Tortilla chips.
Nachos. Tacos.
Quesadillas. Mmm, Burritos.
The yummy deliciousness at the Mexican restaurant. Each item has the same basic ingredients. But as the packaging changes so does the price. Even though the tortilla chips were free.
Blog posts are like tortilla chips
You put them on the table for free to attract people to your blog. But add a little cheese and veggies and you’ve got yourself some nachos.
And people pay for nachos. And tacos.
Quesadillas. And Burritos. But why?
Because they’ve added new ingredients.
And changed up the packaging.
How to change the packaging on your blog posts
Take a group of posts, put them together, and expand on the ideas. And ta da, you’ve got a taco, or report. Go a step further and make a quesadilla, or course. How about a burrito, or workshop?
The main ingredients stay the same. The packaging changes.
But who’s going to pay for something they can already get for free?
Let’s ask Radiohead. You’ve probably heard all about the mega-band allowing fans to download it’s album, “In Rainbows,” on a pay what you will basis. Yes, this means people could choose to pay nothing. And many did.
But they took those same songs and created a deluxe version on a physical CD. The CD version was of higher quality. And it also came with an LP, book, artwork and bonus disc. The same songs in different packaging. And the true fans gladly paid for it.
They also released the songs on a traditional CD. The album reached number one on the Billboard charts in record sales.
We pay for packaging all the time
It’s why they create deluxe versions of DVDs. If you want just the movie, fine. But those who want the “Special Features” and “Collector’s Edition” packaging, pay extra.
And you too can re-package your content
Those posts your wrote to attract people, have also helped you to articulate yourself, share your ideas and create content. When you go back, you expand the ideas, change the packaging and put on a price tag.
It’s the price that’s nice, because then you can go buy all the burritos you want. =)
Summary:
- People pay for packaging. Your “Free” posts can be repurposed into a product
- You can also create regular and deluxe versions of your new product
- The process also refines your ideas and makes you money
Action plan:
Do you have posts you can group together thematically? Put them together then expand your ideas. It’s the beginning of your new book.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Exactly. After all, what’s a remix or a mashup, right? Another way to use the ingredients. Or licensing. Just as there are a new breed of indie musicians, there are a new breed of indie filmmakers who need soundtracks.
Thanks Michael.
You’re right. It’s all about making the most of your ingredients.
And it’s a great time for Indie’s to band together.
This is helpful. Individual blog posts are usually interesting and often point you toward something you’d like to do, but they’re not always the “whole system.” People pay for having the ideas structured in a way they can follow and see results without having to reinvent it all themselves.
Thanks Joe.
What’s interesting is, from what I’ve seen many bloggers don’t have that end goal in mind. They don’t realize they’re creating something they can go back and repurpose–even if the ideas fail! Sounds like a “How not to” product to me. =)
Thanks for stopping by Joe.
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