Sep
21
Sue Gardiner asked:
The ‘freebie’ is a sacred tenant among journalists. Heaven knows, the job does not pay well in most cases. So freebies or junkets, as they are known in the media game, are considered a well-earned perk. Here is an example of some of the freebies I enjoyed during my 12 years as a newspaper and TV journalist.
- a gorgeous two-day junket to Great Keppel Island off the coast of Central Queensland
- new food product samples
- show tickets
- movie tickets
- books
- CDs
- DVDs
- grog
- t-shirts
- beauty products
- meals
And I only took advantage of a fraction of the free opportunities I was offered. But of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch. The giver is hoping for free media exposure in return and the journalist knows this. So does it work? Do you increase your chances of free media exposure by gifting free stuff to reporters? Well, it is by no means guaranteed but it sure as hell cannot hurt your chances.
So why does it work? Well, obviously it ensures a journalist is exposed to your product. But also, have you heard of the Law of Reciprocation? The theory behind the law is if you give something to someone they will feel compelled to reciprocate as a sign of their gratitude. And it often works. I know I certainly felt a subtle unspoken pressure to provide coverage in return for a freebie. However, if the freebie was not a good fit for my media outlet I often was not able to deliver it.
So here are 3 tips to maximize the impact of freebies.
Tip # 1 -
Make sure you carefully target your freebie. It can get pretty expensive if you just send out stuff to media outlets willy-nilly. And the more directed your free samples are the better your chances of coverage. If you work in the cosmetics industry, for example, and you have a new blush you want to promote, sending a product sample to a beauty writer is likely to be much more successful then sending it to a general news reporter.
The exception to this rule is in smaller publications who have a beauty section but do not have a specialist beauty reporter. Do not send your book on a really niche topic of limited interest to a general reporter in a mainstream media outlet. A better use of your resources is to send the book to a niche media outlet covering a topic that is relevant to your book. Do not offer a travel junket to a media outlet which does not regularly do travel reviews.
Tip # 2 -
Make sure your free gift makes a splash. Journos get given free stuff all the time. So you need to send something a little bit out of the ordinary – or edible – to get their attention. You see, the freebie that most often caused a ruckus in newsrooms I worked in was hot food and cold drink.
When a pizza chain would send in a few trays of their latest flavour at lunch time or a cake store would send in some samples with their press release it got everyones attention and often ended up getting a plug as well in our publications. Even if worst case scenario you do not get any immediate media exposure you can bet that you are at the top of the journalists minds and it could very well pay off down the track if they write a story related to your industry.
In fact, there is actually a donut company which has built a massive profile almost entirely on the back of sending trays of free products to newsrooms. The amount of column inches they earn from this alone is astronomical. And compared to the cost of advertising it is a dirt cheap and wily move.
Tip # 3 -
The million dollar question is will giving a journalist a ‘freebie’ influence them to give a positive review of your product or service. Well, the answer to that question is as varied as the number of journalists.
When it comes to journalists who specialise in doing product and service reviews the answer is probably no. They are used to getting a lot of free stuff.
For other journalists, it may or may not. Personally I never allowed myself to be influenced by freebies in a review situation. I didn’t like the feeling of having been ‘bought’ and it was important to me to keep my professional integrity.
Sarah
The ‘freebie’ is a sacred tenant among journalists. Heaven knows, the job does not pay well in most cases. So freebies or junkets, as they are known in the media game, are considered a well-earned perk. Here is an example of some of the freebies I enjoyed during my 12 years as a newspaper and TV journalist.
- a gorgeous two-day junket to Great Keppel Island off the coast of Central Queensland
- new food product samples
- show tickets
- movie tickets
- books
- CDs
- DVDs
- grog
- t-shirts
- beauty products
- meals
And I only took advantage of a fraction of the free opportunities I was offered. But of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch. The giver is hoping for free media exposure in return and the journalist knows this. So does it work? Do you increase your chances of free media exposure by gifting free stuff to reporters? Well, it is by no means guaranteed but it sure as hell cannot hurt your chances.
