Gary North

June 6, 2009

People like to get things for free. They know that freebies are usually part of a promotional campaign to see them something, but they sign up anyway.

I started a free site this week:

Why did I do this? Because people are in too much debt. I want to help them get out of debt.

Will they read my posted articles? Yes. Will they download one of my free economic commentaries on the Bible? A small percentage will. If I get enough visitors (useful free site), this will mean lots of people will read my commentaries who would never have seen one. I wrote the commentaries to be read.

Some day, I may finish my "Financial Study Bible." I will give it away in a PDF. But some people will buy a leather-bound copy.

Lew Rockwell uses free books as hooks at his www.Mises.org site: "Literature." Download hundreds of great books. Why does this work? Because most serious readers of non-fiction books want to buy a physical book, mark it up, and put it on a shelf, where it does not take up too much space. A printed out book in a 3-ring binder is not what they want. How many people even own a 3-hole punch? (I do, but I'm a writer.)

Recently, Arby's made free offers. You get one of a series of free sandwiches if you buy a large soft drink. How can Arby's afford this? Because the greatest profit margin is in the soft drinks. Sometimes "free" backfires. In software, free versions are a bad idea, unless the program is truly intuitive (rare) or else the company provides full written documentation, plus on-line videos on how to use it. Why? Because of the frustration level. "I just can't figure this out." The trial user never returns. Almost all free giveaways of software fail to provide a user's starter guide. Programmers don't know how to market. (But you knew that.)

In your business, think of cheap things to give away. A DVD on how to do something useful is also good. Hand it to prospective clients. It's cheap. It won't be tossed out.