How much free is too much free?

Written in a hurry so might not be the most structured answer ever.

I would agree with @clagio . There comes a point where customers start to suspect that your service is of little to no value if you give too much away or, worse, that they will only use your free tools.

You would think, wouldn't you, that people would like and value freebies and then take the next step and buy something.

Most won't. Most will also complain bitterly about anything they don't like. They will contribute almost nothing to your income but everything to your business headaches. From previous posts of yours, I know there is a manual element to your image processing so you don't want to be working for nothing for people who, for the most part, will never invest in you.

What you could do, of course, is offer a free Instagram-ready digital image with each print you sell and charge a fee for anyone who just wants the digital version. From a psyhcological perspective, only tell the customer they have the freebie after they have accepted the print version. Why? That way, it is a delightful surprise for the first time customer. You are exceeding their expectations and so they are more likely to tell other people about you.

If your thinking is to get your art across Instagram more, you would be better off approaching influences on Instagram and offering them free images in return for a mention of some sort.

Another trick you could employ is to charge for digital images but randomly give one away free with some marketing blurb. In other words, I am just about to pay for the file when you say "this one's on the house". Obviously, you would need some randomiser code behind the scenes to decide when to do it. Also, tell the people to whom you are offering the freebie that you randomly do this sort of things .. so they tell their friends and at least encourage their friends to come and visit you.

Similarly with your print sales. For regulat customers, surprise them occasionally with a free or half price offer. Always try to surprise and delight. Don't give everything away for free but reward loyalty, confound expectations for new-comers and generally do things which make people want to share their experience of you with others.

Hi Chad, I'm happy to know is working well for you.

Regarding free/not free, I think in general, unless you are a recognized brand or established business, is an advantage to let people understand your value before they commit and lower the friction to acquire users as much as possible.

At the same time, the risk is to give too much for free. So I would just let the user download a digital version with watermark for free and let them pay for the version without watermark or printed version.

If you're talking about pre-sale, a preview with a watermark in the middle would be good. But after purchase, I thought a digital version would be expected anyway, it would certainly help referrals to your product if people share their painting on IG,FB and their friends asked how they got it.

Honestly, I don't think you want to make this kind of product free. Just for the idea that intrinsically you want people to associate your product with regal and value. Making this product expensive will psychologically make the product more valuable, special.

Imagine, for example seeing a painting in an art gallery and seeing the same painting in a discount store. Which will be more appealing?

In your case, part of the presentation is the pricing.