Why Moving the FREELINE is dangerous (newbies should read this)

13 years ago

Thanks for the post!

I think its essential to give away something for free in order to develop your list, but yes I think you a right in saying that it is certainly not something you should be doing all the time!

I think you a right in thinking that most people don't know how to sell....personally I think it scares them.

Kind regards

Chris

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Rus Sells

13 years ago

I agree with just about everything you said. Especially the part about value and just as a side note. Plenty of people pay for stuff they don't value either and it sits on their hard drive for years.

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frankm 13 years ago

Yes, I agree with you too.

However, the smart ones who give stuff away for free are usually giving the "What" for free but then selling the "How" on the back-end.

But giving your products away for free just because someone else told you too... that's crazy and shows a lack of self esteem IMHO.

Good post

Frank
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steven sanderson

13 years ago

Great post although without a shadow of doubt there is most certainly a business model which runs on free, you can make so much money if you know how to implement the concept of free

Free is something people love, it grabs attention, it builds respect and relationships, and most of all it makes money

If free was not a good thing then why do you see everywhere the concept being applied, on the side of breakfast food, coffee shops "buy 6 coffees get 1 free, air miles, interest free credit cards, free movies with so many tokens you collect somewhere

Free can also be seen as a good thing in a sense that there are people out there who genuinely want to give free to help people

The most important point i think is this, if you really value your product and you really do want to help people instead of simply thinking of profits then why not give something for free, it does make you feel great too

I am a very big believer in the power of free and i have seen so many businesses flourish from utilizing the power of free

All the best
Steven

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Tim3

13 years ago

Originally Posted by steven sanderson

Great post although without a shadow of doubt there is most certainly a business model which runs on free, you can make so much money if you know how to implement the concept of free

Free is something people love, it grabs attention, it builds respect and relationships, and most of all it makes money

If free was not a good thing then why do you see everywhere the concept being applied, on the side of breakfast food, coffee shops "buy 6 coffees get 1 free, air miles, interest free credit cards, free movies with so many tokens you collect somewhere

Free can also be seen as a good thing in a sense that there are people out there who genuinely want to give free to help people

The most important point i think is this, if you really value your product and you really do want to help people instead of simply thinking of profits then why not give something for free, it does make you feel great too

I am a very big believer in the power of free and i have seen so many businesses flourish from utilizing the power of free

All the best
Steven

Both this point of view and the OP hold water, for another angle what about giving it away to begin with and then start charging for it when people realize they have a golden nugget, would they not be more than willing to pay for the rest of the product if it has value for them?

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steven sanderson

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Tim3

Both this point of view and the OP hold water, for another angle what about giving it away to begin with and then start charging for it when people realize they have a golden nugget, would they not be more than willing to pay for the rest of the product if it has value for them?

Exactly, you have hit the nail on the head, this is why it is used so often, if your product is good and you care about your customers then give it away, it will come back to you tenfold over time

Give and You will receive in life, and marketing is no different to life in general

All the best
Steven

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MrMaxx357 13 years ago

I have to agree with you that "Free" isn't a measurable business model....But that doesn't make it useless!! If you use it as a tool to open a door or ignite the relationship process, then it can get you to the point that people are willing to see you as an authority or even be willing to listen about your product or service.

Yeah, people spend money based on how they value things...BUT...They also take notice when there "something to be had" thats at least interesting to them, when a lot of times they would just ignore it.

Is "Free", a cop out to real selling, yeah, I agree, but it has a place with a world thats becoming increasingly more social by way of technology....It takes something "different" to get their attention....

I don't agree with just running out throwing caution to the wind, giving away all of your content, but a lil taste can sometimes do the trick
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lukedidit

13 years ago

Well this is only really specific if your selling a product?

Most of the sites I have set up provide free info with the view of gaining a relationship with the reader and building trust and return visits. You then in turn make revenue off others if they want be a part of that - this is quintessentially inbound marketing.

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Big Al

13 years ago

I definitely agree and moving the free line is a tactic that works but only if you know how to. It's something a lot of bigger names teach and no one can deny it works (because they make serious bank with it) but then they have very different business models.

Just to copy a big example: giving away a big-ticket course on list building for free as part of a pre-launch for a bigger ticket product that teaches you how to monetize that list. The free-line created a market for the main product (and money maker).

