Give it away for free.

Give away your E-book, insider knowledge, business secrets, that new product, your professional insight, or whatever else that makes you and expert at what you do. You’ve heard this advice from great thought leaders like Seth Godin and Darren Rowse.  It’s about creating and using the Whuffie Factor or being a Trust Agent. If you give away your best stuff then it will help you become “the go-to person” and positive karma will return ten-fold.  Maybe that’s The Secret.

I agree that BETA versions to free samples to blog giveaways really do help increase website traffic or a person’s willingness to “try you out.”  Our free-economy has definitely changed our business strategies and this mindset has proven to be highly effective for some entrepreneurs.  Yet I am still not convinced this is always the best strategy.

In a previous post I wrote on pricing, I talked about how offering your products or services for cheap will hurt you and the market.  I believe this same principle applies to freebies as well.  Do you think that this strategy could teach customers that they should expect something for nothing or that it communicates that there is no value in our expertise or products?  I do!

This week I talked with a web developer who has been providing advice and services without compensation in order build an in-road for a bigger potential opportunity.  During the course of our conversation I could see red flags everywhere and it’s evident that the road is going nowhere, except providing immense free help to the client.  I’ve heard similar stories from other bloggers or business owners who are trying these techniques to build their community … but building community and fans can only help so much.

In order to stay in business and thrive in business you have to make a profit with your business!

Creating a fan base and being known as the expert is awesome, and I love the online and offline communities I’ve built for myself and others but if you just build a crowd of people wiling to listen and no one is willing to buy, then what good does that do for you?  You HAVE to get paid for your knowledge, skills, experience, products, and services.  You’ve invested your time and money in getting to where you are.  And you deserve to be paid for what you are offering.

I truly see the reason behind giving away some of your best work or ideas, but if you are not generating a Return on Investment for these actions, maybe your true value is being killed by the free-economy.  Whuffie and karma can only take you so far before you end up in a cardboard box.

What do you believe?