Within the last 48-hours I completed one project and launched another one. I am very excited about these two projects, but something has been nagging at me as well.
The project I completed was one I had been thinking about for months. But, thinking about something, and imagining something doesn’t make it happen. So I buckled down and finished compiling two guides of what I felt was the best of the best of free information on the web that has the potential to change people’s lives.
I decided to offer them as a gift for current and new subscribers to The Dreaming Cafe’s weekly newsletter. I thought this was a brilliant idea. Other people offer free gifts for joining a mailing list all the time. I figured I should, too. It’s called marketing.
But, for the last 24-hours this strategy has been bothering me. And, until I began writing about it, journaling about it, I couldn’t put my finger on ‘why‘.
I have defined my life’s mission as: ‘to learn, to grow and to share‘, not ‘to learn, to grow and to offer a free gift to people who will join my mailing list‘.
All but two of the top ten downloads, and all of the bonus resources that I compiled in these two guides are free – no obligation. They link to e-books, guides and manifestos written by people sharing information; people helping people; people living their lives in ways that make a difference.
That’s what I want to do.
But, just like when I thought about, and imagined compiling a resource report. I had to actually write it.
I can’t just think about, and dream about making a difference. I have to take action and make a commitment.
So, although part of me argues that I need subscribers and the best way to get them is to follow the crowd and offer a free gift, I am instead going to listen to my heart and do what I believe and feel is right.
I am making things right.
Below are the links to the guides I began offering yesterday as a free gift for joining The Dreaming Cafe’s mailing list and subscribing to my newsletter.
You are under no obligation whatsoever to join or subscribe.
Read, save, share and enjoy.
We can’t change the world if we are worried about people ‘following’ us, liking us, or subscribing to our mailing lists.
We can only change the world if we live and act in ways that are true to our own hearts.
These three links will open in Adobe PDF. You can save them to your computer and refer back to them as often as you like. These guides reference over 400 pages of free information that has the potential to change your life. Read them, enjoy them and share them
BONUS: Additional Resources and Articles to Read Online
And, one more. This list was first introduced in The Dreaming Cafe’s April 26, 2009 newsletter. This document is now one page and easy to print out.
Thanks, Rachel!!
Sandy
I think this was a great decision and very much in line with the spirit of what you are doing. Thank you for these. I love the ABCs.
Rachel
Thank you Barbara. I am still figuring things out, but I figure the best way is to do what I feel is right and then let it go.
And, I keep remembering Seth Godin’s comment in his blog post Challenging Convention, “…you could upend the convention that books cost money by publishing the first popular book-length ebook. For free.”
I read this over a month ago and it really struck a chord in me and I haven’t forgotten it.
Sandy, I am so glad you brought this up. I’ve been saying for years in my Establish Yourself as an Expert that we each had to thoughtfully consider the line between free and not-free information. These days, most people seem to go for a combination, but I had a little wake-up about that myself today when I was talking to a woman who gets my ezine and assumed it was my newsletter…or contained the same info. So perhaps as writers and information packagers, we have to get really clear about what our merchandise is and what it’s worth to others. And then find a way to exhibit our generosity in other ways.