The web is is still very much a solitary activity. Visitors don't know who you are, you can't shake hands or give them a business card.
Consider it from their angle, all they see is a cold web form demanding payment information. Would you willingly fork over your cash to some unknown machine, completely void of any personality?
When it comes to web surfing, the visitor is king, they alone set the rules and they alone determine when contact is permitted.
The only means you have of reaching these people is through the use of interactive web forms. Unfortunately, people are very reluctant to submit personal information without good cause, this is where our dilemma begins.
Overcoming the trust factor
The first thing to realize is that people don't trust easily. You'll need to reassure them their information won't be sold to marketing companies or used irresponsibly.
A privacy policy is one way to do this, you could provide a link to your sites privacy policy, this will help to some extent, but it is still no magic bullet. A privacy policy won't do any good unless the visitor actually reads it, in our world of information overload, only a handful of people will bother.
Provide an Incentive
Providing a free download can be an extremely compelling and economical incentive, however you need to be careful with how it is implemented.
Obviously, just placing a download link on your website is convenient for your visitor, but this doesn't do you any good.
Install the Contact Form
You'll need to ensure they give you valid contact information before they can download your file. You can do this with a little bit of server-side software or hire a professional. The important part is that it requires them to confirm their email address before being permitted to download your file.
Be Truthful
Another problem with offering any sort of free download is the issue of value. You need to provide a free download that has at least some value, free propaganda isn't valuable unless it contains at least some real information.
It is extremely important to be truthful about this, if you offer a "free starter kit" and all they get is a catalog of your product, this is a lie. Call it for what it is, a "free catalog".
If someone takes the time to fill out a form to download what they believe will be some revolutionary information and all they receive is a pamphlet telling them how to purchase "revolutionary information", they will quite naturally feel deceived. This is a complete waste of your time and theirs.
In the early 90's, successful self improvement audio book companies were a shining example of what works. They would issue free product samples in the hopes you would purchase the full package.
Upon your request, these companies would send you a free, genuine product sample of their tapes, if you liked the sample, you bought the set. Honesty was an integrated part of the entire transaction and many of their customers went on to purchase additional audio books.
Using today's technology with MP3's and PDF's, the same can be accomplished much cheaper. Make sure you're honest from the very beginning or you'll never get a sale.
