1 Simple Word That Will Revitalize Your Entire Marketing Strategy
May 8, 2008 - Written by Gyutae Park
What would you do if I told you that there’s a golden word in copywriting that could completely revamp your marketing strategy and potentially bring you thousands of new visitors to your site?
Would you use it?
The word may not come to you as a surprise. In fact you may already be using it. What’s this key word I speak of?
Free is everywhere – free wireless, free trial software, free schwag, buy one get one free, free prizes, free country, free, free, free. Some may say it’s overused, but it’s used because it works. Would companies really continue to market “free stuff” if they constantly lost money? As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch and this case is no different. “Free” is an extremely effective marketing method that sparks interest, builds a customer base, and ultimately helps to promote other more expensive products.
The concept of free has a strange effect on people that causes us to act in irrational ways. For example, after seeing a promotion on SlickDeals for a free ice cream cone at Ben & Jerry’s (probably worth $3), a friend and I drove over 5 miles out of the way to get our fill. The gas used to get there was probably worth more than than the ice cream. Similarly, last Halloween I dressed up as a tin man burrito wrapped in aluminum foil to get a free burrito at Chipotle Mexican Grill. Maybe it was a little embarrassing but hey, it’s free food.
I can’t be the only crazy one here… Do any of you have similar experiences? All of this goes to show you the extent to which people are willing to go to get something “free”.
In terms of marketing your business or website, “free” is an extremely powerful tool that has many benefits. Giving something away may limit revenue and profits now, but in the long term it is sure to pay off.
Below I’ll go into the 5 benefits and advantages of using “free” to market your site.
1. Free is a great attention grabber
I’ll go out on a limb and say that no text on a page gets the attention of people more than the word “free” (other than “sex”). It’s just human nature. People love free stuff and any mention of the word is bound to get more eyeballs and more clicks especially in headlines and in PPC ad copy.
2. Strong demand and search frequency for “free”
Not only does “free” get attention, but people actually want and are looking for free stuff. For example, below are some of the top keywords that show huge amounts of search frequency for different variations of “free” (as reported by Keyword Discovery).
free – 693,332
free games – 457,020
free music downloads – 448,566
free ringtones – 361,683
free myspace layouts – 236,159
free credit report – 189,147
free stuff – 137,581
free samples – 129,042
free people search – 128,812
free ecards – 97,933
3. Build buzz – more viral exposure
A free product or service is likely to generate a ton of buzz in the online world. Take for example, free ice cream day at Ben & Jerry’s. The promotion is advertised mainly online and yet there are always lines that stretch out the door. It might be something as simple as a free $3 ice cream cone, but people still get excited about these things and tell all of their friends.
4. People are more likely to try something new if it’s free
If you have a relatively new site or product, giving something away for free is a great way to get your foot in the door. People are much more likely to try something they’ve never heard of if it doesn’t cost them anything. Why would someone buy from you if they’re unsure of what you have to offer? Free samples and trials alleviate this problem.
5. Use “free” to upsell other content
Finally, free content or free samples give your potential customers a taste of what you have to offer. If they like what they see then they are more likely to buy from you at a premium. For example, the folks over at SEOmoz have great free content on their SEO blog and use it to sell premium articles, videos, and services. If you have a high quality product, this funnel model works phenomenally well.
Now that you know the benefits of “free”, it’s time you take action and start implementing. Offer something for free – product samples, articles, ebooks, scripts, plugins, blog templates, newsletters, or even your RSS feed. It can be anything really, but remember that it’s all in the presentation. You want to create something with a high perception of value and then market it as free through the use of prominent headlines, banners, buttons, and ad copy.
Everyone loves free stuff and it’s time you take advantage. What do you offer for free on your sites? Are you marketing it properly to catch people’s attention? Leave a comment with your thoughts here.
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If you’ve ever traveled around Europe, you’ll know that McDonalds is a great example of giving away something for free and then upselling. Many cities in Europe require you to pay to use public restrooms. McDonalds lets anyone use their bathrooms for FREE.
Tourists pop in to use the toilet, who wants to pay to go to the bathroom right? McDonalds doesn’t do a hard upsell, they may just have their menu and pictures of food posted somewhere on the wall in the bathroom. Tired tourists need something to eat or drink so they spend some money after the bathroom break.
McDonalds doesn’t include “free bathrooms” anywhere in their advertising but most travelers knows the McDonalds brand and that the golden arches means free toilet.
I was not aware of this, thanks for sharing. In US bathrooms are free.
Hey Ben,
That’s a fantastic example. I’ve never been to Europe so I had no idea that they charged for restrooms. Still, I’m sure McDonald’s makes a ton of money just by giving away free bathroom visits.
Lol, that’s how it is most of the time. You think that you’re something for free, when in reality you’ve already payed more than its worth
Like I said, “free” causes us act in strange ways. We may have to go out of our way to get something or pay hidden costs, but the word “free” triggers something in our mind that we’re getting a deal. It really is a great marketing tool.
You’re absolutely right. The word “free” attracts people in DROVES.
Yep, have you ever offered something for free on your site?
By day I am an advertising consultant and the most powerful word in the english language is FREE. The key is to make sure that is isn’t associated w/ junk or fraud. It has to have legitimate perceived value.
Free combined w/ a legitimate offer is the most effective advertising you can have.
Completely agree with you here. You really have to pump up the value of your offering beforehand – otherwise people will just think that your “free” product is cheap and worthless.
Free schwag? Where can I sign up?!
Haha, thanks for stopping by Tamar. The queen of free schwag!
Yup, I have given stuff away for free before and I did so in this post:
Free Webmasters Graphics Package
No one can say no to something free
- Carl
Hm, I’m getting a 404 error when I try visiting that page. So, I’m sorry but I’ll have to say no.
I used to love the word “FREE” too…But recently I become more suspicious with this word because many scammers use it.
Trust and authority have to be built up. That’s a given.
Once you have that, you can use “free” (with a quality product) without worrying too much about being perceived as a scammer.
Free is good link bait :p
As long as it’s not overused, free is definitely good link bait.
Thanks for the share…It is the big help on us especially to those people who are new in blogging..:-)
Hey no problem. Glad I can help you get started with your blogs.
I’d say that people are skeptical to the word “free”
its best to say
100% FREE
Absolulutly FREE
NO CATCH FREE OFFER
This helps to build the trust.
Pingo offers its affiliate the chance to give away really for free phone cards to help its referrals try the product and then buy.
Free, free, free – who doesn’t like free stuff? I too have gone out of my way to get my hands on free goodies and sometimes after the fact yo realize that it may not have been really worth it. I still continue to do it though. I haven’t used FREE to marketing my blogs and see how that goes. Will keep you updated when I do.
where can i get free stuff on the web. like free laptop or free ice cream and a free ham.
Hi,
You are CENT percent correct. I haven’t recieved much traffic for my blog. So I have written an article on How to get Free .com domain? and posted the same. Then optimized the page in different forum signatures and giving ad in craiglist etc. My traffic got flooded with numerous visitors. This world is very weak towards the “FREE” concept…
Hmm, wonder if a phrase like “90% FREE!” could work?
And I guess the info in this article works for everything but google Adwords? I recently read somewhere that using “free” in your adwords ads doesn’t work as well as it used to (probably due to the mentioned spammers).