On Giving Yourself Away

What’s the best thing you can give your readers?

Cory Doctorow published his first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, in 2003. He also put the complete electronic text of the book online and encouraged readers to copy and share it. The novel has been downloaded 700,000 times. It has also been through six printing cycles.

Seth Godin’s Unleashing the IdeaVirus followed a similar trajectory. In 2000 he wrote a 197 page eBook on viral ideas and made it as easy to copy and share as possible. As a result, he was offered a book-deal, and the print version of that same book went on to become a bestseller around the world.

Giving something away is a remarkable act, particularly today. Remarkable acts get talked about. The best gifts to give, however, are gifts that can come only from you. If I give all my readers $10, they appreciate the gesture, but the money has nothing of myself in it. It’s not spreading an idea or a message.

If I give my readers an eBook I’ve written, a piece of music I’ve composed, a review, a custom-designed logo, or a fantastic piece of advice, in doing so, I’m giving them something of myself.

When people share the gift, they share you and what is great about you. When people talk about the gift, they’re talking about you. Seth Godin and Cory Doctorow both made a lot of money by giving things away. If your goal is the spread of an idea, or popularity, or notoriety, you might just get that too.

As Cory Doctorow once said: “My fans’ tireless evangelism for my work doesn’t just sell books–it sells me.”

Take your best skill, whether it be writing, advice, design, cooking, SEO, chess or frugal living, and turn it into a gift you can give — no strings attached.

The receiver may thank you, they may not, they may talk about you, or they might stay quiet, but some will talk about you, and some will tell their friends. Most importantly, there is no more powerful way to leave a lasting impression on your readers.

You may not reach the best-seller list — or the A-list — but one thing is certain: you will help some of those who help you by reading your words. You know the old saying that begins: “If a tree falls in a forest…?

Your readers are there to hear it. For that, they deserve something great.