DO IT FOR FREE; USE THE BAIT!
Heath
Ledger’s popular statement – If you're really good at something, never do it
for free has become a mantra for quite a number of business people, and I think
there’s always a caveat to the statement, because everyone (including a
business owner) loves free things. So guys, please let’s understand that the
statement is really technical and I’ll explain what I mean.
I don’t
have any issue whatsoever with putting a FEE on what you could have done for
FREE, because it is totally correct when turning your passion to a profitable
business. Whatever makes you tick should make you rich. Meaning, whatever
you’re really good at, and passionate about, should be what puts food on your
table and money in your bank account.
With that
out of the way, always remember the importance of the free stuff, from the
stage when you’re trying to grapple unto the ladder, to when you’re sitting
pretty on top of the wall. Imagine if Mark, seeing how fast Facebook was
growing, were to put a subscription fee on Facebook. I’m sure the Facebook
experience wouldn’t be what we have now. I can assure you of that (there are
currently 2.07 billion monthly users of the platform).
One very
deep example of the gains embedded in giving out (seemingly) free stuff which
took the whole world aback, happened on February 12, 2017 when Chance the
Rapper (You can check him out on Google) went back home with three Grammy
Awards without a single sold track.
As if
winning three straight Grammy awards on the third time of asking wasn’t bizarre
enough, Chance the Rapper (very funny name though) became the first music artiste
to win a Grammy with neither an album, nor a record label representation. (No
label like Agege bread. Lol!). What then did he win a whole 3 Grammy awards
for?
He won
them for his “Mix-tape” titled: Colouring Book (Yeup! A bloody mixtape)
The
23-year old went on to become the first rapper to win a Grammy off a mixtape.
Reviews of “Colouring Book Mix-tape” showed that listeners rated it better than
many other Mixtapes, EPs and even albums, (including albums of some popular
names in hip-hop) as people genuinely appreciated the depth and effort that
went into the production by him and his group (why won’t they appreciate, when
they didn’t pay a dime for it? Lol!)
After the
release of the mix-tape in May 2016, he allowed people to stream it online for free.
Chance the Rapper went on to bag seven nominations for his mix-tape, Coloring
Book, which was directed, produced, and streamed to the web, all from his home
town; Chicago. It was the first streaming-only mix-tape to win a Grammy.
Sometimes,
people won’t know your real value until you allow them have a taste of it.
Don’t worry, if there’s real value, they won’t taste and walk away. They will
actually taste and come rushing back, screaming “Take my money!”. In 2014, a
popular American record label refused to sign Chance, saying he wasn’t a risk
they were ready to take. Now his CV is not on the same level. But how many
would he have gotten to appreciate his art if he had put a price on the mixtape?
Just
wondering…
Doing what
you do best for free strategically, (once in a while) is a major secret to
business success. Everyone with a business to handle should know this. No
wonder those with (FREE) platforms on the internet control the tides of the revenue
generated online.
Give that
valuable stuff out for free (emphasis on “valuable”) and watch how it sends
people your way, who are ready to break their wallets for it.
Hope this
helps.
Mature Minds Talk
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