Well, President Barrack Obama already entered the White House.  Many of us have seen the inauguration either on TV or online and these mark a new beginning for new America.  I don’t thing it’s too late to recall back the election days and how business owner, both big and small had played their roles in making all this possible.

You may be remember during the election time, Starbucks announced that their stores would be offering a free “tall” coffee to anyone who voted today.  Their move also followed by Krispy Kreme promised a doughnut with red, white, and blue sprinkles. This phenomena offering free thing had a widespread effect until USA Today made a compilation of  a cheat sheet keeping track of other swag offers on Election Day, including chicken, beer, and sex toys.   Wait a second, isn’t this voter bribery illegal?

When it come to attract reader to your blog, online offering or online business, you may not have free coffee, but you have other swag, don’t you?  If you don’t have, maybe it’s time to create one for your business.

Free e-book

Many blog use this tactic to gain new subscribers and new reader to their websites.  Even the big blog use this.  Chrisg.com, offered a free e-book entitled, “Killer Flagship Content” for all their subscribers.  Yaro Starak, of entrepreneurs-journey.com, gave away a free e-book, “Blog Profit Blue Print” when you sign as subscribers.

If you don’t have time to produce or write your own e-book, you could hire a ghost writer to write for you at guru.com.

Free trial subscription and webminar

I had been reading Marketing Experiment, a blog about online marketing for almost two years.  They don’t just give free articles on marketing, but also offer free trial subscription and web seminar that they call as Web Clinic.

Free comment (as if 1 for 2 comment) and free treatment at respective social networking sites

I am avid visitor to Blog Catalog for almost a year already.  It never stop to amaze how some blogger would offer a free 1 to 2 comment (1 comment received will be reciprocate with 2 comments back) or a stumble for a stumble, even a favorite for a favorite at Technorati.

Should you limit to this selection?

The list of thing that you could offer to your reader will be too many to mentioned in this short post.  There still many free gift that not mentioned here or describe here in detailed, for example, free video seminar, free domain name, free e-mail account and the list could on and on.

The important thing is to think of this free giveaway as something value added thus it should have some quality and carefully thought.  Just because it’s free it should not be a rubbish that equate material that should be thrown into the trash folder.

On the flip-side, if you can’t think any free giveaway, therefore don’t give.  Problogger.net still get many subscribers and tweet follower event without the free gift.

Perhaps you can share some of free gift that you received after visiting some of your favorite sites or blog in the comment box and tell us how you fell about the free gift?