Free Plus Shipping Strategy

A marketing strategy where businesses offer products for "free" but charge shipping fees to cover costs while collecting customer information for future marketing. This self-liquidating funnel allows companies to build email lists without losing money.

Key Components:

• Offer Structure:

  • Product is advertised as free
  • Customer only pays shipping
  • Shipping cost includes both actual shipping + product cost
  • Example: $7 total ($5 shipping + $2 product cost)

• Lead Generation Strategy:

  • Collect customer information during purchase
  • Build email list at break-even cost
  • Can scale to collect thousands of emails
  • Creates database for future marketing

• Customer Journey:

  • Customer sees low-risk offer ("just pay shipping")
  • Gets to sample product quality
  • Builds trust with brand
  • Can be marketed to for main product line

• Conversion Goals:

  • Target ~25% conversion rate from free offer to full-price customers
  • Focus on long-term nurturing of email list
  • Use high-quality free product to build goodwill

• Common Applications:

  • Books with "free + shipping" offers
  • Clothing items like hats
  • Digital products/ebooks
  • High-quality content downloads

This strategy allows businesses to acquire customers and build marketing lists while maintaining neutral cash flow, setting up for future sales of higher-margin products.