Now that you are reading this page, what made you come to this page? For most people, the mention of the word free in any title or headline grabs attention. There is something about getting something for nothing or 'free lunch' that seems to draw people, even if people have to jump through hoops to get it.

Free?

Recently a free seminar was offered in our area where all people that attended got a free meal. Although most people went thinking that they would not buy anything, it is amazing how a 90 minute seminar can change peoples opinions.
What really gets to me about some free offers is what people will do to get something for free. Quite a few people will think nothing is wrong with sitting through a 90 minute seminar to get a free meal. If the meal is only worth $10, you are in theory getting paid less for you time than the teenagers working in the local store.

Advertising with the word 'Free'

Recently I tried to work out which of 2 titles was the most effective at drawing people. The idea was to see if the word 'free' would really draw people by using the titles:

• Get paid to join a forum
• Join a forum and get a free iPod

What I found out was that the second title was a lot more effective. There was something about the word 'free' that make an offer seem more attractive than the word 'paid'. What this does show is that if you can use the word 'free' in any advertising, it seems to get a good response.

Free giveaways from Companies

One of the most well known companies for giving away products is Microsoft. As a ploy to get more people to use their Windows Operating System, Microsoft gives away as many products as it can. Their Internet Explorer Web Browser is free, and their development platforms are free or cheap to use. The reason that they do this is that they want to encourage as many people and companies as possible to use their products. Although they give Internet Explorer away for free, people need the Microsoft Windows Operating System to use it. This makes all of the giveaways from Microsoft into marketing ploys.

Making money from free giveaways

There are many ways that you can make money from giving away free items.

• Provide a free 'lite' or 'demo' version of your products
• Give away products when people refer other people to your products
• Make products free if they require another product of yours that they must buy.
• Provide free advice
• Provide free quotes
• Give away items that have advertising on them