Imagine giving away a valuable product for free, not as a promotional gimmick, but as a strategic marketing move. That's the essence of the free side product tactic. It's a powerful way to attract potential customers and showcase your expertise, all while providing genuine value to your audience.

This approach involves creating a standalone product that complements your main offering but is given away at no cost. Think of it as a free sample, but on steroids. Instead of just a taste, you're offering a full-fledged tool or resource that solves a real problem for your target market.

The beauty of a free side product lies in its ability to generate leads and build trust. By providing something truly useful without asking for anything in return, you demonstrate your commitment to helping your audience. This goodwill can translate into increased interest in your paid offerings and a stronger connection with potential customers.

While developing a free side product requires significant effort and resources, the potential payoff can be substantial. It's an investment in building relationships, expanding your reach, and establishing your brand as a go-to resource in your industry. When done right, a free side product can become a powerful engine for growth and customer acquisition.

Why this works

The free side product tactic works because it leverages several powerful psychological principles and marketing strategies:

1. Reciprocity. When you offer something valuable for free, people naturally feel inclined to reciprocate. This can lead to increased interest in your paid offerings or a willingness to engage further with your brand.

2. Trust-building. By providing a genuinely useful tool or resource without asking for anything in return, you demonstrate expertise and build trust with potential customers. This trust can translate into higher conversion rates for your main product.

3. Lead generation. A free side product can attract a wide audience, including people who might not have been ready to consider your paid offerings. This expands your pool of potential customers and creates opportunities for nurturing leads.

4. Viral potential. Well-designed free products often have a high potential for organic sharing. Users who find value in your offering are likely to recommend it to others, expanding your reach without additional marketing spend.

5. Showcase expertise. A free side product allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and capabilities in a tangible way. This can be especially powerful for SaaS companies, digital product creators, and other knowledge-based businesses.

6. Low-risk entry point. For potential customers who are hesitant to commit to a paid product, a free offering provides a low-risk way to experience your brand and offerings.

7. Data collection. Free side products can be excellent sources of user data and behavior insights, which can inform product development and marketing strategies for your main offering.

8. SEO benefits. A valuable free product can attract backlinks and generate organic traffic, improving your overall search engine visibility.

9. Competitive differentiation. In crowded markets, a high-quality free offering can set you apart from competitors and position your brand as a leader in your industry.

10. Long-term relationship building. Even if users don't immediately convert to paying customers, a free side product keeps them engaged with your brand, potentially leading to conversions down the line.

To maximize the effectiveness of this tactic:

• Ensure high quality. Your free product should be polished and genuinely useful, not a watered-down version of your main offering.

• Align with your core business. The free product should be related to your main offering, creating a natural path for users to become paying customers.

• Make it easy to use. Minimize friction by making your free product accessible without complex sign-up processes or technical barriers.

• Promote strategically. Treat your free side product as a key part of your marketing strategy, promoting it through various channels to maximize reach.

• Gather feedback. Use your free product as an opportunity to collect user feedback and iterate on your offerings.

By leveraging these principles, internet businesses can use free side products to drive growth, build brand loyalty, and create a sustainable pipeline of potential customers.

How you can steal this

To implement the free side product tactic for your internet business, follow these steps:

1. Identify your audience's pain points. Conduct surveys, analyze support tickets, or engage with your community to understand what challenges your potential customers face.

2. Brainstorm product ideas. Come up with concepts for free tools or resources that address these pain points while complementing your main offering.

3. Evaluate feasibility and impact. Assess each idea based on development costs, potential reach, and alignment with your business goals.

4. Design and develop the product. Create a high-quality, user-friendly product that delivers real value. Consider using tools like Outgrow for interactive content like calculators or assessments.

5. Set up analytics and tracking. Implement systems to measure user engagement, acquisition costs, and conversion rates to your paid offerings.

6. Create a landing page. Develop a dedicated page that clearly explains the benefits of your free product and how to access it.

7. Plan your distribution strategy. Determine how you'll promote your free side product through channels like social media, email marketing, and content partnerships.

8. Launch and gather feedback. Release your product and actively seek user input to improve and iterate.

9. Optimize the conversion funnel. Develop a clear path for users to move from your free product to your paid offerings without being pushy.

10. Scale and maintain. As your free product gains traction, ensure you have systems in place to support a growing user base and keep the product up-to-date.

Examples of effective free side products:

• SaaS company. A project management software startup could create a free team communication style assessment tool to help managers understand their team dynamics.

• E-commerce store. An online fashion retailer might develop a free personal style quiz that provides customized outfit recommendations and shopping tips.

• Digital product creator. A course provider specializing in productivity could offer a free habit-tracking app that complements their paid programs.

• Marketplace app. A freelance services platform could create a free project scope calculator to help clients estimate costs and timelines for various types of work.

• B2B software provider. An email marketing platform might offer a free subject line analyzer tool to help businesses improve their open rates.

Remember, the key to success with this tactic is to create a genuinely valuable product that stands on its own while naturally leading users to consider your paid offerings. Focus on solving real problems for your target audience, and you'll build trust and credibility that can translate into long-term business growth.

Examples of free side product

Here are some detailed examples of effective free side products for various types of internet businesses:

• SaaS company. A project management software startup could create a "Team Productivity Calculator." This interactive tool would allow managers to input various factors like team size, current processes, and project types, then receive a personalized report on potential productivity gains and bottlenecks. The calculator could be built using a platform like Outgrow and would naturally lead users to consider how the company's main product could address the identified issues.

• E-commerce store. An online sustainable fashion retailer might develop a "Wardrobe Carbon Footprint Analyzer." Users would input details about their current clothing habits, and the tool would calculate the environmental impact of their wardrobe. It would then provide personalized suggestions for more sustainable choices, subtly highlighting products from the store's catalog.

• Digital product creator. A course provider specializing in digital marketing could offer a free "SEO Health Check" tool. This would analyze a user's website, providing a basic audit of key SEO factors and a customized report with improvement suggestions. Each suggestion could be tied to specific modules in the creator's paid courses, creating a clear value proposition.

• Marketplace app. A freelance services platform could create a "Freelance Rate Calculator." This tool would help freelancers determine competitive pricing for their services based on factors like skill level, experience, and market demand. By providing value to service providers, the platform could attract more high-quality freelancers to their marketplace.

• B2B software provider. An email marketing platform might offer a free "Email Subject Line A/B Testing Simulator." This tool would allow marketers to input multiple subject lines and receive AI-powered predictions on their likely performance, along with suggestions for improvement. This showcases the platform's expertise in email optimization and could lead users to explore their more advanced paid features.

• Subscription box service. A personalized book subscription company could develop a "Reading Personality Quiz." This engaging assessment would analyze a user's reading preferences, habits, and goals, providing a detailed "reader profile" and personalized book recommendations. This not only generates leads but also gathers valuable data for tailoring their subscription offerings.

• EdTech platform. An online learning marketplace could create a "Learning Style Assessment" tool. This interactive quiz would help users identify their primary learning style (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.) and provide tailored study tips and course recommendations from the platform's catalog.

• FinTech app. A personal finance management app might offer a "Retirement Savings Calculator." Users could input their current financial situation and goals, receiving a detailed projection of their retirement savings and suggestions for improvement. This demonstrates the app's financial expertise and highlights the benefits of more comprehensive financial planning tools in the paid version.

Remember, the key to a successful free side product is providing genuine value while creating a natural bridge to your main offering. Focus on solving real problems for your target audience, and you'll build trust and credibility that can translate into long-term business growth.