speil, apart from a small paragraph saying, "if you liked this chapter...blah blah blah".

      I'm glad you brought this up because when I started I signed up to quite a few things, only to find out that they were just sales pages. Oh well, they've lost a potential customer haven't they.

      Luke
      Good luck with your product. A REAL sample that can benefit your customer will be your best sales force.
      Signature
      You may be surprised that this unconventional way to learn Spanish works
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1697337].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ruth P
    I agree, this is a really good point and, as a customer, a free chapter will be far more likely to make me buy. After all, a free chapter will help me to see the writing style, to help me get a glimpse into what's promised and, usually, will leave me wanting more.

    I would have done the same, just unsubscribed. I believe when you offer a free gift, it really should be a true gift and not just a sales pitch in disguise.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1696596].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Heidi White
    I've signed up for a lot of different people's newsletters, but the only one's I read or open have already proven that they can provide content and value before I have to spend money.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1697777].message }}

Trending Topics