The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be

April 23, 2007 2:22 PM

In 1999, Seth Godin wrote a book called Permission Marketing.

In addition to selling the book on Amazon, Seth also offered it as a downloadable ebook … for free.

The ENTIRE book. For nothing. A publishing first!

Not only did millions of people download it…

Not only did millions of people tell their friends about it…

But millions of people also BOUGHT Seth’s book too. And it would later become one of the fastest, best selling books in history.

He now has a cult following, comparable to the likes of Tom Peters and Peter Drucker. (Oh, and his speaking fee is more than some people’s annual income. Sigh.)

The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

Speaking of Tom Peters, let’s talk about Tom Peters.

Notwithstanding his existing reputation as a brilliant author, speaker, thinker and consultant, he (still) gives everything away for free.

Every article. Every ebook. Every rant. Every special report. Every set of PowerPoint slides.

Everything.

He gets it.

(And you don’t need me to tell you how wealthy Tom is!)

The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

Also understood by Ryan Adams, one of my favorite songwriters.

In 2007, he recorded eight new albums (yes, eight) all at once. Each of his new CD’s was available as free downloads on his website.

Media outlets worldwide gasped at his prolificacy. He made music history.

And scores of fans old and new swarmed his homepage for days at a time (not hours, but days) to download all the new tunes from their favorite rocker.

Including myself.

Make no mistake: Ryan Adams’ generosity won’t go unrewarded.

Because while many Gen X artists are cowering beneath the shadows of unstoppable American Idol atrocities, Adams is only growing bigger and better.

Because he’s not afraid to give at all away.

The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

And as Tim O’Reilly says, the problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity.

Just do it.

Don’t be scared.

Let the world pay you back.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How much are you giving away for free?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
In what way has free led to wealth in your life?

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
Author/Speaker/That Guy with the Nametag
www.hellomynameisscott.com