Why Give Away Things for Free

• How did Google get millions to switch email providers?
• How did Craigslist attract a freakish number of employers to post job listings?
• How did Plentyoffish, run by like two people, become the most populated dating website in the world?

They did this:

1. They took something that people previously paid good money to have.
2. They made it free.

The masses came.

Revenue opportunities skyrocketed.

How?

• Google did it by offering 1GB of email space, 10x the amount of any other free service provider.
• Craigslist did it by allowing Bay Area residents to post free classifieds instead of shelling out $30 to local newspapers.
• Plentyoffish did it by letting the masses of singles view their entire database for free, instead of paying the high monthly fees of other dating online services.

Once you have a bunch of targeted customers in front of you, you create multiple opportunities to sell:

• "Hey, we're providing Service A for $x this month. You can buy it now at..."
• "Hey, we just built Product B for $x. You can purchase it at.."
• "Hey, we're coming out with Product C next month. Would you like to be on the waiting list?"

The Approach

Try this:

1. Pick your target customer segment.
2. Give away the "basic" version for free.
3. Attract eyeballs galore. Grow.

The easiest way to attract masses of customers?

Free+Valuable Stuff.

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