 Let's talk about free versus premium content. How much content should you offer for free versus what should be paid? And how do you decide between what parts of your content are free versus what's what parts are paid? So let me first quickly describe my evolution on this topic. In 2014, I came out strongly with the stance that all content should be free forever from everybody because then humanity will progress faster and you'll attract your ideal audience and you'll also grow faster etc. And while I do think that content helps humanity grow faster and the very important thing I've learned since then is that Free content needs to be easy to consume. So let me ask you when you're creating content Do you are you aware that there are two buckets or two ends of the spectrum? The content you create that is easy for your audience to have to take in and the content that is more difficult to take in that Requires them to study right to really study and implement something. Okay, that kind of stuff should be paid Now, why is that doesn't free content help more humanity new humanity evolve? Yes Content does help human evolve, but humanity doesn't want to evolve with free content very much That's what I've learned. That's true. Like most people now. There are some people There of course, they're always exceptions. There are always exceptions There are few of you who will work really really hard to implement free content But most of us aren't interested in doing that most of humanity Would only work hard to implement content when it's paid Now you don't have to charge a lot of money. I used to Back in you know, 2009 to 2013. I would charge you $2,000 for an online course that I am now charging, you know a hundred dollars for hundred dollars hundred fifty dollars for So it's dramatically different the pricing I used to do and that's what a lot of people do out there For example, there are Facebook ads courses out there for easily for a thousand dollars or two thousand dollars Whereas mine is a hundred dollars next year will be 150. So but still 150 versus a thousand dollars is a huge difference You don't have to charge a lot for your content for people to Signal to themselves Signal to themselves that ah prime the brain I am now willing to do the work to implement this stuff to really study this stuff because I just paid something for it So I do agree that paying something Doesn't have to be a lot will help the student to apply because they they're they've got they made a known They made a tangible investment and so now they're going to use some tangible energy to actually go for free content What people want what humanity wants is infotainment That's what you all want you when you're watching my free videos. You're not yeah Let's get no pen and paper. I most of you aren't and maybe a few you know, let's get pen and paper Let's get really serious and let's take on every single point and let's try to figure out everything and apply everything you're here because you want to be entertained and Maybe I'm a little bit entertaining or when I say entertainment I don't mean that I have to be funny or that I have to be like, you know really exciting I mean that probably doesn't hurt But what I mean is if I show up as as as real if I show up as myself I don't have to talk fast either I can talk slowly and still be entertaining and You can too and that's what I mean. It's an entertainment isn't necessarily a Particular style. I try to talk fast because I think it is that does help keep you awake I think it does help with that But also because I'm trying to keep my videos now to under 15 minutes So I talk fast for a couple reasons But but just show up as yourself whether it's in writing or in videos and that will be entertainment enough For your true fans because you don't have to entertain everybody You just have to enter you don't even have to try to entertain anybody You just have to show up as yourself and your true fans will be entertained just by you being you That's a definition of a true fan so free content Should be easy to consume If you find yourself starting to have to explain a lot of things then you should really question whether that should be a Free blog post or that I should go as a chapter in your book or whether that should be taught as a course Okay, let the free stuff be easy easy to consume. So let's talk about What kinds of things are easy to consume? I? Have a couple of analogies for you. So one of my favorite analogies is the whole white belt idea So imagine a martial arts dojo. Okay, you go into You By the way, I recently have to give give plug to the YouTube series Cobra Kai my wife and I've been enjoying it Throwback to the karate kid You know grew up watching that but but like martial arts dojo where you have like black belts and you have white belts Like you have all kinds of belts there and you notice that in any given class Even if the sensei is teaching, you know, the white belts how to punch you'll also find the black belts there Practicing their punches, but the black belts are doing the same punch They may look the same, but they have much more nuance. They understand the history of the punch and How when you do this it gives more power and why and and they're practicing at a much deeper nuanced Sophisticated level meaningful level than the white belts who are just trying To figure out how the how the form goes and try not to hurt themselves, right? So in other words when you create white belt content content, that's easy to consume content That's basic basic. Okay, even the advanced people will appreciate it Because they appreciate it at a deeper level. You see so create white belt content another example I know the analogy I want to give is your free content should be Okay, so if you imagine That all of your content free and paid is like you're giving you're giving your audience a map For how to go from where they are the problems that they have the yearnings that they have To where they want to go so see I'm going in this city. I want to get to that city Okay, I need a map to get there. Okay your Free content is like a very very overview basic simple map that doesn't take much doesn't have much detail to overwhelm people It's very basic. Oh from San Francisco to Seattle. You basically go through Oregon, okay? You basically go from California through Oregon to you know to Seattle and maybe there's a few other Major towns along the way and there's one major highway. Okay, that's and maybe there's a mountain range that you need to be Understand that you're gonna go through whatever but it's a very very overview basic map. That's the free content and or or a Free content could also be a very zoomed in Part of a city. That's very popular. Oh, let me show you downtown Seattle just the Or let me sorry Pike Pike Place Market is a very famous tourist attraction in Seattle. Let me just show you that those few blocks I'm gonna show you the detail of that and that's very popular and a lot of people would like that And so free content could be could be that kind of detailed Zoomed in fun popular thing as well So you could teach or write about some topic that your audience loves that You could give a bit of detail on that on that very very popular topic just a little bit of a detail there So they can they can get something that that they could use if they were there at that place Again, your free content could be the overall map or that small fun detail Okay, but your paid content is the entire comprehensive map That says oh, you might there's a