• Searchviews , Monday, June 9, 2008 2:45 PM

Noah Mallin makes the case for giving site visitors a free taste of the "good stuff" that you offer to subscribers at a premium price--whether it's information, Web applications, or even video clips.

In addition to getting casual visitors "addicted" to your site (and ultimately converting them into subscribers), you also create a spate of brand evangelizers. Mallin uses three examples of how brands (and bands) have used this free taste to drive traffic and conversions.

Radiohead, for example, allowed users to pay however much they wanted for the ordinary "In Rainbows" album, and offered the premium version for a premium price. What the band lost in lower-priced album sales they likely gained back in concert and merchandise sales--not to mention buzz.

King Gillette, founder of the Gillette razor company, gave away his razors, knowing that once users were hooked, they'd pay for the pricey replacement blades. And Animoto lets users create 30-second videos out of their own photo galleries for free. Videophiles that want to make longer creations need to pay the annual fee--but how many of those subscribers do you think got hooked by trying the free sample?

Read the whole story at Searchviews »