I don’t know where I read this – and I have read it numerous times – that we live in a knowledge economy. Knowledge economy means you acquire knowledge and you share it with your audience, no matter what is the medium.
Bloggers, one way or another, have always done that. Based on their knowledge and communication skill they first build an audience and then with the help of that audience that build businesses. 37 signals is one company that has given its knowledge for free and earned a few million dollars consequently.
Does sharing your knowledge freely always earn you money? It depends on what you are trying to share and it also depends on your audience. For example, the 37 signals audience would be freelance web designers, software professionals, and all those professionals who work from multiple locations on multiple projects. They target small businesses and freelancers who don’t have big budgets for managing their projects and promotional activities.
I was thinking how to apply the same logic (of course not the exact copy, because every business is unique) to my own business – content writing and copywriting service. I have always been sharing knowledge on my website in the form of articles and blog posts on how to improve your writing and how to make an impact through your writing. This fetches me lots of relevant traffic. This also increases my relevancy – my traffic is miniscule but I make a comfortable living. But it doesn’t mean I’m satisfied. I want to increase my business so much that I mostly managing projects instead of working on them.
For that I need to build traffic, and more than the traffic and need to build an audience, and you can build an audience when you share your knowledge honestly, without holding anything back, and on a regular basis. For me here, the key word is “regularity” because this is something I am not able to follow consistently.
Anyway, I found this immensely insightful video featuring Jason Fried from 37 signals in which he explains how it makes sense to share your knowledge and business secrets openly and increase your business in the process.