Giving away freebies

[Cherry]

Are freebies the best marketing tool you can have?
I think its well known that people love to get things for free, so is this a good way of coaxing people to become a customer of yours?

[Business Brian]

Hi cherry, and welcome to company leap.

As for giving away freebies - IMO this really needs to be done in a targeted manner, otherwise all you end up doing is inviting freeloaders to grab your stuff with no return.

One of the best methods you can do is give something away related to what you're selling - for example, free gifts or discounts off when you spend over a set amount.

That means that someone must engage in your company products or services to actually take the gift.

[Melos]

I have found that both giving away freebies and especially running a free sweepstakes has brought a lot of traffic to my site.  Get your site listed on freebie sites and sweepstakes sites too - good backlinks there.

I have had customers (who placed orders!) tell me that they never would have found me if not for my freebie or sweepstakes.

[Slashmire]

I totally agree; whether we're "proud" or not doesn't change the fact that we'll be attracted by freebies.  If we find freebies on a website, we'll look at it more thoroughly 

[Melos]

Like Brian said above - about giving away discounts - that is an excellent way to make people spend more

I give away coupons and discounts for pretty much anything you do on one of my websites - give me a testimonial, get 10% off your next order.  I regularly send out $5.00 coupons to existing customers to get them coming back. 

Obviously, you can't do it TOO much, or you'll make no profit though.

[OneofaKind]

I think marketing tools that act as hooks for something else are definitely good marketing tools.

[Slashmire]

For some reason, I don't really like $5 coupon...I'm sure they're great, but normally when I see one, I think "oh that means it's going to cost so much."

[Melos]

Well... that is true... but if you knew something was $15.00 and suddenly had a $5.00 off coupon, wouldn't it entice you to maybe buy the item more?

Hmm... Can you suggest other types of coupons that would work better?  Free gift?  A percent off your purchase?

[OneofaKind]

I think it depends on what it is.

If I'm given a $5 coupon for something that is $15. I'm inclined to think that it's really worth $10. Subsequently I end up questioning and mistrusting the whole pricing structure.

[ninikins]

I dunno about freebies...I think a lot of people just take them and thinknothing more on it. I know I do.

[Business Brian]

The thing about freebies is to make them appeal to your target market - ie, the customers you are aiming at.

I've experimented with giving away general freebies, and while people are happy to take them, in such an untargeted way they were essentially worthless as a promotion.

[Grace]

Giving things to the people in a certain way that will generate traffic on your site or more posts.  We love winning things and gettings things.

[feline]

Another way to entice posters is to give points for every post that they make.  In one forum that I have known, they accumulate points, which I think can be redeemed to cash.  They also use these points to pay for services/products from fellow forum members.  The forum is very successful in a way that it has lots of traffic, posters and it has quality content, too coz the posters have to abide by the rules or else they will be banned.

[taiarain]

I like the points idea. The more you spend, the more you save...and all.

Taia

[hokeshel]

I am against it for the most part. The only time I think freebies should be given is if it something they normally wouldn't buy. For instance, if you sell a food item, giving a sample is a great idea or, if the freebie is inexpensive and contians some kind of advertising, like a pen with your website and business name on it.