by Ford Saeks

Why do they hand out bits of cheese on toothpicks at the grocery store? So you’ll try it, like it and then buy the whole block, of course.

Why are you not doing the same?

There is nothing cheesy about a free offer. Offering a free product or sample of your expertise on your website and on your social media channels is an effective way to capture attention, leads and ultimately customers.

A giveaway helps to grow your business by:

• Showing potential customers the quality of your service.
• Giving clients a better idea if you are fit for them.
• Sparking word of mouth.
• Introducing a new product.

That’s everything you hope that marketing will do for your business. Now, how to do that without giving away the store?

What to offer online

 Set aside cliche tradeshow giveaways, like pens and mugs, and think more strategically — and digitally. What product can you offer to visitors to your website that has actual value?

Your expertise.

A downloadable how-to guide, for instance, offers visitors a real resource and information that they can use. They’ll get something from you — just a taste — and will hopefully want more.

But what you are offering has to have more value, or content, than they can get anywhere else with a Google search. It should be something only you can provide them. Put some effort in and produce a piece that is useful and an example of the quality and service they could expect from you if they were to become a customer.

How to offer it

Look, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even the people clicking on the word FREE on your website are not fooled. They know that in exchange for this “free” content, they are surrendering their email and other information to you. And you will be following up. That’s how it works. So don’t be shy. They came to you. If you impressed them with the quality of your giveaway, they’re likely to be interested in hearing more from you.

So don’t give away anything on your site without first having visitors fill out a form (the forms can be easily plugged into your website). That is how leads are captured. Then follow up. First with an auto-response that you have strategically prewritten, and then with more smart content marketing pieces. Keep proving your value.

The plan is for the leads that you’ve captured from giveaways to become future conversations, and then sales.

Forget the cheese. That’s how the sausage is made.

At Prime Concepts Group  we can help you turn your expertise into multiple streams of income.

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