{"id":4847,"date":"2017-03-01T02:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T07:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=4847"},"modified":"2017-02-27T12:29:42","modified_gmt":"2017-02-27T17:29:42","slug":"when-free-is-insufficient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2017\/03\/when-free-is-insufficient\/","title":{"rendered":"When Free Is Insufficient"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4850 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/20FreeTkts-e1487625502104.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/>They won&#8217;t even come when it&#8217;s <\/em>free<em>!<\/em><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That lament from an arts administrator, with eyes rolled and hands thrown up, demonstrates a profound lack of connection with the subject of the exclamation. It is usually expressed in a &#8220;safe space&#8221; in an arts organization&#8217;s office or conference room. I get the frustration but let&#8217;s break it down a bit. First, nothing is ever really &#8220;free.&#8221; At the least there is opportunity cost: what might someone be doing <em>other<\/em> than the thing with no financial cost associated? The list of other costless and\/or, to the potential attendee, more compelling opportunities is long. In addition, for those unfamiliar with the art form or venue there is also the psychological cost of stepping into the unknown. This is exacerbated where the venue or art form has negative connotations in their minds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But I would go further and bet that there are a number of things the speaker would not consider doing even if they were free. Try it for yourself. Quick, put together a short list of things you&#8217;d pass on even if they were free. We&#8217;ll wait.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are a number of things that many people enjoy that would be for me a kind of torture. Here&#8217;s just a tiny representative list:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Games of almost any kind. I (metaphorically) break out in hives if someone suggests we play charades. (This is why I tend to be the timer, scorekeeper, or judge when my family plays board or other kinds of games. They love me enough to tolerate my near-phobia yet include me nonetheless.)<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Skiing. Almost everyone I know loves to ski or would take advantage of a free opportunity to learn. I am not even remotely interested in participating in something in which becoming cold <em>and<\/em> wet is a central feature.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Kickboxing lessons. I have no inherent philosophical problem with the sport. And I fully respect those for whom it is a cherished activity. But it&#8217;s not for me.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You get the idea. (Putting this together sobered me to the fact that I could easily make this list go on and on. I&#8217;ll probably not pursue that revelation too closely.) The point is that just because something is free does not mean that we should assume everyone wants to do it. <strong>The nonprofit arts industry has reputational, relevance, and relationship issues that make a lack of &#8220;freeness&#8221; only one element in a person&#8217;s decision to pass on a giveaway.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Without a doubt, cost <em>can<\/em> be a reason people choose not to attend arts events. However, it is only one factor among many. Focusing on the price of admission is, frankly, far simpler than addressing other inhibiting factors. But if we are to expand our base, we have to be looking at as many of those stumbling blocks as possible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If people are not taking advantage of your free offerings, you probably should consider those other issues rather than complain about &#8220;them.&#8221; (And by the way, don&#8217;t get me started on the default to &#8220;them&#8221; and &#8220;they&#8221; in talking about people with whom we need to build relationships.)<\/p>\n<p>Engage!<\/p>\n<p>Doug<\/p>\n<p>Photo:<span class=\"ccIcn ccIcnSmall\"><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Attribution\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/pw\/images\/cc_icon_attribution_small.gif\" alt=\"Attribution\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/span> <a title=\"Attribution License\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Some rights reserved<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/markmorgantrinidad\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Morgan Trinidad B<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Considering why &#8220;free&#8221; may not be enough to entice attendees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"When Free Is Insufficient: Considering why \"free\" may not be enough to entice attendees","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,13,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-4847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-principles","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-relationships","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/20FreeTkts-e1487625502104.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-1gb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4504,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/05\/the-work-will-do-the-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":4847,"position":0},"title":"&#8220;The Work Will Do the Work&#8221; ??","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The Work Will Do the Work\" ?? Chris McLeod on marketing and relationships.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Customer-Client-Collaborator Series&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Customer-Client-Collaborator Series","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/customer-client-collaborator-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ChrisMcLeod","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/ChrisMcLeod.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4263,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/10\/making-my-peace-with-sales\/","url_meta":{"origin":4847,"position":1},"title":"Making My Peace with Sales","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The case must be made for why someone should choose the arts experience over other options. To do so, we must have a relationship with them that can inform our messages.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Customer-Client-Collaborator Series&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Customer-Client-Collaborator Series","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/customer-client-collaborator-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CashRegister","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CashRegister-e1438012800963.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4170,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/06\/they-just-dont-wanna\/","url_meta":{"origin":4847,"position":2},"title":"They Just Don&#8217;t Wanna?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"June 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Barriers to participation: time, money, interest, or feeling out of place?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/SpoonOutOfPlace-e1431460435923.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":384,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2011\/09\/under-the-radar-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4847,"position":3},"title":"Under the Radar-2","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For over a decade, the Community Arts Network was the world's single most comprehensive website devoted the potential that the arts represent for community growth and improvement. It will be shocking to some that I include it in the \"Under the Radar\" category. For those of us vitally interested in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Examples&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Examples","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Radar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6700,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2023\/02\/saving-virtue\/","url_meta":{"origin":4847,"position":4},"title":"Saving Virtue","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"February 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"There is no substitute for the listening and learning that effective engagement requires and there is no substitute for effective engagement if we are to make our organizations viable for the long term.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/humility.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":982,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/01\/the-question-of-equity-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4847,"position":5},"title":"The Question of Equity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I am gratified to see that the question of equity and the arts remained on people's radar screens over the Holidays. A number of end-or-the-year posts listed it as a major topic of 2011. (Notably, Ian David Moss's Createquity post The Top 10 Arts Policy Stories of 2011 and Barry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/NotEqual.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4847"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4869,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4847\/revisions\/4869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}