{"id":15867,"date":"2017-04-21T11:06:10","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T16:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=15867"},"modified":"2017-04-21T11:08:48","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T16:08:48","slug":"service-business-free-items-prove-value-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/service-business-free-items-prove-value-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"Service Business? How Free Items Can Prove Your Value to Clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Free<\/p>\n

One of the most common (and best) pieces of advice given to new freelancers and B2B consultants is to market your services based on value rather than price.<\/p>\n

Maybe the second-most common advice is to offer your prospects something free.<\/p>\n

These recommendations aren\u2019t as contradictory as they may seem. In this post, we\u2019ll look at some effective methods for marketing with free content, and we\u2019ll cover the 'freebie'\u009d you should avoid.<\/p>\n

\"HostGator<\/a><\/p>\n

Prove your value, build your list<\/h2>\n

Smart prospective clients will want to know why they should hire you, and giving them useful information is an easy way to demonstrate your knowledge, technical skills, and understanding of what they need. In exchange for the free reports, webinars, email learning series, or other content you develop for your marketing program, you get prospects\u2019 email addresses to help grow your list<\/a> and establish a base of warm leads.<\/p>\n

With these two goals in mind, let\u2019s look at ways your business can offer compelling freebies to your audience, with the understanding that all marketing roads should lead to your inbox or your email list. The actual content you create will depend on your business, industry, and clientele, as we\u2019ll see in the examples ahead.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blog, vlog and podcast content<\/h2>\n

You don\u2019t have to have a written blog, video blog, and<\/em> audio podcast, but choosing one and posting regularly on an industry topic can give your audience a taste of your expertise. For marketing writers, Copyblogger\u2019s blog<\/a> is the online bible, covering both the details and the high-level view of copywriting for business.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the blog\u2019s content is free and it can inspire readers to pay for Copyblogger\u2019s marketing tools. In the blog sidebar is a 'get free training'\u009d signup form that collects users\u2019 email addresses in exchange for more than a dozen e-books and an email course, which can also lead to service purchases. That\u2019s an unusually large cache of free material, but Copyblogger has been around for a long time and has a vast library of content.<\/p>\n