Ask Magpie Girl: Why do you charge for your work?
Last week I sent out a survey asking my readers what kind of Ecourses they might want from me. I included a “tell me more” option so people could write me little notes — and most of those notes were helpful, encouraging, and affirming. A big “Thank You” to everyone who answered my questions! (It’s not too late if you want to chime in.)
That being said, I did get a couple of comments questioning my decision to charge for my work. I feel these are honest questions, coming out of a place of true frustration. So I want to address them this week at Magpie Girl. This was the most complete query:
“I guess I am a little confused at why exactly I have to pay for knowledge. I am sure there is a good explanation. I just feel like people are trying to take money everywhere. At what price? If the people have come to it. This information is important and with everyone, everywhere raising prices and asking for a buck, shouldn’t those of us who wish to be inspired past looking at the all mighty dollar all the time and to what is really important, doesn’t it seem wrong to have to pay for it? Just saying….”
Here are my answers:
1. The work I do at Magpie Girl and Flock is, in fact, my work. It’s not my hobby, it’s my profession. I’ve been providing soulcare and support to artists and spiritual misfits since 1998. I have a master’s degree and everything. I’m passionate about my work, and it is what I do for a living.Most people who show up at their office received a paycheck. I would like to do the same.
2. It’s not sustainable for me to keep working for free. There is a lot of energy that goes into the work I do. Every blog post takes 1-5 hours to research and write. I spend about 30 hours a week writing content. I think about the work I do here, at Flock, and via email all the time. A lot of mental, emotional, and creative energy goes into the efforts made here. I need to honor that by asking for an equitable exchange of energy from you, my lovely compatriots. Does that mean I’m on an eye-for-an-eye warpath? No! Not at all. I’m just trying to find the right balance of energetic give-and-take so that I can keep doing what I do in the long-range, sustainable future.
3. It’s not wrong to pay for products and service that have value to you. If you are an artist, counselor, freelancer, or small business owner you really must request fair pay for your work if you want to do the work long term. Does that mean you can never offer a student discount, or a free trial, or give an item away as a gift? Of course not. I do it all the time. Too much, probably. But please understand, it’s not a sacred exchange between us if it always only goes one way.
4. There are expenses to be covered. That free cookbook? I had to hire a designer to get that done. Ditto for getting Flock off the ground. And even with this simple blog there are hosting fees and design costs. So far I haven’t made a salary or even covered my expenses. (My husband says, please can we improve this situation. :-)
5. It takes time, effort, and special skills to get this product finished. While the information I dispense is widely available from The Universe, I do the work to get it to you in digestible form. Sure, seeds are available and you could grow your own food — if you had the land, the tools, and the know-how. But if you don’t have those things, you have to buy the apple at the market. The advice, lessons, and general inspiration I offer here is the result of many, many hours of distillation effort. I did not just pluck it out of the sky. It took a lot of work. And it’s the effort, not the universally held knowledge itself, that I am requesting compensation for.
So that’s a little bit about why I am starting to offer both “free” and “fee-based” work. As Magpie Girl under goes her re-vamp, there will still be plenty of free offerings, especially if you are on my mailing list. And I’ll also be offering various levels of training with me–from a few dollars a week for light support, to a more gym-like fee for on-going training and nurture. Don’t worry loves, there will always be a place (and price) for you here at Magpie Girl.
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The Thank You Section: Survey Monkey is really cool, and the basic service is free, for which I thank them. Thanks also to Jen Louden, who mentioned in an interview that she used surveys to match her offerings to her reader’s needs. And thanks to to Mark at The Heart of Business who helped me to tune into my intutition and know when to stick to my pricing guns, and when to give a little. And thank you for being here!
22 comments
Thank you for answering this issue so eloquently. It is a curious thing that we (generally) pay to access the internet but expect its content to be without charge, and I am as guilty of it as anyone else. Kudos.
This is endlessly and deeply frustrating to me.
The same people would never question paying how many dollars for an expensive coffee at Starbucks that gives them a momentary buzz, but asking to be paid for work that might CHANGE THEIR LIVES…well…come on!
Okay, phew. Sorry. That just gets me.
