Which is best?
Giving something away for free or selling something cheap?
In several previous articles I’ve talked about giving away something for free as a way to attract potential customers and build an email list to which you can sell to.
I’ve also talked about why some people prefer to sell something cheap instead of giving something away for free because it ‘qualifies’ the person who goes onto your email list.
I’ve even talked about combining the two.
That is where you give something away for free and when someone signs up to access your free lead magnet they are instantly met with a cheap follow up offer which complements the free product.
Which is best has been debated by many online marketers for many years. There are pros and cons for all three methods. People prefer different methods for their own reasons.
I am a big fan of the third approach where you give something away for free but you offer up a cheap congruent product as part of the initial email list building process.
Any sales made help pay for any advertising and marketing costs and it gives you a list of buyers which is better to have than a list of non-buyers.
But it also gives you a list of potential buyers who may buy from you later.
Considering how cheap it can be to own an email list and how easy it can be to write an email, I don’t see a reason for not including both buyers and freebie seekers for now… you can always remove non responsive people later.
The reason why some people sell a cheap product first instead of giving away a free lead magnet is that they want to build a list of buyers only instead of a list of freebie seekers.
It makes sense; buyers have already made a financial commitment with you and are far more likely to buy again.
In general, people who have bought from you are always better than those who have claimed something from you for free.
Also, a lot of people who want something for free can be time wasters who don’t have any respect for you or your time.
I was reminded of that this weekend.
A friend of mine was giving away an unused television unit. It was taking up room in his garage and he was fed up of moving it about so he decided to post a picture of it in the local Facebook group saying ‘I’m giving this away, free to anyone who wants it!’
He was immediately contacted by a woman who wanted it. She arranged to pick it up the following Sunday morning at 11. Believing that the unit had found a new home the post was removed from Facebook.
Sunday morning came; the unit was dragged from the garage and placed on the drive ready for collection.
11:15; no one came.
A message was sent asking if they were still coming. It wasn’t read.
After waiting half an hour another message was sent saying that they needed to pop out to go and do what was already arranged for that Sunday and that they would be home at a specific time and that she could pick it up any time after that.
Both messages were read… but there was no reply.
My friend has still not heard anything since that first message arranging to collect the unit on the Sunday morning.
One can only assume that she no longer wants the unit. It would have been nice if she had let my friend know.
It’s not a big problem in the grand scheme of things, you could call it a first world problem… but it is still a problem because time and effort has been wasted getting a unit ready to be collected only for it to be put back again when the person did not bother to collect or contact the unit’s owner.
There is nothing more frustrating than having someone else waste your time and energy, especially when you are doing them a favour and giving them something for free.
At least half an hour of my friend’s time was wasted… and there was no acknowledgment or apology.
That was just from one person.
Giving away multiple items to multiple people could result in a lot of time wasting.
It’s made easier if you have a system.
For example, if you were a publisher or newsagent giving away a free magazine and that the only place people could get it was from your store where you work then it is no extra loss to your time.
Another option could be to send the magazine in the post and only send them out when you go to the post office to send out any paid orders you have.
The other big time wasting issue that you can get from people when giving away something for free is ‘questions’.
Going back to my friend’s television unit; it has a specific height, width and length. People who see large items offered for free on social media want to know whether it will fit in their homes or cars.
Some people can’t get to pick up items themselves and so they ask if the item can be delivered.
Before you know it, you could be spending time answering questions from several people and possibly running around town dropping stuff off.
You may also answer half a dozen questions only to find that at the end of the day, no one wants what you are giving away.
Instead of getting the item and then dealing with it at their end, most people will have you running around like a blue-arsed fly for them… which is very annoying and frustrating when you are giving something away for free.
In the online world, when give something away for free it is set up in a system which you do not need to touch once live.
Receiving emails with questions is probably the worst problem you will get when you give away something for free. Fortunately emails can be managed far easier than having to measure units and drag them out of garages.
Like I say, having a system in place really helps.
Having a document with the answers to anticipated questions can help big time. As soon as a question comes in, simply copy and paste the answer and click send… or even better, add it to the free lead magnet or on the sign-up page.
Unlike giving away items like furniture, clothing or tools on Facebook, when you give something away for free online such as an eBook, report or video, the real purpose is to find a lead and make a sale further down the line.
You are not just getting rid of something to ‘get it out of your way’.
When you remember that, any wasted time is not so bad because it may result in you making money later.
So going back to the question I asked at the beginning.
Which is best?
Giving something away for free or selling something cheap?
For me, currently it’s both together.
Setting up a system where a cheap product is offered right after giving away the free lead magnet is a great idea. It helps recoup any costs and gives you a list of buyers as well as a list of potential buyers.
Unlike giving away free television units on Facebook, anything you give away for free online should be done with future profits in mind.
Any time wasting that happens should be managed with a system and seen as ‘customer service’ which can ultimately turn a potential time waster into a buyer.
To learn the exact process I use to make money online as outlined above, check out:
The Email Secret
Kind Regards
John Harrison
PS… Once your system is in place, it takes very little to write an email a day – or every few days. You do not need to write thousands of words for each email.
Here’s that link again: