Posted by: Doug D'Anna
March 13, 2008
Issue #373

Why FREE Doesn’t Work Anymore

Today I’d like to declare the word FREE officially dead as a marketing hook.

That’s a bold statement, to be sure. But anyone who is in the business of building readership lists by offering FREE reports, FREE teleconferences, and other Freebies knows exactly what I’m talking about.

FREE is no longer the big incentive hook that it once was. And offering more FREEBIES is no guarantee of greater results. It’s not surprising–especially when it comes to online marketing. The Internet is suffering from FREE fatigue/breakdown.

It was bound to happen.

We have two forces to blame: 1. The explosion of free e-zines and blogs, and 2. Spam. Today everybody and their brother is a publisher. There must be millions of people on the Internet that have both an e-zine and a blog to share their thoughts. They offer a free report to sign you up.

After all, offering a FREE incentive is Direct Marketing 101. I have to chuckle when I say this, but to me, in some ways, the Internet has become one giant Times Square. But instead of barkers in front of a sleazy joint trying to entice you to step inside, there are GIANT FREE SIGNS that, of course, are going to make you rich, help you lose weight, or enjoy bliss for the rest of your life.

And of course, "You get it all in our FREE report!"

But that’s only the half of it. The real reason FREE is dead is SPAM.

Thanks to spam, people are more skeptical than ever to sign up for your FREE e-zine or blog, because they don’t want to be spammed.

As my many publishing clients will tell you, it’s much easier to cross-sell to an existing customer than to bring a new FREE e-zine reader into the fold. The barrier is much higher. New customers are not swayed by FREE, and they are skeptical, expecting that you’re going to hit them with hundreds of offers.

Just look at your declining open and conversion rates and you’ll know exactly that what I’m saying is true.

The Solution to FREE Fatigue

Before I share my thoughts with you on this, I want to make it clear that I’m talking about FREE as a hook for your FREE e-zine or blog. As a sales tool to sell to your existing customers, it’s still a major force that works.

Why? My gut tells me that it comes down to the relationship that you have already built with your list. The people on the list know who you are and trust you. This is not true when it comes to building your FREE e-zine list that you will ultimately use to cross-sell your other products.

If my theory on this is right, the solution goes way beyond FREE. It strikes to developing a value-based message and offer that:

1. Counters the skeptics.
2. Exudes leadership and trust.
3. Demonstrates real value just in reading it.

On the last point, you’ll notice that I said "demonstrates" real value, and not "offers" real value. There’s a big difference.

As they read your sign-up copy, they must read value between the lines. You must not only teach, but tease as well, continuing to layer on the benefits with each sentence.

Your FREE report then becomes the icing on the cake, and not the cake. FREE for FREE’S SAKE just doesn’t work anymore.

As I have always said, the best salespeople aren’t trying to sell you anything. They are trying to help you get what you want in relation to what you’re looking for.

For these reasons, the pitch you use to get people to sign up for your e-zine must have its own inherent value. They must feel richer from reading it – whether or not they sign up.

As a result, signing up then becomes a continuation of the value people received from reading your sign-up page and the beginning of a relationship, not just another FREE offer.

It simply can’t be all about the FREE report.

All good wishes,

Doug D’Anna
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

P.S. If you know of someone who could benefit from these copywriting ideas, please pass them along. Better yet, encourage them to sign up for my A-list so I can send them my ideas directly. Here’s the link to sign up.
http://www.dougdanna.com/joinmyalist.html

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14 Comments »

