As a business owner, you focus on the amount of revenue you generate each day. It’s ingrained in you; sales equal money.

But, what if you were to walk away from that business model and try something new? A method to increase visibility that doesn’t cost a penny? It may sound like a promise from an infomercial, but it’s not. You can actually generate sales by giving it away.

Web sites that offer content are widespread. A knowledge-based website can offer white papers, studies, e-books, articles, videos, training and instructional content. By pairing the free content with the for-sale content, you will draw more traffic to your site.

Build Relationships. The first step in any business relationship is to establish trust. By giving away quality content on your website, you generate repeat visits from your customers. Clients will turn to your website because they trust your information.

It Gets You Out There. Your objective is to make a name for yourself and your business. Paid advertising is a valid method, but giving away free content is a quicker way to establish yourself.

By optimizing your keywords, you will draw more traffic to your site. Promote your site via social media website to further increase your traffic.

Registration, Please. Require readers to register before allowing them to download the free content. This automatically results in a list of potential clients. Use this email list to notify clients of new content, free offers, and sales.

Questions, Anyone? If you consider yourself an expert in a particular area, set up a forum on your website to submit and answer questions. For example, if you are a home improvement guru, allow readers to submit questions about their do-it-yourself issues.

While providing answers to their questions, you can also recommend the videos or the tools that you have for sale. The more issues you resolve, the more you will be viewed as an expert in your field.

Sampling. Your great American novel is going to gather dust if no one reads it. Use the power of the internet and offer one chapter for free. Once they are hooked, they will come back and buy the book.

Tools vs. Supplies. Follow the razor principle: give them the razor and then sell them the supplies. This model works in many ways. For example, if you sell yard products, give away the patterns. If you sell woodworking supplies, give away the furniture plans.

If you sell gourmet foods, give away the recipes. Once people are on your website, they are more likely to buy the product if they can combine it with something that’s free.