I know the title might be a bit confusing – what has getting products for free to do with affiliate marketing? And why would anyone want to give anything away for free while it has its pricing tag attached?
You might be wrong about this.
Giving products away is a great way of getting subscribers to your email list, for instance, but we know how it goes – very rarely are these products of such quality like the paid ones. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably on a number of lists and receiving dozens of emails each and every day. That’s life.
The idea about giving products away is about still making them valuable, and whatever is valuable has to have a price tag, right? Think of it – if you get it completely for free, it’s much more likely you will never use it than if you paid something for it, isn’t that true? I know it is in my case. We’re made this way.
What this means is we will simply value something that we paid for more than what we received for free, no matter how valuable it really is.
Ways of paying
While we all know the value of cold hard cash (or at least we like to think we do), there are other things that we can pay with.
Back in the old days (I mean, really old), people would trade – four sheeps for a pig, or something similar. And everybody was happy with it, as they were exchanging goods that they had for other goods that they needed. In fact, it is still buying – just not with money. Does it work in the modern days?
Of course it does.
If you have money, you’ll exchange it for shoes, for instance. Because you need shoes. And the other guy had shoes but needed money. Done deal.
Then came the Internet
and things got a bit wider. Nowadays, a very common currency online is spreading the word, or sharing.
So if you share someone’s something, you can get something in return, like a share of your own content. And again, it works perfectly. I share your photo, you share mine – your friends see me, and my friends see you, and we’re all being seen everywhere, possibly gaining some popularity (shares, again…).
How many shares for this software, please?
When it comes to software, which is something you must usually pay for (while you get shares for free, if you’re any good), sharing is seldom enough for the vendors to giveaway the license.
So you’re left with the paying option, meaning here’s my card, thank you.
What could possibly be valuable enough for me to let you have my software which costed me money and time, for free?
I’m not talking about free software that was meant to be free from the beginning. I’m talking about the real offers, made for sales. And one thing comes to mind.
You can help to build my email list
Well, this one is more than enough. Usually, every subscriber that you get on your list costs you at least a dollar, sometimes even much more. Facebook advertising is not cheap, nor is any other advertising, and click through rates are always declining. So you have to pay something to build a list. And here’s the point – why don’t I pay you with software?
Share and I’ll let you download
The concept is hardly new, really, every marketer has tried it at some point, or he’s still doing it. What was always a problem was delivery.
Imagine the problem: you get 230 shares of a post from 12 people and 50 people sign up to your mailing list. Now, how can you know who referenced who? To whom will you give the download link? To whom will you pay?
The solution
These days, a solution was launched that automates the process. Yes, Automation is the key here. The portal is called ZippoPay, and it works exactly like I described above: I give you my software, you provide me 3 (or 20, for that matter) subscribers. I give you a few days to complete the task, and if you manage, you’ll get a link to my software in your inbox. As simple as that.
ZippoPay idea and solution
ZippoPay builds the idea on being a marketplace where “free” products will accumulate from people publishing them.
I can create a product, publish it on ZippoPay, and request – for instance – 3 references. If you want to get this product for free, all you have to do is share your personalised link (which you get when upon clicking) and get me 3 references – that is, subscribers. As soon as that’s done, you get the software AUTOMATICALLY. I will not control your input, I will not lose time with counting, I will simply publish the product and move on to the next.
The MAGIC button
All the sign-up process that you, as a “buyer”, need to do, starts up when you click on the magic button. This button is placed on my sales page, right beside the regular Paypal – or whichever payment processor I’m using – button.
This, for me and any other vendor, creates a very powerful effect.
You see, as a vendor, I want as many eyeballs on my offer as possible. Advertising is good, sharing is good, but nothing beats recommendation. And this is exactly what you are doing here for me, you are recommending my product to your friends, in order to get it for free.
Out of the people that respond to this, there will be some that will decide to recommend it again, in order to get their own copy. And so on. See where I’m getting here?
Additionaly, as both the payment button (Paypal or similar) and ZippoPay button are on the salespage, there will be a certain percent of people who will rather pay and get the software immediately instead of waiting. So I’m even making sales along with building a list, while you are getting the software. Win-win.
The verdict
I’ve made my $67 investment (that is the front-end offer plus the first upgrade) back within a day of deploying it. All I did was hook up the DFY product that I received as a bonus, create my link and published a post on Facebook. Honestly, I did not think it will go this good. But it did, so I’m giving it a big YES.
Go for it, I don’t see how you can misfire with it. Sure, you won’t make millions this way, but hey, you have to start somewhere. And this seems a pretty cool place to start.
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