I listen to a lot of podcast authors, and they all say the same thing: be willing to give some product away, and you will build an audience of paying customers. This runs counter to everything I learned in the olden days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but they tell me it’s true. Last weekend I became convinced that they are on to something.
While at the Agents’ and Editors’ conference, I attended a seminar on social media (hence my new enthusiasm for blogging). The two ladies who presented the seminar were knowledgeable and eager to share their wisdom. The result? I am seriously keeping them in mind for the near future to help me with the business end of my work.
I’ve taken other seminars in which the presenter was clearly protecting his or her self-interests and being selective about what information to reveal…telling just enough of the story to encourage dependence on their services. Needless to say, these are not the type of people I want to do business with.
As I proceed with this blog and other media, I hope to share meaningful information and dialogue. I love the new paradigm of building online community so we can help each other succeed. And I love the idea of hiring generous people when I need help.
Nadine, I attended a Publisher’s event and a statistic
was given that for every book you give out free of charge, it comes back seven fold in book sales. Thought that was a very interesting statistic!
So, I guess there is some value in setting aside some “freebie copies” as part of your marketing strategy.
Fascinating! Thanks for posting this info.