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Free WSO? Good or Bad?

by joshcoffy
16 replies
Hey warriors,

I have been on this forum for several months now and have been buying and watching TONS of WSO's come and go.

Not too long ago I created a 3 day bootcamp that shows people (in powerpoint presentations and walk-throughs,) EXACTLY how I generated 3,526 Twitter followers in 2 months.

I have had people tell me they would have paid for the bootcamp after seeing it!

Seeing as I have never released a WSO of my own before, would it be good or bad to release a FREE or $1 WSO to build some credibility and test the waters?

Would it Sell if it was $1?

Thanks and Let's Keep Rocking Guys!
#bad #free #good #wso
  • Profile picture of the author willay
    Since it seems like a good product that offers value I would offer it for free. People will love you for giving it away for free and it will build you a good list where you can continue to build trust with people and offer good quality products you recommend and make affiliate commissions. Then just keep building that list and give away more tid bits for free. You will have some dedicated followers and when you make a product for them to buy they will want to buy from you because they know the value you bring!
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  • Profile picture of the author NickWatson
    Put it up for free to "test the waters", but capture everyone's email address in a list using aWeber or Getresponse or similar. That way you build credibility, and when you ready to promote a paid WSO, you have a huge boost by offering to your list first - maybe even at a discount..?

    EDIT: Willay beat me to it!
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Hi Josh,

      I would certainly offer it for $1, rather than free.

      The list-building difference is dramatic.

      In one case you build a list of proven buyers who have credit-cards and/or PayPal accounts and both the ability and willingness to use them to buy digital products.

      In the other case you build a bigger list which is a mixture of the people described above together with a larger number of other people (of whom those things are not true) and no way at all to distinguish between them.

      I know which I'd rather have.
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      • Profile picture of the author mattlaclear
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Hi Josh,

        I would offer it for $1, rather than free.

        The list-building difference is dramatic.

        In one case you build a list of proven buyers who have credit-cards and/or PayPal accounts and both the ability and willingness to use them to buy digital products.

        In the other case you build a bigger list which is a mixture of the people described above together with a larger number of other people (of whom those things are not true) and no way at all to distinguish between them.

        I know which I'd rather have.
        This is the best spot on advice you'll probably ever receive on list building. My first several lists were filled with freebie seekers who probably didn't even own a credit card. When I switched to charging a minimal up front fee my list size quit growing as fast but damn my gross sales went through the roof.

        If you're collecting a list of freebie seekers just to sell solo ad blasts then go the free route. But if you're serious about building something that lasts charge the $1.

        Just make sure to float a decent one time offer in front of them after they pay you the buck. Otherwise you'll have to live off your ability to write good autoresponder messages that connect with your readers. That's a lot tougher than it may sound. SO sticking the oto offer in the process will grab you the sales you're looking for provided you have a compelling offer.
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      • Profile picture of the author Yoel Cohen
        Hi Josh!

        Great topic

        If you're going to sell it for $1 you might as well give it away for free.
        The only reason for charging the $1 is to qualify purchase power.

        $1 is also an impulse purchase so that also tells you a lot about the people who buy the product.

        The WSO forum is a marketplace, so people who browse that part of the forum are mostly buyers.

        Sure, some of them are freebie seekers...but from my personal experience if you give them something for free, more people will sign up and will purchase down the line...assuming you follow up with them shortly.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alex Barboza
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Hi Josh,

        I would certainly offer it for $1, rather than free.

        The list-building difference is dramatic.

        In one case you build a list of proven buyers who have credit-cards and/or PayPal accounts and both the ability and willingness to use them to buy digital products.

        In the other case you build a bigger list which is a mixture of the people described above together with a larger number of other people (of whom those things are not true) and no way at all to distinguish between them.

        I know which I'd rather have.

        What she said . If you don't have anything to lose (or money expectations directly from the WSO) I would try a pay with a Facebook like system. I purchased yesterday a Wordpress plugin that allows Aweber and Facebook integration so you could get a subscirber and potentially, viral traffic as well.

        The plugin is at List Building In 2 Minutes, Guaranteed! | Premium List Magnet

        I don't have any affiliation with the site. There must be any free alternative to it, I guess.
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  • Profile picture of the author Natausha
    I completely agree with what Willay said here. I have been thinking about doing a free WSO for about a month now (just gotta buckle down and shoot the videos!) for those very reasons. Build credibility, build a decent list of your own, and possibly network a bit with other warriors off the forum so that your next paid WSO is even more amazing and skyrockets.

