Re: The "Cost" of the matter

**J* B* <j*@usol.com>**

DOUG,
How many garden writers have a "BUSINESS PLAN?" You and maybe three  
others who worked in the real world before they chose poverty and  
garden writing.  There is no question a business plan helps to keep  
focused and not get off on side tracks that reduce potential  
earnings.  But I've never seen a framework for a very simple business  
plan that might work for a writer.  I've tried four or five in my 25  
years and none of them lasted more than three months.  My work was so  
unpredictable and I have no discipline.
Good thread
.
Jeff Ball
jeffball@usol.com
810-724-8581
Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com

On Dec 30, 2007, at 5:22 PM, Douglas Green wrote:

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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