Everyone loves to get free stuff so long as there are no strings attached. You can build your list with freebies to garner interest for the products that you are selling or promoting. This is a classic way to build a subscriber list.

So you're probably asking yourself, if I'm giving away free stuff how am I going to make any money? The long and short of it is bring in your subscribers and turn them into customers.

Keep reading and you'll see the benefits now and in the long run.

Think About Your Return on Your Investment

The term “return on investment” or ROI means that when you purchase something, you'll want to make sure that when you go to sell it you get more for it than you put into it. In other words, you should make more from what you sell than the cost and time invested in it. This term is often used with real estate, but it plays a huge part in online business too.

Giving away free products are a way to get your foot in the door with your potential customers. You want something from them – their information. Its the classic compromise – you give me something and I'll give you something. You want to an attempt to gain an opportunity to tell them about the product or service that you offer that will help them.

This is also one way to find out WHO is interested in what you have to offer. Understand though, that just because they sign up to receive your free offer doesn't mean they will automatically become a paying customer. As much as we all wish only those with open wallets would buy from us, there are those who will only stick around long enough to take your free offer then unsubscribe. But don't fret because those who are genuinely interested in what you have to say, will stick around. And those are the ones you want anyway.

Think About The Long Term Possibilities When Designing Your Offer

When you create a freebie offer you are not going for the quick cash but aiming to turn the prospect into a customer. If you get 100 names from this one freebie, at least half may come back for another look. It's important to note, that what you say in your reports you bear out in your product or on your website. For example, if you offer information on a particular subject then you should have a product you can sell to that particular target market. That's how you would use your freebie to lead into the long term sale.

What Kind of Freebie Gifts Should You Offer?

Freebies can be downloadable or tangible products. The main goal is to meet the needs of the visitors with something that will entice them to give you their information for your list. You can offer a variety of things for your freebie opt-in. But, when you are working to define your niche market, smaller items like special reports are a good way to start out.

If you like to research and write creating a special report on your chosen topic may only take you a few days (or you could outsource it). Since you have taken the time to research your niche, you know that you want to offer your product (let's say a program on balancing work and home) to work at home moms. Your research shows that this is a particularly hot topic so offering a free report will help build a targeted list of potential customers.

From there, you can follow up with more information to build a relationship that converts that visitor to a customer.