When Fr.ee Is Really Fr.ee
One huge pitfall of the "fr.ee" promotion is that, 99% of the time, there is some cost that the marketer must absorb in exchange for the service involved. Not that this is always a bad thing-- but it is important to understand the true cost involved. Online several non-dollar items are also commodities. Your email address, time and effort are the three most common. Here are a few, quick examples:
* Fr.ee Hosting
Hosting is never fr.ee. But, while some hosts charge directly, others charge by adding all kinds of ads and pop-ups to your site-- some adding so much that it's almost impossible to visit your site because of them. They do this with the assumption that you will be promoting the site, thus promoting their ads as much as yours. The trouble with this situation is that the marketer is forced to compete with these ads on their own site. Plus, they only have control of a portion of the site-- each page is optimized to promote the hosting companies ads first (which cannot be removed), something over which the site "owner" has no control. This may be okay to some. One remarkable problem is that the site can never enjoy full SEO (Search Engine Optimization or, plainly, making it possible for a site to rise to the top of the organic searches) because the ads are rarely relevant-- and relevancy is one of the cornerstones of SEO.
* Fr.ee Advertising on Traffic Exchanges & Safelists
Fr.ee memberships mean you must "spend" more time and effort to earn credits in order to advertise effectively. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, if one has more time than money. The disabled and retirees often fall into this category, as well as work-at-home moms of school-age children. But it is important to understand that, in exchange for a fr.ee account, one is expected to spend a certain amount of time working for those credits.
* Fr.ee Website Submission, Reports, etc.
Most of the remaining "fre.ebies" are actually trading an email address for whatever the promotion offered-- whether it be website submission, a report or ebook or some other tool or service. Email addresses could be called the common trading commodity of online marketing.
In each of these cases, something other than money is changing hands-- but each is valuable and leads back to the bottom line. Some sites are trading fresh content added to their site, plus organic traffic in exchange for providing a service or platfom. Article submission sites are an example of this. Their reward is a huge amount of free exposure for their own promotions.
There is nothing necessarily wrong with any of these practises, although some sites are more ethical than others. Fr.ee website submission sites, for instance, are an example of offering nothing for something-- and leading one astray in the process.
The truth is, once upon a time, long, long ago, it was necessary to manually submit a website to each search engine in order for it to be indexed on that SE. Eventually auto-submitters came out and offered to do this with a single submission. And, since every website must include a name and email address... well. But, for at least the last five years, search engines have been fully capable of indexing new pages and sites within hours -- if not days -- of creation thus, making website submission obsolete. But the website submission sites are still out there. Why? Because people continue to sign up to them.
The same is true of many of the fre.ebies online. The best of these offer a fair trade. That is, a straight forward exchange that offers something real for the time, energy or email address given. The worst will promise something that isn't necessary or real but still take your time, energy and email address anyway. So it is important to understand the true cos.t of these, in order to decide if they are worth it.
And, too, as a marketer begins to earn money online, re-investing some of that income in the best paying programs and advertising systems is the best way to ensure the business will continue to grow.
Next week's Topic : "The Value of Traffic"
Focus On: September New Releases Like monthly specials, new releases are a great promotional tool for any niche site, showing the diversity of titles Leisure Audio Books offers.
1. League of Night & Fog By David Morrell
From the Vatican to the Swiss Alps, from Australia to the heartland of America, the two masterful operatives known as Saul and Drew are being drawn together to solve a violent riddle: Why have ten old men been abducted from around the world?
Primary Category: Detective
Price: $24.95
Availability: World English
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Buy "League of Night & Fog"
2. Stay Mentally Well After Divorce By Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
This program utilizes powerful images for managing changes in relationship status, one of finalization or divorce. Also covered are managing facets, finances & other responsibilities. And it helps listeners work on the most important relationship of all: The one they have with themselves.
Primary Category: Health & Fitness
Price: $19.95
Availability: All Markets
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Buy "Stay Mentally Well After Divorce"
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3. Optimal Thinking By Rosalene Glickman, Ph.D
Be your best in every situation! Maximize your talents, resources, and time. Make the most of every opportunity and optimize your personal and professional satisfaction.
Primary Category: Training
Price: $19.98
Availability: All Markets
Buy Optimal Thinking
Buy "Optimal Thinking"
4. Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles
This revolutionary primer on prosperity consciousness has been enriching millions since it was first published in 1910 and was in fact, the inspiration for The Secret.
Primary Category: Strategy & Business
Price: $9.98
Availability:All Markets
Buy Science of Getting Rich
Buy "Science of Getting Rich"
5. A Packhorse Called Rachel By Marcelle Kellermann
A story of courage, fear and defiance based on the authors own experience. A Pack Horse Called Rachel is the remarkable tale of a girl of twenty, daughter of a Jewish father, caught in the extraordinarily brutal world of France in 1944.
Primary Category: Historical
Price: $20.00
Availability: All Markets
Buy A Packhorse Called Rachel
Buy "A Packhorse Called Rachel"
Notes:
1. To our newest members, Welcome! This newsletter is sent every Friday and contains special notes, marketing tips and suggested groupings of audio books, as well as the best type of sites on which these would be relevant. Be sure to look through the Newsletter area of your LAB back office for other suggestions and more marketing information.
