Imagine you’re in a room full of people and every single one is asking you to buy something. Then, a kind face shows up and says, “Hey! I want to give you something really awesome.” Maybe it’s something to keep you entertained. Maybe it’s something to help you. Either way, they don’t want anything in return, except maybe your name or a high-five.
That one person offers a breath of fresh air in a room filled with stifling marketing ploys and lingo. And in a few weeks, if you happen to need to buy something, guess who instantly pops in your head?
That’s the power of freebies. Whether it’s an e-book, small gift or helpful printable, freebies work because they don’t feel like a marketing tactic. And these relatively small tokens build trust, improve brand visibility and increase conversion rates.
Here’s how to get started.
Creating your plan
As with all marketing tactics, freebies only produce results if you start from your end goal and work backward to develop a plan. So, start by deciding on your end goal.
Do you want to beef up your email list?
Think of offers enticing enough that people will take a few seconds to type in an email address. e-books, checklists and coupon codes work well for most businesses.
Are you looking to promote a specific product or service?
Samples and free trials might seem like the obvious choice, but they can be cost prohibitive. If that’s the case, consider free consultations, printables that go hand in hand with what you’re promoting or enticing customers with a free (cheaper) gift if they buy the promoted product.
Just need more exposure for your brand?
Look at what your base is sharing on social media; specifically, the products you could recreate to fit your brand. Are your followers’ Pinterest boards filled with printable grocery shopping lists and schedules? Start brainstorming similar printables that meld seamlessly with your products or services.
Now, decide what strings (if any) you want to tie to the freebie. Asking for an email address is common. But, consider these as well:
- Post a download link on social media and ask that they like or share the post in return for the download. Most people will click that button even though they don’t “have” to, and this soft-sell method works well to build trust and exposure.
- Use it as a gift for completing a short survey. If you’re still getting a feel for your base, this is a solid way to get more responses.
- Send it as a thank you for a first-time purchase. This takes the customer’s experience above and beyond what they expect and keeps your brand on their mind.
- Make it truly free. No emails, no surveys, no purchases and no strings. Sure, it’s not the most multifaceted marketing strategy. But, it works. Do something without expecting anything in return, and they will return.
Freebies to think about
E-books, printables and digital files are some of the lowest-cost options out there. Read through the examples below and see if something sparks an idea, but get creative. An accountant can create a budget-friendly meal plan and a personal trainer can design a poster that covers how to care for and clean workout clothes.
Don’t put yourself in a box.
E-books allow you to convey information and entertain the reader, all while setting your brand up as an expert in your industry. If you already have a blog, check out this Biz.me post on repurposing content.
- Photographer? Compile a set of how-to pieces that cover composition basics and taking great snapshots. Then, turn it into a book, complete with plenty of stunning photos.
- Real estate agent? Put together a short e-book filled with tips for first-time homebuyers. Or, tap an interior designer to create a book on decorating a new home.
- Restaurant owner? Format several of your favorite recipes into an e-book, add pictures and voila! You now have a recipe book to give new social media followers.
Printables take minimal time to create but can be highly valuable to a wide array of consumers.
- Boutique owner? A vacation packing checklist for each season ties right into your brand.
- Nutritionist? How about a free seven-day meal plan and coordinating shopping list?
- Tutor? Create a few worksheets that parents can download and use to help children at home.
Digital files combine the data offered in e-books and the usefulness of printables to appeal to most demographics.
- Accountant? Make a standard—yet visually appealing—household budget spreadsheet that users can fill in with their own info.
- Personal trainer? Consider shooting a video that shows how to properly do the exercises and moves you routinely use with clients.
- Graphic designer? Put together a series of infographic templates people can use for their own marketing purposes.
Putting it all together
Whether you’ve decided to write your first e-book or create a trendy calendar, these free to low-cost tools help you create functional, entertaining and visually appealing freebies.
Mac-exclusive Vellum is super simple to use and turns .doc(x) files into professional-looking digital books. Just upload your book and the program will get everything formatted before allowing you to tweak the design.
Scrivener is a robust, all-in-one book creation tool that takes you from the research stage to a complete, formatted e-book. It’s routinely listed as the best product for formatting out there, but because formatting is just one of many features, it can take a bit to get comfortable using it.
Jutoh offers the user-friendliness of Vellum and many of the customization options of Scrivener yet works on both Mac and PC. Don’t let the early 2000s website fool you—the product is solid.
Canva offers tons of templates and plenty of customization options so you can create gorgeous checklists, schedules, meal plan printouts and more. You can also use Canva’s templates to create a cover for your e-book.
Snappa works similarly to Canva and can be used for the same purposes. But, it has a huge built-in library of royalty free stock images and gives you more control in editing images and your finished product, making it ideal for e-book covers. That said, it lacks in template options for printables like checklists and schedules.
Unsplash offers thousands upon thousands of completely free images that stray away from the standard “stock image look.”
Check out the design tools Biz.me covered in “9 design products that won’t break the bank (or your brain)” for more helpful products.
One final tip: A hastily thrown together e-book or branding-heavy printable do more harm than good. Spend the same amount of time developing your freebie as you would any other product or service you offer. And if the first try falls flat, adjust your plan and give it another go. The time investment is worth it.
Biz.me is not affiliated with or endorsing any brand or product mentioned in this post.
