As a mentor, author and NLP Trainer, I work in an industry where giving my best stuff away for free isn’t just encouraged, it’s seen as the ‘only’ way to do business.
You have to create free ‘opt-in bribes’ for your newsletter, but in most cases this ‘bribe’ will never get touched – it gathers hard-drive dust. You have to spend an entire week creating a free webinar, to entice people to even listen to how you could help them. You’re told this webinar has to include your best work and offer real value (of course, you wouldn’t want to do anything less), but then it fixes the low-level problems for people so effectively that only a tiny number want to pay for the ‘real deal’.
You have to create a no-fee full programme plan as part of the latest ‘3-way-pitch’ for a corporate client, only to find they used your best ideas to run the programme in-house.
We’ve all been there.
But surely it’s time for this crazy game to stop?
Here’s a fantastic video from Zulu Alpha that makes the point, loud and clear:
Personally, I think the video is brilliant, but it would have had more impact had it been about services, rather than products.
But the point is the same:
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Tweetable:
Why do we give our best work away for free to people who wouldn’t dream of working unpaid?
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I’m in the process of putting together my live online Masterclass, to help you escape from the ‘free for exposure’ trap and I’d love to hear from you, so I can make it as helpful as possible:
- How big an issue is this for you?
- Why do you think we keep giving our best stuff away for free?
- And what do you feel would need to happen for you to be able to stop this?
- Do you have one burning question that you would love me to answer on this Masterclass?
I’d love to hear from you, via the comments.
And make sure you sign up for my newsletter, below, to find out when and where to join us for this live training.
With love, Namaste,
Clare x
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I see the point and agree completely that we can’t be expected to give our best work away for free. I still don’t really like this video, because it is not that black and white.
For example, in the Deli down the road from me, they are offering free samples of their fish, pate or their cheeses every day. In my yoga studio the first lesson is free to see if you like it, same at the gym, at the Zumba Studio etc. And if we turn the tables then we all have probably used a free app or a free service here online. Think of WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, Evernote, Canva … the list goes on. So I agree with Tim Gray that you have to give people a taster but you need to know where to stop.
Agree entirely, Conny!
The challenge is that you, as the business owner, need to know where to stop. But we also need to train our customers to know where to stop.
The whole ‘give us most of the project on spec’ culture is hugely damaging. As is the online world’s ‘give your best work for free, in the hope that someone will trade up’ belief.
As you say, it’s not black and white.
It’s about boundaries – and deciding what they will be, before you start giving.
Your local yoga / Zumba has made it clear – one class. If you went back asking to ‘just try a few more, to see if I like it’, I hope they would say no.
And I’ll bet the Deli down your road has decided approx how much of the new cheese they’ll give away. If someone came in asking for more and more, they would say no. And when that cheese is gone, it’s gone. They wouldn’t put in another order, to be able to give it all away as tasters.
And setting those boundaries is an ‘inside job’…
I see this issue in posts from another world I’m connected to, artists who do work in roleplaying games. I believe the snappy slogan doing the rounds is, “F*** you, pay me.” (Though that could be about late payment.)
I think there’s a balance point here, rather than all or nothing. You need to give people access to -something- for free, especially if you’re doing business online, to give them a taster of who you are and kickstart the relationship (or filter it out). But that could be all sorts of content, like blog posts, videos or 2-page tipsheets. And then you need to know when to stop.
So maybe a topic to address is: what do people really need from free stuff, and how do you plan giving that – using whichever channels – and know when you’ve achieved it and can move on?
Spot on Tim. It’s about balance.
People need to be able to sample your Genius, but without leaving you unable to pay the mortgage or clothe the kids.
Unfortunately we have trained people to expect our best work for free – and we need to do some ‘inside work’ on ourselves, to stop that dance.
Will make sure your Q is covered in the Masterclass. Thanks! Clare
Brilliant post, Clare and the video is funny but has such a serious message. Hugely thought-provoking….
You’re welcome, Gill. And thanks for commenting.
Yes, hugely funny video that wakes us up to the crazy way in which we’re behaving. 😉
Really looking forward to running this masterclass.