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It could be a disaster.

by Jon Patrick
15 replies
I was just struck with an awesome/terrible idea. Not sure which yet. :p

What if I were to take one of my best performing ClickBank products and give it away?

The site gets over 30,000 uniques per month and produces a couple dozen sales per day. But what if, by making the product a free download instead of an item for sale, I could turn a few hundred of my 1,000+ daily visitors into list subscribers? That would add up real quick, huh?

Keep in mind that my traffic is highly targeted (I generate most of it myself - my affiliates for this product don't produce much.) The people coming to my site have a specific need for this kind of product - they're not showing up to read an article and then being offered something, for example. I don't think too many of them would turn it down for free.

But, here's the rub. The only way I can think of to test this idea is to... test it. That translates into the potential for me to lose money during the testing.

What I'm thinking is that maybe I could offer the product as a free download for three days, see how many emails I can collect, and then see how much money I can turn those emails into over the next month or two. If those three days wind up resulting in significantly more revenue than three average days under my current system, then the product would become a free download.

Of course, if the emails don't result in at least as much revenue as I would have earned in the same three days by selling the product, then I've lost money. Now, I can afford to take a hit, even if it were three full days of revenue. But I certainly don't want to. :p

I'm sort of thinking out loud here, but I wanted to throw it out there and see what bounces back from you guys.
#disaster
  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    Give away 1 or 2 chapters then use followup emails to sell the full product.
    This way you get both subscribers AND sales.


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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Patrick
    That's an interesting idea, one I hadn't thought of. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author AC21DJ
    I think Rondo is on to something here. All of IM is a gamble but if you follow his advise it a little less of a roll of the dice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Gordon
    OR

    Make sales and collect emails. I know many are going to despise me for making this comment but what you can do is strike them with a popup if they want to leave (when they hit the {x} button) giving away a product of similar nature for free.

    This will be a slower way of collecting emails but it will not ruin the reputation of your product (since it's been given away for free) and will not result in loss of sales.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jon Patrick
      Originally Posted by Ben Gordon View Post

      I know many are going to despise me for making this comment
      Hey, if it's legal and would add to the bottom line, I won't fault you for raising it as a possibility. Thanks for the suggestion.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ben Gordon
        Originally Posted by Jon Patrick View Post

        Hey, if it's legal and would add to the bottom line, I won't fault you for raising it as a possibility. Thanks for the suggestion.
        It's completely legal. Many clickbank vendors are making a killing with it. But the thing is people on WF hate it That's why I didn't really want to bring up the comment

        It's personally been a success for me on most of my clickbank sites so it might work for you. Take the idea into consideration, it might solve your problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Gordon
    Also, I wanted to add another comment.

    DO NOT GIVE YOUR WHOLE PRODUCT AWAY FOR FREE...EVEN IF IT'S FOR A 3 DAY TESTING PERIOD.

    It will ruin your product's reputation by giving it away for free.

    Somebody suggested to give a chapter or two away prior and then upsell them with the whole book. That's a fine idea since you're not giving away the whole ebook. Just remember not to give the whole thing away for free; what others paid for.
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  • Profile picture of the author sf_Imtiaz
    Not only you'll need to consider whether the chapters you are going to give away are powerful (or at least adequate) enough to get the readers interested in buying the book, but you'll also need to make sure that those chapters won't be a let down. Generic information that most prospects are already aware of can be counter productive.

    Alternatively, you can test your idea by making your landing page a single optin squeeze page, enticing them about the solution you have for them and redirect them to sales page after they optin. Of course, that's based on the theory that visitors who can't give you their email to learn about the solution you have for them will never part with their money for the product.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    I always offer free samples.

    This way, you're building a list AND making sales.

    What's important is that you build a list of BUYERS.

    Its likely that by giving your product away for free, that you might end up building a list of tyre kickers, and that wont help anybody.
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  • Profile picture of the author robie
    Rondo comments is the best
    You can have them both
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  • Profile picture of the author TCrosby
    If you give the entire thing away, some of your already-customers might get annoyed that they paid for it.

    Also if you give the entire thing away, you need a way to monetize your new email list. Maybe you would want to make another related product. One way to appease old buyers would be to offer them this new product free.

    If the sales funnel became giving away product A and then selling them product B in the email list, would you end up getting any more sales than you would have just by selling A in the first place?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jon Patrick
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      I always offer free samples.

      This way, you're building a list AND making sales.

      What's important is that you build a list of BUYERS.

      Its likely that by giving your product away for free, that you might end up building a list of tyre kickers, and that wont help anybody.
      But wouldn't the list also include those who would have been buyers had I been selling it, since anyone who would be willing to pay for the product would presumably also be willing to take it for free?

      That's not to say that I'm disregarding your input regarding free samples versus the entire product for free. Heck, if I can keep making sales and getting buyer emails, AND capture emails from those who don't buy right away, as some others have also suggested, I certainly won't be complaining!

      Originally Posted by TCrosby View Post

      If you give the entire thing away, some of your already-customers might get annoyed that they paid for it.
      It's possible, but it doesn't seem very likely. I don't think most people who buy the product are checking the website again later to see whether I've started giving it away for free or not.

      Originally Posted by TCrosby View Post

      Also if you give the entire thing away, you need a way to monetize your new email list. Maybe you would want to make another related product. One way to appease old buyers would be to offer them this new product free.
      That latter part is pretty smart as a potential solution, if what you described did indeed become a problem. It's funny how well this forum works sometimes.

      Originally Posted by TCrosby View Post

      If the sales funnel became giving away product A and then selling them product B in the email list, would you end up getting any more sales than you would have just by selling A in the first place?
      Maybe not, but by giving away product A and then selling products B, C, D, E, F, and G (affiliate offers), perhaps I would. But I'm not certain about any of this, which is why I'm posting here and thinking about how to approach it.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
        Originally Posted by Jon Patrick View Post

        But wouldn't the list also include those who would have been buyers had I been selling it, since anyone who would be willing to pay for the product would presumably also be willing to take it for free?
        Yes it would.

        But let's say for instance you have 2,000 people on your list. How do you then differentiate between buyers and tyre kickers? You can't because they're all mashed together in the same list.

        I'm a big believer in separate lists. One for buyers, one for freebie seekers. I wan't to invest my time towards PROVEN BUYERS.

        Not just those looking to "download something for nothing."
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  • Profile picture of the author magiclouie
    I am not sure if this is applicable but you will never know until you will try.

    Just don't make rush decisions and consider those important things.
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    • Profile picture of the author RDInfo
      I always offer free samples.
      This, and i also collect the firstname and the email address so that i can send follow up emails with others interesting products related to the subject.

      What i have seen is that it is not only what you ask that improves the opt-in rate but also the way you ask it, and the reasons why you ask it.

      For example "Enter your firstname and you email address to download the free sample/demo/ebook" is not a good enough reason.

      Try to see your page with the eyes and mindset of the interested reader, and you will understand a better approach that will improve your "image", the perceived usefulness of your product, the perceived value of your product, and the trust of your readers.
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