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kencalhn

13 years ago

i frequently get people telling me my free webinars are better than most people's paid ones, in my niche (trading) ... so I agree it's important to develop trust and value by giving away free, the challenge is not to give away so much top-level free content that it pulls down sales for premium content. getting the balance right is sometimes difficult to figure out, at least that's what i've found.

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Centurian

13 years ago

Originally Posted by kencalhn

i frequently get people telling me my free webinars are better than most people's paid ones, in my niche (trading) ... so I agree it's important to develop trust and value by giving away free, the challenge is not to give away so much top-level free content that it pulls down sales for premium content. getting the balance right is sometimes difficult to figure out, at least that's what i've found.

The real problem with free is it's such a low threshold that any "idiot" can use it to drive traffic. This devalues the proposition of free.

But how can you devalue a zero?

This creates a negative value. That's where the bright line is crossed. The power of free should give prospects access to almost unattainable riches. It creates a building block from skepticism to engagement.

It enables the prospect to feast on content and conversation he may not otherwise have tasted. It is the tease that tickles the fancy. It awakens his curiosity to intellectual delights.

It provides the expert the opportunity to prove his worth and the prospect to test his mettle. Psychologists show that people make decisions in measured steps. As marketers, we understand this principle of progression.

The power of free is a powerful and deadly tool. When we deployed this over two decades ago, it's impact was sharp and decisive. Through overuse and careless abandon we have dented and dulled it's fine edge.

We can only regain true measure by reforging this sacred blade with messages worthy of its honor.

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teekz 13 years ago

I think the free line can work when delivered in a format where high value isn't expected, for example if I read an article or watch a YouTube video and the person gives excellent information I will be apt to seek out more from them possibly by visiting their site.

If I get more high quality information delivered through a perceived low value format it may be enough for me to open my wallet and purchase from them.

I do agree with you that giving away too much good stuff and then asking for the sale in the same format can be very dangerous though
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JohnMcCabe

13 years ago

Mike, I think you touched on something important in your fifth point. Where to draw the freeline is a matter of scale.

It's easy to give away lots of excellent content, webinars, ebooks, reports, etc. when the entry to your sales funnel is a $1997 home study course, followed by a $497 per month membership and a $10,000 coaching program.

If you're peddling a $27 ebook, a short report and maybe a few good articles should be sufficient.

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MikeMarin

13 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

Mike, I think you touched on something important in your fifth point. Where to draw the freeline is a matter of scale.

It's easy to give away lots of excellent content, webinars, ebooks, reports, etc. when the entry to your sales funnel is a $1997 home study course, followed by a $497 per month membership and a $10,000 coaching program.

If you're peddling a $27 ebook, a short report and maybe a few good articles should be sufficient.

I agree John. That's the important thing to remember. The important this to remember is the entire context. I see to many people blindly copying IM guru [insert any name] without understanding there entire business model. They copy for instance just the front end.

Remember most smart direct/internet marketer is just happy breaking even getting a customer and make their money on the back end.

And O yea 1 ebook is not a business.

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Jon Patrick

13 years ago

Originally Posted by MikeMarin

And O yea 1 ebook is not a business.

I'll respectfully disagree on that point. An Ebook is a product, and if you're selling a product or service for money on any significant scale (without an employer), you have a business.

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MikeMarin

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Jon Patrick

I'll respectfully disagree on that point. An Ebook is a product, and if you're selling a product or service for money on any significant scale (without an employer), you have a business.

I guess you COULD call it a business. Not the kind of business that I would want. I would like to see one business that nowadays is just an ebook, no backend and their making a full time living online.

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TheyCallMeBE

13 years ago

So much truth in this thread. I learned a lesson in what people "value" for free when I was doing promotions for small live events years ago. I got the idea to go into the community and give away free tickets to a amateur comedy show I was promoting. The event was packed, but with the most vile, ignorant, and disrespectful people you could imagine. People talked while acts were performing and didn't buy any drinks. They clearly didn't value the event because it was free.

The following week, I charged $5 more than what I normally would charge for general admission and the place was packed for the following week. Many of the same people that attended the previous week were there. Everyone acted respectfully. The bar made a great deal of money. People saw the value in the fact that the tickets were representative of the quality of the comedy show.

From that point on, I kept the price point the same and made people wait in line outside and let a few in at a time. Regulars would come later even though they KNEW the ticket prices would be higher. They associated the higher prices with value.

Internet marketing is no different. If you have a valuable product, you should charge a premium for it. Customers inherently perceive value with cost.

