Free Book = Free Marketing … The Pirate’s Dilemma
As of June 8th, The Pirate’s Dilemma by Matt Mason, is now freely available online in eBook format for whoever and whomever wishes to share the book. In a move that signals marketing tactics for the 21st century and beyond, the author and publisher have both agreed that they should make the electronic format freely available and that, in doing so, it will not significantly impact the physical sales of the book.
I personally bought the book as soon as I saw the video of Matt Mason giving a talk at the Medici Tech Summit, so, as others, I will not feeling impeded to download an electronic copy. Though it is something that, ultimately, I will probably not even look at, the goal is served, because the free marketing and promotion that Mason and publisher, Simon and Schuster get for the book out of blogs such as this, is untold and incalculable.
The notion that you can give away your product and still make money, or actually make something out of it by saving costs might seem like an odd one in the traditional world, but in the new data driven economy where digital copies can be made at zero additional cost, the advantages are great in giving away your product. This is because no product is created equal. A digital product is not the same as the physical product and they are not sold at the expense of one another but in conjunction with one another.
The fact that vinyl is making a considerable comeback in the digital age is testament to that fact. How odd that people would buy such a cumbersome product that they cannot even rip easily to their iPod or other MP3 player. Clearly quality usurps convenience and that people will happily spend money on both vinyl and digital download at the same time, generating twice as much revenue for the artist or record label.
So perhaps the real dilemma isn’t quite one for the Pirates, but one for the creators in the new internet economy and whether or not to try and increase interest and sales of their physical goods by giving away electronic copies that cost them nothing to generate and share.
Find your copy of the Pirate’s Dilemma Here.