So why does it work? Well, obviously it ensures a journalist is exposed to your product. But also, have you heard of the Law of Reciprocation? The theory behind the law is if you give something to someone they will feel compelled to reciprocate as a sign of their gratitude. And it often works. I know I certainly felt a subtle unspoken pressure to provide coverage in return for a freebie. However, if the freebie was not a good fit for my media outlet I often was not able to deliver it.
So here are 3 tips to maximize the impact of freebies.
Tip # 1 -
Make sure you carefully target your freebie. It can get pretty expensive if you just send out stuff to media outlets willy-nilly. And the more directed your free samples are the better your chances of coverage. If you work in the cosmetics industry, for example, and you have a new blush you want to promote, sending a product sample to a beauty writer is likely to be much more successful then sending it to a general news reporter.
The exception to this rule is in smaller publications who have a beauty section but do not have a specialist beauty reporter. Do not send your book on a really niche topic of limited interest to a general reporter in a mainstream media outlet. A better use of your resources is to send the book to a niche media outlet covering a topic that is relevant to your book. Do not offer a travel junket to a media outlet which does not regularly do travel reviews.
Tip # 2 -
Make sure your free gift makes a splash. Journos get given free stuff all the time. So you need to send something a little bit out of the ordinary – or edible – to get their attention. You see, the freebie that most often caused a ruckus in newsrooms I worked in was hot food and cold drink.
When a pizza chain would send in a few trays of their latest flavour at lunch time or a cake store would send in some samples with their press release it got everyones attention and often ended up getting a plug as well in our publications. Even if worst case scenario you do not get any immediate media exposure you can bet that you are at the top of the journalists minds and it could very well pay off down the track if they write a story related to your industry.
In fact, there is actually a donut company which has built a massive profile almost entirely on the back of sending trays of free products to newsrooms. The amount of column inches they earn from this alone is astronomical. And compared to the cost of advertising it is a dirt cheap and wily move.
Tip # 3 -
The million dollar question is will giving a journalist a ‘freebie’ influence them to give a positive review of your product or service. Well, the answer to that question is as varied as the number of journalists.
When it comes to journalists who specialise in doing product and service reviews the answer is probably no. They are used to getting a lot of free stuff.
For other journalists, it may or may not. Personally I never allowed myself to be influenced by freebies in a review situation. I didn’t like the feeling of having been ‘bought’ and it was important to me to keep my professional integrity.
Sarah
Sep
4
Abhishek Agarwal asked:
Let us get straight to the point. Imagine you are a Manager, and have heaps of resumes lying on your desk, and you have the job of sifting through hundreds of resumes. Which one is likely to go into the waste paper basket, and which will come through to the other side of the table for a second look?
Obviously, since you are the Manager, you are looking at some pre-requisites for the job. What are they?
1. Age – there may be a minimum and a maximum age
2. Qualifications
3. Experience
4. Marital Status
5. Whether spouse working
6. Children, if any, if so, what grades they are in
7. Language used
8. Gender (may be) depending upon the job.
10. Present Location: would the person move from his present position.
11. Other qualifications, say, an extra degree in another subject
12. References.
If you look at this the way it should be, then your job of writing a resume is easier. It’s very much like standing in a crowd, waving at the dignitary, or friend, trying to catch his attention! So your resume has to be one that meets these requirements.
Plain simple language, brief description of study and experience, school and college grades, ability to relocate,etc., all listed above matter.
If the ad is stressing a particular attribute or attributes, be sure to address those very attributes first. That gets you in on to the pile to be considered. The others become secondary.
Sounds easy, but really it is not so. It all lies in reading between the lines, especially when you are first time applicant. You do need advice, other than the one given above, even though, you as Manager assumed what you wanted. But the real man behind the desk might have different ideas. Acknowledge that first, and acknowledge that there are competitors for that very same job.
