Hello Tolulope,

What do you think is the most powerful word in marketing?

Late Gary Halbert said the word “You” is the most powerful word in *advertising* (well, we can’t know if he thinks it’s also the most powerful word in marketing generally, as advertising is just a part of marketing).

But we’ve seen more sources say the word “Free” is the most powerful word in marketing.

Of course it is most likely the most abused and overused word in marketing, but the most powerful? Well, I can’t disagree.

The opinion I however agree totally with is that the word “free” is the most enticing word in marketing.

Today I don’t want to go into the depth of how it’s abused or better ways to use it (for example, how you present it would depend on your audience); I just want to focus on how truly powerful and/or enticing this word is.

I’m sure there are some people who otherwise wouldn’t have opened this email but did because of the word “FREE."

Well, it’s not like I’m tricking you into opening my email; as a very practical person, it’s just a way to demonstrate what I’m preaching. A proof of concept. (And for real, I’m giving you something to use for free.)

Whether we like it or not, as humans, the word “free” triggers a strong emotional response in us, that tells us that we are about to get something without any risks involved. Worst case scenario is you trash it if you don’t like it, yea?

This “trigger” is important because even if we at the end of the day decide to not get the free stuff, that would’ve been due to some rationalization AFTER the offer or word already caught our attention.

Yes, I’m saying that in a world where everyone is now inundated with content and the battle for attention has gotten serious (and even dirty), the word “free” can still get you some attention. The percentage of people who would scroll past without looking twice will be very tiny.

Well, that’s some power there!

We can also ignore the percentage of people who click away AFTER at least looking twice, because I bet that, based on your offer or context, the percentage of people who would click to check out your free stuff would be very high. Unless even your free offer sucks.

This is the rationale behind the success of lead magnets, even though it’s getting harder by the day to build a list with a lead magnet.

Shows that even your free stuff has to be of top quality. People wouldn’t jump at your stuff just because it’s free.

So we agree that the word free is powerful. But is it enticing?

I’ve said it many times before that it is better to price your product or services higher because people instinctively equate a higher price with higher quality.

There’s a social experiment that proves that it’s better to just offer your stuff for free rather than for dirt cheap.

In the order of things, people will *want* a high-priced product the most, then a free product next, before a cheap product.

It sounds crazy, I know. But I have proof.

In the book Predictably Irrational by psychology professor and author Dan Ariely, the author wrote of an experiment where he offered study participants two different chocolates; a Lindt Truffle and a Hershey’s Kiss.

At first the Lindt truffle was priced at 15 cents and the Hershey’s Kiss was priced at 1 cent. 73% of the participants chose the truffle. The reason is not farfetched; they believed the truffle was of higher quality, based on the higher pricing.

Next, he offered another group the same chocolates, but this time reduced the price by a cent each. The truffle went for 14 cents while the Hershey’s Kiss was for free.

This time around, 69% of participants chose the Hershey’s Kiss.

Obvious reason: why should they pay for something when there was a free option?! Factors like type of product or even quality no longer mattered.

Am I saying you should start selling your stuff for free? Far from it; I was only proving to you the power of “free."

So how do you wield this power?

Like I said, it depends on your audience or target market. And also depends on what you’re offering.

Generally however, you want to find a way to incorporate “free” into your marketing.

Even if you have nothing to offer for free, you can find creative ways to incorporate it.

When teaching sales funnels and sales copy for ecommerce, author of DotCom Secrets, Russell Brunson, advised that you should use the word “free” as many times as possible.

That works very great for physical products. Something like:

“You’ll get a FREE moisturizer when you buy our cleanser, a FREE eBook on removing acne, and FREE shipping of your products to you wherever you are in Nigeria.”

You see how the word “free” was used many times? (Btw that was a real offer that sold like crazy!)

What about other products or services where there is nothing to give for free?

Well, there’s always something to give for free. You just have to be creative.

A mentee of mine once helped a school in Ikorodu get new students by offering free “academic consultation” where parents get to talk about their children’s academic performance and needs.

The so-called consultation was basically value PLUS sales closing on the phone.

The school made millions of Naira worth of new students from less than N30,000 in ads.

I’ve seen high-ticket professionals say they don’t want to attach the word “free” to their business so it doesn’t attract the wrong audience or define their business.

Well, to each their own, but there’s hardly any type of business that hasn’t been grown to the million dollar level with the power of “FREE”.

That’s my free tip for you today. I hope you use it well!