Event Launch Strategies

Despite the vastness of content and information on the internet, it’s interesting to see that most of the mavens only define and outline processes while charging for the actual in-depth how-to guides and consultation. Some people think that if they give away everything for free, they won’t have anything to hold on to. Others argue that without sharing information you can’t possibly expect to build followers and networks, hence butchering the purpose of being online.

It’s not a debate of who is right or wrong; it’s more of a question of how to draw a line between giving away free information and charging for it. Brad Fallon calls this “the FREE line” - the line between giving content, products and services away for free and the point of charging for them. This line is different for different people and businesses, and hence there isn’t any exact formula to follow. However, there are a number of factors that can be looked into; such as the perceived value of the information, the availability of the information, the ROI of consuming and implementing the information, the effect of the information on the reader’s businesses and profitability, the need and demand of the information and so on.

If you do a thorough exploratory research, you will find mountains of information designed to build the reader’s knowledge to a point where they become willing to pay someone to show them how it’s done. Community based platforms or personal sites may be an exception to this discussion - we are only referring to sites with business and sales motives. There is nothing wrong with this approach; in fact it is a somewhat preferred model for online businesses - building reputation first before drawing people to your services or products.

It seems the key to success in online businesses equates to which company can drive the free line farthest whilst still remaining profitable. These business practices are likely to strip industry of high price-points when there are multiple competitive forces at play. If your company is offering services or products that are not incredibly unique, then chances are that your monetary return per customer may fall unless you differentiate yourself enough…

This post has been included in our “Event Launch Guidelines” training program. Click for more information.

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