In today’s episode, we’re taking at look at all the great free content you’re putting out on the web… and whether you’re giving away too much.
It’s a question I get all the time: am I going to go out of business if I keep giving away all my best ideas, strategies, and advice for free on my blog?
Watch the video below to find out!
Are You Giving Away Too Much Free Content?
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Check out the podcast version here.
The Free Content Myth
It’s a common misconception that if you give away some of your best content for free… you’re going to make fewer sales or get fewer clients.
In reality, it’s the opposite. The more high value stuff you can give away, the more people will see your generosity and want to buy from you. This happens through the built-in human need to reciprocate. When someone is nice to us, we want to be nice to them.
But just giving away your best stuff isn’t necessarily enough to ensure you’ll get your fans and subscribers to turn into paying customers.
That’s where doing a little content strategy work comes into play.
The key to creating content that converts into sales is to educate your visitors, think of it as prerequisite courses they can take before signing up for your service or product. And by the way, this applies no matter what type of business you have, whether it’s selling jewelry, books, or massages.
You want to create videos, podcasts, or articles that answer your ideal clients’ answers… before they can ask them.
You do this by educating people about the steps that lead up to what you offer, through your free content.
Take Your Audience On a Journey
Here’s a quick example: if you’re a dog walker, you can create content on things people do before they hire you. This includes finding and adopting a dog, training a dog, and choosing a dog’s diet. If you’ve walked people through all of these steps, they know you know your stuff, and it’s way more likely that they’ll look to you when they’re ready to hire a dog walker.
The other thing to keep in mind when it comes to creating free blog or newsletter content is that everyone is on a journey. Your free article might solve one of their problems, but if it does a good job of it, they’ll come to you for that next level issue.
So before you decide to stop blogging or to hold back on your juiciest tips and tricks… think through: is this answering the questions that people have before they have them? Is this solving a problem that will set them up to work with me down the line?
Think of the pre-requisite concept as prepping people to get the most out of what you offer!
Are You Coming Around To The Idea?
I’d love to hear about your aha’s from today’s content strategy tips, so leave a comment below!
