Giving away something for free doesn’t seem like a great business plan off top. But what about free content? Is giving away free content good for your brand? Well, yes and no. In this post, you’ll learn 3 reasons why you should give away free content and actually make more money. We are not talking about ‘let me pick you brain’ sessions here. We’re talking about free quality content like your blog posts, webinars, videos, e-guides, and the like. Using content to market your business is a great way to get your customers’ money out of their pockets and into yours. There’s actually a term for it – content marketing.
The purpose of giving away SOME free content is increased engagement with you and your brand, which eventually will get people to pay for whatever you’re selling. If you’re brand is your blog, podcast, or YouTube channel, you’re already giving away free content. Even as a blogger, you can use the free content you share on your platform to create income by offering products or services targeted to your niche audience and brands. In this post, we’ll share our ‘3 Cs of Content Marketing’ and why giving away free content is so good for business.
Credibility. By providing useful content on your blog, YouTube channel, or podcast, you build your credibility with your audience. You also build credibility with brands if you are looking to make money from brand partnerships. Answer simple yet common questions in your niche to show that you are a reliable resource. Once people believe that you actually know what you’re talking about, they’ll be willing to pay for the products and/or services you do charge for.
Caring. Sharing is caring! Helping someone out without expecting anything in return shows that you care. While eventually you do hope to turn that person into a customer, you don’t want to lead with that. Frankly, it turns people off. People truly appreciate it when someone gives of there time and expertise to genuinely help others. That is the type of person people will invest in. People buy from people they like.
Connection. By offering helpful content that’s easily accessible, people connect with you and want to keep coming back for more. Take it one step further, and create an exclusive free offer that only is available when someone signs up for your email list. This is the ultimate connection, because once they join your email list, you can access them directly. Whether your social media account gets hacked, your blog post goes live, or your product or service launches, you have a list of people you can share it with directly at anytime.
By establishing credibility, displaying caring, and building connections, you can use free content to market your business and make that money. What type of free content can you create that will either address credibility, caring or connection? I’d love to hear about it. Share in the comments below! Next week, we’ll talk about how to make money
Hi, I’m Jonna. Welcome to naturally-glam.com where I share how I balance my life as a mother, wife, and influencer.
I love it and have started exploring this by offering a free ebook on the blog, I am excited about the response
I am thinking about giving away free ebook on the blog too …not there yet still in the learning phase. Thanks for sharing.
I totally get this. I’ve just begun planning for a free e-guide series and I think it will bring great traffic.
I love this advice. Having a “crab” mentality is never the way to go 🙂
Great tips! I’m currently working on a free printable and a short ebook. When you give your audience something of value for free, they’ll be more likely to pay for something more valuable later.
So true!
All good reasons.. Free content adds value to your brand. I love to create content to share across social media…
You right on. I’ve started giving more value through the info, and resources I give away.
Great tips, I agree! I need to figure out a free content source that I can give away to my readers.
Your 3 Cs are incredible. They perfectly describe what content providers need to have to be successful and show appreciation for their audiences.
Great post and definitely gives me something to think about! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome post! Lots of good advice!!
This is very helpful and makes a lot of sense. Currently we do not sell anything on our blog, we just offer the content but we would like to start making money off of it so I will definitely keep the 3 Cs in mind and I will be back next week for your tips on how to make money.
I completely agree with you Jonna, I’m always of the belief that you have to give more than you take in life and blogging/content marketing is no different. Great post.