How do you manage to stand out positively from the flood of advertising messages? An effective and cost-efficient method to attract the attention of potential customers is “freebies”. But what exactly is behind it and what advantages does this content have for companies that value close customer loyalty? 

In this blog post, we’ll take an in-depth look at the importance and benefits of freebies in inbound marketing and how you can use these little things to make a big difference in lead generation.

What are freebies?

Freebies are free offers that companies make available to potential customers to arouse their interest. This can be e-books, white papers, guides, webinars, templates, tools, or other valuable content. This makes freebies one of the lead magnets. The main goal is to provide relevant information and provide real value that motivates the target audience to initiate further interactions with your company.

That’s why you should integrate freebies into your inbound marketing

A well-designed freebie attracts the attention of the target group. After all, we humans are constantly looking for useful information, and when this valuable content is offered for free, it automatically seems interesting.

High-quality freebies allow you to demonstrate your expertise and establish your brand as a trusted source. This will help you build authority and trust.

Are these not enough good reasons for you? Freebies provide you with valuable contact information. And without this contact information, you won’t get very far in inbound marketing. Freebies are therefore an excellent way to collect email addresses and other contact details from interested parties. This allows you to build a list of potential customers that you can later target with further relevant information.

Types of freebies

Convinced? When establishing freebies in your marketing process, you have several different forms of content available to you. We have summarized for you the most valuable types of high-quality content in our experience:

• E-Books: Rich digital publications that aim to provide value through in-depth content. They are often used to demonstrate expertise in a subject area and extend beyond articles in content.
• Checklists and instructions: Practical and easy-to-digest content that presents users with concrete steps.
• Case Studies: Success stories that show how a company overcame a challenge. They serve to build trust and demonstrate the value of the service or product.

In addition, freebies can also be infographics, demo access, reading samples, vouchers, newsletters, or webinars.

Create freebies – this is how it works

Do you want to use the power of tasting to attract new potential prospects, but don’t know where to start? Creating the right freebie is not as difficult as you might think today. The following 5 steps show you the easy way to become your lead magnet:

Define target audience

Before you start creating, you should know who the freebie is aimed at. What problems or needs does your target group have? What are your interests?

Find a suitable format

Depending on your target group, you can choose from different formats: e-books, webinars, tutorial videos, discount vouchers, or another format.

Create high-quality content

The freebie should be useful and high quality to provide real value and gain the trust of prospects.

create incentives

For your visitors to download your content, it should not only be attractive in terms of content. An attractive design is crucial to attract attention and convey professionalism. Write the headline in a way that reveals the benefit and format without giving false hope.

Develop promotion strategy

Consider how best to promote your freebie to achieve maximum reach. This usually involves creating a dedicated landing page that makes it easier for your prospects to sign up for your offer and reduces distractions. You can use pop-ups or banners to guide visitors to this offer.

Use your social media platforms to regularly advertise your freebie. Create attractive graphics and text that emphasize the benefits of your offer. But also inform your existing email list about your new offer. This increases the chance of learning more about your target customers.

Are freebies GDPR compliant?

Before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR for short), it was possible to easily send follow-up emails such as newsletters after sending the freebies. Today it’s a little more complicated. For your lead magnets to be GDPR compliant, you must do the following:

• They make it transparent what the requested data will be used for.
• They do not collect any data that you do not need to provide the service (ban on coupling).
• The principle of “data in return for performance” requires a declaration of consent that is voluntary, i.e. without any coercion, clear, i.e. it must be clear to the user to whom and for what exactly he is giving his consent, which is done via double opt-in and must be proven.
• It is no longer permitted to use terms such as “free”, “free” or “at no cost to you”. It must be communicated that the release of the email address or similar is required in exchange for the offer.

Conclusion

By providing high-quality, free content, you can build trust, increase your authority in your industry, and generate valuable leads. It is essential to always keep an eye on the added value for the potential customer and to ensure that all offers are GDPR-compliant. If you follow these principles, freebies are a powerful weapon in any marketer’s arsenal and promote sustainable business success. Use the power of giving and integrate freebies into your inbound marketing strategy now.

What are freebies?

Freebies are offers without monetary value that companies provide to potential customers. This can be e-books, white papers, guides or other valuable content.

Why are freebies important for inbound marketing?

Freebies serve as effective lead magnets, helping companies capture audience attention, build trust and authority, and collect relevant contact information.

Are freebies forbidden?

No, freebies are not forbidden. However, there are legal frameworks, particularly related to data protection (such as GDPR), that companies must consider when collecting personal data in exchange for a freebie.