Using Free Content to Boost Your Sales

I am a big believer in marketing by providing some content for free. It is a great idea for consultants. It is also a great idea for those looking to sell books and audio-visual content.
Can Free Content Boost Your Sales? Yes, It Can

As those crazy Monty Python dudes put it, “We’re letting you see absolutely everything for free. So there! But we want something in return. None of your driveling, mindless comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies & TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years.”

And you know what? Despite the entertainment industry’s constant cries about how bad they’re doing, it works. As we wrote yesterday, Monty Python’s DVDs climbed to No. 2 on Amazon’s Movies & TV bestsellers list, with increased sales of 23,000 percent.

Similar approach worked for Nine Inch Nails and other artists. And yet, lately we hear more about various restrictions to free redistribution of copyrighted content than ever before.

If you are looking to create some business in the rough economy, try thinking creatively and expand your ideas of what is a good strategy for gaining customers. Providing sensible online resources is a far better strategy than hiring a bunch of lawyers to sue college students. I posted a link to Monty Pythons great explanation of what they were doing on one of my other blogs last November. Enjoy.

Related: Giving Away Your Service for Free on WeekendsInnovative Marketing PodcastSeth Godin on Marketing and the InternetMarketers Are Embracing Statistical Design of Experiments

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