Making money from free content

Sam Harris gives away his content for free but still makes money.

In a recent podcast they were discussing his business model and how he makes money from free content. I have no idea whether his content is any good but his model is worth some thought.

Sam Harris’s Freemium Model

  • Sam Harris gives all his content away free and invites people to pay if they want to.
  • People pay for the podcast and app, despite Harris offering free access to those who can’t afford or don’t want to pay.

Sam Harris’ podcasts and app are free up to a certain point. The last part of each podcast is only available to subscribers. He needs to provide enough value in his free content to get people to listen but also convince people to pay for it.

There is a twist.

If someone can’t afford to subscribe they can email him and he will give them a subscription for free.

Digital vs Physical Product Valuation

  • People rarely question the price of a physical book, they either want it or not.
  • However, with digital products, there’s a pervasive expectation of free access, making value capture difficult.
  • Consumers struggle to value digital content relative to subscription services like Netflix or OpenAI.
  • The perceived value of digital goods is challenged by the free content model prevalent on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

It starts with questioning why is there an assumption that so much digital content should be free? If we go into a shop and buy a physical product we don’t assume it will be free as we know there were costs involved in getting it into our hands.

Some digital content we still expect to pay for - Kindle books, movies or music on streaming services, some courses and software - however there is a lot of content we expect to access for free.

The world of software has changed. It has transitioned from paying a one off fee for physical media to paying and downloading the software to subscription models. Open source software has shaken things up even more. It is now possible to run software for free that would have potentially cost hundreds, if not thousands in some cases, before.

The world of media has also changed from buying individual items to being able to stream any item on demand for a set price. Podcasts can be downloaded and videos watched for free due to advertising.

We pay with our attention and time, not our money. We have grown used to accessing digital content for free.

Paid vs. Attention-Based Products

  • Paid products allow for deeper audience connection and less reliance on brand demands.
  • They enable creators to focus on quality content rather than sensationalizing for volume.

Giving away free subscriptions provides obvious value to the listener but it also provides value to him. He gets the contact details of his listeners if they pay and now he also gets them if they don’t when they request the free subscription. He gets to know his listeners as well as their contact details and that has value to him.

Generating revenue from his content allows him to focus on the content and providing value. There is no need to sensationalise his offerings to attract advertisers. In turn this provides more value to his subscribers.

He has been able to produce a business model where he provides value but in doing so he can make money from free content.

Links

Secret Leaders podcast

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