The book How to Make a Free Product Company dedicates an entire chapter to showing how everyday items — from tampons, seeds, coffee, and beer to EV charging and transportation — can become free or negatively priced using innovative business processes. It also explains that not all free products are equal: some, like water, reach everyone, while others, like diapers or apple juice, target specific audiences or offer longer ad exposure.

Every year, thousands of new business books are published — but very few of them introduce truly original ideas. Most recycle familiar...