Who can help you? Well, there are very many people. First, you could try your college dean or placement officer. They would know from their experience how it should be structured.
It’s also quite possible that the person whom you are applying to is from the same fraternity you belong to! No matter what one says, it helps! So highlight it, but subtly. Don’t be obvious. Everyone wants to look neutral, and natural.
Take the help of friends, associates, and even your family. You could also try some of the professional firms and individuals which specialize in helping you find jobs, and in turn, are also used by employers to find the right match for their vacancies.
Be precise. Writing long paragraphs is a strict no-no. Who has the time? Only you. Precision also indicates that you know your stuff, and that you are not a high-flyer, who sings only his own tune! Be careful to stress only what you really know, and don’t exaggerate your own importance. Why not, you ask? The answer is straight: if you are so good, then why are you looking, and if your experience is short, then are you a hustler, or a rolling stone. Remember this proverb always: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss. it applies and is used. it’s the best way for your resume to find a place in the waste paper basket.
Yet another tip. Write the resume yourself. Put yourself in the shoes of the person who is going to get it, and appraise it with those eyes. If not possible, then, show it to one of your senior friends, dad or mom who are working. Take their advice. it helps. They have been there before.
This writer knows that he is repeating himself. It’s for your own good.
Never act smart in language or use fancy terms. Be practical to the nth degree. Don’t show off. No fancy paper. Plain paper will do. Check for obvious mistakes in spelling. Read the previous line. It should have read “check for obvious MISTAKES” Got it?
Read it twice before dispatching it. Ask your sis or another person to read it through. Remember that sometimes two heads are better than one. Weigh carefully what is pointed out to you.
Willie
Let us get straight to the point. Imagine you are a Manager, and have heaps of resumes lying on your desk, and you have the job of sifting through hundreds of resumes. Which one is likely to go into the waste paper basket, and which will come through to the other side of the table for a second look?
Obviously, since you are the Manager, you are looking at some pre-requisites for the job. What are they?
1. Age – there may be a minimum and a maximum age
2. Qualifications
3. Experience
4. Marital Status
5. Whether spouse working
6. Children, if any, if so, what grades they are in
7. Language used
8. Gender (may be) depending upon the job.
10. Present Location: would the person move from his present position.
11. Other qualifications, say, an extra degree in another subject
12. References.
If you look at this the way it should be, then your job of writing a resume is easier. It’s very much like standing in a crowd, waving at the dignitary, or friend, trying to catch his attention! So your resume has to be one that meets these requirements.
Plain simple language, brief description of study and experience, school and college grades, ability to relocate,etc., all listed above matter.
If the ad is stressing a particular attribute or attributes, be sure to address those very attributes first. That gets you in on to the pile to be considered. The others become secondary.
Sounds easy, but really it is not so. It all lies in reading between the lines, especially when you are first time applicant. You do need advice, other than the one given above, even though, you as Manager assumed what you wanted. But the real man behind the desk might have different ideas. Acknowledge that first, and acknowledge that there are competitors for that very same job.
Who can help you? Well, there are very many people. First, you could try your college dean or placement officer. They would know from their experience how it should be structured.
It’s also quite possible that the person whom you are applying to is from the same fraternity you belong to! No matter what one says, it helps! So highlight it, but subtly. Don’t be obvious. Everyone wants to look neutral, and natural.
Take the help of friends, associates, and even your family. You could also try some of the professional firms and individuals which specialize in helping you find jobs, and in turn, are also used by employers to find the right match for their vacancies.
Be precise. Writing long paragraphs is a strict no-no. Who has the time? Only you. Precision also indicates that you know your stuff, and that you are not a high-flyer, who sings only his own tune! Be careful to stress only what you really know, and don’t exaggerate your own importance. Why not, you ask? The answer is straight: if you are so good, then why are you looking, and if your experience is short, then are you a hustler, or a rolling stone. Remember this proverb always: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss. it applies and is used. it’s the best way for your resume to find a place in the waste paper basket.
