Tag Archives: Samples

The Ethics of Samples

Free samples can be wonderful. Trying out a product can save you from costly mistakes in buying it, if you find that you don’t like it. You can be adventurous and try out something new that you might not otherwise have experienced. For some, the super sample people, it is an opportunity to reduce your budget by taking advantage of getting things for free. I know one lady who never buys perfume, because she is stocked with samples from the fragrance counter. And the samples may even come in handy when you your supplies are running low. For example, let’s … Continue reading →

Find Examples of What You Want to Do

There really is no sense trying to reinvent the wheel. Often we can get into a mindset in our home businesses that we are isolated and on our own and therefore we need to come up with all the answers and solve all the problems on our own. But, you might be surprised to discover that we can often find samples and examples of what we are trying to do and we don’t have to start from scratch all on our own. I am not advocating stealing other’s ideas or not respecting copyright law—but you can usually find examples of … Continue reading →

Save Samples of Other People’s Stuff You Like

I have always had files full of marketing materials, postcards, advertisements, samples, etc. of things that I received in the mail or picked up out and about that I really liked. When I used to work in nonprofit management as a development and marketing director, I would often turn to these files when thinking about composing “asks” or brainstorming for marketing campaigns. I wasn’t trying to copy other people—but it was a good jumping off place. Sometimes I saved things just because I liked the color combinations or the weight of the paper. In our home businesses, we can save … Continue reading →

Let Customers See and Touch Your Product

There is absolutely nothing like “hands on”–that is why so many business offer samples, put out touchable displays, and why people flock to see demonstrations at conferences and events. People want to touch, feel and taste something before they actually plunk down their hard-earned money to purchase it. Whenever you can in your home business, put your product or services right in the hands of those customers and prospects you home to sell to. Think of your own purchasing habits–aren’t you more likely to buy a car after you have test driven it a couple of times? And, if you … Continue reading →

Free Pure Essentials Samples

Many of us are trying to use more natural products in the home. We use vinegar for a lot of our cleaning needs, gentler soaps in our bathrooms, and natural air fresheners. Now Proctor & Gamble is bringing “natural” to the laundry room as well. Their new Tide product contains baking soda and citrus extracts. I’ve always found regular Tide to be a little harsh for my skin, so I’m looking forward to the kindler, gentler version. They’re revising Downy, too. It now comes with Aloe or Chamomile. It will be interesting to see how aloe can be incorporated into … Continue reading →

Current Freebies

Remember that when companies offer freebies, it’s to gain new customers. Please only take advantage of those items that you conceivably might actually buy in the future. Read The Ethics of Free Stuff for clarification. Okay, that’s covered! Get ready to actually get something in the mail besides bills! Here is my list of current freebies. Iams Promise Pet Food – With three dogs and a cat, we go through a significant chunk of change every month in pet food. We usually go with the higher end stuff because the couple of dollars more we pay for the bag of … Continue reading →

A New Free Sample Site: Costco!

By now, if you have been reading the Deals Blog, you are familiar with the Walmart Free Samples Website. Through their site, Walmart offers a range of nice sized samples, with new offerings popping up on a regular basis. Now it seems that at least one other large store, Costco, is jumping on the bandwagon with regularly scheduled free samples. I have no idea if the samples will ever get “warehouse” sized, but so far they seem to be quite nice. Costco, like other warehouse stores likes to give out free food samples while you shop. Actually on one of … Continue reading →

Free Samples of Traditional Medicinal Tea

Like a lot of bloggers here, I’m trying to lose weight. More importantly, I’m trying to make a healthier me. Part of that means going as natural as I can with food. I’ve cut out a lot of processed foods, fried foods, and unnecessary chemicals. And I’ve started to add a lot more tea. I actually like the taste of unsweetened green tea. It has to be made correctly, with the bag steeping for only 30 seconds, or it gets bitter. But there’s nothing quite so comforting as a hot cup of good quality tea on a chilly night. The … Continue reading →

Bzz and You! (Part 2)

For my last blog, we talked about BzzAgent and WOM (word of mouth marketing). WOM works in your own business as well! What can you do to create a “Bzzzzzzz”? There are so many things you can do from giving out samples, to letting your customers “play” to creating your own “Bzz” program! Here are some examples of what I do: For Power Pops, I give out free samples! However, sometimes you have to be careful. One lollipop does not show the full effect of what Power Pops can do. In fact, for many people, it may take a week … Continue reading →

Stock Up on Freebies for the Outdoorsy Guy/Gal

Okay, now that the holidays are almost behind me, I am thinking of birthday and “just because” gifts. For immediate friends and family, I like to sign up for freebies I know they will like. Clif Bar is sponsoring a marathon training kit. In the kit, you can receive booklets with training tips and multiple samples of their product. In case you are wondering what a Clif Bar actually is, it is an energy bar–one of the very first that was widely available to outdoorsy people. It was usually sold in places such as Eastern Mountain Sports. Clif Bar is … Continue reading →