With the holiday season waiting just over the calendar horizon, I can’t help but remember how holidays are disasters for the unprepared. To help prepare you, I want to activate your generosity awareness.

There seem to be two kinds of affiliates: givers and takers. Giver affiliates are quick to give freebies to customers and prospects. The freebies may be gifts, but more likely come in the form of information. The right information is worth more than a gift and often worth far more than money.

There was a time – it existed primarily during the last century – that people believed they were supposed to guard information, to keep it secret, to not even dream of sharing it. That attitude has taken a U-turn.

Imagine yourself in a large, dark room with many people, each one holding a candle. But none of their candles is lit – except yours. You use your candle to ignite the candles of all the other people in the room. Now the room is glowing with illumination and brightness.

And yet, the flame on your candle has not been diminished at all. Everyone in the room gains, while you lose nothing at all. Canny affiliates share their precious information with many people because the word is out that shared information is a lot more valuable than private information.

One of the prime purposes of marketing is to educate your prospects and customers on how to succeed at their goal, whatever that goal may be – earning more money, losing weight, attracting a mate, growing their business, hiring the right people, planting and maintaining a beautiful garden.

You can accomplish that noble purpose of marketing by freely disseminating information – by giving the best possible information to the people who need it the most. The main idea is to think generously, then give generously.

One of the key personality traits possessed by successful guerrillas is generosity. I’ve always known they were blessed with infinite patience and fertile imaginations. I’ve written in awe of their acute sensitivity and their admirable ego strength. I’ve raved about their aggressiveness in marketing and their penchant for constant learning.

I’m similarly impressed, but not surprised, at their generosity. They are, every single one of them, generous souls who seem to gain joy by giving things away, by taking their customers and prospects beyond satisfaction and into true bliss. They learn what those people want and need and then they try to give them what they want and need absolutely free.

The result is delighted prospects who become customers and delighted customers who become repeat and referral customers.

What kind of things do guerrilla marketers give away for free? Let’s start with a short list and your mind will be primed to dream up more:

  • They give gift certificates to their own business, whether the certificates are for products or services.
  • They give money to worthy causes and let their prospects and customers know that they support a noble cause, enabling these people to support the same endeavor.
  • They give free consultations and never make them seem like sales presentations. They truly try to help their prospects.
  • They give free seminars and clinics because they realize that if their information is worthwhile, it will attract the right kind of people to them.
  • They give free demonstrations to prove without words the efficacy of their offerings.
  • They give free samples because they know that such generosity is the equivalent of purchasing a new customer at a very low acquistion price.
  • They give invaluable information on their website, realizing that such data will bring their customers and prospects back for more, thereby intensifying their relationships.

In addition, guerrillas are highly creative in dreaming up what they might give for free. Of course, many advertising specialties such as calendars and scratch pads, mouse pads and ballpoint pens are emblazoned with their names and theme lines, but they seem to exercise extra creativity as well. ere’s an example from the off-line world: When an apartment building went up, signs proudly proclaimed that you get “Free Auto Grooming” when you sign a lease. Soon, the occupancy rate was 100 percent. The salary they paid the guy who washed the tenants’ cars once a week was easily covered by the difference between 100 percent occupancy and 71 percent occupancy, the usual occupancy rate in that neighborhood. The key to their generosity was this question: “What might our new tenants want and appreciate?” While the usual gifts were considered, none answered the question as substantially as a free car wash each week. Hardly an obvious gift. But, just the ticket for these tenants.

That means your task is clear: Think of what might attract prospects and make customers happy. Be creative. Be generous. Then, be prepared for a reputation embracing generosity, customer service and sincere caring.

Many affiliates shy away from early holiday promotions because they don’t want to begin too soon. They don’t want to be criticized for their eager ways. But many members of a busy public will appreciate the hint of being reminded of what is just around the corner and the reminder that good planning makes for a more joyful holiday.

Tell your customers and prospects that even you may be the first to begin celebrating this holiday season; you want them to be the first to take advantage of early planning. You want them to be able to avoid emergencies, inventory problems, crowded shipping facilities and even early season bargains. You may even come up with an early shopper special or two. When you do, be sure you give those customers something extra, something special and something unexpected.

Are they going to appreciate the combination of being given information that can help them, as well as price breaks that might put a twinkle in their CFO’s eye? Is Santa jolly?

Today’s customers are attracted to giver affiliates and repelled by taker affiliates. What kind of affiliate are you?

JAY CONRAD LEVINSON is the acknowledged father of guerrilla marketing with more than 14 million books sold in his Guerrilla Marketing series, now in 41 languages. His website is www.guerrillamarketingassociation.com.