Chapter 2 BOC

"Most free stuff is digital...These are things that don't cost you any money to deliver except the cost of setting up the repository." Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars, Meyerson, pg. 14.

People love free stuff, it's a fact. Doesn't matter what it is, if people hear the word 'free', the immediate reaction is to go check it out. This is great marketing. Mary Kay, Avon, department stores and tons of business people have taken the approach of giving something away free in the hopes that the consumer will ultimately buy. This is a whole lot easier on the web. Hundreds of websites offer icon packs, Wordpress templates, sound bytes and so much more for nothing. Well, almost nothing. How much does it really cost to give out your email address anyway? Once you do, though, marketers have an endless amount of opportunities to try and sell you on something else.

Personally, I believe this approach is pretty smart. I subscribe to so many blogs and most of them send me free stuff all the time! In fact, one site sends me a freebie every day! While I have yet to buy something, I'm still in some marketing plan. See, the sites I'm subscribed to are creative blogs and these usually send you an article teaser with a link to their site. Some will even send subscribers content that never gets posted to their site. What it usually comes down to, though is they really just want you to head over to their blog and take advantage of some of the offers from their sponsors and that I HAVE done. In fact, that's how I found out about Freshbooks, that online invoicing company that makes the life of any freelancer so much easier... anyway, I have this saying I picked up years ago: "If it's free, it's me." And free is definitely a magical word.