by Skellie
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.
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13 Comments, Comment or Ping
Dana Wallert
At the risk of sounding overly cheesy, your writing is a gift to everyone that happens upon your blog!
Great advice. I’m still trying to zero in on something that I can pass on that people would actually want, but I’m sure I’ll get there!
Sep 14th, 2007
Mohsin
Aww.. that brought tears to my eyes. No, really that did.
Sep 14th, 2007
skellie
@ Dana & Mohsin: What can I say? You’ve both given me a wonderful compliment. You two are the kind of readers I had in mind when writing this article :).
Sep 14th, 2007
Mohsin
Skellie, you just inspired me to write this post http://bloggingbits.com/choose-your-audience-the-uncaring-social-media-crowd-or-your-loyal-readers/
Sep 14th, 2007
Website Design
Great read here
I think it’s awesome to give things away for free. I would think that the vast majority of people, who are able to download something first, would then choose to buy it if it is really up their alley. Just a though. 
Good post.
Sep 14th, 2007
skellie
@ Mohsin: Just read it. Great job!
@ Website Design: I agree with you. I think those who only keep the free product probably weren’t going to buy it anyway
Sep 14th, 2007
Kathy Reiffenstein
This is such a good lesson for business people. We typically have a protective, competitive attitude, particularly about things we “create”. But the Theory of Abundance would say that the more we put out there, the more comes back to us! Thanks, Skellie, for reminding us of this with some great examples.
Sep 15th, 2007
Jon
I completely agree. As a huge fan of free stuff, I think giving away free stuff helps to give back for some of the free stuff I pull from the web.
Lately, I’ve given away a wordpress widget, free mail icons, and free tech support.
It doesn’t nearly match what I take, but I’m certainly trying.
Sep 25th, 2007
Olive
I’ve never found anything to disprove the saying that the best things in life are free..
Not a blogger, but just happened on this and your site by chance while looking for a way to translate the raw enthusiasm of a few arts groups into un-put-downable case studies so that everyone will know it’s never too late to take part in arts.
‘Don’t settle for Scannable’ and ‘Building Superheros’ are particularly relevant. Class. Thanks.
Oct 31st, 2007
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