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

As Tom Orbach, Head of Marketing at Wiz, says: “Mini-tools are 10x more powerful than free trials.»

For 20 years, technology marketers have been distributing eBooks and PDFs. I think Orbach would agree that this era is coming to an end.

Thanks to AI, no-code, and outsourcing, the smartest tech marketers are now offering mini software tools… completely for free.

This is something I like to call “free tool marketing.”

Here’s how it works.

What is free tool marketing?

In MBA parlance, free tools are called “loss leaders.” A loss leader is a free mini-product that entices customers to purchase a larger product.

For a perfume company, it might be a free perfume sample at the mall. For my hometown gas station, Wawa, it was free coffee every Tuesday in 2024. Today, in technology, the norm is to distribute free tools to give you access to paid tools.

But how do you determine which mini-tool(s) to build?

There are two main ways:

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

The goal here is to attract some traffic that may be interested in your paid software.

You’re not going to rank for your niche’s primary keyword overnight, but mini-tools are like mini-bets. Each mini-tool gives you a better chance of ranking higher for your most important primary keywords.

Use tools like Ahrefs to find keywords that are low difficulty keywords with a KD around 0-5 with as high a volume as possible. Even a minimum of 1,000 searches/month is a good start.

For example, the keyword ‘social media manager jobs‘ has a keyword difficulty of 0 and 7,200 searches per month. If you are an AI resume writing tool or recruiting platform like Indeed, you can create a free AI resume writing tool specifically for social media managers looking for a job.

Here’s another example: the keyword ‘Instagram Giveaway Template‘ has a keyword difficulty of 5 and 500 searches per month.

If you’re an image creation platform like Canva or an advertising agency that helps brands create Instagram giveaways, you can create a free AI Instagram giveaway template generator using something like OpenAI’s DALL-E model Or Halfway.

2. Look for features in your product that could be free tools.

Do you have any existing features that could be free tools?

For example, if you’re a personal finance app, maybe it’s a compound interest calculator. Or if you are video editing software, maybe it is a free video resizer. The options are endless.

Pro Tip: Obviously, don’t reveal all the secrets of your software. But most of the time, you will be able to find at least one feature to offer for free.

What this looks like in practice

Let’s take me as an example.

I run a meme marketing software called Memelord Technologies.

Late at night, I couldn’t sleep. So I did extensive keyword research on Ahrefs and saw that the keyword ‘meme png‘ was low difficulty and high volume (0 keyword difficulty and 4,000 searches per month!).

I already created an AI background remover for memes, so I used that feature and created a Free PNG Meme Maker It’s the exact same functionality, just offered for free.

And sure, I pay a little API fee every time someone uses the tool, but I’m already seeing free signups (and without any promotion!).

Source

Here is another personal example.

I also saw that the keyword “marketing memes” was both low in keyword difficulty and relatively high in search volume (2 keyword difficulties and 1,200 searches/month).

So what did I do? I created a tool for marketers to get inspiration from memes: a basic, no-code, searchable, and filterable gallery of marketing meme examples.

Like the creator of the PNG meme, I’m already seeing signups from this free tool using direct SEO only – no promotion required.

But I’m not the only example.

The Beehiiv newsletter platform has launched a free LTV calculator to calculate the lifetime value of your subscribers. HubSpot has a free AI search leveler which helps you evaluate your brand’s performance in AI search results. Wiz launched a free QR code generator.

And I have good news: You don’t have to be a venture-backed company or a big brand to create free tools.

How Marketers Can Get Started

I’m a scrappy founder who builds free tools, and I first discovered this marketing tactic when I was a head of growth at Product Hunt.

I saw these crazy solo founders and realized that you no longer need a million dollar budget to create open source software. (In fact, it may even be easier for individual hackers and startups, since there is less oversight, little to no bureaucracy, and minimal need to prove a precise ROI.)

Marc Lou is one of those solo software founders and a strong advocate of free tools.

“I’m a developer and I love creating apps,” he explains. “But I also need marketing to pay the bills. Marketing free tools is a symbiosis. This involves launching free and viral mini-apps to promote your main startup.

Source

Lou recommends the following guidelines for best results:

The tool must be free: this is how we create a viral loop. One feature is enough. It must be super simple. The name should indicate exactly what the tool does. This is how people remember and search on Google. The experience should start on the home page. Visitors do not need to register or click on any links.

Matt Merrick is another solo hacker who creates free tools.

“Over the years, I have created over 100 free tools. And every time, I’m amazed at their performance,” Matt told me via DM on X.

“The process is simple: I start with a keyword related to the site I’m working on (like ‘color’) and ask ChatGPT for ideas for free tools around it. I only target low competition, high search volume keywords to rank quickly and drive traffic.

Free tools naturally attract views, backlinks, and domain authority. My site Niche tools offers 20+ free tools and is starting to rank by generating free sales.

Merrick has dedicated his entire career to marketing free tools.

For what?

Because we are entering the era of free tool marketing.

Free eBooks are so from the 2010s. The 2020s and beyond are all about free software.

So let me ask you: what free tools can you create?

Think about it for a minute. Take a minute to look through your product for free feature ideas. Meet at Ahrefs keyword generator (another free tool) to optimize search.

Then grab a Red Bull, create some free tools, and fire them up!