Comments on: Best of the Blog 2009: Trendspotting: “Free” Is Not a Business Plan

By: smith

smith — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:40:16 +0000

Excellent post, Janet! Thank you for sharing one strategy to turning “free” into much more than that.

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By: smith

smith — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:22:56 +0000

Amazon has sample chapters of books, too. It is nice to find out via free or sample chapters if the book is worth buying. I have a few free short stories on my webpage so people can see how I write.

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By: Britt

Britt — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:42:50 +0000

I just received a free ARC copy of Deeanne Gist’s upcoming novel, BEGUILED. When I post my review online, several people will see it. I’m one reader who got a free book…but many may buy the book because of my review.

By: Scott Sigler

Scott Sigler — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:36:17 +0000

Robin Jones Gunn published SUMMER PROMISE in 1988, over twenty years ago. She’s was a successful author long before the internet became a factor in our culture, which means she already had an audience, a community.

While I’m sure she worked her butt off to develop that community, using her as an example for the “proper” way to give away free content is ridiculous. Free isn’t a vital tool for the Jones Gunns and Stephen Kings of the world, “free” is a great tool for aspiring writers and people with their first book out on the market. You have to build an audience of dedicated fans that know your material, and know that if and when they do spend their hard-earned money, they will get their money’s worth.

Say you’re a writer of books aimed at teen Christians. Say you don’t have a print deal (which is getting harder and harder to get as publishing collapses around us). Now say you want to sell your book, and the customer has a choice between a proven author like Jones Gunn and you. Where is the typical customer going to spend her money? By developing a campaign of consistent, free content, that balance tips your way. Now the customer thinks “well, it’s free, I’ll try this first and if it doesn’t thrill me I’ll grab the Jones Gunn novel anyway.”

That’s what “free” is about, getting in front of potential customers, giving them a no-risk opportunity to see if they like your work. A certain percentage of people will become paying fans, so the job becomes a) create great content, and b) expose that content to as many people as possible.

But you’re right, Janet, I don’t think anyone should give content away for free — I don’t want the competition.

By: Nikki Hahn

Nikki Hahn — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:38:33 +0000

Excellent Robin! I hope it works out for you!

By: Janet

Janet — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:07:44 +0000

I downloaded Naomi Novik’s first novel in the Temeraire series for free from the publisher. Now I want to buy the series. Of course I’ll buy the first one, so I’ll have the whole series available. Sounds like smart marketing to me, especially since that first book had been out for a while before it was made available for fre..

By: Valerie C.

Valerie C. — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:59:09 +0000

Excellent post, Janet! Thank you for sharing one strategy to turning “free” into much more than that.
OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi

By: Becky Turner

Becky Turner — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:43:03 +0000

As I read this article
(http://business.theage.com.au/business/murdoch-aims-to-charge-for-news-sites-within-year-20090806-eal8.html)

I thought about your post.

Great minds….

By: Valerie C.

Valerie C. — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:34:56 +0000

Excellent post, Janet! Thank you for sharing one strategy to turning “free” into much more than that.

By: Janet Grant

Janet Grant — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:03:56 +0000

Thanks each of you for contributing your thoughts and experiences regarding “free.” You’ve provided us with some creative ideas!
Neil, you are so right that just offering something for free isn’t necessarily going to reap a good return. Everything we do on the Internet needs to be based on the idea of building community because that’s when synergy kicks in. I didn’t take the space in my blog post to mention that Robin isn’t just flinging the offer of an MP3 out into cyberspace. She has been vigorously building community and has so many friends on Facebook, she’s had to open add new people as fans because you can only have 5,000 friends. She’s done much more than that, but the point is, when she announces the free MP3 (which will be available from 5 pm Aug 14 to 5 pm Aug 15, by the way), she’ll be doing so to those in the community she’s built. And we’re anticipating a gratifying response.