I love that it's possible to make money off of digital goods as an independent content producer. But I hate the way that most buyers and sellers perceive value in the digital marketplace.

In an age where open source software has reached into pretty much every nook and cranny you can think of, it's absurd to think that there are still many people out there who think that releasing content for free is a sign of a lack of confidence in that work. It doesn't matter if it's a software project, a book, a screencast, or any other digital artifact. People will tell you, if you really value your work, you'd charge for it. And you'd charge a lot!

But these people always seem so insecure to me. Do you really need money to keep score on how much value you are producing in the world? I don't. That having been said, there is nothing wrong with making money, or even being profitable, assuming that profit is going to make something else that's awesome possible. It's hard to produce awesome stuff if you can't pay your rent or grocery bills, and ideally, you to make that money doing the thing you love, not something else that's "just a job" to you.

The mindset of extracting maximum value from any given piece of work forces you into a model of artificial scarcity. The model of not giving away anything for free unless it's been completely squeezed dry actually seems to be an effective way to rake in cash, but again, it seems to exhude a lack of confidence even though it is meant to express the opposite. Personally, I think that this model does not give customers enough credit.

My ideal customer is one who purchases something not simply to jump a pay wall, but because they believe in the work that I'm doing. I want a customer that is smart enough to realize that producing good works costs money, and that their payments to me are a way to help me recover my costs, and also help me get by while I focus on improving my existing works or starting new interesting projects. That customer understands that by paying me, they're actually investing in my projects, and in me. As a paying customer, they share in the successes and failures of my ventures, and my successes and failures are dependent on them.

What this boils down to is that I seek customers that are investors, not consumers, when I produce digital goods. My revenue stream is a combination of a tip jar for a job well done, and a bet on my future for those who trust me and my work. With this kind of customer, I can give as much away for free as I'd like and still make money. With this kind of mindset, I can focus on making new things rather than squeezing cash out of old things. It is not a quick or easy way to make a living, but it sure is a satisfying one.