I hope you are having a great Thanksgiving weekend, and not spending too much money on things people really don’t need. (By the way – quick online shopping tip… use Overstock, but don’t forget your local brick and mortar shops.)

Try to make your gifts unique and memorable – quality over quantity!

The same is true with internet marketing gifts. Seems like this is the season when online marketers are falling all over themselves to give you “gifts” galore in the name of generosity and holiday spirit.

Many of them have great intentions, and incredible value. But today, I’d like to share an important lesson to remember so you actually get the most value from what people want to give you.

First of all, realize that most free gifts that are being given out have two motives behind them.

The giver (in most cases) truly wants to thank you for being a part of their online family of subscribers, customers, or as we new media lovers enjoy calling it: our tribe. Of course there are a few that just want your money. But for the most part, I’m a big believer that there’s a lot of integrity behind the gifts.

However, they are in business to make a profit. So don’t be surprised if you see the second motive play out as well: they want to build their list of customers so they can share their favorite products and services throughout the coming year. They may offer you a special discount right away, or later down the road.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with this at all. In fact, you see me give free stuff away all the time so I can introduce you to the more advanced training that I charge for. It’s one of the fundamental strategies of building a business online or offline.

But you have to focus on what’s really valuable to you.

And that’s where today’s lesson comes in.

Remember that every time you sign up to download somebody’s gift, or join a giveaway site, you are adding another 2-4 emails to your inbox every week. Grab 15 gifts, and that’s 45 additional emails to sift through each week!

Your time is valuable, too. So when you read over the details of a free gift, consider if that particular thing will truly help you right now. Will it help you achieve the goals you are currently working on? Or will it distract you from completing that big project you’ve been working on for the last 2 months?

You shouldn’t sign up for everything under the sun, just like you shouldn’t eat everything on the table at holiday parties, just because it’s there.

Those gifts you do sign up for, try to organize the downloads and members areas right away.

Create a bookmark folder for free gifts in your web browser.

Create a folder in your computer’s file manager (likely, Windows Explorer) labeled IMGifts, and subfolders for each product you are downloading. Or organize them into topics, like Affiliate Marketing, Product Creation, List Building, etc.

Keep an eye on your budget, so if you do see a special offer at a steep discount, you know if you can truly afford it, vs. can you afford to miss out.

These are the things that I think about when I’m heading into this maelstrom of free gifts.

And by considering these factors, while keeping my eyes on the big picture, I can better stave off the overwhelm that can come at this time of year.

Have a great Thanksgiving, and thank you for being part of my tribe!

Bob Jenkins

p.s. Yes, there are great free gifts being shared, and I’ll let you know which ones I think are worth your attention. The first is a 12-part teleseminar series I’m participating in with Erik Stafford. Erik’s 12 Days Of Christmas – all calls and recordings are free, and Erik’s a stellar guy who treats his tribe extremely well. His first call is coming up on December 1.

p.p.s. Post a comment below if you’d like to share your opinion about holiday giving sprees…

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