As Wiz’s Head of Promoting and advertising Tom Orbach says, “Mini gear are 10x extra tough than loose trials.”

For the overall twenty years, tech marketers were gifting away e-books and PDFs. I consider Orbach would agree that this era is coming to an end.

Because of AI, no-code, and outsourcing, the smartest tech marketers this present day are gifting away mini software tools … only without cost.

This is something I like to call ‘unfastened tool promoting and advertising.’

Proper right here’s how it works.

What’s unfastened tool promoting and advertising?

In MBA communicate, unfastened tools are referred to as ‘loss leaders.’ A loss leader is a free-ish mini product that can get customers to buy a bigger product.

For a perfume company, it’s going to smartly be a unfastened trend of perfume at the mall. For my fatherland fuel station, Wawa, it was once loose espresso each Tuesday in 2024. Now, in tech, the norm is to offer away unfastened tools to get you throughout the door for paid ones.

On the other hand how do you resolve which mini tool(s) to build?

There are two number one ways:

1. Seek for low-difficulty, high-volume keywords.

The aim that is to snag just a bit little bit of tourists that may be to your paid software.

You’re now not gonna rank for your house of passion’s number one keyword in one day, on the other hand mini tools are like mini bets. Each mini tool gives you a better shot at score higher for your most important number one keywords.

Use tools like Ahrefs to hunt out keywords which could be low-difficulty keywords with a KD spherical 0-5 with as over the top amount as possible. Even as low as 1,000 searches/month is excellent to begin out.

As an example, the important thing word ‘social media supervisor jobs‘ has a keyword scenario of 0 and 7,200 searches per thirty days. If you happen to’re an AI resume writing tool or a hiring platform like Indubitably, you may need to spin up a unfastened AI resume writing tool in particular for social media managers on the lookout for jobs.

Proper right here’s some other example: The important thing word ‘Instagram giveaway template’ has a keyword scenario of 5 and 500 searches per thirty days.

If you happen to’re an image introduction platform like Canva or an ad corporate this is serving to producers do Instagram giveaways, you may need to create a unfastened AI Instagram giveaway template generator the usage of something like OpenAI’s DALL-E style or Midjourney.

2. Look within your product for choices that could be unfastened tools.

Do you will have any provide choices that could be unfastened tools?

As an example, must you’re a private finance app, most likely it’s a compound passion calculator. Or must you’re a video enhancing software, most likely it’s a unfastened video resizer. The decisions are unending.

Skilled tip: Obviously, don’t give away all of your software’s secret sauce. On the other hand most events, you’ll have the ability to to find a minimum of one serve as to offer for free of charge.

What This Appears to be Like in Follow

Let’s use me for instance.

I run a meme promoting and advertising software referred to as Memelord Applied sciences.

Past due one night time, I couldn’t sleep. So, I did some deep digging for keywords on Ahrefs and spotted that the important thing word ‘meme png’ was once low-difficulty and high-volume (0 keyword scenario and 4,000 searches per thirty days!).

I already built an AI background removal tool for memes, so I took that serve as and spun up a Unfastened Meme PNG Maker It’s the exact same serve as — merely given away without cost.

And most likely, I’m paying just a bit little little bit of API fees every time any individual uses the tool, on the other hand I’m already seeing signups from it without cost (and with 0 promotion!).

Supply

Proper right here’s some other personal example.

I moreover spotted that the important thing word ‘advertising and marketing memes’ was once every low in keyword scenario and relatively over the top in search amount (2 keyword scenario and 1,200 searches/month).

So, what did I do? I created a tool for marketers to get inspiration for memes: a fundamental no-code, searchable, filterable gallery of advertising and marketing meme examples.

Identical to the meme PNG author, I’m already seeing signups from this unfastened tool the usage of merely in an instant SEO — no promotion required.

On the other hand I’m now not the only example to be had out there.

E-newsletter platform Beehiiv offered a loose LTV calculator to calculate the lifetime value of your subscribers. HubSpot has a loose AI seek grader this is serving to you overview your brand potency in AI search results. Wiz offered a loose QR code generator.

And I’ve excellent data: You don’t need to be a VC-backed industry or a big brand to build unfastened tools.

How Marketers Can Get Started

I’m a bootstrapped scrappy founder building unfastened tools, and I first came upon about this promoting and advertising tactic when I was Head of Expansion at Product Hunt.

I spotted the ones crazy solo founders, and I realized you don’t need to have a million-dollar worth vary anymore to build unfastened software. (In truth, it’ll even be easier for solo hackers and startups on account of there’s a lot much less oversight, little to no forms, and minimal need to end up explicit ROI.)

Marc Lou is one such solo software founder and large counsel of unfastened tools.

“I’m a developer, and I truly like building apps,” he explains. “On the other hand I moreover need promoting and advertising to pay the bills. Free tool promoting and advertising is symbiosis. It’s composed of launching unfastened and viral mini-apps to put it up for sale your number one startup.”

Supply

Lou recommends the following guidelines for the best results:

1. The tool must be unfastened — that’s the best way you create a viral loop.
2. One serve as is enough. It’s going to should be super simple.
3. The establish must tell exactly what the tool does. That’s how people take note and search on Google.
4. The experience must get began on the homepage. Visitors shouldn’t sign up for or click on on links.

Matt Merrick is some other solo hacker building unfastened tools.

“Over the years, I’ve built over 100 unfastened tools. And every time, I’m amazed by way of how well they bring about out,” Matt steered me by the use of DMs on X.

“The process is understated: I am getting began with a keyword related to the web page I’m working on (like ‘color’) and ask ChatGPT without cost tool ideas spherical it. I simplest objective low-competition, high-search-volume keywords to rank speedy and power guests.

Free tools naturally attract views, backlinks, and house authority. My web page Area of interest Equipment has 20+ unfastened tools on it and is starting to rank bringing in unfastened product sales.”

Merrick faithful his entire career to unfastened tool promoting and advertising.

Why?

Because of we’re entering the era of unfastened tool promoting and advertising.

Free e-books are so 2010s. The 2020s and previous are all about unfastened software.

So, let me ask you: What unfastened tools can you assemble?

Take into consideration it for a minute. Take a minute to look through your product without cost serve as ideas. Head over to Ahrefs’ key phrase generator (some other unfastened tool) to optimize for search.

Then, take hold of a Crimson Bull, transfer assemble some unfastened tools, and free up ‘em!

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