    If you can afford to do it, give it away for free. The only time I use the $1 buy in is if I want a more targeted (an smaller) list. But in this case, since it's twitter, I don't think the $1 buy in will go over so well. Be the "cool guy" and give it.

    Edit: Ditto to what Nick Said.
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  • Profile picture of the author joshcoffy
    Thank you so much everybody! So Alexa, have you released any WSO's and if so, how many leads and or sales did you make my friend? :-)
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by joshcoffy View Post

      So Alexa, have you released any WSO's
      Noooo, I'm an affiliate only, and even have no list in the "internet marketing advice niche", myself.

      But even as an affiliate, after extensive split-testing in several niches (as I've described in various other threads) I'm well aware of the principle that building the biggest possible list doesn't necessarily lead to the biggest longer-term income, and isn't necessarily the best thing to aim for.
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    When you are first starting and want to build a reputation a free WSO is great...

    After you do a few you can get the hang of it and use that for releasing a paid WSO - plus now you will have a list to market to when you release it...

    If you provide massive value for free then it will be much easier to get them to buy something from you...

    Also, putting a related offer on the download page or after opt-in will help you to make a little bit of cash back from the cost of bumping the thread...

    I have personally done lots of paid and free WSOs and if done correctly both can be very beneficial...

    Cheers,
    Coby
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  • Profile picture of the author SEOAffordable
    Depends on the goal. Given the limited revenue from a $1 WSO, I'd offer it for free and therefore gain a wider set of subscribers.

    You should be able to build a substantial list that way in a relatively short amount of time.

    Personally, I think the higher uptake of subscribers is going to be worth more than a few hundred dollars.
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    • Profile picture of the author Coby
      Originally Posted by SEOAffordable View Post

      Depends on the goal. Given the limited revenue from a $1 WSO, I'd offer it for free and therefore gain a wider set of subscribers.

      You should be able to build a substantial list that way in a relatively short amount of time.

      Personally, I think the higher uptake of subscribers is going to be worth more than a few hundred dollars.
      Well put! I've tested and tweaked WSO offers until they have become profitable... So by offering a Free WSO I now know I can make a profit each time AND add prospects who get a 7 day follow (more value each day) and it's converting extremely well for me...

      But that has come with lots of testing, trial and error...

      I still have some WSOs (free and paid) that are doing good to break even when bumped...

      You just gotta find what works best for you
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  • Profile picture of the author IronRing
    Banned
    Better to give it away for free to build a list I'd say
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Morgan
    Originally Posted by joshcoffy View Post

    Hey warriors,

    I have been on this forum for several months now and have been buying and watching TONS of WSO's come and go.

    Not too long ago I created a 3 day bootcamp that shows people (in powerpoint presentations and walk-throughs,) EXACTLY how I generated 3,526 Twitter followers in 2 months.

    I have had people tell me they would have paid for the bootcamp after seeing it!

    Seeing as I have never released a WSO of my own before, would it be good or bad to release a FREE or $1 WSO to build some credibility and test the waters?

    Would it Sell if it was $1?

    Thanks and Let's Keep Rocking Guys!
    Yes it would sell if it was $1, but you wont know untill you try it.

    You can keep guessing and wondering for weeks or even months, but you should try.

    You don't really have much to loose. You won't know until you try.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
    Buyers are always better than freebie seekers so selling it for $1 and building a list of buyers is a better idea.

    But if I were you, I would do a dime sale where the price goes up after every sale (that would add some urgency to the offer).
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    It depends. Do you want a list of freebie seekers or buyers?

    In a marketplace like this I would always charge at least $1 rather than just giving the product away. People seem to have this need to give away everything to try and build credibility. How about selling a great product and building credibility that way?

    Most of the time freebie seekers are going to be your biggest time wasters. They are the people who ask the most questions and expect the most from you. Unless you want to work your butt off for very little money then I would suggest charging a normal amount for your product. If it's good word will spread, people will leave testimonials, etc.

    If you are worried about having no credibility then start it off using a dime-sale where the price starts really low, say $1, and increases every time x amount of people purchase. That way the first few buyers will be rewarded for taking the risk with you and hopefully once they find out how great your product is, they will return and leave you some kind words for the next buyers to see.

    I would also encourage you to have a strong refund guarantee so all the risk is on your side of the transaction - not the buyers side.

    There is an abundance of free information on this forum - especially when you take into account the War Room section. I usually pass on most free things because I have come to realize free usually comes with strings attached - even if it is just being added to a list where you then get pounded with emails.
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