Everyone loves free! A great way to market your business is to give away a free gift–either with an order, to potential customers, to existing customers, at events, or whereever you meet the public. But, consider a uniquely different concept.
How about having someone else give away your free gift?
How? Why? REID ON. . .
If you have created an ebook or some other printed material of value, you could create a smaller version using excerpts from the original book and have another company in a compatable market within your genre distribute either a print copy of the small version or coupons directing the recipient to a website where it can be downloaded. Of course, you would include marketing for the compete book or your other products within the smaller edition.
For example, in our industry, you could create an ebook about “Corporate Gift Giving — What Determines Success” or “How to Choose the Perfect Gift” or “The Dos and Don’ts of International Gifting” or any other number of topics. Joint venture with a local or internet business to distribute the excerpts from the book or a coupon to your website where it can be downloaded.
Why would you want to do this?
- Your free smaller copy of the ebook serves the same purpose as the previews to the upcoming movies that you see in the theatre. It gives them a taste of what they will find in the full edition and, if done correctly, will make them want to see more.
- It doesn’t cost your joint venture partner anything to have a product that they can distribute for free.
- It’s like a referral from your joint venture partner when they give your product to their customers.
- If the recipient of the free gift likes the product enough to visit your website, you have the opportunity to add them to your email list (if, once again, it is done correctly).
- It’s a three-way win-win. You get the opportunity to advertise with your smaller ebook and possibly increase the traffic to your website. Your joint venture partner gets something free, but with value, to give to his customers. And the customer gets valuable free information.
- The prospect of having the recipient visit your website is much higher when he is given a free gift than when he is given a flyer, brochure, or business card.
No ebook and don’t want to write one? You could do something similar with a small gift or private labeled product that you would provide to a joint venture partner to give to his clients. When choosing such a product, you would want to make sure that it advertises your business while providing value to both your joint venture partner and to his clients.
If you try this idea, track the results to be sure that you are receiving value as well. And, let me know what you use and how it works for you.