Why It Pays To Give Stuff Away For Free

"Do you want fries with that?" is the easiest way to increase your sales fast. Selling repeatedly to your customers increases the value of each customer. Because these people already bought from you, you have their trust. That is why up-selling is easy.

Now, have you ever noticed when before the launch of a new product the creators of that product launch a free report, or e-book, or manifesto? Many successful marketers give stuff away for free - but they don’t always do it altruistically. There is a science behind the "Free Report" launch. Having something that you give away for free has it’s benefits. Free advertising is obvious - having something that people can easily share (and something worth sharing) with others can create a lot of traffic. But there’s more to free reports than creating traffic. In fact, the "Free Report" launch is a very successful form of up-sell.

By giving something away for free you give people a chance to give you their trust. Without paying anything they become your customers and they become much more receptive to your offers. Plus you get a chance to show them value.

Suppose you want to sell a $200 product, and you create a traffic stream of 500 people per month to your sales page. How many of those will buy the product - 1%? I’ll be generous and say 2%. That’s $2,000.

Now what if you start by offering them a free report about the subject - how many would download that? I’d say at least half - that’s 250 people. Up-sell those 250 people with a $5 e-book (I’d expect at least a 33% conversion rate) - 82 people and $410 in revenue.

Finally, up-sell the 82 buyers with your real product - the $200 one. Remember, these people have already given you their trust twice, so you should be able to get at least a 15-25% conversion rate. That’s 12-20 people, and $2,400-4,000 in revenue.

Just by giving something away for free first you can increase your sales 40-100% and make extra revenue in the process.

I really appreciate that you keep coming back to my site, it's loyal people like you that make what I do worth it. If you have any questions feel free to email me at Tony [at] BeginWorkingOnline [dot] com. If you like what you read, and find it helpful, make sure to share it with a friend - they'll love you for it! Remember, this blog is not about me, it's about you - so participate in the discussion, let me and the other readers know what you think and how you're doing.