1. Comment by BRIAN DAVID DELANY STARR — March 13, 2008 @ 10:49 am

   ONCE AGAIN YOU’RE ON THE MARK CLAYTON!
   "FREE" TODAY HAS BECOME TRITE DUE TO OVERUSAGE AND MISUSAGE IN OUR ARENA!
   NOW HERE’S THE PITCH!
   INNOVATIVE MINDS CONNECTED TO "THE SOURCE" CAN ULTIMATELY OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLE ONCE WE SEE THAT:
   A SEEMING OBSTACLE IS MERELY AN OPPORTUNITY!
   OPPORTUNITY? PRECISELY! CHALLENGES ARE WHAT WE HUMANOIDS CRAVE AND WHEN WE KNOW THE POWER OF MIND AND FOCUS, THE POWERS OF THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION AND WORDS… WE CAN FINALLY SEE! SEE WHAT?
   EVERY NUANCE THAT EXISTS WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE OR ACCOMPLISH!
   OK (BACK TO EARTH)
   NEW WORDS…OR RATHER MORE INNOVATIVE CREATIVE SELLING POWER WORDS…I’LL GIVE SHARE A FEW, AND YOU LOCK INTO DIVINE MIND AND EVENTUALLY, YOU’LL SEE THAT THE LIST IS EXTENSIVE…
   TRY WORDS LIKE
   EXCELLENCY…TO YOUR EXCELLENCY…FOR THE QUEEN OR THE KING OF THE CASTLE…OR… FOR THE TRUTHSEEKER …OR… ONLY FOR YOU!
   MY POINT IS, TO GIVE YOUR PROSPECTIVE CLIENT A CHANCE TO LOOK AT HIM OR HERSELF FROM THE POSITION OF A POWERSEAT, WITH THEM SITTING AT THE WHEEL!
   WORKS FOR ME…TRY IT!…
   REMEMBER SELF-LESS-NESS NOT SELF-ISH-NESS!
   …AND FINALLY, ONCE AGAIN TO REITERATE CLAYTON’S WORDS OF WISDOM…MAKE THE PERSPECTIVE CLIENT FEEL THAT YOU ARE ON THE SAME PAGE WITH HIM OR HER… AND THAT YOUR INTERESTS ARE TO SERVICE HIM OR HER WITH WHAT THEY NEED AS OPPOSED TO WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO GET FROM THEM!
   IT WORKS!!!
   SHALOM!
   LIGHT AND LOVE,
   BRIAN DAVID DELANY STARR

2. Comment by Carolyn Permentier — March 13, 2008 @ 11:02 am

   Very good!

   As a copywriter, I refuse to use the word, "free."

   Even if it is free, valuable and is being gifted to folks
   my client knows and trusts.

   I abhor the word, personally.

   I think it insults people’s intelligence.  Of course, depending on
   who the audience is, maybe it doesn’t … but I like to assume there is some intelligency to be insulted!   

   But, in the end, it’s all about relationship, isn’t it?  As you say, to give something of value to folks who already know and trust me can be a nice gesture.

   But, on the other hand, there’s HUGE merit to charge for it precisely because it IS so valuable … like Clayton does.  Kudos to him.

   Thanks, again, for a very intelligent post.

   Carolyn

3. Comment by Allen — March 13, 2008 @ 11:02 am

   I agree completely about using something "Free" to entice a subscriber to subscribe to an already free ezine.

   We never did that before, and never will. If they don’t want what we are offering based on the value (they can see old issues and make a decisions whether they want to subscribe or not), then we don’t really care whether they subscribe or not.

   There are simply too many "sample collectors" and freebee collectors to worry about.

4. Comment by Loren Woirhaye — March 13, 2008 @ 11:16 am

   I have been thinking these same thoughts for awhile now.  Its my theory that if you create an impressive, articulate website about a topic and line of products your visitors want to know more about, then you need offer NO INCENTIVE to join your list.

   We are all deluged with more FREE offers than we have the time to make use of.  As marketers we may want to error on the side of respecting people’s time… not waste it with Free offers that (often I think) confuse their minds.

   The average prospect for money-making info-products is baffled by the barrage of options he encounters daily.  He doesn’t need or want another FREE income-building report, he wants to know what his problem is (since he often can’t state it accurately) and also to be told that we have a viable and realistic solution for him to purchase.

