The Free Line is a Moving Target
Oct 12 2007
Yaro Starak at Entrepreneur’s Journey recently did a post called Moving The Free Line that I found fascinating. He states: The idea is that there is a line, a point on your sales funnel where you distribute free value, and below the line comes all the paid-for products, moving from front to back-end.
Now I’ve always struggled with the “give things away for free” concept because of the ‘you get what you pay for’ mantra. So if I’m going to get something for free I initially wonder if I’m about to get a lot of headaches trying to make things work. But amazingly some of the best online services I use are free and they have wonderful customer service and wonderful products. However, I do wonder how they make money and how they can sustain their businesses over time. What is it about the web that makes giving away things for free so necessary and easy?
Yaro gives us ideas about when and how to move The Free Line and even gives us a picture for those of us who need pictures to help us visualize the concept.
As a bootstrapping entrepreneur, it’s always a challenge to figure out what to give away for free. We do have free applications and are exploring how to give away more for free but at the same time attract more in return. It has been an interesting mental exercise and doing business online takes the whole ‘chicken and egg’ conundrum a step further in my opinion.
So the big question is: “How do we make more money by giving more stuff away for free?” Is the answer simply selling advertisements? I don’t think so but I have yet to figure out what a different or better model might be.
Author: Aruni | Filed under: entrepreneurship | Tags: ad money, advertisements, giving away products, sales funnel, selling products, the free line | 4 Comments »
This is a great topic, one I’d like to see further musings/discussion on. This is always an issue for writers specifically: until you’ve hit a certain point of success, you have to write to get writing gigs; you have to write to get projects started in the first place. You are asked to write “on spec” (for free) under the agreement that you will be involved and get paid later IF the project ends up happening. Sometimes you need to do this just to make the project happen, or to puch the project along the road to actually happening. At what point are you making an investment and at what point are you giving away the store for free? Entrepreneurs have the same dilemma, and the world of the web and blogs just explodes this further for both. Great area.
Hey Robb – thanks for stopping by. Yes, I think the web had made things even more challenging with the ‘give things away for free’ mentality. It will be interesting to see how people make a living on the web!
I give away things like mp3s, ebooks and Teleseminars on Goal Setting and Time Management as well as excerpts from my upcoming books and products.
These are smaller “bites” of my work but give a clear sample of the depth of my larger programs while strengthening my relationship with those whom I strive to serve.
I operate within a funnel and because I take the time to cultivate an environment of mutual trust, (which you do on your blog), I can also recommend other people’s products with great success.
I spend the majority of my time focused on serving my readers and what they need and from that, future products and programs are born.
In 1915, William Wrigley sent out millions of samples of chewing gum and became one of America’s 10 wealthiest men.
I am an optimistic person and have generated millions of dollars in several businesses thanks to “free samples”
When done properly, you don’t lose anything. Everyone wins because you strengthen your relationship and build trust.
Live Your Dreams,
Jill Koenig
Author, Coach and Motivational Speaker
http://www.GoalGuru.com
Thanks for stopping by Jill and sharing your thoughts. I’ve often heard it said that the more you give the more you get. 🙂
Thanks for the great story about Wrigley!
Aruni