StuMcMullin.com

I wanted this post to be unique. I wanted it to be one that can potentially help a business or person alike. The concepts, thoughts, ideas, and examples that follow can and should be applied to a business or individual. Over the last few months I’ve had the pleasure of talking with multiple professional marketers and reading their work. A common theme I grasped from their teachings is it is OK to give something away for free. Yes, I said it…free.

David Meerman Scott and Charlie Hoehn both are strong advocates of the e-book and have personally released their own e-books which I recommend you check out. Charlie’s e-book is more geared towards the recent graduate (individual level) or inexperience professional. He recommends performing a service for a company or skilled individual for free. The idea is to gain exposure and experience at the same time. The company getting the free labor really has no risk involved. If lackluster work is served, no revenue is lost because of it. If great work is served, a recommendation or better yet, paid work may ensue. It is a great way to both learn something new but also gain experience. It really can pay major dividends in the long-run.

David’s press is that businesses should offer white-papers or seminars completely free. He also stresses not asking for user credentials such as e-mail addresses of phone numbers to obtain the material. I direct quote from David’s book World Wide Rave is as follows:

“When you make people give an email address to get a whitepaper or watch a video, only a tiny fraction will do so; you will lose the vast majority of your potential audience.”

Don’t let the data mining for people’s addresses get in your way of the ultimate goal, gain exposure.

Ramit Sethi, a personal finance expert, runs his own blog that provides amazing free content. Over the course of a few years and increasing readership, he has slowly gained immense credibility among industry leaders and experts. Because of his credibility, he was able to publish a book, which I recommend, and it’s is doing quite well on the Amazon selling list.

Let the viral marketing (Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn) get a hold of your e-book or work and let it do its magic. Free is in!