The Freebie trend

The Freebie Trend is the deed of giving lots and lots of freebies away. The web design field has begun giving tons of freebies away. Although this isn’t just a trend among the web design industry. It is across many industries and has been around for years with manufacturers of tangible products to entice their target consumers.

In the United States of America nearly every hospital that offers child birthing services also provides free samples for diapers, pacifiers, baby powder, baby oil and formula. These products are provided to the hospitals by companies as promotional items to lure parents into buying their brand and it works.

The goal of any business is to motivate consumers to stop being window shoppers and turn them into customers. Consumers are less predictable than in the past because as technology becomes increasingly focused on connecting consumers with companies at the touch of a button.

Why should you offer freebies?

In web design it is fundamental to build a solid reputation as well as win a great audience. Offering freebies can help you achieve both of these goals.

Let us imagine that you have a potential client who simply cannot afford a large design budget but they have somehow found you. They really enjoy what they see or hear from you but your price is just out of their range.

Now imagine that this potential client was Steve Jobs or Bill Gates back many years ago when they were struggling to bring their ideas to life. And you were the one who gave them a few moments of your time to design a simple logo or Ad space.

It took you half an hour and you won’t make any money from it today but you gained something far more precious for the future. You gained the trust, respect and admiration of a now very famous and well off client. Your work would now be seen by billions of potential clients and it only took a half hour of your time.

Here are some examples of why you should offer freebies:

• Working directly with that potential client on their freebie project allows you the opportunity to build a great relationship. Relationships can make or break a decision to buy from you.
• Doing freebie work for companies that are doing humanitarian works can often bring you a reputation you couldn’t buy with a million dollars. For example if you had done the design work for the ribbons used for fighting breast cancer.
• Freebie work can help you build your portfolio. Designers must have a portfolio of works done to impress potential clients. This is a good idea for a new web designer who might be able to build part of their portfolio by doing freebie work.
• If it is free people will normally test it out and if they like it they will buy it.
• Maybe you offer a free website template available to anyone. It isn’t customized specifically for them but they use it for now to get setup but later they want it customized so they become a paying client in the future.

 

Why shouldn’t you offer freebies?

Now that I have ran away with my imagination and became famous by helping a struggling entrepreneur it is time to face reality. We can’t live on hopes and dreams no matter how wonderful they are. Offering freebies can come with some risks or challenges. For example:

• The project could sound like a simple 5-30 minute job but turn into a nightmarish day(s) long adventure.
• The potential client could come to expect you to always do the work for free or substantially discounted.
• The potential client could be a very frugal person who just searches around for freebies and has no intention of ever becoming a paying client.
• The potential client fails at their endeavors and thus will not become a client.
• Giving freebies might reduce what your work is worth and could have a negative impact on your reputation if you are already very successful.

 

10 Tips to help you join The Freebie Trend:

1. Do your best work always so just because you aren’t getting paid for this job doesn’t mean don’t put your best foot forward. Remember you are trying to gain future clients.
2. Take the opportunity to build a relationship with the company or individual that you are doing the freebie work for.
3. If possible always include with it a read me file with info on how to contact you for future work.
4. Be clear on what End User License Agreement for usage you are giving them. There are many samples of these online. Include that in your read me file.
5. State your terms and conditions up front so there is no misunderstanding of what is expected of either party.
6. Have fun with it since you aren’t getting paid make it something you enjoy!
7. Keep it short in the time involved. Your goal is to gain a potential client not simply waste your time.
8. Be a good judge of character and try to weed out those who aren’t seriously interested in your work.
9. Certain freebies can be tax deductible as promotional advertising depending on your tax laws and what country you are in.
10. Ask to be able to include this work in your portfolio or make that a condition of doing the work if you have a slim portfolio. Most will agree because it is a way of free advertising for them as well.