Just because you blog doesn't mean everything is free

I’ve been meaning to tackle this issue of free vs. paid business models for a while now. I guess, just by reading the headline, you know where I stand on the subject, but I also wanna tell you why.



But… before we start,



If you agree or disagree with anything I say in this post, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. It’s free to do so, and there are no hidden fees. :0)

The Blogging Sweatshop



This is what the blogosphere has become; bloggers churning out content day in and day out, replying to comments for hours on end, promoting post after post, wanting to "reach a-lister status" so that they can (one day) "make money blogging".



Does any of that sound familiar?



I bet it does, and I also bet that most people reading this right now are running a blogging sweatshop in their homes. Part of the problem is the information that’s out there, the other part of the problem is the fact that most people don’t set goals.



Very few people have stopped to think about what products or services they’ll one day WANT to offer to their growing audience. Very few bloggers have stopped to realize how much content they put out on a regular basis, and how that effort can be transferred onto a money generating project.

Free Has It’s Place…



free-not-freeI’m not against free, at all. I mean check out my blog, it’s filled with hours of free articles, videos, and podcast episodes. Look at the sidebar and you’ll see a list of my 15 most popular posts.



If you check out From Zero to Blogger you’ll get 6 videos showing you how to start your own blog. If you go to Smart Blogging Guide, you’ll get access to my free ebook that has been download thousands of times – For free!



Free content is needed for this business model to work.



Free is what gets people to come to your blog.



Free is what gets people to join your email list.



Free is what gets people to get to know you and become loyal fans.



But here’s the thing, "Free Is Not A Business Model". When it comes to getting paid, free doesn’t always cut it. But, there are ways to get paid without making offers.



You can inject affiliate links into your content and get paid whenever someone buys a product through your link; but more on that on this Friday’s podcast episode.

What Can You Charge For??



listen-to-audienceIf you don’t know what to charge for, then you’re not listening well enough. Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know, so if you haven’t taken the time to ask your audience what they want, don’t assume you know what that is.



It takes a great deal of effort to create a really good product but it takes ZERO effort to mess up and sell ZERO copies. The biggest mistake you can make is creating something that no one wants. You’ll waste a ton of time and it will KILL your motivation.



This is where the "real work" comes in. Product creation is not my favorite thing to do, but it needs to be done. Plus, after finishing Podcasting For Bloggers I gotta say that it’s also a very fulfilling process.



The reason I say "real work" is because in order for you to make your internet business work, you need to have something to sell and the right tools to sell it. Here are a few things you rarely hear spoken about in the blogosphere for whatever reason:



Product creation

Sales processes

Member management

Customer experience

Customer service

Content protection



Why? Why is this stuff not spoken about often enough? Is it because it’s not as sexy as Traffic Generation, Link Building, SEO, Guest Blogging, or Design?



…maybe, who knows.



The fact of the matter is that in order to get paid, there needs to be an exchange of value; an exchange of Content Value For Dollar Value. But if you want to know how I balance free and paid in my business, here’s the one sentence answer that sums it all up



I give away stuff that gets people results, and sell cooler stuff that gets people even more results.



Hector Cuevas is an expert blogger who teaches people how to build an audience online by improving their blog content and increasing blog traffic.