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How much info do I give away for free?

by YseUp
10 replies
I'm setting up 2 new projects, each in a separate niche.

I want to build e-mail lists in both projects and then sell them products, one may even be suitable for membership site or members only newsletter.

I'm in the process of creating the 'freebies' to get people to sign up for my e-mail list but I also want to create link bait to secure traffic, YouTube videos, articles, plus I want to continue to provide cool free stuff to my subscribers.

But I'm getting a bit confused about how much info I should reveal.

I want to show people that I know what I'm talking about, but on the other hand I don't want to give away all the goods.

How do you guys determine how much free stuff to give away?
#free #give #info
  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    When I look at this stuff. I like to come away with at least an understanding of that it is I'm investing in.

    I think the trick is to explain what it is your offering with enough information to make me bite while keeping everything so vague that I can't figure it out on my own from reading your sales letter.

    Not sure if that helps or not.

    If it's an ebook or something, try giving way the first chapter. And while your at it, flood the torrents with your preview as well to beat the warez crowd to the punch.
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  • Profile picture of the author Web Content By Jim
    It is a fine line to tread, but give away as much as you can.

    The real answer is specific to each product, because for one product you may be able to get away with giving 90% of your information for free if that last 10% ties it all together, while for others you probably can only get away with giving 40% away for free and still having a viable product with quality information to sell...

    It all depends. More info may be helpful for more advice...
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by One Cent Content View Post

      It is a fine line to tread, but give away as much as you can.
      I don't agree. When this method was popularized a few years ago, many people made the mistake of thinking that "moving the free line" meant to give away more and more quantity of free information.

      It's not the case.

      "Moving the free line" is NOT about the quantity of information you give away, but rather the QUALITY of that information. If you give away too much free information then you risk overloading the prospects and they end up never getting around to buying your paid product because they already have too much stuff to work through (ie: the free stuff you gave them).

      If you want to build a list and a list that will continue to listen to everything you say, give away your best secret for free. What is the number one thing you could give away that will help your prospects get one step closer to their ultimate goal.

      Of course, when you have the prospects on your list and they have already purchased from you, you should share as much free information as you can in between your promotions. But when you are trying to make that first sale, don't give them too much to work on as it will end up detracting from your sales.
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      • Profile picture of the author Web Content By Jim
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        I don't agree. When this method was popularized a few years ago, many people made the mistake of thinking that "moving the free line" meant to give away more and more quantity of free information.

        It's not the case.

        "Moving the free line" is NOT about the quantity of information you give away, but rather the QUALITY of that information. If you give away too much free information then you risk overloading the prospects and they end up never getting around to buying your paid product because they already have too much stuff to work through (ie: the free stuff you gave them).

        If you want to build a list and a list that will continue to listen to everything you say, give away your best secret for free. What is the number one thing you could give away that will help your prospects get one step closer to their ultimate goal.

        Of course, when you have the prospects on your list and they have already purchased from you, you should share as much free information as you can in between your promotions. But when you are trying to make that first sale, don't give them too much to work on as it will end up detracting from your sales.
        I see where you are coming from and you do make some good points, but my experiences have lead me to believe in a different point of view.

        First off, I agree that if you overload your prospect with too much free information, they are less likely to buy. But, if you can find out the right amount of quality, free information to give away, you are golden...

        In regards to giving away your best secret for free - I strongly disagree with this. How would you build anticipation if the prospect knows the secret right off the bat? Why would they stick around if they already got everything they were looking for? Sure, you could also argue that you build trust and authority by doing it this way, but in real life it doesn't always work out this way.

        If there is one thing to take away from this, I think it is that different things work for different people with different products in different niches, so it is best to try stuff out yourself and see what works best...
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    • Profile picture of the author webapex
      Put another way, one expert advised you give away your most important, stunning secret, as a means of maximizing sales, granted returns could be a bit higher if the full version just fleshes it out with more secret shortcuts, but sales are sales.
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      “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field” Niels Bohr

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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by webapex View Post

        Put another way, one expert advised you give away your most important, stunning secret, as a means of maximizing sales, granted returns could be a bit higher if the full version just fleshes it out with more secret shortcuts, but sales are sales.
        I am not talking just about making one-off sales here - that's a narrow minded way to create a long-term sustainable business. I am focusing more on building a list of people that will support you for years to come.

        That's where the real money comes.

        Getting people on your list is the important part - and is what the OP was asking how to do. And to do that you give away your best secrets without overloading them.

        As another poster said, if you have a product then give away the best results you can achieve from using that particular product - without mentioning the product at first. Then sell them the product you have that makes it simple to achieve those results.

        Example: If I were selling a keyword software tool, I would give away a report or video showing people how I build niche websites based around long-tail keyphrases, get them to rank in Google, and start earning money from them in only a few short weeks. I would give some actual examples of sites I have built and are turning a profit.

        Then I would talk about how keyword research is the most important part of this and why I came up with this keyword tool because it does something all the others don't do. So before I even get to selling them the tool, my free stuff has got them interested in the concept and already given them a need for my product. Results are much better if you can make the prospects decide they need your tool without you actually telling them they need it.

        In my free stuff/pre launch I might also release a video that shows them how to setup the niche sites - buy a domain/hosting, setup the wordpress blog, etc. This gets them started on achieving their goals and gets them closer to the end result. Then when I release my keyword tool, they already know how to setup their sites so they are more likely to need and want the tool.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Morgan
    Originally Posted by YseUp View Post

    I'm setting up 2 new projects, each in a separate niche.

    I want to build e-mail lists in both projects and then sell them products, one may even be suitable for membership site or members only newsletter.

    I'm in the process of creating the 'freebies' to get people to sign up for my e-mail list but I also want to create link bait to secure traffic, YouTube videos, articles, plus I want to continue to provide cool free stuff to my subscribers.

    But I'm getting a bit confused about how much info I should reveal.

    I want to show people that I know what I'm talking about, but on the other hand I don't want to give away all the goods.

    How do you guys determine how much free stuff to give away?
    How long is a piece of string?

    Give away some hot content free, but save some for the paid version. The idea of free giveaway stuff is to build trust with the customers.

    One Cent Contents points are quite valid too.
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    • Profile picture of the author jeffreyanderson
      I don't think there's any limit to giving things away for free.

      I've found that even when I give away all of my tricks, people are still willing to pay for my paid products. I'm pretty sure they feel like if I am giving away such good content that my paid stuff must be outstanding.

      That's what's worked for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexander CPA
    You obviously don't want to give all of your content away before hand, perhaps you may find if you were to first write the final product, which would allow you to spend more time throughout the project tweaking and perfecting the final products landing page etc, then you know what information you've used, then brainstorm a list of things you didn't go though and use them for freebies. I'd definitely make sure you have at least a couple of really good freebie releases if you want to get some good link bait, but make sure it's not your best stuff!
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    I was taught to give away the WHAT... and then sell the HOW.

    In my last project I did exactly that. In my free report about WP3 I told about everything this new version can do. "Here is what you can do with all the new features..."

    For some people it was enough. They still liked it and gave good feedback. And nobody said I didn't give away enough for free.
    Others needed a more detailed guide to show them how to do it. So I made my WP3 video tutorials and sold them.

    Again: give away free the "WHAT" and sell them the "HOW".
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