George Kao Courses

✍🏽 Authentic Content Flow (ACF) 2023+

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Free vs Paid content -- are you clear on the differences for you?

9:22 Video (52 MB) HD Video (203 MB) Audio (9 MB)
Let's talk about free versus paid content. This is a course about creating content, and some of the stuff you create might actually end up being in a paid product. So let me explain how I see free versus paid. It's very important. To understand this distinction, especially for your own framework.
So the basic of it is the the basic business, free content, in my view, the most ideal, is context setting. It gives people the the why of your framework. Okay? It gives people hope that they can take the journey and be in a better place than they are currently with regard to your topic. It gives them hope.
It gives them the overall map just like when you go to a town. I don't know if they do this anymore, but go to a tourist office or sometimes at the restaurants, you get, like, little fun map that looks like a cartoon, like, oh, the exhibition center, It's over here. The lake is over here. You know, our most famous restaurant is over here. And it's just like a fun map, but it's not something you can literally navigate to your friend's house with who lives in the city.
Right? Like like, by the way, we don't even use, you know, obviously, everyone's on GPS now. So sorry for those of you who are We don't know what a map is. But but that's what that's what we used to have. Okay?
These fund fund funds maps. And then to get a detailed map, you know, we before the the smartphone, we used to buy these these books, okay, of maps where it's like one page is one neighborhood in detail. And then maybe in the beginning of the map, it's like a larger several pages of the larger area, and they'll tell you, to for the detail of this neighborhood, go to page B6, and then you have to flip to page B6 for the detailed neighborhood. Like, turn left, turn right, this is how but you have to pay for that. You know, the fun map of, like, here's the amusement park.
Here's the lake. Here's the forest. That's free at the, you know, local tourism office. And so that's free content. Is the fun map?
Is the overview of the journey that you take people on. From where they are right now, let's say you are dealing in health and wellness. Right now, they don't feel so well in various parts of their life and and you free content also should clearly diagnose why there are certain problems. You don't have to be a health coach diagnosed. You can be in the topic of relationships.
You can talk about spirituality. You could talk about business. You can talk about, you know, leadership or whatever. But whatever. Area they're whatever situation they're in right now, they know it's not perfect.
It's not where they wanna end up you know, in a year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years. They wanna end up in a better place. Why is it that they're there? What's your diagnosis? Of why they're experiencing the Simplero.
Right? Or why they haven't gone they haven't made the progress all the way. Why? Because if you can clearly diagnose, then they're like, oh my gosh. Thank you for giving me language to understand my current situation.
And where I wanna go. I didn't even know I I wanted to go there sometimes. I mean, they kinda generally sense, okay. I'm in pain. I wanna be out of pain.
Or I'm feeling black and I wanna feel grilled or, you know, I wanna feel alive again. Right? Whatever it is that you help people move towards. They know, you know, how they're feeling, more or less. Sometimes you can even describe that.
Right? To say, did did did you feel this way? Oh my gosh. That Yes. That's exactly how I'm feeling.
So the free content is that kind of stuff. It's diagnosis, it's giving them language to understand their current situation. It's the overall map of the journey. It's not the step by step. But like I said, it's the fun map to say, well, basically, you gotta understand the the landscape here.
You know, you you're here, and there's this large make over here. There's this large swamp over here you want to avoid. There's this forest you have to make it through. It's a very thick forest with lots of brush and undergrowth and some scary, you know, some scary situations, monsters or whatever. There's the mountaintop that you're trying to get to.
The mountain has 4 stages, right, or whatever it is. You're giving them the context to understand the journey that they themselves probably want to take it. They understood it. That's free content. Paid content is now let me show you exactly ChatGPT tools to use.
Maybe the tools you even give them in a free content. Here are the tools you basically need to need to get these tools. You need to learn how to use these tools. That might be part of the free content. But the paid content certainly tells them how to use the tools to get through the forest, to to walk through the swamp, to go go across the the giant chasm to get to the bottom of the mountain now, and now how do you get up the mountain without dying?
Or how do you get up the mountain at all? Because you look at the mountains, but there's a way up and I've made it up there or I've helped people get up there. And the paid content is the step by step, how to get up the mountain, how to use the tools, how to work with your Sherpa, you know, ChatGPT to do when there's a there's an avalanche. You know? Like, all that stuff is in the paid content.
This is the online courses. This is your books to some extent. I mean, you you might know my books are essentially my free content organized in a way, so I don't do so much how to with my books. But, essentially, online courses and workshops of various kinds, you retreats your your service packages, your service, that's all paid stuff, whereas the free is giving them the context the overview of the journey, the hope. This is actually very important for me to say.
If they don't have the sense of possibility. Oh my god. I know I can see the journey now. I can see that it's possible, and I have the hope that I can do it in the next in my lifetime, first of all. But hopefully, in the next 10 years, I can do this.
Right? Or maybe you don't even give them a particular timeline, but they feel like, you know what? I'm gonna I wanna take this journey. I'm excited now because I have the hope, I have the clarity of the journey, and I have the hope that it can be done. And actually, I'm also hopeful because you've given me the hope I'm gonna trust you to help me along the journey.
How where where where can when can we start? How do I get started with you? Oh, I should take this class first with you. I should take this workshop. Great.
I should sign up for this initial package with you. Great. Free hope, paid how. Okay? That's and one thing I one more thing I would say.
Free is also the why, the philosophies. Right? Like I said, the diagnosis and diagnosis a lot about philosophy. Why do I think you have this problem? Well, you gotta understand my philosophy about this.
And now you understand my philosophy. You understand what where you situate yourself in that philosophy. Or where this problem is situated in that philosophy, and this is why you have the problem. And this is why the journey from my point of view makes sense. This is why I've created this journey.
You understand my philosophy now. This is why this journey is important. This is why the journey must be taken in this way because you are this type of person. My journey and this is additional contact setting for the for the the free content Midjourney is not for everybody. Right?
Because I can't I'm not gonna say, I am the perfect a to z solution for every human being in the world. That's not accurate and that's not yeah. It's not it's not accurate. It's not true. And it's also too much to cover.
But then I say, my journey works I've noticed my journey works really well for this type of person. So like for me, for example, authentic marketing works really well when you've already seen through the the manipulation of funnels or the The lack of joy there is in doing marketing as traditional, lack of joy, lack of authenticity, lack of feeling of connection to the to the people you wanna serve. Great. If you're that kind of person, my gosh, you're gonna love this journey. But if you are really just like George, I don't care, I just give me the funnels.
I just wanna follow along like an automaton. Great. Wonderful. There's plenty of other places for you. You know, that are so this is this is the free.
Free is the context setting, the understanding of who, for whom it's for and why this thing works so well for them and then the paid is the how. So I hope this is helpful. Feel free to comment below if you want to practice sharing with us. Okay. Now I understand this is gonna be my free content.
These these topics, and this is gonna be my paid content. The detailed how to's and the holding their hands through all that stuff. Feel free to comment below if you wanna practice describing your work in in this kind of framework.
Free… 
  • “White-belt” content / easy to consume / foundational for advanced too

  • The “why” and the “what”... versus the “how” is paid content.
  • Where to post free content? Everywhere. Follow content distribution module (later in this course).

Paid… 
  • Complex, comprehensive, detailed, step-by-step how-to.

  • Books: start self-publishing, can be sold to a publisher later.

  • Courses: usually include video and/or audio.

Other thoughts about free vs. paid content? Highlight this and add a comment.

ACF z3 White belt vs black belt.mp4
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Last updated 8 Nov 2023.