The Gurus are giving courses away for FREE!!!

[papeter]

Why are the Gurus like Armond Morin, Mile Filsaime, Neil Shearing and others giving these expensive courses away for nothing. Is it something to do with viral marketing? Or is it something else?

Maybe there's a hidden upsell somewhere along the line. Mike Filsaime is giving away 5000 copies of a new Butterfly Marketing course values at $1999 for FREE. You just pay for the shipping.

Can someone tell me what are the true motives for giving stuff away? There has to be a catch somewhere.


Thanks

[LavelleC]

To get you on a Continuity program, upsell you on other
products, and collect your online/offline contact info.

It's a brilliant method and provides folks tremendous value.

Lavelle

[JayXtreme]

It's called "moving the free line"

Eben Pagen talked about it in length previously.. By giving away some great stuff for free, you can increase the perceived value of what you have on the back end... most of them lead into a back end continuity deal of some sort or some cool coaching...

Most of the time, they really do lead to exceptional value too.

Peace

Jay

[M Thompson]

Didn't your mother ever tell you ...there is not such thing as a free lunch!

[TimG]

Because a $10,000 weekend workshop pays so much better then a $1997 course......it's called priming the pump (to do something in order to make something succeed).

Tim

[kindsvater]

I was noticing the same thing about a number of 'free' offers recently and thinking - I'm just deleting all the these emails and not bothering with it, even though its free, because I've bought from the 'guru' in the past and it was overpriced, generic, with terrible customer service.

With that in mind, I'm heading off to the War Room to get some real value.

[mikemcmillan]

A great example of this is Michael Rasmussen's Mini-Sites Profits Exposed. It's a Clickbank product but when you click on the link in the Clickbank Marketplace and go to his pitch page, you see that he gives you his entire course for FREE.

I have to tell you that this free course is easily worth as much--no, probably quite a bit more than any of the $97 ebooks at the top of the Clickbank charts. There is one catch. You have to give Michael your name and email address to access his course.

I know I read somewhere online that Michael was responsible for over 600,000 dollars in Clickbank sales last year. One reason for that is that he grew a huge list from giving this product away. Sure, he could have sold it and made some money. But this way he built a huge list and used that list to market many different products to that list. He's a smart guy. It's a matter of short term profits vs much higher long term profits.

[nick1123]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

It's called "moving the free line"

Eben Pagen talked about it in length previously.. By giving away some great stuff for free, you can increase the perceived value of what you have on the back end... most of them lead into a back end continuity deal of some sort or some cool coaching...

Jay is exactly right here. It's a great move for anyone as long as you can distribute the free stuff to enough people.

[TheRookie]

They probably make something off the shipping first off and of course they give away free information, thats the best way to get subscribers right.

[Andyhenry]

The other aspect is - they've already milked the majority of the market for the product so rather than just let it die a slow death - they're injecting the interest back into it by giving it away.

It's a way of extending the life of a customer list and creating a buzz but instead of the buss being about your new product it's a switch and bait - you think you're being given a free product, while they're selling you the continuity program they're actually focused on.

You get a bunch of people thinking they're getting a high ticket product for free instead of that they're buying into that persons latest product or service.

When the dust settles a big chunk of these people won't have done anything with the main product and will be paying for something they never would've bought if it was the main offer.

It's just a marketing strategy based on distracting you from the real offer by focusing on the giveaway.

Politicians do it all the time - the best time to release bad policies is when there's bad news in the headlines, you can sneak all sorts of unpopular stuff by when people are distracted.

Andy

[Matt Maiden]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

Most of the time, they really do lead to exceptional value too.

Right.

I think if someone who has only been around for a couple of months came out with a huge 20 piece physical product that promised what these guys promise it would be very hard to swallow.

Remember though that the big names that are giving these offers away right now have been around and building their reputations for years.

These guys didn't just fall out of the sky. You are definitely going to get top-of-line stuff here.

Matt

[Dave Kingston]

Just be careful with FREE as some of these 'forced continuity' programs are really, really hard to opt out off. A real pain.

[JJOrana]

Top marketers like Dan Kennedy will tell you:

Convert your online leads to offline leads as soon as possible.

Continuity + Offline leads = $$$

[Nathan Hangen]

I think it is an act of desperation. I don't like the model because it creates this mindset that everything should come for free. I think these programs are killing the membership model because there are so many of them, many that are hardly providing real value, and people are becoming burned out on them.

The state of the IM niche scares me right now...I think we need some innovators. Anyone want to step up?

