I regularly rail against “moving the free line.”
Why?
Besides the fact it’s not nearly as effective or profitable as, uhm, selling… you’re not really doing anyone much of a service. Yes, I know that sounds funny online — how can giving away free stuff hurt someone?
Especially if it’s just information?
Think of it like this:
Do you know what a movie “spoiler” is?
It’s basically when you have not yet seen a movie and some jackanape blabs a key plot point or twist that more less ruins the experience for you.
They ruin the entire experience.
It’s the same with information “spoilers” too.
And there are (at least) two reasons why:
1. Too much free info screws up context
Moving the free line practically guarantees people see things in the wrong order, where they cannot put the information in context. And if they do not buy (since they figure they got all they need now) you’ve just hurt them. Especially if you have a truly good product that could have helped them.
2. It robs them of that “wow!” factor
How does this hurt them?
Because it’s often that one all-powerful “wow!” factor (and it is different for every customer) that motivates people to consume your entire product — even through the parts that are dry or not as interesting.
That’s just how it is with info products.
And since so few people know how to actually sell (and only provide “marketing welfare”) they dang near give the farm away.
And yes I get the free line reasoning:
“If I give my best info way, it will impress them to buy!”
And there IS some truth to that.
But selling is far more profitable than being a “give-away artist.”
Anyway, just my too many cents.
Fact is, free hurts people.
While selling helps them.
Ben Settle
P.S. For more reasons why the free line kills sales, see the free “bonus” issue (in pdf format) you get when you subscribe to the Crypto Marketing Newsletter at:
