The printed pens. The business cards. The free logo mug. Companies have been gifting workers with free Swag since before the days of the gold watch.

"You are the captain of your ship. Your customers, affiliates and members are part of the crew that help sail you to riches. Be a good captain, share some of the spoils and they won't abandon ship."

What is Swag? Originally, Swag (or "schwag") was part of the pirate’s lexicon. It’s whatever you want it to be for whatever you can afford. Swag is free stuff you give to users, clients and affiliates. The word Swag is attributed to pirates but modern Swag is more honest. Today, your company doesn’t have to surrender Swag to sea-faring thieves. In these high tech times, you can print your logo on a hundred t-shirts, send them off to your members/customers and ahoy, matey! You’ve got happy members/customers, walking around (in your t-shirt) like 100 billboards. For a couple hundred dollars, you donate to your favorite cause: goodwill for your business.

This really doesn’t need saying but people love to get free merchandise. We will enter contests, write essays, collect box tops and points. You can’t resist dialing the radio station when you know the answer to the trivia question. So what if the prize is crappy and you don’t want it? It’s free! You won it! They’ll say your name on the radio! You’ll tell your friends. Your friends will tell their friends. That radio station will have hundreds of listeners spreading its call letters all over town. Giving away Swag is really just word of mouth marketing disguised as customer appreciation.

Who’s the pirate now?

Okay. The reverse-pirate reference is probably too cynical, but let’s be realistic. You conduct giveaways and host contests because that brings prospective clients and re-animates existing ones. If you are a hosting provider, you offer bonus software with higher-priced packages. You reward long-term clients with a free calendar or pocket gadget. When you run an affiliate program you offer prizes to webmasters for achieving sales levels. You add bonus dollars to payout checks. You give away sports cars in Vegas. However you hand out your Swag, you do so because doing it improves your bottom line.

One must give in order to receive. You’ve got to spend money to make money. Give a little, get a lot. These aren’t just hollow catch phrases. A giveaway is merely another form of advertising. It’s a way to generate positive opinion, lure new clientele and hopefully, increase profits. Mailing out presents will cost you but the object of any investment is to garner a greater return.

Receiving something for free leaves your target audience feeling special. The gratuity sort of transforms them into pirates. "I can win a hearty beer mug for typing some words on a computer? Arrgh!" Sure, the effect is psychological but so what? If your company provides a good service or product the free booty makes them love you even more.

Unfortunately, some adult webmaster businesses use Swag as a bribe. The message board that can’t get posters any other way. The sponsor that can buy plenty of X-Boxes because they shave their affiliates. The content provider who offers a free image set to ten webmasters, only to spam them later with email updates. Bribery is not part of the pirate’s code. Well, if it is, it’s more of a guideline. You shouldn’t host a giveaway to divert attention from the fact that you suck. Adult webmasters may be outlaws and renegades but we have standards. Bribery only goes so far. If you’re seeing zero improvement in your profits, maybe Swag isn’t the answer.

This is a two-part article. In part two, we will show you the possibilities when it comes to Swag. You can spend a little or a lot, depending on your goals and your bank balance. You can furnish elaborate bounty to select high-sellers or you can send small tokens of gratitude to numerous small-time supporters. This part is designed to explain the benefits of benefiting your faithful users, members and top achievers with some shiny baubles or sparkly trinkets.

You are the captain of your ship. Your customers, affiliates and members are part of the crew that help sail you to riches. Be a good captain, share some of the spoils and they won’t abandon ship. Lift a glass to smooth waters and say Yo Ho to Swag!