What you give away can bite you in the butt

11 replies
As most Warriors know... one way to get people onto your list is to offer a free report, ebook, or other piece of info to entice people to give you their email.

But have you ever thought about what you're using for "bait"

In other words... what you're giving away for a freebie can literally make or break your business.

Look, i don't know about most people on here... but my goal, when starting an online business, is to create something of value and that will be around a long time.

That's why any squeeze page I use MUST give away something so valuable... the person receiving it can't wait to come back to me and my site.

But what happens when you give away a crappy PLR ebook that you bought for 99 cents... and is so vague and generic, it doesn't help your prospect with anything?

That's right... you leave your visitor with a bad taste in their mouth.

Put yourself in your prospects' shoes.

If you got excited from a squeeze page offering... entered your name and email... and then got some crummy PLR ebook that just didn't contain any good, valuable advice... would you go back to that person to buy other stuff?

Probably not.

So for the first contact with your prospect... why not give away something that's so valuable, informative, and useful advice... they can't wait to buy what you're offering!

Again, put yourself in your prospects' shoes. if you got a free report you felt was worth $100 or more, and gave you so much useful advice... wouldn't you WANT to go back and buy more?

Or wouldn't you listen up if you got a recommendation from that person, while on their list?

Many internet marketers are so fast to get up and running online, they're willing to just throw up anything to give away as a freebie.

but honestly, that can hurt your online sales more than help.

Because if what you give away is worthless or doesn't really help your prospect... they won't be too keen to try out anything else of yours.

But WOW them with an amazing free report that shows them how to solve a problem they have... and you may find yourself with a lifetime customer who buys anything you promote.

Take it from me, I learned this the hard way back when I started online in 2001.

I gave away the first thing I could find that was free.

And, of course, I got nothing much in return.

these days, I try to give away something I could charge $100 for... and I try to wow my prospect so much, they WANT to be on my list and hear from me.

So, please... take the time and invest in giving away something really valuable and you'll get so much more in return!
#bite #butt #customer first contact #give
  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    Nice signature plug, well done.

    But yes I agree with you always give away something really great for free so your prospects think "wow if the freebie is that good...what must the paid product be like?".
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    I agree with you. Many marketers create free ebooks not only based on cheap PLR but merely talking about their lives and their success, without giving lessons or explanations to their readers. I found this kind of free ebook many times.

    These marketers hope that their readers will care about learning more by clicking on their links, but the truth is that all their readers become very angry for wasting their time with an empty ebook.


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  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    Think of your free report as the "first date" the prospect has with you.

    You want to leave your prospect "wanting to see you again"

    If the first date is cheap, crummy, and not very good... they won't want to
    see you again.

    I know it's a simplistic analogy... but your free report or giveaway really does set
    the tone for the rest of the relationship.

    Give away something that just doesn't do anything for the prospect... and they wouldn't care less if they get another email from you.

    But give them something potentially life-changing... and they will start chasing you.

    there's a HUGE difference between being the one chasing and the one being chased.
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    • Profile picture of the author marketingoasis
      I haven't found any PLR reports that are good enough to give away as a gift on a squeeze page. The content is usually very basic and of no real value. There are some great free viral reports available but they can't be customized to promote your own website. So I always prefer to write my own reports which cover a specific strategy in detail with step by step instructions and images.
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  • Quality is the key to any business! You want your prospect to fall in love with you and your product. If you do it right you can give away the hold plan and then you can charge them for you putting it all together. Become a valuable person.
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  • Profile picture of the author Willie Crawford
    I agree 100% and have been teaching the same thing for years.
    Most of the freebies that I give away are audio recordings that
    I personally make along with the transcripts. They are all high
    content and hopefully have a perceived high value.

    First impressions really are the most lasting. So why start a
    relationship by making a bad impression with a new subscriber
    by giving them junk?

    I see nothing wrong with starting with PLR... but think of it as
    the outline and rough research... and rewrite it, and check it
    for accuracy, etc.

    Willie
    Signature

    Here's A Ready-Made High Ticket Product To Make Your Own.
    Click To Go BIG!

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

      I see nothing wrong with starting with PLR... but think of it as
      the outline and rough research... and rewrite it, and check it
      for accuracy, etc.
      Yep PLR doesn't necessarily mean rubbish content. Just like some WSO's are good and some are bad. It doesn't mean all WSO's are crap.

      But as Willie said, PLR can be a valid place to start so long as the end result is valuable to the end user. My test for giveaways is that they should always be something you would be happy to charge money for. If you wouldn't be happy to charge money for it then you probably need to go back to the drawing board and create something with more value.
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    • Profile picture of the author thedudeness
      This is so true, and happened to me just a few days ago. I stumbled upon the "Newbie 411" eBook from CPAFix.com and found it so well written and informative I went ahead and joined their mailing list.

      I am probably going to spring for their private forum, and this is just based on that eBook.
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