Yet another tip. Write the resume yourself. Put yourself in the shoes of the person who is going to get it, and appraise it with those eyes. If not possible, then, show it to one of your senior friends, dad or mom who are working. Take their advice. it helps. They have been there before.
This writer knows that he is repeating himself. It’s for your own good.
Never act smart in language or use fancy terms. Be practical to the nth degree. Don’t show off. No fancy paper. Plain paper will do. Check for obvious mistakes in spelling. Read the previous line. It should have read “check for obvious MISTAKES” Got it?
Read it twice before dispatching it. Ask your sis or another person to read it through. Remember that sometimes two heads are better than one. Weigh carefully what is pointed out to you.
Willie
May
1
Freebies, Is There A Catch?
Filed Under Business | Leave a Comment
Damian Saunders asked:
It is something we hear repeated all our lives, that nothing in life is free. So, with that in mind, the question is, how can free offers and freebies actually be free, really?
The reality is that freebies and free offers promoted by reputable companies online actually are free. That does not mean that there is nothing expected in return. Some companies are looking for your opinion or your contact details so they can send you more offers, and product information, or they have another, more obvious motive, which is to get you to buy their products.
Internet freebies and free offers are exactly the same as the promotional giveaways that you find in shops and businesses across the country all the time. Businesses are always offering free samples, discounts and coupons for one very good reason; they want you to try their products. The hope is that when you do, you will like the product, or service and you will want more, you will happily pay for it, and hopefully keep buying. Obviously, companies do this more for products they really believe their Customers, or potential Customers will like.
Freebie offers are a very reliable market test for a new product or service. They give the company a strong understanding as to whether or not people are in fact interested in a product, whether they have a use for it, and whether they will buy it; essentially, it tells a company whether this is a product worth investing their resources, and cold hard cash, in further.
Freebies are also an effective means of introducing a new product into the marketplace. People, being very habitual, are often reluctant to try new things; sometimes they are simply not motivated. But with a free and better alternative placed in front of them, the offer becomes irresistible. In addition, and considering people are becoming ore immune to marketing messages, the chance to try something free means that they can make their own evaluation of a product, with little or no risk, before deciding whether to become a Customer.
On the internet, freebies, giveaways, and free offers serve another very effective purpose. Companies use freebies to harvest email addresses and contact information. Using this method, marketers obtain permission, and continue to send you information about their products. They may also use this as a subscription to a regular newsletter or other means by which paid products and expanded services can be marketed.
Looking at freebies from a marketing viewpoint, as a means of promoting your product, or testing your market positioning, the Internet, in particular freebie sites, offer good examples of the methods used by savvy companies to attract Customers.
Freebie marketing on the internet has added a new dimension to traditional freebies and free offers, the practice of offering freebies as a marketing strategy is not new; freebies have been a staple of product testing and advertising for more than a century. No doubt this will continue and, for a consumer, that’s great news as never before have so many freebies, and free stuff offers, been so accessible, and easily available.
Vera
It is something we hear repeated all our lives, that nothing in life is free. So, with that in mind, the question is, how can free offers and freebies actually be free, really?
The reality is that freebies and free offers promoted by reputable companies online actually are free. That does not mean that there is nothing expected in return. Some companies are looking for your opinion or your contact details so they can send you more offers, and product information, or they have another, more obvious motive, which is to get you to buy their products.
Internet freebies and free offers are exactly the same as the promotional giveaways that you find in shops and businesses across the country all the time. Businesses are always offering free samples, discounts and coupons for one very good reason; they want you to try their products. The hope is that when you do, you will like the product, or service and you will want more, you will happily pay for it, and hopefully keep buying. Obviously, companies do this more for products they really believe their Customers, or potential Customers will like.
Freebie offers are a very reliable market test for a new product or service. They give the company a strong understanding as to whether or not people are in fact interested in a product, whether they have a use for it, and whether they will buy it; essentially, it tells a company whether this is a product worth investing their resources, and cold hard cash, in further.
