Give away event subscribers...any good?

I am probably a typical 'freebie' collector and usually will subscribe to a good looking givaway BUT - if I do accept a freebie and the first three emails from the person who supplied it are trying to sell me something else, I tend to unsubscribe.

If the first three emails contain some good additional information, there is always the chance that someone will actually sell something.

Unfortunately, giveaways are promoted purely as list builders - not as relationship building opportunities.

I've had good response from lists built in free giveaways.
I start out by giving away a quality gift in the giveaway,
and then my follow-up messages deliver genuine value,
and from time to time offer items for sale that are closely
related to the niche/theme of the gift that I gave away
in the giveaway.

Since these subscribers have often just downloaded a
hard drive full of freebies, it may be a while before they
buy anything.

My freebies also often have sales messages or
mechanisms built in.

Willie

Slightly off topic and from the other end of the spectrum but the ones I love are the ones who after I download their freebie ... say in a particular niche ... immediately begin bombarding me with offers to buy all of the PLR stuff they just downloaded from the same Giveaway event. If somebody just downloaded your book on weight loss, it does not mean that they are going to want to buy every product that you just downloaded too ... especially in other niches.

Send the people who buy your product to a squeeze page with a special offer for that list ... you can make money on the backend of a Giveaway too. Your conversion rates will likely be a little bit below normal but you can still generate a little cash. Make sure that if they do buy, you still send them a link to your download product.

I think the key to participating in the giveaways is obviously first and foremost to provide a valuable giveaway product within your niche ... as a first pre-qualifier. Add your own links into the Giveaway product and allow people to sell it, give it away or otherwise use it for their list ... in its entirety. This should add even more people who are interested in your niche to your site and ultimately to your list. list of people interested in weight loss probably will not care so much about or be as responsive to a bunch of products about web graphics and other niche products.

Offer them an explanation in the first email about your newsletter or other series responses ... I say a series in order to get them used to continually opening your emails. Again, it should be relevant to the niche you are selling and not just to Internet Marketers. Not everybody is willing or excited about making money online ... believe it or not.

Me personally, my first series is regarding common writing mistakes that people make. By offering a series, they will continue to look forward to opening your emails and not run from the sales pitch each and every time you send a mail. Explain to them that from time to time you do run across special offers and you will make these known to your subscribers as they are valuable to you. Provide real contact information of one form or another. Some anonymous post office box will not work nearly as well as your phone number. If your list is too large to hand out that information, get a help desk and make sure to respond. If your list is that large, you should be able to afford it.

That would be about my two cents worth

I've had excellent response from giveaways lists and contrary to what those who haven't used them correctly have said, they really can be used very effectively
to build relationships because of the free offer you're giving but also,
remember, the follow up is up to you.

When someone subscribes to your list it's because they want the gift you're offering
for free and if they like what they get and the way you follow up with them afterwards, there's a very good probability they'll take you up on your offers
because they trust you now.

You won their trust with the initial gift and that opens the door for subsequent offers.

My buddy Reed Floren routinely pulls in $100,000+ every year just from the lists
he builds with his giveaway events.

He's not the only one who has had great experiences with them either. ;-)

You can make a good $3000 just from the one time offers and even more
from the jv partners who upgrade so they can make more offers to the new members.

In my experience and opinion, it's a true win/win.

I agree with the others. Giveaways work.

Selling right off the bat is the first thing you should do. You should have your own OTO and then in your first email, you should sell again. Your subscribers are hot at the moment, so you should take every opportunity to make the sale then.

And it is fully possible to build a relationship and sell all in the same week. They are not mutually exclusive activities.

Giveaways work. Use them!

Fabian