[countonuspr]

I look at it as a win-win situation. You get a high ticket course with tons of good value for only the cost of shipping. No one says you have to remain a member although in the backend they do tend to deliver the goods. We have a very similar business model setup now and it works quite well. We have a $1 front end. Yes, we have people cancel and that is fine, but we are offering live group weekly coaching for only $39.95/month. The ones that are sticking are really seeing amazing value.

The point is that when he gets 5,000 people into his system even if they only pay $29.95/month for his newsletter he still stands to make $149,750/month in revenue. Yes, that is assuming they all stick, but look at the buzz it generates. The second someone leaves the membership someone else will be next in line.

It is a great deal and the reason you are seeing more and more of it is simply because it works.

[Nathan Hangen]

Have you seen the continuity programs that some of these "gurus" offer?

I've seen Mike's magazine, and you can learn more from a 5 dollar magazine like Forbes or Inc. I disagree that it provides great value. In some cases yes, but as a general rule not all of these giveaway products are exceptional.

I guess part of my problem with this is that not all marketers provide value with their continuity programs. They seem to be the "in thing" right now and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Rather than focusing on delivering value, the marketers focus on giving away as much stuff as they can to get new leads. Sure, you make money, but money isn't everything.

[Will Edwards]

I give away a ton of stuff. The motivation - at least for me - is indeed one facet of viral marketing. At present, the economics of my situation dictate that I also sell stuff, but, longer term, I would like to get my Advertising revenue to the level where I could give everything away.

Cheers

Will

[Dave777]

Originally Posted by M Thompson

Didn't your mother ever tell you ...there is not such thing as a free lunch!

Just blame Chris Anderson for starting up the problem...
Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business

Dave

[madison_avenue]

With these free offers do you have to sign up to a direct debit form or give your paypal address upfront? Sometimes it can be hard canceling something after one month if you are not satisfied with the quality.

[Nathan Hangen]

Most don't take paypal, you have to use a credit card. The best way to protect yourself from that is use a credit card or a pre-pay card. Don't use a debit card...ever.

[tgrpublishing]

So many people are following the "Colon Cleanse", "Acai Berry" model these days. Free physical product up front, followed by a continuity program.

It works SO well for diet pills, ringtones and so many other markets outside of Internet Marketing, why not put it to use here?

I'm planning on including continuity programs in virtually all my upcoming products (outside the IM niche).

[Nathan Hangen]

Originally Posted by bodhxsu

"Hi Guys, I just wanted to tell you what happened to me last month.

I lost my job 3 weeks ago and my chances on the job market are pretty bad. Therefore I started doing an online business one

week ago.
Do you think this is a good idea?

Please tell me what you think about this Internet Business Opportunity.

I would be very happy if you take a look at my Website and give me your opinion via email."

I don't know, but if you started a business of hijacking threads you'd be a millionaire.

[madison_avenue]

Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen

Most don't take paypal, you have to use a credit card. The best way to protect yourself from that is use a credit card or a pre-pay card. Don't use a debit card...ever.

Thanks for that tip Nathan. I'll keeping my debit card in my pocket from now on!

[BIG Mike]

Originally Posted by papeter

Why are the Gurus like Armond Morin, Mile Filsaime, Neil Shearing and others giving these expensive courses away for nothing. Is it something to do with viral marketing? Or is it something else?

Maybe there's a hidden upsell somewhere along the line. Mike Filsaime is giving away 5000 copies of a new Butterfly Marketing course values at $1999 for FREE. You just pay for the shipping.

Can someone tell me what are the true motives for giving stuff away? There has to be a catch somewhere.


Thanks

Giving things away on the front-end (moving the Free Line) is nothing new – it’s been used offline for decades, if not centuries, to promote and generate business.

In their case, they use Forced Continuity as others have mentioned, where they’re working to build a circulation base of readers of a newsletter. Giving away something of high perceived or real value in exchange for a comparatively low-cost newsletter subscription. Since they’re charging for shipping and handling and given that the product already existed, they’re not really out of pocket any costs to do this.

I’m guessing here, but would assume that in addition to the subscription cost, they’re charging for advertising in the newsletters. If so, then the higher the circulation, the more they can charge for ad space. I’ve not seen this mentioned anywhere, but it’s what I would be doing if it were my newsletter.

What’s interesting about this particular model they’re following is that it’s coming at a time when we’re all beginning to see print newspapers and other publications going out of business. So it makes me wonder if it’s going to be sustainable in a print form.

One of the “Free” models we’re using works really well, although it doesn’t involve any form of forced continuity. We’ve got a site here using it:

Free Graphics Daily From Incansoft Header Software

Each day, subscribers get a free set of web site graphics (header, foot and backgrounds) delivered to them via email, in exchange for subscribing. We upsell a graphics editing program of ours called GFX Writer upon joining and follow it up in the daily emails.

