Open Source marketing: Lead with Free or benefits?

“Talking about Software Freedom to most people is an “eat
your vegetables” approach to marketing. It’s like
telling people that they should diet and exercise (and eat their
veggies) in order to be healthy and live longer — all of
which is true, and sound advice. But what motivates people to
exercise and diet, usually? The message that they will look and
feel better in the short term. You’ve all seen the
“join a gym now so you’re ready for swimsuit
season” advertisements. Convincing people that getting
slimmer and healthier to live longer is a hard sell. Convincing
people that they can be more attractive and so on — that
tends to seal the deal. Even though living longer and being more
generally healthy is more important than looking good —
it’s not something that resonates with most people.”

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