The asterisk(*) usually denotes a “required field” to be filled out by you when you request a freebie. When I first look at a request form, I scan down to take note of where the asterisks are. Then I usually only fill in the required fields of the form to request my freebie. Sometimes companies like to try and get some extra information from you, and often they will ask a few survey questions. But usually there isn’t a good reason to give them anything beyond the essentials (Update: Of course the survey questions can provide useful feedback to a company, so you may want to answer them even if they aren’t required. I fill out surveys all the time, but I do so usually at the direct request of the company. Sometimes I don’t like the survey questions they ask, and I choose not to answer those questions). Actually, sometimes you don’t even have to fill out fields that are “required” – just try leaving them blank and see what happens. If they really require the information in order to fulfill your request, then they will probably tell you that when you submit the form. Remember to never give out any information that you are not comfortable with giving out. So, look for those asterisks and fill out the request forms a little bit quicker! Get all the Freebie Tips from February right here.
Thanks for the tip on using the Tab button, I’ll have to try that.
Also, to skip from box to box quickly on most forms, you can push the Tab button.It makes it SO much faster!!
Thanks so much for your comment, Jana! Yes, this is something to definitely keep in mind – it is usually easy to provide some useful feedback to companies by answering a few survey questions.
As a mom who works in Marketing, let me “clear the air” a bit about required and non-required fields.I’m with you – if they don’t need my phone number, I’m not giving it. Sometimes, even if they do, I’m not giving them the real one so they won’t call me at dinner time. That said, answering a few survey questions so the product maker can either better identify me or make a better item, I have no issues with.Mostly, we marketers are just trying to figure out what consumers want and how we can best deliver. Don’t want to hear from us by phone or email but would rather get text messages? Do you visit social networking sites (Facebook, etc)? How about the magazines you read? Would you like it if our product could do XYZ?Anyway, like I said, I’m just as careful as the next mom about giving out too much personal detail (you don’t really need to know how much my household makes) but I do know that helping a company you like in the long run helps you in return with better products and less annoying/invasive advertising.