   People understand that by signing up for an email newsletter they will continue to receive links back to the domain they origianally visited.  This makes it easy for them to return and reconsider the offer.  Its like driving past a donut shop for several days and suddenly deciding to go it and buy.  Without email contact many potential customers will drift away or your site will get forgotten in a long list of "favorites". 

   When people join your email list because the information or offer you have presented on your webpage is interesting to them they are saying - "I am warming up to you, show me more of your character and commitment to selling value to me, and when I am ready and I have some money I will buy from you,"

5. Comment by Joseph Ratliff — March 13, 2008 @ 12:29 pm

   I do agree that "free" is more of a challenge to market, with all the offers and ezines…

   But I disagree that it is dead.

   The approach needs to change…and differentiation is the key if you choose to use the word "free."  Your "free" offer needs to be different from those typically done in the marketing world.  Like a U.S.P. , your "F.S.P. (free selling proposition)" needs to  change with the times.

   Maybe a free ezine by itself is tough to market, but a a free copy of a physical book with a subscription to an already "free" ezine included works.

   It’s all about the value proposition, and if you figure that people online like something physical to hold, it can work in certain campaigns.

   There are a number of very successful marketers offering this already.  They use the word free, and sometimes actually make the physical product offer totally free…but in most cases just charge a nominal amount for postage etc…

   That being said…

   I do believe that we are in a trend that will end up where "free" marketing will eventually die.  The different approaches will cease to be effective…and thus result in what Doug printed here…the death of "free" marketing.

   And the birth of low-price point marketing (i.e. investing $7 to buy into some valuable content that suffices as marketing as well.)

   Who says that there has to be a dividing line between your content and marketing…why not combine your marketing and content together?

   Thank you for the excellent conversation starter Doug!

   Joseph Ratliff
   Author of The Profitable Business Edge 2

6. Comment by Increase Sales Coach — March 13, 2008 @ 3:52 pm

   Well, that is an interesting "theory" and discussion on free not working anymore.  However, this is a "theory" that’s easy to test.  So who has or where is the data between a landing page with a "free" offer versus a landing page without a "free" offer.

   And I definitely think your target market makes a huge difference as does the source of the traffic and how you drive that source to the landing page. 

   Please share your findings when you have the data to support or refute your "theory"

7. Comment by Sharon B. — March 13, 2008 @ 6:46 pm

        I agree completely that "free" has lost its appeal. Its overuse  has contributed to a good part of the "pitch fatigue" that is so prevalent now. I am bombarded by so many free offers every day that I don’t even bother opening them any more. "Free" has become the thing to say when there is nothing better to be said.
        I am more interested in specifics. What will the product do, and how can it help me? Tell me first–get me interested in what you have to offer. THEN let me know it’s free, if you like. But please don’t use "FREE!" to get my attention first, because I won’t read any farther. At this particular moment, I am fed up with "free". 

8. Comment by Jason — March 13, 2008 @ 6:47 pm

   Yeah.  I’d say you’re on the mark, Doug!

   You have to sell the freebie.  Unless you can convince Mr. Prospect that you can solve their big problem in a short amount of time or instantly, then no opt-in for you.

   Let’s take a free ebook… An ebook is just a digital pile of crap. It doesn’t cost anything to reproduce.  You don’t have to get accepted by a publishing house.  You have to print it out or sit in front of your computer screen and read it. Everyone knows an ebook is as worthless as a jar of dirt.

   But some of us might be able to get opt-ins by giving away a napkin with writing on it if it delivers the right benefit. 

   All the best,

   Jason

9. Comment by Jason — March 13, 2008 @ 6:48 pm

   "But I disagree that it is dead."

   Come on… You know Doug is just fishing for readers.  =)

10. Comment by Doug D'Anna — March 14, 2008 @ 9:02 am

    Thanks for all your great comments.

