Photo by Martin Gommel
In my last post, I gave you seven ideas for list-building freebies you can give away. While giving a free report or some such thing is great for building a list, I just know some of you are questioning my sanity. After all, if you keep giving your stuff away, why would anyone pay you?
It’s Not Really Free, It’s a Trade
A large mailing list is a valuable asset to any business, whether online or off. With it you can keep in touch with people who want what you are selling, and by keeping in touch, or offering them more chances to buy, you will make more sales. But in order to get that email address, you need to offer something in return. So don’t think of it as giving away the milk, think of it as trading the milk for hay to feed the cow. I know, my analogy is pretty weak there, but you get my meaning.
Establish Your Integrity
The idea behind giving away information is not to give away everything you know, but to give away enough valuable information to build your credibility and trustworthiness, so that these strangers on the Internet will will feel comfortable buying from you. The Internet is not a market where people can come in, look at the merchandise, squeeze the cantaloupe, and size up the owner before they hand over their cash. You have to convince your potential customers that their money will not be wasted if they buy from you. That’s what a free report can do.
Building a Relationship
People like to do business with businesses they know, whether those businesses are on the internet or on the next block. Developing a relationship with your potential customers is the most important reason to have a mailing list, and the fastest way to grow your mailing list is to give something to your visitors in exchange for their email address.
Isn’t that potential relationship worth the small cost of a free report for your subscribers?
Great thoughts Cynthia. Last week, I had the honor of seeing Joanne Black of “No More Cold Calling” speak, and she said the most profound thing that made so much sense! She said: “those that sign up for your free report are the least qualified leads, because they typically only want something for free.” I have in 12 years of business ever had someone who took a free report convert to business.
Better yet, often subscribers to those reports are your competition! Heck, i know that is me, I often just sign up to see what my competition is up too!
So I guess the challenge is how to qualify that list. Thoughts?
Ann Evanston
http://Warrior-Preneur.com
The Warrior is Within You
That’s an interesting point, Ann.
As I see it, there are basically two types of people on the Internet: the searchers, and the providers. As providers, our job is to give the searchers the information they are looking for, whether that’s in the form of a free report or a blog or an ebook we offer for sale.
A free report contains the same information that might be contained in a series of blog posts. The only difference is you are asking for “payment” in the form of an email address. You are asking for permission to market to this person, and they are granting it in exchange for some valuable information you have.
Other providers will of course check out their competition, but I see that as a good thing. That’s how quality improves and new ideas are discovered, and that is a benefit to our customers, the searchers.
Will providers ever buy from you? Probably not. But searchers will, if you prove to them that you are trustworthy, know what you are talking about, and let them get to know you. That is the purpose of building a list as I see it. If it takes giving away information to kick-start that relationship, I’m all for it.
Cindy
12 years is a LONG kick start for those searchers! And if anyone will tell you anything about how I do business it is with great integrity, trust and honor!
I have learned that giving will come back in other ways for my buisness, and it is typically not the subscribers, but if my giving to them puts good energy into the world that brings payign customers, awesome – I did the right thing!
Ann Evanston
Twelve years is a long time. My dad had a saying for that kind of nonsense, but I won’t repeat it here.
I can see that you are passionate about what you do, and clearly you’ve put a lot of thought into your marketing campaign. This style obviously doesn’t work for you. But like you said, it’s hard to quantify karma. You never know what bit of wisdom one of your subscribers has said about you to someone who did become a customer, or who might have passed on your newsletter to a potential client, so I suppose it’s all good, right?