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Genycis

13 years ago

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBE

So much truth in this thread. I learned a lesson in what people "value" for free when I was doing promotions for small live events years ago. I got the idea to go into the community and give away free tickets to a amateur comedy show I was promoting. The event was packed, but with the most vile, ignorant, and disrespectful people you could imagine. People talked while acts were performing and didn't buy any drinks. They clearly didn't value the event because it was free.

The following week, I charged $5 more than what I normally would charge for general admission and the place was packed for the following week. Many of the same people that attended the previous week were there. Everyone acted respectfully. The bar made a great deal of money. People saw the value in the fact that the tickets were representative of the quality of the comedy show.

From that point on, I kept the price point the same and made people wait in line outside and let a few in at a time. Regulars would come later even though they KNEW the ticket prices would be higher. They associated the higher prices with value.

Internet marketing is no different. If you have a valuable product, you should charge a premium for it. Customers inherently perceive value with cost.

Nice example to give! Puts a lot into perspective. You sorta weed out those that don't even have any intention of doing monetary business with you when you add a price after a free promotion. Funny how the obnoxious people were all there for the FREE event, yet there were more respectable people there when you slapped a brief $5.00 charge.

Free has always been that balance of scales, and I can see that with my sites too. Of course, in my niche, I guess things are a bit different, and you have to weigh FREE to work for you depending on the niche that you are doing.

If you're doing something that may be an ebook of knowledge, you can do a free ebook as a teaser, but not sure how impacting it can be. However, FREE with a purchase always seems to work well, just like someone else posted earlier with "Buy 6 get one FREE", etc.

I know with my sites, I have different offers of FREE, and they have their own impact. For example, when I have someone tweet me asknig me for a freebie, I simply point them into the direction of the Freebies page. I also have banner images I created on that page that will entice the person to join the site for more freebies, and special sales prices such as a "Spend $25 and get 3 FREEBIES of your choice".

Sometimes I get people that just go to the freebies page and download, and don't join. However, I tend to get more that do join and some that immediately take advantage of the special offer because they feel they're getting more freebies as a result. It works well because I gain their email address as well for future promos to try to sell them.

However, FREE, when done simply to entice someone to join without anything to offer them on the backend for doing so, usually is a waste. They get the freebies they wanted, and then their email address basically becomes barren as they don't tend to use it any further.

I would say that FREE depends on the niche, what you can offer them, but more importantly, how to turn that FREE into a sale that makes the buyers feel they're getting great bargains with the word FREE. No matter how you slice it, FREE will always be a great marketing tool... the major companies do it all the time.

It's about making your prices a bit larger than you feel the value is, and then doing promos to "discount the price" for the buyer, when in essence, you're now selling at the price that you wanted, so that you still make sales and profit. Supermarkets do it all the time! Why do you think their prices are larger than Walmart's prices, yet, you see them have Buy 1 Get 1 Free specials all the time and reduce the prices drastically (or so it would seem), whereas Walmart probably never had a Buy 1 Get 1 Free anything?

Sorry for the long post... just trying to put my two cents in on what I've seen, experienced, and learned on the word FREE.

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rambo9600 13 years ago

Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Facebook are Free.

Free made Mark Zuckerberg one of the richest men on the planet.

I have a friend of mine who offers Free unique content on his site and he makes $100,000 net per month from advertisers and affiliate sales.

Describe to me again why Free is not good?
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David Keith

13 years ago

I think one important point that is missed is that even in todays information based world, by far the vast majority of real money only changes hands when real tangible products are involved. This is the information age, but only a very small percentage of information is actually being sold for profit. There is just way to much information out there for free.

To me its more about having a complimentary sales process and real marketing plan. Giving stuff away is not even half of a complete marketing plan. Just like planing to make a pile of cash selling an ebook is barely the tip of a solid marketing plan.

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LMC

13 years ago

Well.... its interesting that the biggest free company out there is being valuated at close to $100 Billion Dollars....

I guess it all depends on your strategy

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JohnMcCabe 13 years ago

Originally Posted by Chris Kent

Try telling this to Eben Pagan, a big proponent of it. How much is he making again - I think it was $20 million a year....

Build a product line like Pagan's, and then we'll talk...
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- frankm 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe
  
  Build a product line like Pagan's, and then we'll talk...
  
  Exactly... and it's pretty easy to give out chunks of free info when you've that much content.
  
  He definitely didn't start with free though.
  
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mablethorpe

13 years ago

I think the best "free" way is to overdeliver and give your buyers unexpected bonuses.

