Why Should I Pay You? My Approach To How Much To Share

I don't typically post material about consulting in general.  But the irony in writing a piece about 'sharing too much' by sharing too much was simply too attractive to me.

One mistake I commonly see made by those relatively new to the consulting world, is that they overshare their knowledge on blogs in an attempt to prove themselves.  I'm all for using blogs as a vehicle to allow prospects to gauge your level of knowledge, your point of view, and your fit within their particular organization...but as the old saying goes "Why would I buy the cow if I can get the milk for free?".  At the other end of the spectrum are those that never have any truly original material and simply re-purpose what they find elsewhere on the web, there's nothing for a client to get their arms around in regards to your expertise or point of view so no reason for them to engage with you.

I can't tell you exactly where you should draw that line, it varies greatly depending upon your blogging objectives (and your desperation), but I can tell you my approach.  First, I almost never give out "how-to" articles.  How-To information is great if you're only looking for traffic and can monetize it to make a living, but that's about it.  I give away "point of view" materials that make it very clear what my approach to certain subjects is, but not material that you could walk away with and try and execute.  That said, every 4-6 months there will be one main new "offering" that I spend a considerable amount of time packaging.  The approach there is very calculated in determining how I will take that offering apart and segment it into tiers, one of which will be information I push out publicly for free.

It might be easiest if you just imagine a 3-tier pyramid.  
  • At the bottom of the pyramid is the fully formed offering, think of it as a completed book.  It is the tier of knowledge that would be sold to clients in a consulting engagement (and eventually would be used to write a book if that's your objective)
  • The layer above that would be the table of contents with summaries of each section.  This tier is what you would base your presentations on, speaking engagements, etc. You can also extend this tier a little to do paid webinars if the material is appropriate for that venue.
  • And finally, the top layer.  This would be the equivalent of a "book review".  It's opinion based material that touches on the subject matter and makes it clear that there is more depth available below it.  This tier represents give-away blog material, the basis for any marketing materials, etc.  It's your "teaser".  In my case my 'blog' isn't really a factor in my consulting business due to my business model but this tier is where it would go.
As long as there is enough depth to the topic, and as long as you're bringing something unique to the table (either the point of view, or new approach), this method works well for monetizing your knowledge.  The reason I do this 2-3 times per year is simply because it's required to stay ahead in any technology based sector.  But if I'm honest, it also forces me to really stretch myself because I have to not only focus in on solving a particularly in demand customer pain point but make it a killer offering that can be monetized given the methods above.  That latter part is important.  I've had tons of great ideas (or what seemed like great ideas) that simply could not be monetized.  If you're a consultant and don't have a plan in advance for how you're going to get paid you're doomed before you've even gotten started.  If the only thing you have to say when you walk into a client is what they've already read on your blog why would they pay you?

Where consulting is concerned, you don't "share", you "tease".  The above structure is what works for me, maybe there's something in there that will help you find your own structure.

Matt Ridings - @techguerilla
Posted on Sunday, Aug 1, 2010 by