Why Free Stuff Sucks
I’ve been speaking with many people recently about building the email lists of your customers.” Rule number one, according to them, is to give something away at no cost. Yes, there is something to that idea, I’d say. However, the quantity of subscribers does not mean that you’re getting the quality. If you’re looking for high-quality members who’re more inclined to purchase the product you intend to offer in the future, You want to attract people who have already indicated a willingness to purchase from you. It is essential to be charging people who are on your list for the services they will receive.
Zombie Snacks
I’ve been working at stands at trade show booths since the early 1980s. Whatever the theme of the show is, the aisles are full of what I refer to as “bag zombies.” As soon as they arrive at an event, they are handed bags. Sometimes, one vendor will provide these upon the time of check-in. In a state of utter confusion, slack-jawed, and an unflinching stare, the people, start shuffle across the aisles, shifting their heads between sides. They distract booth attendants with little questions such as “So what is it exactly that you do? ” They also scoop up any item that’s not tied to the floor. Many booth sellers give away their goods at no cost, and I’ve witnessed bag zombies clear tables within seconds. Some are shameless and will literally dump all the things they can get into their bags.
Here’s the wrong part. These zombies will walk out of the stage, loaded with bags of high-quality marketing materials for which the sellers have paid a reasonable amount. They’ll take the bags back to their offices or go home and then put them in the corner. The rest of the stuff is stacked on top of the bags. From six months to some years later, the zombies take the bags out. They put their heads in the bags, looking around at the mess of trash they took. Not having any use for the junk, they dispose of it everything. All the time vendors put into planning their swags and perfecting their sales pitch… every penny they invested in developing, creating, and delivering their marketing materials… washed away. The entire effort was gone.
It’s Not Worth It
I’ve talked to dozens of people who’ve received free downloads. Stories, books, and White papers… It isn’t a big deal. Only one percent of them actually read the material they downloaded for free. Only 10% of them actually used the free downloads. The remainder of them did not read anything. They keep things because they’re free. They take it in with the attention and respect that a download for free deserves. They ignore it. They don’t appreciate the value of what they receive for free. Because it’s gratis, people don’t have the time to go through it. It’s not worth it for their time, and any effort put in by the one who gives it away is wasted too. If it’s an author offering free a sample chapter or a company offering charts of comparison or other data, these digital bag zombies take it and dump it on their hard drives, from where they keep it in darkness until an arbitrary point the downloader erases the file.
What’s The Solution?
If giving things that are free can help create an email list, then what do you need to do to turn a mass list into a high-quality one? The lingo is segmentation. This means you break your list of customers into those who are zombies in the bag and those who are interested in what you can provide. You can offer them something.
This isn’t talking about something that is expensive. It doesn’t need to be miles long to qualify as a line, and it’s just a matter of having. My client provides an offer worth $600 at the cost of $49. Another client offers the whole volume for $0.99. This is what I refer to as evidence of interest. It’s a small amount that’s purpose is to get them to pull out their wallets. It forces them to make an additional move similar to the one they’d be required to complete when they pay you $100 or one thousand dollars. It also indicates that they are attracted enough to what you’ve got to offer that they’ll pay to get it. Then, you need to determine the highest price they’re willing to achieve.
Sure, you can give something away for free in order to build your list of email subscribers. Be sure that they receive the freebie. However, the next step to take would be to give them something they need to purchase—a small item for an affordable cost. Don’t attempt to make them buy something more or anything expensive. Make them take out their wallets. If they decide not to purchase Item A and you want to sell an alternative product that is inexpensive, Item B. Create a selection of affordable, small items. However, once they have purchased, they move their names onto another list. It could be “Purchased,” “Prospects,” or another character. Make sure to give the zombies an easy line to traverse. When they’ve crossed it, then you’ll have a more lucrative and exciting issue to solve.
