Strategic Suicide

There is an approach to web marketing which goes like this...

1. Create some content with utility value
2. Give it away for free
3. Attempt to convert these freeloaders into paying customers

On the face of it this marketing tactic seems like a good idea. A web marketer uses the freebie as bait, attracting hoards of people to his/her site and collecting their contact details. It's a well know and widely used approach.

My own view is that this approach to web marketing is flawed. Here's why...

• It builds a list full of people seeking freebies (i.e. cheapskates)
• The resulting list may be targeted in the sense that it contains people interested in the product category the freebie relates to. But did you really mean to build a list full of cheapskates?
• Everybody is using this strategy. And 99% of the people using it are giving away low-quality rubbish. Anybody with any sense now knows that giveaway reports and services are less valuable than preserving their email privacy. The people you want in your list probably won't sign up
• The low bar set by the people using this strategy mean the lure of free no longer works

Put another way, I think this approach to web marketing is ultimately a form of strategic suicide. A sale is made when somebody wants what you have to offer at the price you're offering it for, and trusts that you'll deliver it.

Without that trust, the sale won't occur. It's something you need to earn, or borrow from a trusted third party (e.g. a referral from a mutual and trusted friend).