Give Them Something FREE First to Hook Them ?

[Panamera Turbo S]

Hey guys,

I am stuck with a question in my mind. I am ready to launch a new Online Shop Software which is ready and the thing now comes down to marketing.

I know that some software companies and other websites hook their users by giving them something FREE first. My case will mean to give the $197 software for FREE and expect from users to spread the word of mouth and give them the opportunity to buy features and upgrades for money.

Is this an ok strategy ? What you would do?

Thanks for any answer!

 

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[eekern]

Better to give them a free month, let them get the option to get it for free if they get their friends to try a free month as well

 

[Aaron W]

You many want to gain +rep, it's what I'm working on at the moment.

Some ideas...

1. Free 1 Month Trials
2. Recruit a friend
3. Give it for free to people with audiences who will benefit from your software (they advertise it and ultimately it causes points 1 & 2 to happen)
4. Other piece of free software you created that is really good
5. Give away in return for reviews

Congrats on launching! Best of luck.

 

[Growth & Learn]

Hey guys,

I am stuck with a question in my mind. I am ready to launch a new Online Shop Software which is ready and the thing now comes down to marketing.

I know that some software companies and other websites hook their users by giving them something FREE first. My case will mean to give the $197 software for FREE and expect from users to spread the word of mouth and give them the opportunity to buy features and upgrades for money.

Is this an ok strategy ? What you would do?

Thanks for any answer!

It's hard to say 100% without looking at your business model or plan to monetize after you give them something for free.

That being said..you have to plan out your funnel. If you're strategically giving them something for free then it should be to build good will, a user database, potential viral coefficient, and to move them a step further down your funnel.

Just make sure the paid upgrades you're planning are something that's really valuable to a large % of your users.

 

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[Panamera Turbo S]

You many want to gain +rep, it's what I'm working on at the moment.

Some ideas...

1. Free 1 Month Trials
2. Recruit a friend
3. Give it for free to people with audiences who will benefit from your software (they advertise it and ultimately it causes points 1 & 2 to happen)
4. Other piece of free software you created that is really good
5. Give away in return for reviews

Congrats on launching! Best of luck.

You many want to gain +rep, it's what I'm working on at the moment.

Some ideas...

1. Free 1 Month Trials
2. Recruit a friend
3. Give it for free to people with audiences who will benefit from your software (they advertise it and ultimately it causes points 1 & 2 to happen)
4. Other piece of free software you created that is really good
5. Give away in return for reviews

Congrats on launching! Best of luck.

Thank's i appreciate, do you believe that in return i should ask them for their email address in order to build a list of subscribers ? I thought about this and i saw it everywhere. Sometimes i get sick off when i see websites asking me for my email to download something when i know i can do it without email too.

 

[Panamera Turbo S]

It's hard to say 100% without looking at your business model or plan to monetize after you give them something for free.

That being said..you have to plan out your funnel. If you're strategically giving them something for free then it should be to build good will, a user database, potential viral coefficient, and to move them a step further down your funnel.

Just make sure the paid upgrades you're planning are something that's really valuable to a large % of your users.

Well my wealth equation is a little more complex. I intend to build this software brand and sell it like MJ done years ago. The thing is that at beginning is thought to continue when you don't see income to motivate you to do it better.

I am actually happy coding each night and do it better, but i wan feedback to and also to sell, because when you sell you make money. Now i don't want to have the money mentality like others have(just take their money), no. I want to provide value and to improve peoples life, and i want to give for free a version without any time constrain so that people like students can learn from it and why not build websites for local clients. That way when they want themes or plugins or better versions or hosting, they can come to me.

But my biggest problem is that i get a little nervous to work 8 months and then give it away for free and wait again to see what happened.

 

[jazb]

Yes, its by far one of the best business models out there.

You want something with repeat customers, with cross-sells, up-sells etc. if they keep buying the same product from you...even better.

You want to create something with such value that it gets them hooked. so you would really have to think hard about making their lives easier (saving them money, time or energy), then creating your product around that.

a physical product would be even better. if you can wholesale a product in a niche industry which is cheaper and of superior quality...you can offer them free samples for the first time.

Ice cream kid does this with carpet cleaning by offering a free room of cleaning.

An added bonus is that the sales pitch is a lot better. no more hard selling. just simply building relationships.

so:
1st call: introduce yourself/send them info (ask permission)
2nd call: offer a free sample, give more info
3rd call: ask for the order



way better than constantly trying to hustle for the next client forever

 

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[Panamera Turbo S]

Yes, its by far one of the best business models out there.

You want something with repeat customers, with cross-sells, up-sells etc. if they keep buying the same product from you...even better.

You want to create something with such value that it gets them hooked. so you would really have to think hard about making their lives easier (saving them money, time or energy), then creating your product around that.

a physical product would be even better. if you can wholesale a product in a niche industry which is cheaper and of superior quality...you can offer them free samples for the first time.

Ice cream kid does this with carpet cleaning by offering a free room of cleaning.

An added bonus is that the sales pitch is a lot better. no more hard selling. just simply building relationships.

so:
1st call: introduce yourself/send them info (ask permission)
2nd call: offer a free sample, give more info
3rd call: ask for the order



way better than constantly trying to hustle for the next client forever

Thank's. I am actually good at web development and i am coding for like 7 years, so i have a lot of skill to do this in my niche. But yeah it's true what you say. May you have a look on my webite ? http://www.proeminentcode.com/ ignore the unfinished parts since i am still thinking. But yeah, my dad is doing the same thing with insurances. We has almost all his customers on Facebook as friends and speak with them. Here is as you said is a relationship, no longer a sale.

It's on long term versus short.

Plus is like drugs, they gave you something free, you like it, you want more vs you ask for money, they may be afraid of loosing money and avoid it.