Because each set of graphics target niche topics that are profitable, we also promote good quality, low-cost, PLR Content (Articles and Ebooks) to go along with the graphics.

So, we build a proactive list of buyers, profiting on the upsell of GFX Writer and PLR Content offers, all in exchange for the daily graphics, which are actually really good quality. We already have a full-time graphics artist on staff, so it gives him something productive to do in between other projects.

We’ve been testing this model for 3 months now and are getting ready to ramp up our promotional efforts for it as it’s turned into a very profitable revenue stream as well as an easy list-building mechanism. Our out of pocket costs are next to nothing and by providing something of value daily, it keeps the subscribers interested with very little turnover. Except for some minor, back-end administrative work, the system is entirely automated.

Personally, I think if you give away something of reasonable value on a regular basis like this, promote reasonably priced, related offers (the graphics editor and PLR for us), you can’t lose.

[Chris Kent]

I don't see this ruining the paid model that everyone else is making a living from. After all, it's not like they're giving away a brand new product.

[sundown16]

All the big-time hitters do it, so what does that you... IT WORKS!
Get on their list, develope a bond,trust and upsell the heck out of you!
Let's all learn from them.

[JohnMcCabe]

Originally Posted by TimG

Because a $10,000 weekend workshop pays so much better then a $1997 course......it's called priming the pump (to do something in order to make something succeed).

Tim

Especially a $1997 course that costs less than the first month's continuity to print and ship.

The last time I fell for this, I got fair value for my $7 shipping, and a "magazine" I first thought was a parody of a real one. Generic information, sloppy writing, careless editing, all for "only" $29.95 per month.

Took me over two hours to track down the opt out information that was plainly displayed until after you actually bought...

There's an old proverb that goes something like "when a stranger offers a gift without reason, guard your purse."

[BIG Mike]

Originally Posted by sundown16

All the big-time hitters do it, so what does that you... IT WORKS!
Get on their list, develope a bond,trust and upsell the heck out of you!
Let's all learn from them.

I would hazard a guess that the average marketer doesn't have the resources to pull together something like this.

[papeter]

Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen

Most don't take paypal, you have to use a credit card. The best way to protect yourself from that is use a credit card or a pre-pay card. Don't use a debit card...ever.

So just keep a balance of $5 or $10 on a pre-pay card if they require a credit card. With PayPal you can cancel a subscription easily.

[papeter]

Originally Posted by ProductCreator

I don't see this ruining the paid model that everyone else is making a living from. After all, it's not like they're giving away a brand new product.

Correct me if I'm wrong but MF's Butterfly Marketing is a new course. It may be a revamped
version with new bits added in.

[Rully]

actually not free at all. It must be a great strategy to give first. Have to do something "big" on marketing strategy. I think its a great strategy from the gurus

[IMChick]

Mark me down in the 'never again' column for the free-with-a-catch guru stuff--I'm getting spam phone calls for coaching months after cancelling the continuity and the calls are now coming from people other than the original guy I signed up with.

On the other hand, if you can do it with a product just to build a list, provided you give real value, the numbers work well. This his how some of the uber-affiliates win every affiliate and promo contest.

[revenue.fm]

I don't think they have problem giving away the "free" content because all it really makes you do is feel good and inspired to do something.

Put it this way. Most of the free information given away is big on content, shallow on substance. Most of the bigger players giving away this free information have mastered the art of talking a lot without saying much at all.

You can read through these courses and really ask yourself, what tangible knowledge did you walk away with? I'm not insulting any one person or another in particular.

Of course it's as everyone here has mentioned. Prime the pumps, get the engines started, so when paid offers come your way, you'll be ready, wallet in hand.

[marketingmonster]

They understand the life time value of a client.

Most likely a client will buy much more than this. It's like those 10 DVD's for US$1.00 offer. Do you think they do make any money on those DVD? They get you by signing a 1 year deal to buy x number of DVD's where they make money on you at the end.

Pretty good and can be applied for almost any business

[Johnathan]

Actually,

I'm not sure if Mike is reading this thread, but got his butterfly effect material and wanted to say thanks. It's pretty good quality stuff, and no, not affiliated with him

Cheers!

Johnathan

[Rachel Goodchild]

I'm a big believer in giving away for free at the outset. I'm currently giving away a PILE of stuff on naitonal television, radio and in papers. it builds my profile and it builds my accountablity.
If only I could work out exactly what to do with it....