The Value of Freebies

A tactic from the brick-and-mortar world for bringing customers into a store can also work quite handily for bringing in visitors to a web site. You may have seen this method used on other sites, but few sites take full advantage of it. This tactic is to give something away for free, but care must be taken when making the choice of what to give away, and how to maximize the value to you of each visitor seeking your give-away item.

This article will give you insight into the selection of what you give away, as well as how to get the most from each visitor. It will close with information about using free resources on the Internet for promoting your site (and its free offer), plus a link to a list of companies who sell inexpensive items that will continue promoting your site once you've given them away.

First, though, you must choose carefully what you will give away. The more unusual the item, the more likely it is that web users will take the time to visit your site. Besides, it goes without saying that higher-value freebies will attract more attention, but value in the mind of the person seeking the give-away item does not have to equate to more money from your budget. Some things, such as screen savers, are so commonly given away that web users expect them to be. The same can be said of certain free services, like digital postcards, or information that can be found in many other places on the Web.

Getting the attention of web users with content that can be delivered electronically is very cost effective, but very difficult due to the number of similar freebies already offered. It is often more effective to use a tangible item that you can send through the mail, as long as you minimize the cost of each item and the postage used to send it. Some of the more common things to give away are mouse pads and T-shirts, but the per-item cost is relatively high with these items.

If the value of a client acquisition is high enough to justify it, you can certainly use a higher-cost item (although originality is still an issue). However, if you are uncertain as to whether or not the freebie seekers will be in your target market, or the value of each client acquisition is low, you'll want to keep the per-item cost to a minimum.

Items that can be something you can deliver electronically (e.g., by allowing people to either view it or download it from your site), and it's unique enough where people will be interested and will not expect it to be free, that will be your best option overall.

Once you have selected what you will give away, the next step is to maximize the value of each visitor who arrives at your site looking for the freebie. Often, a site will set up a simple page or form that focuses just on the freebie, and that is the extent of their effort. Instead, you should make sure that each visitor is given the maximum opportunity to learn about your company, and encourage them to visit (and bookmark) the main page of your site. Do not assume that visitors are arriving via any other page on your site, as they will probably arrive directly at the freebie page. (This is particularly true if you follow the promotion suggestions near the end of this article.)

Your freebie page should include, at a minimum, your company logo, a two- or three-sentence paragraph describing the main benefit your company can provide to any general client, a small set of links to areas on your site you'd like your visitor to see (it doesn't hurt to hope for the best!), and a freebie request form (even if you're providing electronic delivery via the browser).

The form should ask for their name, address (if, and only if, you are shipping something to them), how they heard about your freebie offer, and how well they like your site. It should definitely include an honest statement that you will not use the information they provide for marketing reasons, with a link to your privacy statement. (You do have one, right? If not, see: http://www.uninova.com/privacy_matters.html)

By not asking for more information than is absolutely needed to fulfill the freebie request, you will help build trust in your visitor. If you haven't realized it yet, trust is more valuable than gold when it comes to online commerce! Asking them how they heard about your offer will help you determine what offer promotion methods worked the best. For this reason it's good to give them a drop-down selection list from which they can choose a specific source, and give them an "Other" box in case they heard about your offer in some other way.

Finally, asking how well they like your site will ensure that you gain some value -- and any honest feedback about your site is valuable -- even if you never hear from this person again. The reasons for including your logo, the company description, and the links into key locations of your site should be obvious!

After you've selected your freebie and you're confident that your freebie offer page on your site will maximize the value of each visitor, you're ready to promote your offer! One of the most effective ways of doing so, which will lead to promotion of your offer by other people without your involvement, is to post a brief announcement of the offer in the alt.consumers.free-stuff newsgroup. Readers of that newsgroup will often then take the next step, which you can also take if you want to make sure it is done, and that is to contact the many freebie offer lists on the World-Wide Web. People who run such sites will also often post your offer to the newsgroup, so if you are not familiar with how that is done, a kind request to such a page owner may do the trick for you. Be prepared for a strong response! If you have a unique offer, your supply may be exhausted in just a day or two.