There was a great post somewhere, and I wish I could remember where, about the MYTH OF FREE. Nothing is FREE. SOMEONE is paying in some way. And lately, thanks to the proliferation of the free model, it’s the person doing all the work. YOUR TIME, Magpie girl, and your WISDOM, gathered and cultivated by you, are WORTH MORE than free.
Those people will also gladly pay 20 bucks for a PAPER book…”virtual” should be no different.
I’m back…sorry…
I’ve been thinking lately about adding some ads to my site, and I know (oh, do I KNOW) that people will complain.
Adding ads is a way to try to avoid actually charging for content AND perhaps helping to feed my family…but the cries will be loud as I have seen happen time and again on other sites.
Christine,
I know, it is frustrating. I’m hoping some gentle information/education might help matters. I’m sure some people don’t realize how much time/work/thought goes into these thing. Hurrah for education campaigns!
I am actually taking ads off my site as I am not an aggressive enough sales person to make them work for me. Instead I’m charging directly for the new content that I’m producing (Ecourses and books). Wish me luck! And good luck to you. May you recieve only support.
This is an excellent post and topic to think about Rachelle.
excellent points you made. Unfortunately, it seems ESPECIALLY in the area of arts and even more so in SOUL CARE, people assume it should be free. Yet at the same time, when one commits to continuous training WHICH IS NOT CHEAP and takes the time to get the legit credentials-why NOT PAY!
Thank you for posting this question! I was just asking myself the same thing about charging for my own services … and kept responding with ‘why should I charge for something like this?’.
Your answers not only gave me a clearer understanding of why charging is important, but also gave me a prepared response to anyone who might feel as I did.
Thank you!!! You really just totally and completely opened a door for me Rachelle!! I’ll be sharing this post with others too!!
Great post and love the energy in it. We are in the midst of a huge sea change and riding the forefront of it. Free is a myth but the flattening of the world plus the proliferation of content is not plus the Internet started with a free model so it’s very hard to get people to think about paying for what they get for free. Starbucks always charged for coffee. It’s really fascinating to watch how we content creators / soul healers are creating a viable way to make a living. I have faith that somehow we will find a way through this but it is perplexing, at times. Thanks for engaging the question!
bravo on approaching this topic with such clarity. having just gotten a blistering, condemning email from someone about “commercializing” 37days because I am creating an audiobook of Life is a Verb, it’s a topic near and dear to me… thank you.
also I think it’s at it’s most basic creating boundaries. and boundaries around work and work product most definitely a necessary thing.
I’ll add my voice and say how well you’ve answered this issue. I do believe information should be freely available, and the internet is a wonderful repository of information. But there’s an awful lot of complete dross around online as well.
We pay for quality, we pay for convenience.
If I hold a weekend workshop for 20 people I expect to be paid for it. But what I’m teaching is available online free for those who want to hunt around for it. If I hold an online teaching course (which I’m planning) I also expect to be paid for it, even though the same comment holds true.
I also think (warning: gross generalisation ahead!) women especially are prone to undervaluing ourselves and our contribution and we feel we should just give give give.
And Patti, if you’re reading this, I’m completely shocked at the email you just got!
Why charge? Well, hun … because we devote much time to these endeavours …and because time is money, like it or not. And, yes, I’m with Nobel Laureate Milton Freedman, who said “there’s no such thing as a free lunch!”
That said, I really find that Ads on a blog diminshes said blog. IMHO. Just sayin …
Well said. Nice blog. Small and by hand is a sweet thing!
I don’t see ads as primarily a means to make money. Rather, I think they can be an excellent way to alert your readers to tools and resources that will be valuable to them. I never accept an ad or an affiliate program I don’t believe in. I hope that I serve as a Trust Agent to others, and as such carefully selected ads and affliate offerings can become a valuable resource. I don’t think ads diminish a blog at all, provided they are selected properly and encorporated well into the layout.
I’m very slow at coding and dislike email, so managing ads is not a good fit for me. Although I have enjoyed being able to offer them as “thank you” gifts to the guests who have given my readers their time and attention by interviewing at Magpie Girl.
