I have several products which were not doing so hot when I first launched them. I feel
I described them very well, even had videos put together to demonstrate the functions
and benefits, but, no one bought. On many of those, I in turn started offering free trials
and as soon as the user had the chance to actually use the app and see the benefits
first hand, my sales would skyrocket.
I guess the real answer to your question is that it all depends on the product, the product
type and the need and/or desire for the product in question.
I, as Ron pointed out, want to make sure I am not just attracting "FREEBIE SEEKERS",
so, whenever I create a product (and I create software, ebooks and video tutorials),
I always make sure to ONLY offer a free TRIAL when I KNOW that the user will HAVE
to pay to continue using the product.
For example, with a few of my software apps, free trials would not be effective because
the user will use the software today and may not need it again for a few more weeks. Of
course, not ALL my software is like that, but some are, so I would never offer a free trial
for those particular apps.
However, if the software is one that the user will definitely WANT or NEED to use everyday,
I have NO problem offering a 3, 5 or even 10 day trial because I know once they use it, they
will WANT to continue using it.
In MY opinion, free trials should ONLY ever be used when you are 100% certain that the
product is good enough, or needed/wanted enough, to ensure the customer will end up
buying it.
