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Do you remember the days word FREE was exciting

by Tomwood
21 replies
I remember when I first started in IM and the word free was exciting for me I sent for nearly every free offer with great anticipation of finding something new and valuable.

Today with a brain and harddrive almost completely full of Cr*p Free is rapidly becoming another 4 letter f word for me.

Is it just me becoming jaded or is there more and more rubbish being passed around?
#days #exciting #free #remember #word
  • Profile picture of the author Online Bliss
    I remember when you filled up your Gas Tank
    you got free stuff. LOL


    Is it just me becoming jaded or is there more and more rubbish being passed around?
    It's the same rubbish in a different package (e-cover).
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  • Profile picture of the author Imran Naseem
    Banned
    If it is QUALITY then I would consider myself to be excited.

    Like Frank Kern's stuff..
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    • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
      Originally Posted by Imran Naseem View Post

      If it is QUALITY then I would consider myself to be excited.

      Like Frank Kern's stuff..

      I agree.. "Free" is almost never a motivator for me anymore UNLESS I know that it's going to be super quality from a source like Frank.

      If I land on a page and it says "Free mini-course" or "FREE report" I'm almost always going to pass unless they prove to me BEFORE I give them my info, that it will be worth the load of crap I'll get in my inbox.
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    FREE! is no longer sufficiently persuasive in information
    marketing. To sell FREE! you need to sell people on the
    idea that their investment will be returned several times
    over.... and their investment is their time and attention -
    and in return they feel a right to get satisfaction in some
    form.

    As it often does in marketing, selling free often comes
    down to persuasive communication.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pragun
    I guess the real deal lies in the fact that the only point of time where the word free sounds exciting is when you're a newbie. :p
    Chances are, at that point of time, you hardly know much about the IM scene and anything read is, according to you, information gained !

    It's when you start gaining knowledge that you realise that the things being moved around for free are basically the same stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author krisDupree
    Remember you usually get what you pay for. Free isn't always so free, it always costs you something in the end
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    It was ONLY "exciting" on the internet because some people ACTUALLY believed that at least Americans would follow FEDERAL LAW and the info would be as advertised.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author shabit87
    I think free is free, but it seems your main concern is that the free stuff would have to be free for the quality it contains, which is sad. I do believe this will change, because more and more marketers are realizing they can't get by with free crap and expect their customers to pay for what may or may not be quality. I even see more gurus preaching this method. Personally, I feel that if the free stuff is of quality than my chances of paying for additional items and it being quality increase.
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    • Profile picture of the author MisterMunch
      Originally Posted by shabit87 View Post

      I think free is free, but it seems your main concern is that the free stuff would have to be free for the quality it contains, which is sad. I do believe this will change, because more and more marketers are realizing they can't get by with free crap and expect their customers to pay for what may or may not be quality. I even see more gurus preaching this method. Personally, I feel that if the free stuff is of quality than my chances of paying for additional items and it being quality increase.
      Free is not free. You do have to pay tax on your free gifts. The value of the gift is considered income and you have to report it.

      I learned this today. It might only be true in Norway, but I am done buying into the free gifts and bonuses.
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      • Profile picture of the author shabit87
        Originally Posted by MisterMunch View Post

        Free is not free. You do have to pay tax on your free gifts. The value of the gift is considered income and you have to report it.

        I learned this today. It might only be true in Norway, but I am done buying into the free gifts and bonuses.
        I should have been more specific, I meant the content given in those free ebook and videos...but I guess when I think about it, you are exchanging your email and that might worth a lot.

        As far as tax is concerned, you're not paying for the actually product, you're paying the gov...it sucks I know, but I would still consider it free.
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        • Profile picture of the author kingdir99
          i hope my new Max Template will bring back the glory of "FREE"
          armandzini.info
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  • Profile picture of the author KathleenGageSpeaks
    I went from using the word FREE for a teleseminar to By Invitation Only Group Mentoring session.

    Everything runs its course. Free used to work great when there were only a handful of people using this strategy. Today, it's overwhelming what is available.

    Yet, there are still lots of people coming onto the Internet daily who are not jaded by all the free offers. So to think it doesn't work at all may not be the most accurate view. It's a matter of market, saturation and value.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I tend to turn my back on a lot of FREE offers. So much of what is being offered free is junk and I've had to clean my hard drive of this stuff more than once.

    If they want my email in exchange for this free thing, I think long and hard about the true value of the freebie. It's got to be good before I'll bite.
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonB
    Yes, I absolutely remember those days!

    But, as well all know.... Nothing is FREE anymore... It probably wasn't free back then either. We just didn't realize what we had to do or what we were doing in order to get that something "FREE".....
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  • Profile picture of the author Tomwood
    I hope I not going to get taxed on all the free gifts I have downloads because apparently there are worth $1,000,000 if you add them all together
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    • Profile picture of the author shabit87
      Originally Posted by Tomwood View Post

      I hope I not going to get taxed on all the free gifts I have downloads because apparently there are worth $1,000,000 if you add them all together
      LOL, he's speaking of physical products...right? Man, I must be super slow today or very tired.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    FREE would remain one of the most powerful marketing words until
    the world ends. Marketers are the first to get tired of marketing.

    I want to listen to the prospect, the customer, not marketers
    when it comes to advertising.

    Too many times we forget that we are not our customers.

    If FREE use to work for you then why do you think it wouldn't
    work for someone presently in the position you were back then?

    You are more likely to get tired of your own marketing than
    your prospect would.

    Long live "FREE"!

    -Ray Edwards
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    • Profile picture of the author butters
      I personally don't have a problem with the word FREE, I know it is going to need some sort of personal information and so it should. The person offering the FREE product, item etc... deserves a little something for their offer.

      Now, the meaning of the word FREE has lost a little weight to me because I am a marketer and I know what it entails after. Also some of the products out there are really lacking in some form of acceptable quality, even if it is a FREE product. If it comes from a reputable person on the other hand, then, I do feel excited, well kinda excited just happy.

      Also to your question is there more rubbish being past around... More and more people are looking to make a living online, they get told the money is in the list, slap up a free thing and start building. What they don't normally get told is that a free product which is crap will harm them a lot and that product is an initial friendship maker. To make a new friend out of the blue is hard, so it should be a good deal for them .
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  • Profile picture of the author Emily Meeks
    If it looks good, I'll still buy into it. Worst case scenario, I know kind of product a particular marketer delivers and just hit the convenient "unsubscribe" button
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  • Profile picture of the author Big Al
    Yep it does my head in too ... however my email open rates are virtually always higher if the word FREE is in the headline.

    Which sucks because it means if you send out what you think is a good email, with useful information ... it ain't gonna get read by as many unless it has that four letter word.

    It sucks ... but that's life and it's all about the results.
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