Re: The "Cost" of the matter

**D* G* <d*@kos.net>**

Yah want "free" or to understand another view of "content-cost?" :-)   
Check out the Net.

Every blog or website has literally tons of "free" stuff that is given  
away for one reason or other.   Give a respectable researcher a few  
minutes on google and the world of info is fat and lazy like ripe  
tomatoes on a vine.

So in one way or other, most of us are already tried and found guilty  
at the bar of "free content".   I did a bit of research on my own  
sites, and I'm well over a million words and pictures that are freely  
available about gardening.  Well over 2000 articles/pages of content  
and a newsletter that's in the low 5-figure subscriber  range.  Over a  
million visitors a year and growing.   Many of you are close behind or  
maybe even ahead on these counts of free.

In the context of "old-style" writing, giving this info away on the  
Net makes us all either very stupid or (interestingly enough) working  
on a different business plan than traditional print publishers.

Different business plans call for different pricing structures.

I'm all for folks charging big bucks for giving talks.  Or cover  
photographs or articles for magazines at several dollars a word.  Or  
websites. ;-)

In my .02 world-view, we all decide to market and price our  
information in ways that make sense to us within our business plans.

So I agree with both Lynn and Ellen, undervaluing your information is  
really a poor long-term strategy no matter whether it is freely  
available or whether you deliver if with sound bites in person.   
There's always a cost involved. But that cost depends on your  
individual pricing structure and business plan.

And for the record, I almost never give talks anymore but when I do, I  
charge $350. plus travel at .40/km.  I simply hate all the travelling  
and late nights this creates compared to doing my own thing in front  
of a word processor.

Doug

Online Garden Publishing
Blog http://blog..douggreensgarden.com
Home http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com

On 30-Dec-07, at 4:06 PM, Ellen Zachos wrote:

> Lynn, let me be clear, there's no single price that's appropriate for
> everyone; I certainly didn't charge the same fee when I was starting
> out that I charge now, nor do I think it's appropriate for a beginner
> to charge the same fee as the most experienced speaker.  But I DO
> think it's important not to undervalue our work.
>
> If you spend a few hours putting together a presentation, if more
> than 10 people show up at the lecture, and if you're good at what you
> do...I say you deserve more than $75 and lunch.  And FYI, I never
> complain about the garden club ladies; they are some of the most
> enthusiastic audiences I've ever met.
>
> Ellen
>
>
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