Louis CK Earns $1 Million in 12 Days With $5 Video

Perhaps you’ve seen the story of how this comedian posted a video of his show and

Louis CK

invited people to purchase it for $5. In just 12 days, he made over $1 million. (To read the full story at Mashable, click the headline above.)

I see three profound messages for the B2B marketer from this experience:

1. Take a chance - If Louis CK had not done what had never been done before, he would have never learned what was possible. This is why marketers need to continually tinker and experiment. Take the chance to try things that have never been done before.
2. Price it very low - Louis CK only asked $5 - not a lot. Keeping the price low made the barrier to buying very low. Download it for free or pay $5 - it’s not much money.
3. Trust people- This is the biggest one in my mind. You could simply download the show for free. You did not have to pay him.Contrast that with PRWeb.com. Why can’t I simply create a draft press release and share it for approvals? But you cannot do that with PRWeb. They insist I pay first. Bad idea, I think. You don’t trust me? (Note that the press release is not released till they approve it, making this “pay in advance” policy pointless.)

What do you think? What lessons do you believe come from this example? We love comments and those who share on social networks.

Jeff Ogden (@fearlesscomp) is the President of Find New Customers and the host of Mad Marketing TV as well. He’s also a speaker for the Business Marketing Association and Vistage.