Giving stuff away for free is one of the best ways of getting traffic to a website. It’s a tried and tested formula. Whether it’s a free ebook, free WordPress theme or free content; many people are conditioned to getting things for free.
I noticed this when working on my last blog. The blog focused on WordPress modifications. Over the course of two years I reviewed hundreds of free and premium WordPress themes and plugins. Several years ago, there wasn’t a market for premium WordPress designs but over the last few years that changed so much that the best theme designers only designs for a fee. At first users were hesitant but it’s become the norm to pay for a WordPress theme. I for one am pleased with this change. Free used to come with a price: few updates, bugs, sponsor links and no support.
The majority of WordPress users are still not comfortable paying for plugins. On my old blog I reviewed free plugins but I also reviewed the premium plugins that I purchased from CodeCanyon. The response from some visitors was staggering. The plugins from CodeCanyon usually only cost between $5 and $15 however many left comments that they ‘won’t pay for plugins’.
I appreciate that many people don’t have a lot of money and need to watch what they spend; however I think it’s silly that most people won’t pay a few dollars for a product that will help them. The same thing happened in the two support forums I used to run for blogging and WordPress. People would come for help but would not help others. Many times they were reluctant to take the advice I gave either because they were too lazy.
Dave Navarro wrote a fantastic article about entitled The Dark Side Of Blogging: When Free Gets Ugly. He noted that:
“If you’ve conditioned your audience to expect “nothing but free,” they can get downright nasty.”
Dave is 100% correct. If you don’t believe me, go to the official WordPress plugin directory and check out the support room for any plugin. You’ll find dozens of ungrateful WordPress users demanding for something to be fixed or improved right away.
I’ve been thinking about the idea of giving away too much stuff recently. For my old blog BloggingTips I gave away 5 eBooks for free. I could have charged for them but I just gave them away to anyone who joined my list.
This issue is relevant for me just now because I am writing books. I’ve written articles in the past which were 3 to 5 thousand words long. I now question whether it’s worth giving away great content like that away for free when they could be extended a little and released as a premium product.
I have no doubt that I will release products for free in the future however my business model will be geared more towards creating quality premium products at affordable prices.
What’s your thoughts on this issue? Do you think people have been conditioned to expect everything for nothing?
Kevin
I can only speak for myself. I ask for help because I don’t even know enough to identify the problem or find a solution for a problem that I don’t even understand. I am very appreciate of the help I receive. When I receive something at no charge, I repay the kindness with the only thing I have — free advice. Whether or not my advice is followed, I know I have offered my best.
Hi Scott,
I was referring more to marketers offering products and services for free but you raise a good point. Most of the time, when someone helps someone else, all they are looking for is a thank you. Many people don’t even offer that. Forums are full of helpful people helping others and on many occasions, the person asking for help doesn’t even come back to say thank you.
Kevin
It really depends on the market and the specifics.
When VCRs and DVD players were first introduced they initially cost several hundred dollars. Those items eventually came down to about $30 for the low end price range, as the market matured.
As far as the information market is concerned the low end price point is currently free in the form of an ebook.
As a strategy I would initially release a physical book only. Your diehard fans and followers should be willing to pay fair market price for it. After some time and good reviews from fellow bloggers I’d release the ebook at the same price of the physical book.
As the market matures I would then offer it as an incentive to the people who buy through your affiliate offers of other products.
Lastly I would offer the ebook for free in exchange for people signing up to your list. Think of this strategy as a pricing funnel instead of a sales funnel or a scarcity tactic based on price.
I published a post about The Timing of Your Paperback Release today which talks about when to release an ebook. I wouldn’t want to force people into buying the paperback first. I’m an avid reader myself and I know that would piss me off as I read books on my kindle and iPad.
I disagree with releasing my ebook for free in exchange for people signing up to my list. This is exactly what I’m talking about. Customers expect too much for free. At the moment email subscribers get a 30+ page ebook for signing up here for free. It’s not worth me giving out a 250-350 page ebook for free. It’s not worth my time to work months on a product and just give it away. Perhaps in a few years time, if I have dozens of books in my portfolio, I may decide to release the book for free. But I’m not so sure.
If someone doesn’t want to buy a 300 page ebook for only a few dollars, then I don’t think any of my books will be for them.
Kevin