Why are you in business? It’s possible that you have some altruistic reason for making money, but it’s also possible that you’re doing it all for you. If that’s the case, don’t overlook the value of giving away some of your money.

What?

Yes, I think there’s value in giving away money, besides the obvious good feelings it gives you. I think people who may be reluctant to buy or support at first, would probably be more likely to give if you were doing something good with the money or part of it at least.

Think of when someone comes to your house. Are you more likely to buy a subscription or purchase a candy bar if they are raising money for charity or if they say they just want some spending cash? We all like to think we’re spending money wisely and everyone likes to give back. Think of the (PRODUCT)RED campaign or Tom’s Shoes. We like the products, but it really helps when the money’s going to a good cause.

And even if you don’t improve your bottom line as a result of your cause marketing effort, everyone will be better off as a result of it.

How many people like what you do? Is one out of a hundred too few or too many? In other words, if you’re a painter, out of 100 people, how many would look at your work and say, “Hey, I’d like to buy that”? Can you make a living with that kind of popularity (1%)?

I’ve already mentioned the Long Tail, but here’s where it gets interesting online. Suppose only 1% of the general population likes your art/subscribes to your thinking/has a hobby in your expertise. Well, there are a lot of people in the general population. In the US, there are just over 300 million people. If we say that only 100 million are online, one percent of that would be 1 million people. That’s a good sized market if you can connect with them, and it’s not even counting international or non-English speakers.

Blogging isn’t the only way to connect with these people, but it’s cheap and simple and can establish you as a leading expert in your field if you know what you’re doing. Besides, unless you’re super-niche, there’s a good chance that more people than 1% will want what you have.

Inspired by an article by Derek Sivers at CDbaby called Proudly Exclude Some People.