Blogging is, by nature, the business of giving away free content. And it cannot be any other way. However, in order to make money, you’ve got to charge people for something. So, where is the cut off?

There are two main points I want to convey to you today on this subject.

Blogs Have a Different Purpose

Think of your blog as a lead generator. Then, you funnel those leads into your list and your offers. Now, to get people to take an interest in you, you’ve got to prove real value on your blog. However, don’t lose sight that the purpose is different.

The job of the blog and your blog content should be to attract people to you or your business. Sometimes you do that by providing killer content. Other times you do that by just stirring up conversation and acting as a kind of focal point for your market. Getting involvement from your audience isn’t necessarily the same as teaching them. It could be as simple as providing a quick concept and then asking “What do you think”?

Blog content does not need to solve every problem of your market. Blog content, however, does need to provide value to your market while also functioning as a marketing medium.

On this very blog, I try to provide a lot of value for free. I just like helping people. However, at the same time, I realize that every blog post I put out there is another potential attention magnet. I can interact with my audience and inspire comments. I can tap into a major market concern, stroke it and provide some answers, then lead them into something else for a full answer.

But, Don’t Necessarily Hold Back The Good Stuff

Many people have this idea that you should provide the simple stuff in public, but hold the really good stuff only for your paid customers. You feel as if you give them stuff which is TOO good for free, they’ll have no reason to buy your product. However, there is a huge hole in this logic.

If you don’t provide really good information in public, then how are you supposed to “wow” somebody into thinking that what you sell is worth their time? Look at it from their viewpoint.

So, reverse it. If you are trying to promote a product on your blog, then provide a taste of the material for free on your blog. And not dumb, filler content. I’m talking about some really juicy stuff that is really going to help your audience and spur them into action. Trust me, the human inclination is not only to reward people who provide value to them, but also to finish things once started. If you’ve got a blog reader beginning the process of whatever it is you’re going to teach them (and they’re having success at it), they’re going to be much more likely to opt into your offer so they can finish it.

On a related note, why do concerts still sell out even though you can hear most of the good songs on the radio for free? Have you thought about the marketing on that? These guys usually take the best song on the album and play it for free on the airwaves. It sells albums and fills music halls. The rest of the songs might really suck, but it was that killer freebie content that generated the buzz and filled seats and made sales.

Apply that logic to your blog marketing.

What Are You Going To Do Now?

Do you have a product you want to sell on your blog? Then, what part of your product is really good that you can put out in public for free to attract new customers?

And if you don’t have a product yet, let’s get busy with that, my friends. This stuff isn’t rocket science, but you do have to take action if you want to get anywhere.