With all this talk about releasing free products to really make an impact on your market, you might be surprised that I recommend you start with some higher end products first, if you're just entering a market.
This is actually a concept made popular by a marketer named Sean Mize. He recommends setting up your coaching or consulting program or some other high-ticket offer from the very start of your business, in an area where you can consider yourself to be an expert. While you may not necessarily focus on taking on coaching clients right now, it is that “compare and contrast” that makes the difference-- it's value building.
If all you have available are free products and $7 products, people may not have a very high perception of the value of your content. You may be one of the top experts in the world, but it is what people's perceptions are that matter. But, if you have a coaching program that is several hundred dollars or several thousand dollars, it will be very clear to people that you know what you are talking about, even if they have no intention of spending that much money.
Now, imagine they receive an extremely high quality product of yours completely for free or they see one of your free viral marketing campaigns. Since you are making a splash in your market, people will check out what else you have to offer. If you have nothing else to offer, people reach a dead-end. But if you have a product funnel set up already, complete with higher end material, their perceptions are immediately increased as are their expectations for what you can provide to them.
I believe this is another reason why so many marketers fear freebie seekers. It's because they don't have their product funnel set up in the right way. They think they can just give a free ebook away and collect a list of email subscribers and have that be the start and end of it. In reality, first impressions really do count.
You want people to be able to visit your blog and website and see that you are an expert right away. They need to see your high-end coaching or membership offer, along with your high-end products and lower end products. When they see that, they will be far more motivated to download and actually use the free content they've gotten from you. Because even though they've gotten a specific product for free, they know that you have high-priced, high-end products available. This immediately increases the perceived value of what they have gotten for free.
If you don't currently have products or services for sale, it really doesn't take that long to get them going. You can create very simple and easy products and coaching offers that address a unique angle in your marketplace. You can set up a small sales page offering coaching and consulting for a relatively high fee. Or, you can create high-end bundles of the content you already have, which will provide value but will also increase the perception that people have of your business overall.
Build Your Business from the Top Down
That goes right along with the concept of building your business from the top-down. You want people to know that you are the best of the best. You want them to feel immediately that you are the expert they should be turning to. This means building your business from the top down.
You don't have to start with all free products or all low-priced products. You can (and should, as I mentioned earlier) have higher end products available right from the start, even if your business is relatively new. You'll find your unique angle, research very in depth, and add your own spin and expertise to it.
When you do this, you don't have to worry about freebie seekers. You just have to present yourself in a way that will make it clear that you're a top expert who simply has a mission to help as many people as possible. Some of those who download your free content will be ready to upgrade to your coaching, consulting, or high-end membership site right away. Others will follow your funnel through to purchase some of your lower end products. You just have to make it clear about what sets you apart from other marketers that you are present and helpful for whatever they need.
There are countless digital products out there about your topic. But, there is only one you. People who are really ready to change their life will be ready to invest so they can have personal interaction and help from you. This can do major things for your reputation and your success when you launch free products in the hopes of going viral.
Having high-end products available puts you in a different class – it's sort of like being a high-end steakhouse compared to a McDonald's. If you build a McDonald's based business, your free campaigns are not going to do as well or be as meaningful. But if you have a high-end steakhouse business where you serve dishes they serve nowhere else, that free sample's just going to whet their appetite and they will quickly upgrade to have a full taste of something no one else has available.
Cement Your Worth First
If you really want to stand out from the crowd, you have to cement your worth from the very start. That's why I suggest, within your free marketing materials, you lay out what makes you different from other marketers out there. You should also make it very clear that you are passionate about helping real people, just like the person who is reading your content at that moment.
What are you worth? What is your time worth? These questions have nothing to do with giving free content away. So many marketers think that they should never give anything away for free because it will diminish their worth. That, too, is a scarcity mindset.
Instead, cement your worth from the very start even while giving away content for free. Let them know that they are currently working with the best of the best. Importantly, you should be building the value of the free download even though they've paid nothing for it. Give solid case studies and examples of who the method or product has worked for. Give a lot of details that go above and beyond what anyone else is offering. Offer unique insights that will give people several "ah ha" moments right from the start. They shouldn't be able to go a page without learning something new or thinking in a way they hadn't thought before.
Do you really believe that your content and your expertise is worth anything? This is something else to consider. Many marketers talk a good game but actually have low confidence in what they have to offer. They know, deep down, that they aren't offering anything better than what's already out there. They know they're simply riding the coattails of other marketers who've come before them and are trying their darnedest to squeeze any amount of money out of the market at all.
There are other marketers who believe that they are the best of the best, but truly have done nothing to innovate. They are stuck in the past and believe that marketing will work the same way it has always worked. Hopefully, you're well aware by now that that is not the case. Marketing is different now, and people's expectations are different now. People do expect to get high quality content for free. It's what you do about those expectations to turn them into a paid customer who is loyal for life that really makes the difference.
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