The Rise of Free SaaS Tools as Lead Magnets (& How Marketers Can Take Advantage)

As Wiz’s Head of Marketing Tom Orbach says, “Mini devices are 10x much powerful than free trials.”

For nan past 20 years, tech marketers person been giving distant e-books and PDFs. I deliberation Orbach would work together that this era is coming to an end.

Thanks to AI, no-code, and outsourcing, nan smartest tech marketers are now giving distant mini package devices … wholly for free.

This is thing I for illustration to telephone ‘free instrumentality marketing.’

Here’s really it works.

What is free instrumentality marketing?

In MBA speak, free devices are referred to arsenic ‘loss leaders.’ A nonaccomplishment leader is simply a free-ish mini merchandise that gets customers to bargain a bigger product.

For a perfume company, it mightiness beryllium a free sample of perfume astatine nan mall. For my hometown state station, Wawa, it was free java each Tuesday successful 2024. Now, successful tech, nan norm is to springiness distant free devices to get you successful nan doorway for paid ones.

But really do you fig retired which mini tool(s) to build?

There are 2 main ways:

1. Look for low-difficulty, high-volume keywords.

The extremity present is to snag a small spot of postulation that whitethorn beryllium willing successful your paid software.

You’re not gonna rank for your niche’s main keyword overnight, but mini devices are for illustration mini bets. Each mini instrumentality gives you a amended changeable astatine ranking higher for your astir important main keywords.

Use devices for illustration Ahrefs to find keywords that are low-difficulty keywords pinch a KD astir 0-5 pinch arsenic precocious measurement arsenic possible. Even arsenic debased arsenic 1,000 searches/month is bully to start.

For example, nan keyword ‘social media head jobs‘ has a keyword trouble of 0 and 7,200 searches per month. If you’re an AI resume penning instrumentality aliases a hiring level for illustration Indeed, you could rotation up a free AI resume penning instrumentality specifically for societal media managers looking for jobs.

Here’s different example: The keyword ‘Instagram giveaway template’ has a keyword trouble of 5 and 500 searches per month.

If you’re an image creation level for illustration Canva aliases an advertisement agency that helps brands do Instagram giveaways, you could create a free AI Instagram giveaway template generator utilizing thing for illustration OpenAI’s DALL-E model aliases Midjourney.

2. Look wrong your merchandise for features that could beryllium free tools.

Do you person immoderate existing features that could beryllium free tools?

For example, if you’re a individual finance app, possibly it’s a compound liking calculator. Or if you’re a video editing software, possibly it’s a free video resizer. The options are endless.

Pro tip: Obviously, don’t springiness distant each your software’s concealed sauce. But astir times, you’ll beryllium capable to find astatine slightest 1 characteristic to connection astatine nary cost.

What This Looks Like successful Practice

Let’s usage maine arsenic an example.

I tally a meme trading package called Memelord Technologies.

Late 1 night, I couldn’t sleep. So, I did immoderate heavy digging for keywords connected Ahrefs and saw that nan keyword ‘meme png’ was low-difficulty and high-volume (0 keyword trouble and 4,000 searches per month!).

I already built an AI inheritance removal instrumentality for memes, truthful I took that characteristic and spun up a Free Meme PNG Maker It’s nan nonstop aforesaid characteristic — conscionable fixed distant for free.

And sure, I’m paying a small spot of API fees each clip personification uses nan tool, but I’m already seeing signups from it for free (and pinch zero promotion!).

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Here’s different individual example.

I besides saw that nan keyword ‘marketing memes’ was some debased successful keyword trouble and comparatively precocious successful hunt measurement (2 keyword trouble and 1,200 searches/month).

So, what did I do? I created a instrumentality for marketers to get inspiration for memes: a basal no-code, searchable, filterable assemblage of marketing meme examples.

Like nan meme PNG creator, I’m already seeing signups from this free instrumentality utilizing conscionable consecutive SEO — nary promotion required.

But I’m not nan only illustration retired there.

Newsletter level Beehiiv launched a free LTV calculator to cipher nan life worth of your subscribers. HubSpot has a free AI hunt grader that helps you measure your marque capacity successful AI hunt results. Wiz launched a free QR codification generator.

And I person bully news: You don’t request to beryllium a VC-backed business aliases a large marque to build free tools.

How Marketers Can Get Started

I’m a bootstrapped scrappy laminitis building free tools, and I first learned astir this trading maneuver erstwhile I was Head of Growth astatine Product Hunt.

I saw these crazy solo founders, and I realized you don’t request to person a million-dollar fund anymore to build free software. (In fact, it whitethorn moreover beryllium easier for solo hackers and startups because there’s little oversight, small to nary bureaucracy, and minimal request to beryllium definite ROI.)

Marc Lou is 1 specified solo package laminitis and immense advocator of free tools.

“I americium a developer, and I emotion building apps,” he explains. “But I besides request trading to salary nan bills. Free instrumentality trading is symbiosis. It consists of launching free and viral mini-apps to beforehand your main startup.”

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Lou recommends nan pursuing guidelines for nan champion results:

1. The instrumentality must beryllium free — that’s really you create a viral loop.
2. One characteristic is enough. It must beryllium ace simple.
3. The sanction should show precisely what nan instrumentality does. That’s really group retrieve and hunt connected Google.
4. The acquisition must commencement connected nan homepage. Visitors shouldn’t motion up aliases click links.

Matt Merrick is different solo hacker building free tools.

“Over nan years, I’ve built complete 100 free tools. And each time, I’m amazed by really good they perform,” Matt told maine via DMs connected X.

“The process is simple: I commencement pinch a keyword related to nan tract I’m moving connected (like ‘color’) and inquire ChatGPT for free instrumentality ideas astir it. I only target low-competition, high-search-volume keywords to rank accelerated and thrust traffic.

Free devices people pull views, backlinks, and domain authority. My tract Niche Tools has 20+ free devices connected it and is starting to rank bringing successful free sales.”

Merrick dedicated his full profession to free instrumentality marketing.

Why?

Because we are entering nan era of free instrumentality marketing.

Free e-books are so 2010s. The 2020s and beyond are each astir free software.

So, fto maine inquire you: What free devices tin you build?

Think astir it for a minute. Take a infinitesimal to look done your merchandise for free characteristic ideas. Head complete to Ahrefs’ keyword generator (another free tool) to optimize for search.

Then, drawback a Red Bull, spell build immoderate free tools, and motorboat ‘em!