For some time, I was thinking about publishing and selling a web analytics guide (in print!), but never had the time to do it. After reading a post from Jerry Kirkpatrick, I am actually glad that I didn’t publish it yet.
Jerry Kirkpatrick is a professor of international business and marketing at California State Polytechnic University and posted an interesting text about “The Market Function of Piracy”:
“One of the most dramatic recent instances of this was the strategy of science fiction writer Cory Doctorow who, over the course of three years, gave away 700,000 electronic copies of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. Sales of the hard copy went through six printings and surpassed his publisher’s expectations. Many of the downloaders, Doctorow said, did not buy the hard copy and probably would not have regardless, but the giveaway created considerable buzz and a significant minority did buy the hard copy. Compare this to the experience of the Mises Institute with Omnipotent Government.
Free — no matter where it comes from — can help sell.”
