Four Good Reasons to Use Digital Freebies

By PChip | Category: Business Management, Designer Tips |

There’s really no debate over whether or not our industry has too many freebie campaigns.  That question has been asked and answered in many, many online discussions and not just business people, but customers also agree that the abundance of freebies hinders our ability to create higher incomes.  The saturation of free digital scrapbooking art has hurt the industry even more than it has helped the industry.

Yet, freebies are here to stay.  How we use this element of our business can really make a difference though.  Handing out freebies without reason or cause is a mistake.  Using freebies without testing the results is plain rediculous.  I mean for those of us in the business of making money, it is.

If you are in business, just for something fun to do, then it probably helps fulfill your mission. If you aren’t in business at all, and design art just for the joy of it - then again, sharing your art at no charge, may in fact be perfect for you.

From a business perspective - in my humble opinion (IMHO) there are probably a dozen or more reasons passing out freebies can hurt your business.  There are four really good business reasons to use freebies and they all boil down to working towards improving your bottom line.

Best Reasons to Use Freebies

1. To provide an example of your work.  Most customers do want to sample your art work before making a purchase just to make sure they are getting a product that really looks and performs as well as the packaging appears to show it will.  One of the strongest ways of doing this is by giving them a sample product to play with.  There are other ways to accomplish this though.  Low cost samples is one method.  Strong 100% guarantee policies with an offer to refund monies if they aren’t satisfied is another.  Providing testimonial statements from other satisfied customers is a powerful method as well.

2. To offer an incentive to make a purchase.  If a small sample of a larger kit is just enough to tickle your customer towards making a purchase then - go with it.  Keeping in mind that you should be testing the number of downloads and the number of follow up purchases based on your methods here.  I strongly encourage you to diligently test these marketing methods.  You may learn you are leaving too much money on the table here and should therefore change your methods accordingly.

3. As a gift after a purchase to help build/retain customer loyalty.  This is another area where you may want to consider testing the results.  There are various ways to offer a thank you gift to your customers that work equally and sometimes better.  Coupons is an absolutely wonderful tool.  If you are willing to part with some money in order to keep a customer, coupons offer you a way to do this while also giving them more options than freebies do.  Coupons also lead to another purchase.  Check out this article at the DigiScrap Discussion Blog to see what customers are saying about this.

4. To build a customer list.  If/when you are building a customer list, using freebies to intice a prospective customer to participate in an opt-in program that results in continued communication opportunities - a freebie can work well to provide you with a good list for targeted marketing.

A Tip for you to Think About: Your product is your income.  Know up front how much of your income you are willing to invest in gaining a new customer and how much you are willing to invest in keeping customers.  Then don’t go beyond those limits.  Giving away your time and your money should be taken seriously… especially if it’s causing more damage than good.  From the customers point of view a freebie is a gift.  Business owners should view them as a tool.

A Mini-Tasker to  Consider: I encourage you to assess your business practices in reference to any freebie distributions you may have going on.  Make sure these “gift programs” are truly working for you and not against you.  If they aren’t serving their purpose well - then step back and reconsider your business strategies with this “business tool”.  Because they can serve you well if you use them right.  They can burn a huge hole in your pocket if you don’t.

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  1. David September 27th, 2007 9:49 pm :

    Tip for Day 26: Neat article - it’s been an education to see how many free digital freebies there are out there.

    Couple of thoughts:

    There are still many paper scrappers who have never considered digital seriously. Freebies are a good way to get people hooked on digital. (Bit like pushing free drugs!)

    Other free things have been good sellers - Think about bottled water. Most popular brands are from municipal tap water. People happily pay for something that is free.

    So I hope that firstly, freebies are a passing phase. Secondly that it expands the digital market for us all. And most importantly, that it leads to the growth of quality, original and innovative brands that sell well (That is where we all step in).

    The best busines strategy at this point has to be the formation of a strong and clear brand, marketed accurately, focused around a core group of followers. Then, move as the market changes.

    Day 26 huh? Wow - nearly done.

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