    I’d like to add one more. As many of your know, the bulk of my business is in the investment newsletter field. In addition to selling investment newsletters, I also do a ton of lead generation where we give away a FREE report to capture a name.

    Unlike most lead generation pieces that simply "tease" you about the secret stocks that will build your wealth (that you’ll get, of course, in our FREE REPORT), I actually give away a name or an investing idea of value. This runs counter to what many people do today. However, I have found it to be quite effective. That way the readers actually profits from reading my lead generation piece before they enter their name to receive their FREE report.

    This is what I mean when I say you need to create a value-based message that: Counters the skeptics.Exudes leadership and trust. Demonstrates real value just in reading it.

    The reason I believe that this strategy works is that you have already given the reader a "sneak preview" of what they can expect to receive in their free report. My aim is to get my prospect thinking, "Wow if Mr. Investment Advisor is giving me one of his top stock picks here (on the signup page) with risk, cost, or obligation to do anything, I can only imagine what I’ll read in his FREE REPORT."

    This is what I mean when I say…"…the pitch you use to get people to sign up for your e-zine must have its own inherent value. They must feel richer from reading it – whether or not they sign up."

    Signing up then becomes a continuation of the value people received from reading your sign-up page and the beginning of a relationship, not just another FREE offer.

    My advice: On your next lead generation piece try giving a way a few solid gold nuggets of real and actionable information. In other words, add a little bit of "teach" to your "tease" without, of course, giving away the store. You may find, as I have, that "Your FREE report then becomes the icing on the cake, and not the cake."

    All good wishes, Doug

11. Pingback by Is FREE worth anything? : Online Marketing With Graham Cox — March 14, 2008 @ 9:41 am

    […] If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! The word “Free” has become so overused in webcopy now that it’s lost much of it’s ability to convert visitors to subscribers. That’s the conclusion of David D’Anna in his latest post over at Clayton Makepeace’s wonderful copywriting blog. […]

12. Comment by Jason — March 14, 2008 @ 1:23 pm

    Thanks for the extra advice, Doug… So do you recommend like a full-out advertorial as your lead generation copy?

    All the best,

    Jason

13. Comment by Leah aka Creative Fossil — March 19, 2008 @ 9:37 am

    I have been tossing around this:

    ‘to be FREE or not to be FREE’
    
    dilemma re my eBook for a few days.

    Word on CW Street is that I should charge, but I have decided to give it FREE.  So how to avoid the word ‘free’?

    I was wondering if I played on the word ‘priceless’ if this would work?

14. Comment by Allen — March 19, 2008 @ 10:27 am

    Jason,

    I have to challenge you on something you said.

    "Let’s take a free ebook… An ebook is just a digital pile of crap. It doesn’t cost anything to reproduce.  You don’t have to get accepted by a publishing house.  You have to print it out or sit in front of your computer screen and read it. Everyone knows an ebook is as worthless as a jar of dirt."

    Looking at the upper right hand column of this page, you see Clayton is giving away free ebooks when you subscribe. Are those  "as worthless as a jar of dirt." I think not!

    Now I would have subscribed without the free ebooks Clayton was offering, but they did make a great bonus gift for subscribing.

    We sell some ebooks. Like a Stop Smoking program,  an ebook called Vinegar Magic with over 300 uses of vinegar, and various other ebooks.

    Personally, when I read a book such as Gene Schwartz’s "Breakthrough Advertising" It really bothers me to mark up the pages. So I would prefer to have it in ebook format so I can print it off and mark up the pages, and then when I am going to re-read it I can print the pages I had previously marked up, and have a clean fresh copy and not be distracted by prior notes.

    Also, consider…

    Why do you buy books (hard cover), DVD’s, Tape sets, etc? For the physical product or for the information contained in it?

    Ebooks can contain extremely valuable information too.

    That being said, I do find quite a number of ebooks filled with crap, and written by people who don’t know what they are talking about, or just repeating the same old same old everyone else is saying.