I attended the keynote speech with Sonia Simone, Brian Clark, and Darren Rowse on the pitfalls of trying to make money with content at BlogWorld 2012.
Read on, and I’ll share some thoughts I learned on the seven “Harsh Realities” you’ll face, and how to deal with them effectively.
Harsh Reality #1 – Free is Not a Business Model
Some people think if you give away free content, money magically appears.
What you need to do is use the free content to encourage people to buy a related item and/or sign up for your membership site.
Please continue to give out free content. It’s a great business and advertising strategy to entice and convince. Just remember what makes you money is the purchased items and memberships related to the free content.
For example, a membership site gives out a free e-book called: “100 Tips Every Photographer Should Know”. Sure, you might get some advertising revenue from the traffic but you won’t make more than it costs to provide the content.
What makes you money are the people who sign up for more. They consider you an “expert” due to the free e-book and they’ll sign up and/or buy your products.
There’s also the mistaken belief that nobody will pay for content when there’s free information out there.
This is false.
People still pay for quality information or just to get the whole picture. Think of it this way, if I were to offer you nine free envelopes and one marked “Private”. Which do you desire to see the most?
Is the desire strong enough to pay a reasonable cost?
Harsh Reality #2 – The Push Button Internet Cash Machine is on the “Fritz”
Many people think since they aren’t making money overnight, then something’s wrong.
“Perhaps people could make money overnight at one time but that time is gone”, they think.
Not true.
There are times when you hit the right combination that you’ll see hundreds of memberships coming in or lists of sales. It’s rare, but it does happen. It’s just not the norm.
Even when it does happen, think about all the hard work you put into it beforehand. Was it really an overnight success?
The reality is content for cash is hard and persistent work. If you think of it as a long-term project it won’t be so disappointing.
Harsh Reality #3 – You are Not Scalable
There’s only one of you (disappointing… I know), so you need to know how to delegate your time.
When your blog, or your membership increases in traffic, you won’t be able to give out the same amount of individual care as you did in the beginning. There’s just no time for one person to do it all. Even if that one person is as awesome as you are J
When your membership site gets thousands (or even hundreds) of members, set some boundaries with what members can expect from you, and delegate duties out to other people. You’ll still be able to both connect with members and live your life away from the computer.
Harsh Reality #4 – No One Really Wants That Much Authenticity
Many people have made being themselves a great success for business.
The trouble is people confuse authenticity with sharing everything. Nobody is that interested in you. If they are, get a restraining order!
You can be authentic by sharing and admitting mistakes you made, troubles you experienced in your niche, and even areas you aren’t an expert in but your partner may be.
You don’t have to share your dating issues or what you had for breakfast (tuna melt). You can still be human and relatable without boring your members. If you must, share a few personal items now and then, but make it the exception rather than the rule.
Remember, it’s not about you. It’s about what you can offer your members. Focus on their needs, and the membership will thrive.
Keeping the four thoughts above in mind, allows you to avoid the pitfalls most people face when they charge for content. Stick around for Part Two of “The Harsh Realities of Money for Content” coming soon where I give you the final three tips.
If you want more great trips in the meantime, visit Sonia Simone, Brian Clark, and Darren Rowse as they have valuable insight to share that’ll help your membership site.
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