I’ve noticed marketers who are moving the free line all the way to, ‘never.’
They no longer give away anything for free, and might even go so far as to actively discourage freebie seekers.
While I understand the sentiment behind this, I’m not sure I agree. True, it can get discouraging if it seems like your lists are only interested in what they can get for free.
You work hard to create your products – why in the world would you give away your best stuff?
The answer is, you wouldn’t, of course. Not unless it leads to a bigger upsell of some kind.
But removing all the freebies from your funnels is, in my opinion, a big mistake.
Take a look at the marketers you follow – aren’t these the same ones you purchase products from, with or without a fancy sales letter?
So why do you follow these people and buy their recommendations? Odds are it’s because you discovered them through a free offer of some sort, like the kind you get in exchange for your email address.
You read their free report or watched their video or listened to their podcast, and you found out you like and trust them. You wanted to see what else they offer, and so you opened their emails, read their blogposts, and started buying their products.
Frankly, I think your freebies are your best sales letters. They tell your future customers what to expect from you and give them a reason to keep coming back for more, whether it’s free or paid.
Take a cold customer who doesn’t know me, give them my very best sales letter, and it’s really questionable whether they will buy or not.
But give me a customer who has read my free reports and come back, and I’ll show you a sale – with or without the fancy sales letter.
Furthermore, because I do offer free products first as a way of introducing myself and my business, and offer paid products afterwards, my retention rates are higher and my refund rates are lower.
In my opinion, the freebies we offer our prospects can be our very best selling tools.
