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Should You Give Away Information or Charge for It?

Written by: Chris Simpson

Article Overview: Should you give away information or charge for it? This is the question that many marketers find themselves wrestling with. It can be difficult to make this decision; however, you do need to realize that there is a very fine line between the amount of information you can give away and the amount of information that should be saved for people who are willing to pay for it.

Should You Give Away Information or Charge for It?

Should you give away information or charge for it? This is the question that many marketers find themselves wrestling with. It can be difficult to make this decision; however, you do need to realize that there is a very fine line between the amount of information you can give away and the amount of information that should be saved for people who are willing to pay for it.

If you haven't found the answer to this question, here are a few considerations to keep in mind that will help you to make the right decisions.

Free Information is a Great Start

First of all, when you are trying to figure out whether you should give away information or charge for it, it's important to understand that giving away free information is a great start. After all, offering something for free is often one of the best ways that you can build up your email list so you have more leads.

Initially providing them with quality information for free is a great idea that will draw them into your site and build up trust between you. Even offering some free information by email from time to time is okay, but it is important that you know where to draw the line. You don't want to always give your information away for free because you won't make money this way.

Use Free Information to Help You Sell Other Information

Of course giving away free information can help you to sell other information that you have. Free information allows you to give your list a preview of what you have to offer and you can use it to let them know that the paid information has so much more to offer. So, you can essentially use the free information that you give away as a sales tool to help you sell other information that is paid.

Don't Give Too Much Away

While giving away a certain amount of information can be a great choice and even a good marketing tool, you don't want to give too much information away for free. Why? Well, you don't want people to begin to think that your information is not worth something. If you are constantly giving away information for free, they may begin to think that you are not even giving them top quality information.

Many people are willing to pay for great information, and if you show them that you have quality information to offer, the opportunity is there for you to make some money with paid information as well.

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Article Tags: decisions, email list, good marketing, marketers, marketing tool, money, sales tool



Related Forum Posts
Seminar attendance - I read through most of these posts and the first thought that popped into my head Andy already posted. Charge a fee to register, that will be refundable at the end of the seminar. This will ensure they show up and STAY for it.
Offer Credit instead - I'm not sure if ChrisH was referring to this but i'll state it more expicitly .. Charge upfront and offer a refund of double the value back in "Credit" towards your Product or Service you have for sale at the end of the event.
Re: Have a Security Clearance Question? But are afraid to ask? - I think I've already addressed your topic in another forum or thread, but I think the easiest way to generate additional traffic to your web site is to provide content that is fresh, new, and insightful. Give users a reason to access your web site besides purchasing your services. Give them a reason to gain knowledge and they will come back and give you business when they can. Good luck in your campaign, and I hope everything turns out for you! One question I have is do security clearances check your family information as well (family criminal offences, etc).
Re: What Sells Online? - I agree with topeyinka, Information products(how to's) are whats selling right now.
Re: need advice - I'm sure Africa needs call centers too. Give us more information on the specifics. Why are you skeptical?


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