Try before you buy

 I'm amazed at the breadth and variety of "free" tools out there on the web. For instance, this blog is hosted for free via Blogger. You can video conference for free via Zoom. Gmail for email, Thinkific for courses, Buffer for scheduled social media posts, Feedly for news reading, MailChimp for sending emails, StreamYard for live streaming to multiple platforms, Canva for building great visuals, Dropbox for backup and cloud storage, and on and on. And that is just the services I've used or been looking at in the last 24 hours.

Of course each of these has a paid plan. They provide enough features to give you a taste or to try it out. They all provide a lot of free value but don't give away everything for free. A few of these I have found that the service worked so well that I trusted them to provide real value paying for the service. 

For instance, Dropbox was so helpful in automatically backing up my files and making sure they were available on all my computers that I upgraded to a paid tier (and that was before they added SmartSync to automatically handle disk space issues). As I used the service within the limitations of the free version, I could see possibilities for value by upgrading to the paid tier. This has proved true while developing the Financial Foundations course. I've been able to keep all the original videos as well as final produced videos, along with PDFs, eBooks, MP3s, all organized and available from any computer.

Thinkific looks like it will be a similar story. I'm boot strapping my course by using the free tier. There are many features I would like to have for my course, but to start, I'll try out Thinkific to make sure it is worth the money with the free tier. I full expect that once I raise enough to cover upgrading that I will be upgrading and taking advantage of the features. The other reason to use the free tier up front is that there is so many features to take advantage of in setting up a course, that even if I paid for the tier I would like to buy in at for the features, I wouldn't get around to actually using those features because I'm so busy just setting up the basics.

I have found that Gmail uses a slightly different model. They provide free email with limited storage. The storage is very generous (18 GiB). It would take years to fill that up. But the thing about email is that it tends to just stack up. Years of emails available at your fingertips to search through is really valuable. Eventually you'll reach the limit (I was at 90% at one point and have removed a bunch of junk to get it back down to 60%). Once your mailbox reaches capacity, you've probably been relying on Gmail for so long that it is integrated into your life and workflows. You have come to rely on it for a decade. For a small monthly fee, you can continue using Gmail in the way you are used to.

Both of these models (Dropbox and Thinkific vs Gmail) start with providing value for free. They show you the value they provide. They gain your trust through their actions and then offer to provide even more value to you at a price. Test driving gives you a clear view of the value of the extra features. 

This same model can be used in our daily lives. For instance, some people justify their work habits with phrases like, "They don't pay me enough to do that." or "I'm already doing so much, if they want more they will have to give me a raise or promotion." The problem is that you have not built enough trust. Be like Dropbox and give more value than expected. Give them more for free. And not just for a week or a month, and not even counting on them subscribing to a paid tier (raise or promotion) but because you are in the business of providing more value than expected. 

This attitude of providing more than expected becomes a habit, a part of who you are. While you don't do it to get raises and promotions, you'll gladly except the recognition of the value you add. The point is the person you are becoming, regardless of the reward. As you become a master at adding value, they will be forced to acknowledge the value with raises or promotions, or other opportunities will become available to you. 

One of my favorite phrases I tell my clients is that money is the receipt for the value you add to society. However money doesn't come right away. Become the type of person who constantly looks for ways to add more value and as you master that skill opportunities, either where you are at or externally, will present themselves.

So what are your favorite "free" services? How can you become more like them and add value before receiving a receipt for the value you add?