By Michele Scism
The Results Lady

Day 4: How to Avoid Freebie Seekers

So far you’ve learned how to set up your squeeze page to ensure the highest conversion rate possible. And in the coming pages you’ll discover how to send hordes of eager subscribers to your newsletter.

All of that results in you having a BIG LIST.

But just as important as the size of your list is the RESPONSIVENESS of your list.

After all, a list of 100,000 people doesn’t mean a thing if no one ever responds to your offers. On the flip side, you can lead a decent live simply from the income coming from a small, highly responsive list. (Just imagine the kind of life you’ll lead with a big, responsive list!)

The responsiveness of your list is dependent on a combination of several factors, including but not necessarily limited to:

• How well you’ve attracted a niche market (rather than a general mass market group of subscribers). The more focused your niche, the better your response.

Example: If you’re running a dog training site, then you need to attract dog owners (whose dogs need training) to your site. Simply attracting “pet lovers” won’t do. Nor will attracting dog lovers who don’t have dogs that need training.

• How targeted your mailings are. If you’ve attracted a niche market and you’re sending out niche-oriented offers and emails, then you can expect a good response.

• How well you’ve built a relationship with your readers. People buy from those they know, like and trust.

• How well you write your offers (e.g., your copywriting skills). If you write good copy, you can expect a better response.

There is one important (yet sometimes overlooked) subcategory that’s related to focusing on your target market.

Namely –

You need to be sure that you’re attracting actual buyers as opposed to freebie seekers.

Think of it this way:

When you’re targeting your market, part of your pre-qualification should be that your buyers are able, willing and even eager to buy products that solve their problems.

Otherwise you’ll have a list of freebie seekers who drag down your conversion rate. And the true freebie seekers (those who want something for nothing) will even waste your time peppering you with questions (though they don’t intend to buy) or they’ll buy with the full intention of refunding instantly.

So how do you avoid freebie seekers?

Here are a few suggestions:

• PULL in buyers, not tire-kickers. If you’re pulling in search engine traffic based on search terms with the word “free” in them, and if it seems like the whole focus of your site revolves around “free stuff,” then your visitors will expect freebies.

While it’s OK to offer freebies for your prospects, just make sure the emphasis of your site is on the solutions you offer, rather than just the FREE solutions.

• PUT the emphasis of your squeeze page on your newsletter and less so on the freebie. If your emphasis is on the freebie itself, the freebie seekers may be tempted to give a “throw away” or temporary email address just to get the freebie.

Instead, put the focus of your squeeze page on the benefits they’ll receive from the newsletter. That way your subscribers will actually be eager to open and read each issue – and of course that increases your conversion rate.

• PREPARE your prospects and set expectations. Let potential subscribers know that your newsletter offers things like product reviews and comparisons, discounts coupons on products and similar. That gives potential subscribers a “heads up” that your newsletter isn’t all about the freebies – and it gives buyers a huge incentive (benefit) to join your list!

• PITCH paid products in the very first email you send out. You don’t have to hard sell in your emails. Instead, weave product recommendations into your content as described previously.

Bottom line: You don’t have to “fear” freebie seekers as most of them are harmless. But neither should you go out of your way to attract them – especially if you’re doing any postal mailings (which of course require a cash outlay in order to contact your prospects).