It's something we hear repeated all our lives, that nothing in life is free. So, with that in mind, the question is, how can free offers and freebies actually be free, really?

The reality is that freebies and free offers promoted by reputable companies online actually are free. That does not mean that there is nothing expected in return. Some companies are looking for your opinion or your contact details so they can send you more offers, and product information, or they have another, more obvious motive, which is to get you to buy their products.

Internet freebies and free offers are no different than the promotional types of giveaways that you encounter in stores across the nation every day. Companies are always offering free samples, discounts and coupons for a very good reason – to get you to try their products. The hope is that when you do, you will be pleased and you will want more. More products that you will pay for. And hopefully keep buying. For obvious reasons, companies do this more for products they really expect the buying public will like.

These kinds of freebies are an excellent market test for a new product. It gives the company some ready feedback as to whether or not people are in fact interested in a product, whether they have a use for it, and whether they will buy it; essentially, whether this is a product worth developing and marketing further.

Freebies also serve as an effective means of introducing a new product into the marketplace. Humans being the creatures of habit that they are, people are reluctant to try new things; sometimes they just can't be bothered. But with a free, better alternative thrust in their faces, they can't help but bite.

On the internet, freebie marketing, giveaways, and free offers exist for another very effective reason – to harvest email addresses and contact information. That way, marketers can continue to send information about their products. They might also use this to invite you to receive an ongoing newsletter or other resource through which paid products and expanded services/products can be marketed.

Although freebie marketing on the internet has added a new twist on traditional freebies and free offers, the practice of offering freebies as a marketing strategy is not new; freebies have been a mainstay of product testing and consumer advertising for decades. No doubt they will continue to be and for consumers that's good news – never before has such a wealth of freebies and free stuff been so widely and easily available.