How much information should you give away for free?
How much information should you give away for free?
Here are the reasons why I think giving away information for free is a good thing:
1) It helps establish you as an expert
2) It lets people experience what you do without any risk
3) People start to like and trust your approach
4) It allows you to build up a relationship with people
I think most business owners would agree that giving away some free information is good. The difficulty is when to draw the line and stop.
There was a time when I gave away nothing at all (after some advice from a business contact of mine who thought I gave away too much), but it was an approach that just didn’t work for me. So, when I decided to start giving away information again, I thought very carefully about what was free and what I wanted people to pay for.
My guidance (that I’ve set for myself) is that I’m happy to give away knowledge in the form of article & tips, advice on forums and sometimes advice to people in meetings – more about this one in a minute. But, all the advice I give away is general advice that applies to anyone. My rule of thumb is that if someone wants specific advice and help that applies to them then they need to pay for that.
There are of course exceptions to this. There are times when I’ve been feeling very generous in meetings and given away lots of help and advice to the person. When I do this I have to check with myself that I’m happy to do that and I’m not going to walk away from the meeting feeling bitter. As long as I’m ok, then I’m happy to do that.
I don’t however like it when I feel that the other person is taking advantage and then usually I won’t give away anything and will refer them to an article that I’ve written. In a meeting the other day for instance, the person I was with told me that they had real problems with time management and with feeling confident on the phone – she then asked me for some advice on helping her with these issues with no intention of paying for it. I may be bad, but I skirted around the issue and left as quickly as I could.
At the end of the day, when faced with this question, you have to realise that you’re not a charity and do deserve to get paid for the product or service that you provide. Set your own guidance about what is free and what people will need to pay for – only if you’re clear about what’s acceptable, can you make other people clear about what’s acceptable too.
How much information should you give away for free - To learn more about this author, visit Helen Dowling's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
I’ve always been one for giving information away for free. Some people tell me I shouldn’t do it and other people say that it’s a great thing to do. I’ve tried both. Generally though, I find that giving something away for free does help my business.
Here are the reasons why I think giving away information for free is a good thing:
1) It helps establish you as an expert
2) It lets people experience what you do without any risk
3) People start to like and trust your approach
4) It allows you to build up a relationship with people
I think most business owners would agree that giving away some free information is good. The difficulty is when to draw the line and stop.
There was a time when I gave away nothing at all (after some advice from a business contact of mine who thought I gave away too much), but it was an approach that just didn’t work for me. So, when I decided to start giving away information again, I thought very carefully about what was free and what I wanted people to pay for.
My guidance (that I’ve set for myself) is that I’m happy to give away knowledge in the form of article & tips, advice on forums and sometimes advice to people in meetings – more about this one in a minute. But, all the advice I give away is general advice that applies to anyone. My rule of thumb is that if someone wants specific advice and help that applies to them then they need to pay for that.
There are of course exceptions to this. There are times when I’ve been feeling very generous in meetings and given away lots of help and advice to the person. When I do this I have to check with myself that I’m happy to do that and I’m not going to walk away from the meeting feeling bitter. As long as I’m ok, then I’m happy to do that.
I don’t however like it when I feel that the other person is taking advantage and then usually I won’t give away anything and will refer them to an article that I’ve written. In a meeting the other day for instance, the person I was with told me that they had real problems with time management and with feeling confident on the phone – she then asked me for some advice on helping her with these issues with no intention of paying for it. I may be bad, but I skirted around the issue and left as quickly as I could.
At the end of the day, when faced with this question, you have to realise that you’re not a charity and do deserve to get paid for the product or service that you provide. Set your own guidance about what is free and what people will need to pay for – only if you’re clear about what’s acceptable, can you make other people clear about what’s acceptable too.
How much information should you give away for free - To learn more about this author, visit Helen Dowling's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
|
For an online Car Loan Calculator and finance for a cheap car loan. Get approved on car loans or car finance in Australia with cheap bank car loans and finding a car finance broker. Commercial car loans including business car finance and car lease. Car Loan Calculator has information on finance companies and getting the right cheap car loan from banks at best car loan rates and a online car loan calculator for all finance in Australia. Get the best car finance with our help at Car Loan Calculator and Finance Ezi. - Visit Richard Jefferies's Website |
|||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Helen's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Integrity Guide Tax Splitting Example Online Marketing Course Make It Happen Adopting Creative Thinking |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs | |
 |
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2008
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
