We see free content all the time. From popups offering quick checklists, templates, and free e-books, to full-stack online courses and beyond. What is the importance of free content in online business promotion? And how to know when enough is enough?
The lines between what kind of content to provide for free and what to put the price tag on are getting more and more blurred.
Creating content requires a lot of time and energy investment. So how to embrace giving the content away for free? And how to understand when enough is enough?
I don’t know about you but for the longest time whenever I was working on any free offer, I ended up selling it since I never felt comfortable with giving away so much free value!
But the times have changed and giving free value is a MUST for any successful online business. Here’s what I have learned about the importance of free content in online business promotion.
The importance of free content in online business promotion
Providing free content is a great starting point for letting your audience know the value you can provide.
It’s an assurance that you know what you’re talking about.
And the more truly valuable content is provided for free, the more options your ideal clients have to learn about your expertise.
Free content can be provided in plenty of different ways.
For example, if you have an Instagram account, it’s important to provide VALUABLE POSTS. This means that each post should be “Save” material. Something useful, something inspirational, something to come back to.
If you have an online community, you should hop on a Live here or there (some even suggest doing at least 2 Lives/per week) and provide insightful information.
However, it’s not only about your online presence. It’s also all about freebies.
Having a freebie means that you’re giving away useful content in exchange for an email and this will, ultimately, be the beginning of your funnel – the first steps your audience will take on their way to you.
Here are some of the most popular freebies:
- Checklists
- E-books
- Workbooks
- Templates
- Online courses
At the end of the day, the more valuable is your free content, the more of your perfect audience it will attract.
Free content helps you to drive SEO traffic
Yes, paid offers can be promoted in many different ways, including direct ads.
But here’s the thing – nothing will drive as much of SEO traffic as free content can!
Any type of content you put out there is a great opportunity to put out even more keywords that will attract your ideal audience.
And this doesn’t count only for things like blog posts which are generally known as the best way to rank on Google.
Keywords can also help you to get found in ANY other type of written content, for example, Pinterest and Instagram descriptions.
How to know what kind of content to provide?
It’s useless to just “pour the water” without a real content strategy behind it.
So how to know what kind of content to provide for free?
First of all, listen to your audience and let them lead the way.
If you are active on Instagram, Facebook or any other social media, your audience is there to learn what THEY want to learn.
Evaluate what kind of questions they ask and seek ways to provide the answers.
Then, evaluate which of your posts get the most traction and create more of that!
If you’re lacking ANY ideas and your audience is silent, check out what are your competitors doing.
- What kind of topics they are covering?
- What are their most popular posts?
- Which posts get the most comments?
And dig deep into that.
At some point, it will work like an avalanche. With 2-3 great ideas, you will be able to start coming up with more and more useful content for your audience. That’s what’s been happening with my Instagram!
“I feel like I’m sharing too much for free…” When enough is enough?!
See, many people feel like they are giving all of their goodies away for free so no one will be interested in their paid offers.
But here’s a thing!
It’s hard to actually be ACTIONABLE with the free content alone. Yes, free content gives loads of useful information, inspiration and details about the creator. However, those who base all their actions on free content won’t get far.
The paid content, on the other hand, are made for ACTION TAKERS. So those who want to actually make things happen will be ready to invest.
That way, for example, even if you share a 60-second Reel on Instagram filled with value, it won’t do much good for those who actually need those next action steps.
As I always like to say – don’t be scared of the freeloaders. Even those who are eager to get all the content for free, at some point will learn that INVESTING is what truly pays off.
You can enroll in as many free courses as you want but they will never give you the same results as the paid program would.
So, to wrap it up, it’s almost impossible to give away TOO MUCH. Because free content is like pieces of a puzzle. Free content enthusiasts need to glue that puzzle together, understand what to do first and what comes after… It’s so much time & effort!
And once they are ready to actually MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, they will invest in a paid offer.
Are you providing enough free content to attract your ideal clients and let them know your worth?
The importance of free content is undeniable – don’t miss out.
Follow @coursecreationlab on Instagram or TikTok to learn more!