Freebies are also an effective means of introducing a new product into the marketplace. People, being very habitual, are often reluctant to try new things; sometimes they are simply not motivated. But with a free and better alternative placed in front of them, the offer becomes irresistible. In addition, and considering people are becoming ore immune to marketing messages, the chance to try something free means that they can make their own evaluation of a product, with little or no risk, before deciding whether to become a Customer.
On the internet, freebies, giveaways, and free offers serve another very effective purpose. Companies use freebies to harvest email addresses and contact information. Using this method, marketers obtain permission, and continue to send you information about their products. They may also use this as a subscription to a regular newsletter or other means by which paid products and expanded services can be marketed.
Looking at freebies from a marketing viewpoint, as a means of promoting your product, or testing your market positioning, the Internet, in particular freebie sites, offer good examples of the methods used by savvy companies to attract Customers.
Freebie marketing on the internet has added a new dimension to traditional freebies and free offers, the practice of offering freebies as a marketing strategy is not new; freebies have been a staple of product testing and advertising for more than a century. No doubt this will continue and, for a consumer, that’s great news as never before have so many freebies, and free stuff offers, been so accessible, and easily available.
Vera
Mar
2
Freebies and Free Stuff for Webmasters
Filed Under Business | Leave a Comment
IC asked:
Having a website has become a hobby for most people, being able to share your ideas and opinions with individuals who share similar interests is extremely fascinating, entire communities are built under such concepts, in fact with the right content management systems and social applications these communities can escalate to proportions never before imagined by the site founder.
Many times bloggers and non-webmasters aren’t planning for such an enormous operations and they have to terminate their ventures because of limited resources and expensive bandwidth bills, in other words the more visitors you acquire through references, the higher your hosting bill will be.
In the past decade, hosting and bandwidth prices have dropped dramatically which have made shared and virtual environments more affordable however they do have certain limits which are not expressed in the advertising creative but in the fine print. Some companies will offer 3 Terabytes of monthly transfer but they cap the hits a day which means that if you reach for example 200K hits a day your account is suspended until you decrease your traffic, now why would you want to decrease your traffic and visitors? Such requests sure go against webmasters and bloggers community building targets.
Those individuals who eventually turn into webmasters can sure appreciate the value of free software and services they can use to escalate their site’s potential. Free hosting is one of the best inventions in the past few years, while they are limited, bloggers and webmasters who don’t heavily consume resources can rely on such freebies while they build some capital to fund their ventures.
Free scripts, file sharing systems, fonts, email, etc. are services and goods which site owners are always looking for because of the value they represent. Scripts are extremely useful tools which can help you automate website tasks which manually could take forever to get done, for instance imagine building a new page with the exact layout, advertising and links every time you wanted to post a new article or pictures to your site, this task would certainly discourage web developers from building big sites. With the help of scripts such developers can focus on the content being published rather than layout and trivial matters.
As you see freebies as always welcomed, even more so if the free items being received are extremely useful and valuable to site owners as well as experienced web developers.
JUSTIN
Having a website has become a hobby for most people, being able to share your ideas and opinions with individuals who share similar interests is extremely fascinating, entire communities are built under such concepts, in fact with the right content management systems and social applications these communities can escalate to proportions never before imagined by the site founder.
Many times bloggers and non-webmasters aren’t planning for such an enormous operations and they have to terminate their ventures because of limited resources and expensive bandwidth bills, in other words the more visitors you acquire through references, the higher your hosting bill will be.
In the past decade, hosting and bandwidth prices have dropped dramatically which have made shared and virtual environments more affordable however they do have certain limits which are not expressed in the advertising creative but in the fine print. Some companies will offer 3 Terabytes of monthly transfer but they cap the hits a day which means that if you reach for example 200K hits a day your account is suspended until you decrease your traffic, now why would you want to decrease your traffic and visitors? Such requests sure go against webmasters and bloggers community building targets.
