Some might say that we live in a world of free entertainment and information. Ads are supposed to finance everyone’s needs. Somehow.

To make matters worse, there isn’t a single day that goes by without a e-book, video, or podcast being released for free. Products that offer the kind of content that a lot of people would pay quite a lot for.

You’d think that income from blogging would be shrinking in the face of all this free information, but it keeps getting stronger. How can that be?

For instance, there are a lot of free materials that teach people how to set up a WordPress blog or to use Twitter effectively. A quick search on YouTube will provide you with hundreds of videos that can teach you to do almost anything you want to know.

Yet, there are still people making plenty of cash selling products explaining how to do any and all of those things.

How do they do it?

Build relationships

People buy from those that they know and trust. That’s why they enjoy the human element of blogging, the part where they can catch a glimpse of someone else’s heart.

Grow your blog with FREE

Giving away some of your best stuff for free, the kind of content that will improve and add value to the lives of your readers will make them want to reciprocate by either buying your paid products or spreading your message.

Most people won’t buy from you unless you’ve proven to them that you know what you’re talking about. Great content is one of the best ways you can do that. When you give content away for free, you earn trust and anchor your business in the mind of that reader.

They’ll pay for more

Folks who truly love what you do want other ways to access your knowledge. Your biggest fans will start by picking up every digital product you offer. From there, many will want more exclusive access, such as a consulting service, a mentoring or coaching program, or a monthly membership with exclusive access to you.

If you empower people to do what they most want to do, they’ll want to buy something in order to feel closer to you. (And, of course, it goes without saying that you’ll deliver value that’s in line with the prices you’re charging.)

You’d have to sell thousands of e-books to make a living as a blogger, but it might take only a few hundred premium members to do the same job.

Free samples have been part of marketing and selling long before the Internet. Give great value to your readers, and you’ll discover not only does “free” not hurt you, it can actually help you grow your readership and earn a nice income.

P.S. Do check out the following free stuff:

1. This tutorial on crafting the perfect headline here.
2. A free e-book that only costs a newsletter subscription. The best posts I ever wrote on my main blog. All ready to download. Here.