Give first, then ask
A no-strings gift before your request makes people more likely to say yes, and it can pay for itself.
Reciprocity sounds like a self-help cliché until you see it in a real field experiment. Before Christmas 2001, economist Armin Falk worked with a charity in Zurich that mailed about 10,000 donation letters. A third had no gift, a third included one postcard with a child’s painting, and a third included four.
Donations came from 12% of the no-gift group, 14% of the one-postcard group and 21% of the four-postcard group. That’s 17% and 75% more donors, and the charity came out well ahead even after paying for the cards. The detail that matters: the postcards weren’t a reward for donating. The letter told people they could keep them either way.
Before you ask users for something, whether it’s a survey, a referral or a case-study call, give them something genuinely useful with no conditions attached: a template, a quick audit, a free month, a setup call. Then make your ask. Keep the gift real and the request small.
The example
- Instead of
- “Hi! Could you spare 5 minutes for our customer survey?”
- Try
- “Made you a free invoice template pack, no strings. If you have 2 minutes, we’d love 3 quick answers.”
Before you flush
Pick one thing you’re about to ask users for, and write a no-strings gift to send first: a template, a checklist or a free month.