When to Use "Free" in Advertising

[Graybeard]

Using the word "free" in advertising can attract attention and increase you traffic but is it the best method?

To free --or not to free? that is the question instant...

I call this the ``mooch`` factor. Giving away something free gets their attention but it also increases the prospect's resistance to paying for something in the end.

When to Use "Free" in Advertising:

• Lead Generation: Offer a free sample, trial, or product to collect potential customers' contact information. This is a common approach in software and service industries.
• Brand Awareness: Use free offers to introduce your brand to new audiences. People are more likely to try something new when there's no cost involved.
• Customer Loyalty: Reward existing customers with freebies to enhance loyalty and encourage repeat business.

However, there are some immediate benefits in using the free word to sample affinity for your product and observing user behavior within your sales funnel.

• Increased Attention: The word "free" is eye-catching and can increase the likelihood of people stopping to look at your ad.
• Higher Traffic: Free offers can drive significant traffic to your website or physical store.
• Finding Your Best: Landing page comparisons, leading to deeper views ot immediate conversions.
• Data Collection: By offering something for free in exchange for contact information, you can build a valuable database of potential email list leads.

The Disadvantages of "Free":

• Product or Service Value: "Free" can diminish the perceived value of your product or service. People might think it’s not worth paying for if it’s given away for free.
• Quality Concerns: Potential customers think that a free product or service worth what you pay for it.
• Cost to Business: Providing freebies can be costly, especially if not adequately planned or if it doesn't lead to a significant number of paid conversions.
• Focus on Price Over Value: Overemphasis on "free" offers can shift the focus from the value and quality of your product or service to just its price, which might not be sustainable long-term.

 

[T J Tutor]

Free has been in the game since back in the days of trading camels and tents. In recent centuries it has been more commonly known as the free line. What when, and where to offer "free" as part of the "hook" has been used with great success and abused by many.

In our industry we've used it on most every lander and was a part of most click baits until the paid traffic sources began cracking down on the use of it. There are an abundance of means to offer free without without saying "free". BOGO is probably the most often seen, but there are an abundance of them.

It isn't going away, it's a chameleon that is always changing shape and color.

 

[Graybeard]

What got me thinking about this was in the wording, and keywords used, in a PPC campaign --Self, do I really want to pay top dollar PPC for people wanting free stuff?

A premium registration (one with a credit card validation [no-charge to validate]) is worth 10 times what a free DOI registration is --to me in a rev-share scenario. Only a few DOI registrations convert to paying members.

Basically, it means that new customer has an instant wallet and can impulse spend. My new whitelabel adult webcam site uses a not prepaid credit card as a drawing account for ``tokens`` we do not sell ``packages`` of prepaid tokens and store them in that customer's account like most do.

Look for free but you must pay-to-play --rules of the road ...

 

[T J Tutor]

do I really want to pay top dollar PPC for people wanting free stuff?

It's a different game now. Free lines that are working now are primarily guaranteeing a substantial end zone "freemie". I've seen this cropping up in various premium offers recently as a token (reward) for loyalty completions of a "cost" subscription or purchase of some type. "Subscribe or buy my thing and get the last "2 months free" and/or access to "this" special thing.

Only a few DOI registrations convert to paying members.

Yeah, I don't do that anymore. I promote rewards for participation, but those with immediate action required, CPA (etc.), struggle with the "freemies" these days. It's been overplayed IMO.

whitelabel adult webcam

This is a different animal for me, completely inexperienced with that. However, in my niches, free still works. It just has to have qualifiers and performance requirements for taking the bait. Todays competitors still take bait that forces them to perform.

 

[azgold]

Back when I was doing it, the targets I thought would welcome freebies or discount coupons didn't, so I quit promoting them.

New exciting game releases worked great for 'free,' though. It was a lot of fun watching the numbers climb before my very eyes.

Some offers hit a point where they were cautioning or disallowing using the word "free" if it could interpreted in any way as misleading.

 

[adda_da]

Great topic. My two cents is that power words like "free" still have traction, however the web is indeed more saturated than ever so you need to use them wisely. For example, to me, as a customer, "free" diminishes my perceived value of a product/service in general, but I can't really say "free" cannot buy me sometimes.