detour here That might be fun that I want to check out and oh be careful of this this road is very difficult to travel on and You know, you might want to bring this along or bring that along So the the paid stuff is the detailed comprehensive map with detours with Preparations and you know all the things that go along with that so it makes sense. Where is that the free is just okay, and then another Let's see another analogy is What and why versus how so the free content is your what and the why so what should people understand about your field? Define give us some definitions. Okay, that are useful, you know, I see Shreta here. What is Ayurveda? You know, that's her that's her field, right? Ayurveda and and and she's also a doula and so What is Ayurveda? What is you know what and in interestingly when you define what is Ayurveda? Basic people will appreciate that but also advanced people will appreciate that right basic people who don't know much They're curious about holistic healing. They'll they'll be they'll love to know what Ayurveda is from your perspective And that the advanced people people who have studied Ayurveda and might still work with you Would love to know how you define Ayurveda too because again, like I said, remember the white belt black belt stuff okay, so the what is the definitions and the the overall things that must be done to transform in in this field, okay What you basically what are the major pieces basically and the why why it can also be given for free? Why is why is Ayurveda important? Why do you think of Ayurveda in your way versus another way that you you don't as much agree with or isn't as relevant to your client? So for example for me, why is marketing important? Well, I could talk about that all day long Why is authentic? What is authentic marketing? Right? I could talk about that and then why is authentic marketing important? Or why is authentic marketing better for my people versus conventional marketing, right? So the what and the why is given for free and The how is you got to pay for it. So the how is like alright Pen and paper. Let's really sit down. Are you ready to like spend some hours with me to like actually implement this stuff? You aren't going to be willing to do it for free Most of you aren't but if you pay something doesn't have to be a lot then you like why I paid something now I've signaled to my own brain something. I've given something tangible and now I'm ready to also give energy Along with the tangible money and and receive something tangible back right then receive something tangible to actually implement that so What and why it can be free and the how is is is paid and then the last analogy is Infotainment versus education Okay, so what is free is infotainment you give out information that is entertaining. That's helpful Maybe helpful But it's mostly to first just think about someone who's who's eating while they're watching your video or who is like, you know Very casually relaxing and reading your blog post That's the attitude you should have with your reader for free content not like Oh, they are you know, like I said, not like they are with a pen and paper and like ready to like become the best student in the world No, that's not how they read your stuff. That's not how most people watch our videos They're watching when they're eating a meal or when they're like relaxing, right? And that's what I'm assuming you're doing too. You're not really, you know here to study Maybe a few of you are but most people watching this aren't okay Just wanted in something enjoyable something that helps you to build your business skills a little bit better Right so info. This is infotainment. Whereas education is where I go in my courses where I'm like, okay now Here are the details here the pitfalls here the step-by-steps I'm assuming you have a pen and paper or whatever way to take notes and like really study really ask me questions That kind of level of detail and energy expenditure is done in the paid and premium content So does that make sense? Is that helpful and one of the questions that I get about this as well? What if You know George, what if I'm I just find myself talking and talking or writing and writing or writing It's hard for me to stop with my free stuff, right? Then give yourself a time dot timeline, right? I only give myself one hour to write my blog post maximum That's like one hour to write a pretty darn good draft that I could publish if I wanted to But they usually come back the next day and give myself another 15 minutes or so to kind of polish things up before I before I publish Videos same thing. I didn't prepare much for this video other than writing my blog post now Of course, I've got my blog post so now I could just speak to you from my blog post but you know with my courses I spent a lot more time preparing you know, I spend Three hours of time preparing for a one-hour session of course I'd actually more than three hours of there's even preparation Drafting the notes before that so it's a lot of time to prepare for a course. Whereas with free That's why I that's why I recommend all of you do free free stuff consistently because it doesn't take much time to prepare Don't get yourself so nervous about free stuff free stuff is just There's relaxing. They're just just be just be yourself Don't try to be entertaining. You can try you like it if you're a ham Okay, but if just be yourself and that's already entertaining for your ideal clients and for your true fans You're not pleasing everybody. You only you only being yourself and the people meant for you are naturally pleased That's the idea. So I hope this is helpful and thanks for those who are joining me here and Becky says cup of tea in bed. Yes, right. Yeah, exactly. That's great. That's great I hope this is a I hope this helps to put you to sleep or whatever you're doing or help you wake up if you're trying to do that Thanks, Shweta and Maria for joining me as well and Basson Linda Jean Marco Tracy Thanks all for joining me. Those are the comments and likes I can see right now. Anyway, so until the next video remember that You don't have to give away the farm in your in your pay in your free content also remember free content Paid content is a true and genuine business model It can be a real income source for you for the rest of your life paid content, you know sell courses sell books I believe that teachers and authors should be paid So that teachers and authors if teachers and authors teachers and authors are paid Well people teach online online courses or offline courses and people who write if if we collective we are paid Sustainably then that gives us the time and energy to continue to to create better and Better deeper broader content Versus if we spend all our time just serving people one-to-one or in groups That doesn't give us the bandwidth to create to have much of an intellectual life To then share that intellect with with the world and that infotainment with the world or that the paid courses with the world So teachers and authors need to be paid. You need to pay for their stuff. Okay, that's not just me I'm just talking about anybody you want to support any blogs you read any any videos you watch Figure out how you can pay them to doesn't have to be a lot Just pay them something they'll be so grateful because that will help them free them up income-wise to then Create more knowledge and infotainment to just share to help everybody grow more faster okay, I hope this is helpful and Till the next video do well