Those individuals who eventually turn into webmasters can sure appreciate the value of free software and services they can use to escalate their site’s potential. Free hosting is one of the best inventions in the past few years, while they are limited, bloggers and webmasters who don’t heavily consume resources can rely on such freebies while they build some capital to fund their ventures.
Free scripts, file sharing systems, fonts, email, etc. are services and goods which site owners are always looking for because of the value they represent. Scripts are extremely useful tools which can help you automate website tasks which manually could take forever to get done, for instance imagine building a new page with the exact layout, advertising and links every time you wanted to post a new article or pictures to your site, this task would certainly discourage web developers from building big sites. With the help of scripts such developers can focus on the content being published rather than layout and trivial matters.
As you see freebies as always welcomed, even more so if the free items being received are extremely useful and valuable to site owners as well as experienced web developers.
JUSTIN
Feb
17
Free Downloads – the Good and the Bad
Filed Under Business | Leave a Comment
Katherine Quirke asked:
We have all stumbled across sites that are offering free downloads. But are they always that good? What inevitably happens is you end up with a hard drive of useless stuff that you have to wade through and often cannot make head or tail of anyway.
Then there are the items you purchase. These are digital items such as ebooks or software that will help you manage and market your business online. If there is a price on them they are probably of a higher quality. But then you have the problem of what to buy and how much your budget can withstand.
There are not many organizations out there that can provide you with a fully integrate system of help and support. Those that do often charge a large sum of money to assist. You need to source the select few that will balance cost effective support with free support.
The biggest problem that exists on the internet for business owners is the amount of information that has to be waded through to get to the real stuff. What you are looking for are quality ebooks and software that you can use now or later to learn from and build your business.
You want to learn from those who have gone before you. Often the free stuff is all you need. Other times you may need to grab quality help that you have to pay for.
If you pay for help consider items you can resell. Resell rights allow you to make a bit of extra money from your website or have give-aways to lure new customers. Make sure you always use digital products – that is products that can be downloaded.
Bottom line? Look out for fully integrated businesses that offer you a combination of information both free and paid for, software and tools both free and paid for.
If you do find free stuff consider it carefully. There are a few business resources out there that will offer fully packaged free tools that have been tried and tested to assist you. Most of these will be free to on sell to make extra money or offer for free as sweeteners through your business.
So free downloads are good but only if you get quality from quality services. Don’t overload yourself with singular downloads that you will lose on your computer. Align yourself with one or 2 sources to obtain quality information so you can increase your business profit via the internet.
CORY
We have all stumbled across sites that are offering free downloads. But are they always that good? What inevitably happens is you end up with a hard drive of useless stuff that you have to wade through and often cannot make head or tail of anyway.
Then there are the items you purchase. These are digital items such as ebooks or software that will help you manage and market your business online. If there is a price on them they are probably of a higher quality. But then you have the problem of what to buy and how much your budget can withstand.
There are not many organizations out there that can provide you with a fully integrate system of help and support. Those that do often charge a large sum of money to assist. You need to source the select few that will balance cost effective support with free support.
The biggest problem that exists on the internet for business owners is the amount of information that has to be waded through to get to the real stuff. What you are looking for are quality ebooks and software that you can use now or later to learn from and build your business.
You want to learn from those who have gone before you. Often the free stuff is all you need. Other times you may need to grab quality help that you have to pay for.
If you pay for help consider items you can resell. Resell rights allow you to make a bit of extra money from your website or have give-aways to lure new customers. Make sure you always use digital products – that is products that can be downloaded.
Bottom line? Look out for fully integrated businesses that offer you a combination of information both free and paid for, software and tools both free and paid for.
If you do find free stuff consider it carefully. There are a few business resources out there that will offer fully packaged free tools that have been tried and tested to assist you. Most of these will be free to on sell to make extra money or offer for free as sweeteners through your business.
So free downloads are good but only if you get quality from quality services. Don’t overload yourself with singular downloads that you will lose on your computer. Align yourself with one or 2 sources to obtain quality information so you can increase your business profit via the internet.
CORY