3 builders who never spoke to each other

Build the free version to sell the paid one

A free tier that feels like a stub converts nobody, and one that is genuinely complete at the surface shows exactly what the depth would be worth. Assemble a sample out of the most persuasive pieces of the whole rather than exporting one chapter, wrap it so it keeps selling wherever it gets forwarded, and name specifically what sits behind the paywall every single time you send.

The method

1. 01

   Make the free edition genuinely complete at a surface level rather than a stub, so most readers are satisfied and the minority who want the depth can see exactly what they are buying.

2. 02

   Name the specific things free subscribers are missing at the end of every send: the community, the deep dives, the tools, the events.

3. 03

   Build the sample by pulling the sections most likely to convince a browser from across the whole book, rather than exporting one chapter as-is.

4. 04

   Structure the sample PDF as a sales asset: a personal introduction, the complete table of contents, and a closing page that names what the full book covers and links to the sales page, so it keeps selling wherever it is forwarded.

What it returned

• $15

  Houck's Newsletter closes each edition and its footer with the upgrade prompt listing what is behind the $15 monthly tier.

• Eric Lam's free edition gives the search trend data for a keyword plus three buildable businesses, each with name, industry, problem, solution and competitive advantage, before the paid deep dive follows two days later.

Sources

• Driving ongoing book sales with a sample chapterNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · The sample chapter · 2013-09-25
• Friday Feature: Exploding IdeasEric Lam · sparkloop.app · 🙋 How Exploding Ideas does it ‍ · undated
• Friday Feature: Houck's NewsletterMichael Houck · sparkloop.app · 🙋 How Houck's Newsletter does it · undated