The internet is amazing.

I genuinely can’t imagine life now without it.

In business terms, it has opened up so much potential to reach for us to reach people across the world.

And for a publisher like me who learned the ropes in the old school days of direct mail (Paper! Ink! Printers! Postage!) It’s utterly transformative.

No need to print newsletters or sales letters…

No need to pay for expensive lists of addresses…

No need for packaging, posting, and waiting for orders, replies and feedback to crawl back via snail mail.

I love how I can use email, social webinar and online training to seek out, and connect with, like-minded women who have ambitions to create their own product.

I can email messages in a single morning and get back instant replies.

I can talk to people live in a webinar….

And I can post on my blog, Instagram and Facebook and see what people think almost immediately.

This is what’s so great about course creation in 2024 – it sidesteps all the obstacles I faced when I started out.

Alas, it can come with a cost.

Doing business in public, often in highly visible online forums that are accessible to everyone…. means that you occasionally have to deal with trolls.

Now I’m lucky in that I have a truly lovely audience but I’ve seen from time to time in the online world there’s a small minority who get a kick out of complaining, griping and undermining anyone who has (even the smallest amount of) influence online.

Often they have a chip on their shoulder…

It could be because they are unhappy with where they’ve got to in life… or jealous of people they think don’t deserve their success… or they just want to lash out to make themselves feel better, or to feel that they have a voice..

So those who put their neck out and publish their advice online become an obvious target.

I’ll give you an example…

“You should do that for free”

Back in the 90s, nobody really expected anything for free.

If someone made a video, wrote a book, offered consultations, or made a software tool, it would come at a price.

In the 2000s, there was a radical transformation when the ‘freemium’ model took over the internet.

In that model, businesses would give a large chunk of content for free in order to build an audience – then charge for higher level products or services, or they’d use advertising to monetise their content.

But the huge amount of ‘free stuff’ has led a lot of internet users to think that everything should be free – to the point that they demand it (unfairly) at all times.

This is why I’ve noticed a dark undertone to the online discourse in the world of content creation.

And I have to say I think it’s women more than men that get affected by this….

But there is a tiny group of people who get really snotty whenever you ask for money for something you produce.

This is in spite of ALL the wonderful free material you’ve produced (for free) at great cost to yourself.

Because if you’ve ever created any content….be it a lead magnet, a video or a blog post…. you’ll know that it takes some time and thought.

There are creators who produce brilliant videos, emails, social media posts and newsletters for YEARS, helping thousands of ordinary people overcome problems and achieving goals for no charge.

They put the hours in… they do the research… they learn the necessary skills… they grapple with the tech…. they overcome shyness and doubt… they pass over wisdom and knowledge they’ve taken a lifetime to learn.

And yet…

As soon as they ‘dare’ to launch a ‘paid-for’ service they get pilloried by sneery comments.

“How dare you!?”

“This should be free!”

“Now we’re seeing your true colours!”

“You’re just trying to make money from hard working people!”

Well, I’m calling bullsh*t on this complaint.

Why Should Content Creators Work for Free
If Nobody Else Does?

Would any of these people who demand free labour from content creators be prepared to work for free?

No, they wouldn’t.

So why do they expect this from hard-working content creators?

Why are the hours we spend on content deemed less valuable than doing a spreadsheet for an accounting client…. or writing a brochure for a holiday company…. or creating a corporate video.

Why are the skills we’ve learned in research, communication, presentation and social media any less valuable?

Managers, salespeople, copywriters and marketers get rewarded financially for their work in business.

Nobody would expect them to offer their services for free.

Yet the angry person becomes apoplectic with rage when they see a digital content creator ask for money for a product in which they’ve put their time, skills, passion and energy.

I’m astonished by how much more this seems to happen to women content creators than male ones.

But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised…

There are certain people in their world who don’t like it when strong independent women put their heads above the parapet to speak their minds.

But let’s not fall into that trap.

If you’ve got an audience and you are scared to launch a paid for service (be it a course or membership) because of trolls, here’s what to do…

How to deal with this…

First of all, accept there will be some people that will moan, gripe and complain.

Remember that’s all they’re EVER going to do.

Sure, they might be lurking on your social media, reading your blog, or receiving your emails…

But they’re not paying for anything.

So they’re not your customers. As loud as their voices might be, they are totally irrelevant to your business.

And of course you can just block them!

Secondly, you can reduce the likelihood of the ‘it should be free’ complaint by setting expectations.

Rather than declaring that all your advice is free, hiding the paid-for elements, or making people think you are doing this purely as a public service for a social cause….

Be transparent about how your business works.

I think Denise Duffield Thomas (mindset mentor and author) does this very well…

She produces a lot of free content but she also makes it clear she has paid-for services too.

So if you are thinking of creating a paid service, start talking about it in your free content.

Create excitement for the many extra benefits it could bring… and show how much work, skill and knowledge you are going to be sharing.

By the time you launch, there won’t be anyone who doesn’t fully expect you to charge money.

The detractors, if you have any, will have already expressed their disdain, meaning you get fewer silly comments beneath posts when you launch (and it’s up to you whether you delete them or not…some people love the engagement they create 😉)

Don’t be afraid to use this strategy!

Yes, you might lose some followers or email subscribers….

But unless you are doing this for charity, you need to ask for money at some point. Don’t be afraid of that – you aren’t doing anything wrong.

So the only people you need to focus on are those who will be happy to pay for what you share.