A Teaser Vs Giving It Away

Sounds rather lewd doesn't it?  Actually I'm referring to online publishing of your work.  When you submit to online sites many of them do not end up paying you for your work, mostly because their readers do not have to pay to read it.  It is a free download.  Now it may sound crazy since you are thinking to yourself  "I am in this business to make money not give it away!"  However a free sample can have its benefits some of which include:

1. A sample of your writing - you might write a non-fiction article or a short story, items that won't net (pardon the pun) you a whole lot of cash anyway.
2. Public Relations - ah yes, good old PR.  Well it's a proven industry and it's still around for decades upon decades because it works.  Sending out free samples of your work into the internet universe may garner you some attention from publishers who actually do pay for writing.
3. Self-Promotion - nothing wrong with getting your name out there and not just because you can write.  Perhaps you are an expert in an area other than writing.  If you write about it and it is downloaded free of charge someone may need your expertise in that particular field and voila you can make money via that route.
4. Communication/Interaction with the outside world - lots of terrific social networking goes on via the internet as we all well know.  The more people who know your name the better the chances that your writing will get picked up by a paying publisher.
5. Invitations and Information - oftentimes when I connect with people I would otherwise never connect with I find out about author signings, conventions, ways to make and post free websites etc. That's worth its weight in gold right there.
6. Good Practice - if you haven't got anyone beating down the door for your latest publication at the moment it never hurts to keep those writing skills sharp for when they do start calling.
7. Submitting 1 chapter to a site like Read 1 Chapter Free of your published work can be a smart move.  It's great advertising, you reach a huge audience and you don't give away too much of your novel/book/poetry collection etc.  In fact you don't really have to submit the entire chapter to some of these sites, who is going to know anyway?  The idea is not to slam dunk your readers with the entire book or poetry collection (yes some writers have been known to do that!). It's to leave them wanting more.  I have actually gone out and bought a book strictly because the prologue intrigued me so much. That's personal proof that a little teaser without giving it away is very effective PR!