 

[Graybeard]

The conundrum is this: Free is a word that attracts a lot of interest and traffic but what value is that traffic?

This depends on what you are paying for that traffic too. Say you limit what the *free offer* will get the user?

If you lose 80% of that traffic, will the remaining 20% convert, and what percentage will convert into paid in users, subscribers or other monetized users?

 

[OscarMike]

This is an interesting thread.

According to the book, "Words That Sell," Free is the most powerful word in marketing.

But one potential disadvantage is when using the word "Free" for lead generation.

Giving away a free report can be a great way to get leads, but what you get is a marketing qualified lead (MQL).

I've read that a business needs thousands of these types of leads to make any sort of serious money.

Let's say your cost per lead is $1.50, that means you'll spend $15000 to get 10,000 leads.

 

[Graybeard]

Let's say your cost per lead is $1.50, that means you'll spend $15000 to get 10,000 leads.

What are 10,000 leads worth in converted (monetized) sales?
If you sell a $10/GPR to 1:100 you lose $14,000
you need to close 1:3 @$10/GPR and not less greater*than a 1:5.5@$10/GPR (gross profit margin) to make a reasonable return

 

[T J Tutor]

to make a reasonable return

At a bare minimum.

 

[Graybeard]

At a bare minimum.

; ((10000/5.5)*10)/15000
~1.212
If I could consistently make a 21% return on my money per month, I would jump for joy That's a money tree if you can work at that scale for a year

for n in {1..12}
do
VAL=$(bc -l <<< "scale=2; 1.21*$VAL")
echo $VAL >>file
done
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=18150.00
+ echo 18150.00
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=21961.50
+ echo 21961.50
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=26573.41
+ echo 26573.41
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=32153.82
+ echo 32153.82
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=38906.12
+ echo 38906.12
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=47076.40
+ echo 47076.40
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=56962.44
+ echo 56962.44
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=68924.55
+ echo 68924.55
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=83398.70
+ echo 83398.70
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=100912.42
+ echo 100912.42
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=122104.02
+ echo 122104.02
+ for n in {1..12}
++ bc -l
+ VAL=147745.86
+ echo 147745.86

the power of compounding
$147,745

 

[azgold]

If you lose 80% of that traffic, will the remaining 20% convert, and what percentage will convert into paid in users, subscribers or other monetized users?

In my past experience, very few.

 

[T J Tutor]

If I could consistently make a 21% return on my money per month, I would jump for joy

That's more than doable IMO.

the power of compounding

I do love compounding! It's what made Warren Buffett all that he and his company is today.

 

[PaidPoints]

For some reasons, most cpa networks don't like using free when promoting their offers.

 

[azgold]

For some reasons, most cpa networks don't like using free when promoting their offers.

A couple of reasons perhaps:

- Freebie hunters are tire kickers and aside from potential email lead capture of people looking for free stuff, they don't typically buy.

- Some folks get mad when the 'free' turns into a pay situation. I remember a free trial promotion that I ran via a website I had at the time. I got a ton of messages of people calling it a 'sc*m' because they started getting charged after the trial when they didn't cancel. People don't read anymore, it's usually spelled out but the product has them at free and they don't read any farther.

Also, because of so many con artists online these days, people can be suspicious.

Those are all just what jumped into my head when I read your post, just my thoughts.

 

[Graybeard]

If you can afford to advertise a "free" offer then filter and qualify that traffic --it can work.
But the cost of each 'hit' will triple in cost or more.

"Free" is probably best used in a SEO traffic scheme --expect 2/3rds or more to be just a waste.

 

[PaidPoints]

A couple of reasons perhaps:

- Freebie hunters are tire kickers and aside from potential email lead capture of people looking for free stuff, they don't typically buy.

- Some folks get mad when the 'free' turns into a pay situation. I remember a free trial promotion that I ran via a website I had at the time. I got a ton of messages of people calling it a 'sc*m' because they started getting charged after the trial when they didn't cancel. People don't read anymore, it's usually spelled out but the product has them at free and they don't read any farther.

Also, because of so many con artists online these days, people can be suspicious.

Those are all just what jumped into my head when I read your post, just my thoughts.

Yes. Most of the things you have said here are quite right.