Learn The Critical Role Free Downloads Play in Your Internet Marketing System

One of the unique things about inbound marketing is the importance of providing quality information to help you be successful. If your goal is to get more clients and get a better return on your marketing investment then you need to make available good, quality, relevant content. This content should come in the form of a free download such as an e-book, white paper or template, all of which we call “Offers.”  As an Internet Marketing Consultant I have learned the value of these offers. For a long time I didn’t understand how they actually helped get more clients, so if it’s confusing to you also, let’s try and help you understand.

As part of a holistic methodology the offer plays an important part. It shows your competence and your willingness to help educate the customer.  It leverages the whole process and cannot be ignored.  It does this in three ways:

1.  It makes you look helpful.

This is really the ultimate reason the offer exists. It’s the role it plays in the process. Think of why someone might click and download an offer. It’s because they found something that looks interesting and is of value to them. They are getting it from you, therefore you are helping them solve a problem or learn more about something that they are researching. If a potential customer finds you helpful, then they will have a reason to keep you top of mind.

2.  It gives the potential customer something similar to a free sample.

We all like to get something and we all like to test something out before we commit to it. Who doesn’t like going to Costco on a Saturday and trying out the samples? Providing a free offer is like trying a free sample at Costco. You might be trying it just because it looks interesting to you, but if you find it tastes amazing you purchase the whole package. In the same way an ebook about what your company does or a white paper that provides helpful information is often a good catalyst to make the potential customer come back to your site or further investigate your service. 

3.  It systematically builds toward your business being a trusted source of information.  

In this day and age we have gazillions of sources of information at our fingertips. Some of it is good and some of it is bad. If you can accomplish steps 1 and 2 – being helpful to someone visiting your site and providing them with quality information – then they will continue to come back to you again and again. They will end up trusting the information you provide, therefore they will trust you, and ultimately the potential of them becoming a customer as a result dramatically increases.

The beauty of the free offer is that it does all of the above without you talking to the potential customer because it is available online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In order to get the offer, the customer fills out a form with basic information like First Name, Last Name, and Email so then you have a way to send them other valuable offers, keep in touch with them so they keep you top of mind, and eventually invite them to have a one-on-one conversation to see if your business can be helpful to them.

If you can do the 3 steps above then you will have the opportunity to get paying customers because people buy from people they like and trust. As an internet marketing consultant who is involved in this process day in and day out, I’ve seen it work, therefore I trust it and hope that you find this information helpful.