For years now we have been inundated with offers of Free Reports. Most promise to tell you how, in a few hours per week, you can make incredibly huge sums of money or achieve some other benefit. And it's not only on the web you find these offers. I subscribe to an informative, inexpensive

magazine called "Australian Business & Money Making Opportunities", ostentibly to keep my finger on the pulse of small business. Every issue is chock full of advertisements, many offering a free report. Just a few offer free information.

But what pulling power do free reports or free information have over readers if they simply provide them with information advertisers want them to read to progress a sale? My guess is that it is minimal. And would anyone really expect to pay someone to provide them information about something they are trying to sell? I doubt it. So the "free" part is superfluous. And the reports aren't really reports, they are sales pitches. Everyone knows that.

I've seen so many free reports that I'm no longer drawn to offers to obtain them. In fact, I find the habitual and invariable offers of free reports almost nauseating; I wonder why people don't use some alternatives. After all, if you are surrounded with too much of anything it loses impact doesn't it?

If the free report is dead, the question that arises is, what will take its place?

Obviously the concept underlying free reports is to sell something to a prospect. In rare cases the value of the free report may be such that it provides useful, valuable information. This being the case, it might generate a feeling of reciprocity between givers and receivers. Then, when receivers are ready to buy, they might buy from the person who has given them something valuable.

So, what can we, as marketers give people that will be valuable to them, cost effective for us and generate an attitude of reciprocity? Information products are popular. That is, I'll give you invaluable information eg, about how to prepare your house for sale if you consider using me as the real estate agent who makes the sale. So-called 'viral marketing' media have effectively taken over some of this role. Viral marketing is where you give someone useful information free (usually as an ebook) and include links to yours or affiliates' sales sites. Because it's both useful and free, it spreads like a virus (So proponents say). Then, when readers click on the links and make purchases, you earn income.

I understand some people are having great success with viral marketing. That's wonderful. Perhaps now we need to be more creative and find some other novel ways in which to lure our prospects. For example, one company that sells link management software provides a small, free piece of software that lets you see how many other sites link to yours. It's an intelligent way to provide both a feeling of reciprocity and demonstrating the value of their primary software product. It also has longevity ... whenever users run the software they are reminded how useful it would be to have a link management program.

I give clients a software program which, when opened, displays a splash screen with my business logo and site link. Others use screen savers and applications programs that do such things as spam check an ezine or repaginate a block of text to have only 60 characters before a line return. Dr Ken Evoy has a monthly prize for people who enter a draw at his site. In the past I've given away PDF calendars, discount coupons and in the physical world, bookmarks.

If you want people to sit up and take notice, don't flog the dead horse of free reports. What you, what we all need, is something that costs almost nothing to produce, develops an attitude of reciprocity in recipients, sells our products or services and, if possible, is enduring.

It's up to you. For heaven's sake, get your creative juices flowing, give us all a break from free reports and come up with something of value that will pique our interest. When you've done that, you'll get my attention. In the mean time, anyone for a free report (just kiddin).

Copyright Robin Henry 2005

Robin Henry

Robin is a human resources specialist with a background in the military (Air Force), policing, vocational education and training, training management, consulting, and public administration.

He has over 25 years experience as an HR specialist and a life-long interest in organisation and methods. Today he assists micro-to-middle-sized businesses to improve their performance by working smarter, using smart technology and improving personal development.

He has a Master's degree in education technology, Bachelor's degrees in HR and business communication and educational administration, and a Diploma of Teaching (Technical and Further Education).

Most of Robin's business activity is carried out online from his home office at Alice Springs, Central Australia, which is colloquially known as "The Red Centre". However, Robin is currently on assignment at Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

Robin enjoys dining with friends, "going bush" in his four wheel drive, reading and writing, digital photography, and spending time with his grandson.