There's a solid chance that you'd like to do either of these:

• Make money online selling (valuable) digital products
• Build credibility by offering (valuable) freebies

Whichever suits your style, this issue of The Profiting Publisher has everything you need to know...

Let's get started!

If you've spent more than a few days building a digital product, you'd know that attachment is through the roof.

Here's what I mean by that.

It feels like your baby. You want it to be perfect!

I did too...

As I was 6 months into my digital writing journey, I created my very first digital product. It was an eBook on Medium Monetization.

Long story short, I wrote a few articles on the platform that crossed the $100 mark and thought I was the man.

It was stupid.

And you wanna know what else was stupid?

I charged $20 for that eBook.  

Looking back, I see it as a massive mistake.

🆓 Free vs. Paid

This has the potential to become a never-ending argument.

Luckily, you and I are pretty tight so I don't think it'll come to that. The free versus paid conversation starts with where you're at in your journey.

The other day, Nicolas Cole said this to me on Twitter:

As you can see, Cole thinks that towards the beginning of your writing journey, products should stay priceless.

Free.
For $0.

And I couldn't agree more.

Had I known this before pricing my eBook, it would have been free. I'll give you a glimpse at the thought process.

Keyword → Lead magnet.

When someone downloads your product, they must submit their email. That's how the delivery process works, and it's wildly powerful for you.

Why?

Because an address is an opportunity.

The freebie provokes people to give you their email, which could lead them into an email sequence that attracts them to your newsletter.

And it doesn't end there.

You could even upsell your paid product (if you have one) after they've downloaded the freebie.

Platforms like Gumroad make this super simple.

And I did this with my eBook. First, I created a "Medium Success List" (a checklist for Medium success) that helped people post on Medium.

Then, I set up an email that would send about a week after the download to see if they'd be interested in the paid, more informative version.

You can (and must) get creative with how you use your freebies.

The important thing to remember is this:

If they're willing to download your free product, they might just be interested in paying you for something that's even more valuable.

💸 If Paid, How Much?

Now, you don't want to price yourself out.

Meaning, you become the course-slinging-creator with a price tag of $1399 for bundled information you could easily find (for free) on Twitter.

The paid product needs to be affordable. Just like freebies are accessible to everyone, the paid product must be tagged with a realistic price.

I would say that $49-$150 is a decent range.

You could also take it from the undisputed champion of Solopreneurship:

There's one thing I must hammer home.

Notice when Justin mentions the amount of trust you need to sell something for $979? Well, he hit it on the head.

Justin might be one of the most trusted creators on the internet and he still charged much less than $979.

It begs the question.

What would you rather?

• Sell 1 course for $979? ($979 in revenue)
• Sell 10 courses for $100? ($1,000 in revenue)

I would take the second option all day. The more customers the merrier, plus the 10 for $100 are easier to sell, AND you made more money.

That's just logic.

🎁 In Summary

It's not about price. It's about value.

The second you sell someone a course for $150 and they find out that it's complete garbage, they hate you. And what's worse, they might tell other people.

The most important thing is to give away as much as you can for free in public, and then people become much more willing to purchase from you.

And with that said, I may or may not be working on some "Free Guides" to help digital writers and creators. I may or may not finish (and launch) them for the new year. I might or might not do that... 😉

See you next week!

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