It seems that "benefits" are not enough to sell your product or
service. "They" tell us that you must give away "freebies."
Instant gratification and all that.
Now rather than get on a roll about what I think about instant
gratification - and the babies who demand it - let's just
assume that freebies are a necessary evil. Let's think about
how to use them ethically.
I've written about jacking up the supposed worth of freebies
before so I won't be redundant here. Now, let's talk about
whether your freebies are really even free.
First we have something called "shareware." I don't know where
this name originated. It seems to mean something that you get
to use a portion of until you pay for the full version. Or,
they share it with you for a limited amount of time - unless
you pay for it. This is NOT free!
Then we have those freebies that I call, "hooks." You are
offered something for nothing. But when you start to download
or access it - you suddenly find the condition. For instance,
you must subscribe to an ezine before you can actually have the
freebie. You are paying a price, whether it's money or not.
THIS is not free!
In fact, it isn't even honest.
Many ezines give away eBooks for new subscriptions. Subscribe
to the ezine and receive the eBook. Straightforward and
honest. The condition for receiving the eBook is right up
front.
But when someone offers the "freebie" first, without mention of
any condition - THEN demands the subscription before delivering
- that's manipulative and dishonest. It's also insulting the
intelligence of the visitor.
Please examine your "freebies" - and how they are "given" away.
The very basis of professionalism is honesty, ethics and
integrity. Don't play cute and think you're fooling your
visitors. The word on underhanded methods will spread like
wildfire.
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* dr. jl scott is the Founder of the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop™) http://www.i-cop.org - and also the publisher of the Online Business Trade Journal™ - the blog that keeps you up to date with online business coming of age. Visit: http://www.OnlineBusinessTradeJournal.com
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