It's true! Who doesn't like to get free stuff, no matter how cheap, lame or unwanted? You know it, I know it and you can be darn sure marketing departments at big boys out there know it and thrive on it.

So why aren't YOU doing it too?

Giving away promotional freebies is a great way to get people to buy from you, to sign up for newsletters, to get a heap of free advertising and to generally boost profile of your business both in online and offline world.

Thankfully, in online world these kinds of promotions need not cost a fortune either which again begs question:

Why aren't you doing this already!

Here's a few reasons why giving away free stuff is such a wonderful thing for your business.

Freebie & Coupon Sites

There are thousands of them. If you are giving away something free then these guys will find out about it and will more than likely list what you are giving away on their own sites. That's free advertising and it'll be seen by THOUSANDS of potential new customers! For example, take a look at Just UK Freebies or TheFreeSite.com if you need further convincing. It'll also do no harm to you link popularity and hence search engine rankings...

Turning The Umm's Into The YES PLEASE's!

How many customers do you think hit your site each day, look at what you are selling, umm, ahh and then leave without buying? Why not give them a very good reason to buy from you, right there and then rather than chancing to fate they might find your competitor's site in meantime or decide perhaps, they won't purchase what you are selling after all? A freebie promo can do this for you - just offer it as part of purchasing deal.

Building Your Mailing List

Does no one subscribe to your newsletter? Give them a good reason by giving something away for free to newsletter readers. Easy. Make it something different each month and limit it to say, first few readers to email you hundredth word in newsletter and you'll keep them reading too!

Increase Your Visitors - Virally

Tell-a-Friend scripts used to be a big deal but now they're not used all that much. However! Incentivize this form of viral marketing and it suddenly becomes much more effective. Give access to some kind of freebie if your customer tells a friend about your business and suddenly you've turned a somewhat mediocre form of marketing into a much more useful prospect. Make this freebie and small discount voucher for both 'teller' and friend and you've just got yourself two more customers for just a slight hit on your profit margin.

Need we go on? I expect not. If there is an area of your business you are looking to grow them I'm sure you can think of a way in which a promotional freebie, no matter how small, can help you achieve those goals.

But "is it worth it" I hear you say! Of course, but you've gotta be smart about it. DO NOT promise what you can't deliver and DO NOT promise what you can't afford. Fortunately, there are a number of things every online business can afford and here are a few ideas to get you started:

Ideas For Free Stuff Promotions