How To Add Value
When I was 10 years old, my dad came home from Builders Supply with a large paper bag and asked me if I knew what was inside. "Nails, Daddy," I answered since that's why he went to the store. "No," he said as he opened up the bag and let me peek inside...
It was a puppy! My very first puppy. We named him Max. Thirty or forty years ago, it was common to give away puppies or kittens in a box in front of a store.
A few years later, we moved to the country and I had two cats, Micky & Minnie, to help keep mice away. We needed to find homes for the litters of kittens and I would sit out front of Denio's Farmers Market & Swap Meet until I gave them all away.
Lots of people would stop by to play and pet and see the cute little kittens, but nobody wanted to take them home. I would make a big sign that said "FREE" and encourage the kids to hold them so maybe their parents would let them take one. They had lots of reasons why not, pets weren't allowed where they lived or they didn't have any cat food and couldn't get to the store to prepare for a kitten. The excused were endless. I would sit outside all day long until I gave away the last one.
One time, my mother had the bright idea to fill sandwich bags with kitten food and sell the kittens for one dollar with a free bag of food. I made up a big sign that said "KITTENS $1" and underneath I wrote "Free Food With Every Kitten." Once we got to the swap meet with the box of kittens, they were all gone within an hour. One hour!
The next time we had kittens to give away, we tried it again. And again, I found homes for all the kittens in no time at all. When they were free, nobody wanted them, but by adding a price, they instantly became valuable.
Offering freebies in exchange for email sign ups is a good idea, but how much should I charge for other digital products or e-books? Instead of worrying about charging too much and not makings sales, or charging too little may make it seem worthless (but maybe could generate more sales), I realized any price will add value.
Just do it!
Recent Comments
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This is true . My friend put A TV out by the street That said free take it please and no one would touch it. So he decided $50 on the TV It wasn't long , Before the TV was Gone. It's crazy how people think a little If it's valuable It goes along Way
This is true. I wrote an ebook just to learn ow.I made a website and prooted it on other websites, just once. Then I oved on. And this year Amazon emailed me to ask "don't you want your money?" Now, I only sold about 15 copies. But that was with ZERO prootions, no follow up.
So I have to agree - just do it!
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Great article, you are definitely spot on! I'm sure you'll have a great future with your website!
mj