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One of the questions that I get asked distantly from small business owners is: “How much do I give away for free?”. I am really excited to explore this with you further in the context of the concerts I’ve just been to, as well as the places and spaces that I give away content for free and what little secrets I hold back.
In March 2023, I saw Dean Lewis in concert with 6,000 people. He’s an incredible musician – a bit more acoustic and laid back than others I’m used to. I also saw One Republic with 9,000 people, who, if any of you have been to one of my previous Natex conferences, it’s one of our anchor songs. Amazing! And then I went and saw Florence and the Machine with 21,000 people. Wow! That woman can hold a magical energy. It wasn’t my first time seeing her and definitely won’t be my last. She’s an extraordinary woman.
I love live music now that we’ve come back from the depths of lockdowns over the past three years. Getting out and about and really engaging with other humans is so special.
Anyway…one of the most fascinating things for me, is the interim. If you’ve ever been to a live music gig, there’s something about live music at the moment where the musicians give themselves in ways that I never experienced in pre-pandemic times. I think a part of this has come from our lust for connection and a timely reminder that all of us humans are here doing everything we can to the best of our abilities. We just really want to connect again, now that we’ve been disconnected over the past few years.
The first concert was amazing because Dean was telling us all about where the songs had come from, in between each song. Believe it or not, 20 of his songs are actually about one woman and the heartbreak that he went through with her.
The second concert I went to, there was eight covers. I remember thinking beforehand, why would One Republic be doing eight covers? Eight different other band songs! But in between, the lead singer, Ryan Tedder, was telling us all about his gifts and talents in songwriting and when I looked further into it (with a good Google search), he’s actually written songs for over 190 other pop rock bands. Can you believe it? I’m talking huge hits such as ‘Halo’ by Beyonce and things like that. He was giving us all these really juicy details essentially for free, added on to our concert ticket. It was as though we got a 1:many group interview with him about his backlog and his back catalog.
A similar thing happened at the Florence and the Machine concert, too. Florence was telling us about playing all of her hits for us again, and how she hadn’t actually sung this one song live for over four years, because of the pain and the angst that it caused her thinking about the times when she really got on it with alcohol and other things. So, what does this have to do with giving things away for free?
Well, take my book, for instance. I often get asked about how much I give away for free within the few hundred pages. The truth is, I’ve given it all away, in some way, shape or form. And it kind of is the same with concerts. They just show up and give their all…and then some. You get insight into the behind the scenes and it makes us feel closer. That feeling of feeling closer also brings a level of trust, right? And so, whether it’s in my book or social media posts, I love giving away literally everything for free.
I’ve been in business since 2009, so that’s 14 years as of the publish date of this blog. And over those 14 years, the internet and the way that we sell things online has really changed. Particularly over the past couple of years, the level of authenticity, honesty and trust is something that is at a much higher value than it ever was before. Plus, we’ve got some major bullsh*t detectors going on with those big shiny red bars that say “BUY NOW! Or you’ll never get it again.”. Because we’ve been so exposed to it for over a decade, we really are kind of a little bit more discerning on those types of things.
Every time that I get exposed to something that gives me a level of authenticity and vulnerability, I lean in and I’m more interested.
So, when it comes to you and how much you want to give away for free, it really depends on what level of vulnerability and authenticity you’re willing to go for, and what are you actually going to do with that information.
Now, I get it a lot from practitioners, but if I give it all away for free, then what do I have to sell to people? The truth is, the convenience with which we find information, the way things are packaged up and the ease, the time frames that we allow for people to do things in, and the level of value is the things that are going to make the difference. If you can make it easier to get all of that information in one place, for instance, a book, then that is solid gold.
For example, all of the things that are in my book I have taught on one level or another. But it’s super easy to get a book! It’s super easy to get it all in one place rather than scoping out my website, trying to find all of the information on X, Y or Z and trying to get the behind the scenes conversation going like I did at the concert. Same thing goes for you! If you’re considering holding yourself back and keeping a certain amount of things, you need to think again.
In the beginning of my structuring of my business, it wasn’t until you got to my mastermind that you actually found out that I love using guidance cards and tarot cards. In actual fact, I have a bit of a gift towards using that when it comes to facilitating really great conversations for people’s true next step. And no, not the surface level stuff, ‘my signature system’ kind of rubbish! The genuine, really magical and tangible things that you would only have ever known had you come to my mastermind.
Now, some people think the same way:
- “My highest level thing is where they get to experience X, Y or Z from me”
- “That’s when they find out that I am a blah, blah blah”
- “I have this particular gift or talent that’s going to cost lots of money to find out about.”
That’s all well and good and it’s one way of doing business, but that level of trust and vulnerability and authenticity is so valuable to have on the front end.
Think about it from the band perspective. Now that I know so much more about the behind the scenes of all three artists and musicians, I’m so much more likely to play everything on Spotify. The artists and musicians get a fee for that and Spotify get a commission. I’m also more likely to tell more people about it because I feel connected and closer to them than ever before.
What is it in your business where you find you are holding back?
If it’s the personal stuff, be honest with yourself. I’m so open in my book about my biggest failures in business and the biggest hurdles that I went through running a business with my partner; the moments that I thought I would give up discovering more about my sexuality and how that changed the way that I showed up on stages and other things.
It’s amazing what you can do when you are truthful with yourself and open and honest with others. Whether it’s the personal side or it’s the business side, you’re hiding the fact that you are slightly woo woo. You’re hiding the fact that you love spirituality or your religion, as part of your makeup. It’s the lens with which you view the world and it makes it so much more useful and interesting and magnetic for the right people to come and see you if you can share that.
And lastly, from a business perspective, is there anything that you are holding back? The secret sauce. The only thing that’s going to fix X, Y or Z. Is it the PDF that is only available in your highest end program, when in actual fact, if you splint it off a part of it, it could be one of the most profound and game changing things on the front end without the payment gateway, without all of those things that are attached to it?
Where are you hiding something that could be available for free, that could totally rock someone’s world? Where could you give it away for free?
- Would it be inside a book?
- Would it be as an opt in on your website?
- Would it be on the back end of a free webinar or presentation?
- Is it in your ‘link in bio’ on your social media page?
- Or is it at the bottom of a free blog post that you’ve written or in the show notes of a podcast?
Actions speak louder than the words, but the words kind of tend to come first.
- What action could you take?
- Where are you hiding?
- Where could you lean in, share part of you, create vulnerability, authenticity and connection?
- Where could you make it free to help change the ripple effect of your work and what you’re here to do, who you’re here to help and how you can show up?
If you found something interesting in this blog, if it helped you or you think it might help somebody else, don’t hesitate to share it.
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