Attract More Visitors

Fee: Finding Value

Recently C.C. Chapman recorded a Managing the Gray podcast called "Finding Value". In this podcast C.C. predicted that paying for information/services ("fee") would begin emerging as the new internet marketing model, rather than getting everything for free.

Spoiled to expect Free

C.C. argued that we've all been spoiled into thinking and expecting that everything we see and consume on the internet is...and should be...free.

His premise is that at the end of the day we all need to put food on the table (and it takes actual money to do that).

Vs. "FREE: The Future of a Radical Price"

In his book ‘FREE: The Future of a Radical Price’ Chris Anderson (the editor-in-chief of Wired magazine) made a case that we can give away some of our expertise (information, services, etc.) for free and because of that people may eventually buy something from us, like a freemium (pro/premium paid) version of our product.
- Note: For links to "free" versions of Chris Anderson's eBook see my blog post on: "Free vs. Value - To Abridge or Unabridge - That is the Question" (scroll to bottom for links).

But what C.C.'s saying is that this is fine, but at a certain point people just need to start getting paid for what they produce and their intellectual property.

He said that everyone falls into the routine of giving friends and others free advice and consulting...which at the end of the day perhaps could (and should) be charged for.

Can't we just barter...

I'd also make the same case about bartering: That bartering's great and a "win-win" for all involved, but it doesn't pay your electric bill (unless you're fortunate enough to be trading solar energy back to your electric company).

Bottom Line

As a content creator on our IncreaseOnlineProfits.com website I'd support C.C. in his wish to have creative content be compensated.  But the reality is we'll have to wait and see if his wish becomes a trend, and if that trend becomes a reality, and if that reality becomes the norm.

And the dirty little secret is that we all give away far more than we get.  C.C. mentioned that he freely gives away his podcast info, which he charges his clients for,  because he knows that his podcast listeners are really engaged and actually put his ideas into practice.

I think many of us feel (and act) this way: We're passionate about helping those who value our thoughts, advice, and information enough to put them into action.  But as C.C. said, at the end of the day there are bills to pay and mouths to feed.

It'll be interesting to see how this evolves (or not) in the coming year. What do you think?

Caveat

Please note that I've paraphrased C.C. Chapman's comments and tried to catch the spirit of his argument in portraying it above. My apologies to C.C. in advance if this portrayal isn't perfect/literal. For C.C.'s actual words/thoughts, please check out his Managing the Gray podcast called "Finding Value".

Comments

Agree or disagree with this - just let me know...

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/ / CC BY 2.0

Tags: 2c, abridge, bartering, chapman, chris anderson, company bottom line, content creator, creative content, dirty little secret, food on the table, free advice, free versions, information services, intellectual property, new internet marketing, norm, podcast, premise, solar energy, support c

This entry was posted on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 5:06 pm and is filed under internet marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.