One of the reasons I’m dropping ads in the re-vamp, is to have a more cohesive design look which I can control. That being said, Kind over Matter does an excellent job of using ads in a way that doesn’t interrupt their desgin flow, as do sites like PoppyTalk and Kelley Rae Roberts.
http://kindovermatter.blogspot.com/
http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/
http://www.kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/
Great post. I agree wholeheartedly.
I have been having trouble emailing you using the email address on your site. My emails just bounce back. Could you email me? I hadn’t realised that you had dropped ads and just paid for one through paypal.
Thanks.
Amy
Hey Amy,
I just emailed you and sent you a refund. Sorry for the cross-communication!
You are the second person who has said that to me about my email. Argh! I have no idea what is up with that! Even tho I live on blogs and twitter, I am really very technologically crippled. I’ll look into it!
Cheers,
R
excellent posting.
I believe that if someone wants something as valuable as the soul care you offer, or other life-valuable information for free, that that individual is not at a place to receive the help/info anyways. Only people who are willing to invest a little of themselves, monetary or otherwise, will get something back.
Even in a non-monetary, friend-based mentor relationship, there has to be an investment in the relationship. If I go to somebody I admire and want them to impart their wisdom in my life, it’s not going to happen the first time I meet with them. And it’s not going to happen if I go about it in a self-centred way. I need to invest in them as a person I value.
It’s good to see you are answering these questions. It’s good to see you know you have something valuable.
I love all of the community thoughts on this!
My friend Sarah is a blogger for life and we talk about this issue of money A LOT. I am super fascinated by this article at Fast Company Magazine (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/139/loop-de-loop.html) which talked about the next wave of services which customers are demanding be provided “free” of charge and how the providers of those services have yet to figure out how to do that well (bloggers/facebook/twitter/etc).
I was particularly entranced with the story of GOGGLE which for a long time was considered a joke by experts because they could not figure out how to make money off of their invention.
I believe the question of how to provide services for free while still getting paid is something that we are all still in the process of figuring out.
Hi Rachel! Thanks for posting a link to this blog on 3rd Tribes.
I’m an online instructor from way back. I taught the first online sewing class in 1997. I had no reason to think I shouldn’t make money. Since I was doing it. But even then, I felt there were limits to where and how to make money. I’ve seen every one busted by the right business model.
Fast forward 13 years later. I just recently read “Free: The future of a radical price,” and recommend it to all interested in free versus paid content. It is not a light book – in fact, it’s heavy on economics theory, but it’s sound reasoning and gives a lot more than it takes ($24.95 retail, I believe).
I give a lot away free. It’s karma that I do so. I charge for my experience in the right situations as well. We all have to find the balance in how we live, and your blog has addressed that balance in such a way that I can see it will inspire many to declare,
“I am worth a living wage!”
Brava!
Amen! I’m so glad you wrote this. I am constantly surprised at how creative people tend to feel that their work is not “worth” as much financially as other professions — or even that getting paid somehow makes the work less authentic. Poppycock!
I don’t submit my work to places that do not pay anymore, unless there is some major reason why I would (such as a charity or a friend I want to give to — because giving my time and work is giving!). Many a writer would scoff at that, but I believe my creative work has as much worth as anyone’s work, and I believe for writers to be seen as professionals we need to be paid. Now if I could just get a little more confident when I negotiate those actual paychecks… ;)
And I so agree with the post that said people who expect soul work for free are probably not ready for it — we must make a real investment in this kind of service to validate its purpose, for both parties, period.
Just want to say – I love you for the work you do… regardless if it benefits me in the moment – I know it benefits the universe. I love that you get paid for what you have researched, and learned, and offer, because that IS your work. Education has NEVER been free. I want to learn something, I buy a book, I sign up for a course, I look for people like you. It is my hope to join your flock some day… but right now I take tender baby steps to keep my creative going, and move through what is right now, the drama of my life. BUT I LOVE you for being there. I didn’t read the many comments you have gotten on this topic. I know what it is like to sustain yourself with just the knowledge you have and everyone else wants… Thanks! That is from me, and, if the universe doesn’t mind… the Universe too!
Thank you so much everyone. Your comments really sustained me on a “low” day. This work is rewarding, but hard. I need my community to help me keep on keepin’ on.
Much warmth to you this day,
Your Magpie Girl
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