Madonna, David Bowie, Prince, and most recently Radiohead have all developed the art of giving something away, knowing that they’ll receive something back.

The artists have all either given away or allowed low-cost or free downloads of their music, through a variety of channels like bundling the single into the local newspaper, or offering the entire CD for purchase for a price that you, the customer sets.

In Radiohead’s case, they sold 1.2 million copies within 1 week of releasing their latest, In Rainbows. Without a set price, some thought that they wouldn’t make any money at all, but in fact their average sale was $8USD.

What are some things you can do to give away your product, your expertise, or your consulting advice? Consider that the “freebies” that you send your potential customers acts as a “sampler:” they have an opportunity to get a sense of you and your services, and you reach a wide base. This is why Costco offers tasters at the end of each aisle in the frozen foods section, why Trader Joe’s has a sampler appetizer section, and why Whole Foods allows you to try their produce.

One effective way that this comes into play is promotions like with Netflix, which typically encourages friends and family of existing customers to try their service for free for 30 days. At the end of 30 days, many are “hooked” and continue on with the service. Another example is RingCentral, which we use for our toll-free number and our fax services: they allow new users to try the service out and make sure it suits their needs. If it does, a potential customer turns into a long-term customer. If not, a potential customer just walks away.

If you’re pleased with your services and products and you believe in them, how will you share that with others? You might consider any of the following:

1) Offer pro bono services for a local charity
2) Offer pro bono services to a local event
3) Write a free e-book available for download
4) Create a “resources” section for tips on your own website.
5) Offer high quality links to partners, associates, and other related vendors
6) Write for a blog where you analyze trends in your industry or in your line of work
7) Run a social event that promotes a local cause or candidate: and offer your company or business as the primary sponsor
8) Join a club or group related to your work and serve in an officer or organiational position
9) Set up a roundtable with other professionals, make it invitation-only, and put your heads together to work on each others’ issues
10) Sponsor a day that focuses on your business (e.g. cell phone recycling day, paper shredding day, free eye exam day, etc.)

Think of at least four different ideas that will promote yourself this year, and implement them on a quarterly basis. With evaluation, see which of these tools work well and fine-tune your model so that you are able to share your knowledge, increase your customer base, and receive significant profits.

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