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jaiganeshv

13 years ago

I read somewhere that one buyer is valuable more than 20 freebie seeker or in the likes.. Thats why warriors offer 100% commission WSOs

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TopKat22

13 years ago

I disagree. Free has worked well for me offline and online.

I would not make such generic, general statements.

There may be newbies who give away things for free who succeed and there may be newbies who don't who don't succeed and visa versa.

There are far too many other variables to take into consideration.

The two top internet marketers, that are also multi millionaires, still advise newbies to give something of real value for free.

However, again, the proof is in the results. A newbie could test it for themselves and then decide.

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PaulyC

13 years ago

You hit the nail on the head Mike...

I think the biggest thing to takeaway, aside from the big loss of income, is that people really don't value anything you give away for free. I've given away a $2000 course once or twice to people who have won contests and they barely touched it. Not only does this hurt the business, but someone who takes no action can't give you a great review - its a big disappointment.

Lesson learned.

Good post!

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Dexx

13 years ago

I disagree...somewhat.

The freeline is NOT dangerous...a lack of an actual sales funnel IS dangerous.

The purpose of the freeline is establish trust and authority with targeted prospects who might be RELUCTANT to just flat out buy a product/service...

The freeline allows them to get a sample (a taste) of the experience and/or results that will be generated from the full meal deal.

Info products, restaurants, even physical product samples...all prove that the freeline DOES work...but there better be a wicked follow-up system in place to close the leads generated.

Not to mention a backend to fully maximize customers that are converted.

My 2 cents.

~Dexx

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MarkSalmon

13 years ago

So it's 'free' plus 'monetisation strategy' not just 'free'?

In Robert Cialdini's book 'Influence' he talks about the power 'reciprocity'. I recently watched Mike Koenigs interview with Harvey Mackay, author of 'Swim With the Sharks' and he gave a powerful example of the power of giving without expectation of return

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM0qCWKIlBk

I guess it boils down to whether what you are giving away is truly valuable to the person receiving it.

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Christines Dream

13 years ago

I was not aware of the "moving the free line" concept. Thanks for cluing me in.

I have a friend who is consistently telling me that people perceive the value of a product based on it's price. Offer a product for $5 and people will think they are getting what they pay for (cheap). Change that price to $25 and now they perceive the product to be worth way more than $5.

Thanks.

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JohnMcCabe

13 years ago

Originally Posted by TopKat22

The two top internet marketers, that are also multi millionaires, still advise newbies to give something of real value for free.

However, again, the proof is in the results. A newbie could test it for themselves and then decide.

The problem isn't with having a freeline. The problem is with moving that freeline so far that there's very little left on the other side. And it's not just newbies, although they tend to be the ones that go overboard with giving stuff away until they have nothing new left to sell.

Zig Ziglar used to call it "spilling your popcorn in the lobby."

As you say, though, the proof is in the results. Find the optimum place to draw the free line, and you have a funnel that will deliver profits for a long time.

Don't provide enough value up front? Look for the endless threads asking why people can't seem to make a sale despite using the latest traffic or SEO tricks.

Provide too much value up front? Look for the threads that say people take all the free content and then get upset when the marketer actually tries to sell something.

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Kevin_Hutto

13 years ago

The thing most people seem to miss about Pagan, Kern, etc... Is that anything they ever give away free is attached to a pitch. FK does lots of free webinars that give away good content but there is always something to buy at the end or it is part of a product launch. Free always quickly leads to paid.

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David Keith

13 years ago

another thing the smaller guys don't understand about the big guys like FK or peagan is that the stuff these guys give away is a very small percentage of their overall content or potentially sell-able goods.

If they give away a 60 page pdf, they have a full blown course on the backend, not another 80 page pdf. The fact that they have years worth of content creation to work with gives them some opportunities to give stuff away that newbies or smaller marketers don't have.

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ahbittersweet8

13 years ago

great words of wisdom. but it is undeniably good for building lists as mentioned

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Karen Blundell 13 years ago

free has worked amazingly well for me. Giving away free templates brought me thousands and thousands of backlinks, which in turn brought me visitors, which in turn got Google to give me a PR6 which I have had for several years, which in turn brought me visitors who started to take me seriously, which in turn got me people who have paid for my services, bought my products, bought from my affiliate links, and/or who pay me to advertise on my site.

If I was to do it all again, I would still give free stuff away. Lots of it.

ps: you reap what you sow.
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