Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, argues in his controversial new book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price, that businesses operating in the digital age should embrace “free” as a pricing concept. Anderson believes that the Internet’s rapid development makes the production and distribution of content cost close to nothing. Because there is now an abundance, rather than a scarcity of content available to us all online, content producers should give away most of their materials for free (which they can still sell advertising against) with the expectation that core users will pay for premium stuff. An example of the “freemium” model is ESPN.com, which has built a huge audience of sports fans by giving away most news and commentary while selling scouting reports and the like to hardcore users.
But say you are selling a service rather than a product. Should you embrace the “freemium” model, too?
There are already quite a few examples of professionals giving away their advice and essentially working for free online.
- Software developers work for free on open-source content management systems like Drupal with the hope that people will pay for their expertise when they need a website built.
- Lawyers give legal advice away for free on forums such as Avvo.com with the hope that a few readers will eventually pay them to help with their specific cases.
- Journalists, PR execs and consultants all contribute content to sites like the Huffington Post without compensation to raise their profiles and perhaps sell a few books or snag new clients.
- Yoga instructors and guitar teachers are producing free educational videos on YouTube with the expectation that people will ultimately pay for lessons in person.
Of course, the “freemium” model has its critics, such as Malcom Gladwell of Tipping Point fame. You can read his critique for free on the New Yorker’s website.
Do you think it’s against your profession’s best interests if some of your colleagues start working for free? How can you expect people to pony up for your expertise or service if customers start expecting that it should be free? Share your thoughts on the “freemium” model below.
