I’ll tell you something for nothing: everybody loves free stuff.

Actually, I’ll tell you lots of things for nothing, that’s what this blog is all about. But that people love free stuff is just a not-open-to-debate fact of life.

In PR we frequently and shamelessly capitalise on this fact, and it works. Here are a couple of examples of my own experiences with freebies:

I used to work in an agency in Covent Garden. One day, around 4 o’clock, a box of the most exquisite cup cakes known to man was brought to our office. There were about 12 of them (and 12 of us – well researched), and they were the most beautiful little cakes you’ll ever see. It was almost a shame to eat them. Almost. Because everyone who works in an office is cake obsessed. Tools were downed for 10 minutes of gasping with delight and stuffing of faces, followed by the inevitable “Who sent these?” The answer was Lola’s Cupcakes, and for every possible cake-related opportunity from then on, they were our chosen supplier. Plus, they’re still getting mentioned for it now (here, by me).

In that example I was on the receiving end of some great PR. But I used to work on the PR for a cava client, and, every week, we would send out case after case of the fizzy stuff to journalists for ’sampling’, which they usually scheduled into their workload for Friday night, and assisted in their task by friends. Followed up relentlessly it often resulted in a nice mention in features about anything ranging from the summer, to Spain, to the credit crunch!

Free stuff can obviously be utilised to good effect with the general public as well, as Krispy Kreme has exploited to its advantage by giving away free doughnuts every Friday morning. See the Q&A section for more advice on this.

So if you deal in stuff, real, tangible stuff, then give some of your key journalists a call and ask if you can send them samples. You may choose to drop in yourself and deliver it, telling the journalist a little about your product at the same time. If you’re going down this route, make an appointment to do so, and don’t hang around for more than five minutes. You could also consider taking some extra in case other members of the press in the same office are interested.

If you’re simply sending the stuff over, make sure you include a press release and contact details, and try to package it attractively so that when it arrives it’s like receiving a little present – all the more exciting.

Always follow up a few days later to ask if they enjoyed your samples. You have the upper hand on this call because, having consumed whatever it was you sent, their conscience tells them that they must be nice to you now, so no need for contrition here!

If you’re giving away freebies to the public to promote your business, make sure you issue a press release about it to the relevant media (see press releases). That way, you raise awareness of your special offer and, hopefully, a nice piece of coverage as well. You might even consider teaming up with a publication to do a reader offer, that’ll be covered in my next post, but email me for more info on this in the meantime.

But what about people who don’t deal in stuff? People who offer services? What can the web designers, the business consultants, the hairdressers do in this respect?

The trick here is to think of something which is relevant without losing its appeal. Those in the technology sphere might consider sending their press releases, images and any other bumf on a (branded or otherwise) USB stick. This is appealing because the recipient can reuse the memory stick, perhaps seeing your company logo each time, and is more likely to read a press release delivered in this unusual way.

A hairdresser or beauty salon might send some miniature product samples. Brand it a ‘Detox Hamper’ or “Spa Kit’ and present in a pretty basket. An alternative to this is to simply offer journalists a free ‘one’ of whatever your service is – a free meal, free insurance, free massage, free life coaching session.

There are a multitude of ways which you can leverage your products or services to generate free stuff, and, in turn, use this to raise your profile/get coverage/win clients. Make sure that your gift is exciting in as many ways as possible, from the packaging, to the contents to the ongoing use. Make sure that the recipient knows who it’s from and why (because you want coverage? Say: “If you like the samples I sent you maybe you can give it a review.” Want people to return to your shop in the future? Give them a discount). And, wherever possible, follow up to try to secure this.

Next time: promotions, special offers and competitions

Please email me at missmirataylor@yahoo.com for help with any of the topics on this site.