I think it’s dangerous and often fatal to put free on top of an existing business model. Things fall apart.
People
look at the free revolution and say, “oh, that could never work. If I
gave x, y or z away for free, I’d fail.” They’re right. They will
fail… If they keep the model the same and just give away stuff for free.
The way you win is by reinventing the model itself. So, for example, lululemon
doing giant free yoga classes in New York. The more people come, the
more clothes they’ll sell. It’ll become a movement. Or Crossfit,
publishing their insane workouts online. The more people do them, the
better the scarce part (private coaching, etc.) does.
We spent a
generation believing certain parts of our business needed to be scarce
and that advertising and other interruption should be abundant. Part of
the pitch of free is that when advertising goes away, you need to make
something else abundant in order to gain attention. Then, and only
then, will you be able to sell something that’s naturally scarce.
This
is an uncomfortable flip to make, because the stuff you’ve been
charging for feels like it should be charged for, and the new scarcity
is often difficult to find. But, especially in the digital world, this
is happening, and faster than ever.
(Image source: dailyexcelsior.com)
