[bdunn]

Those who might consider your paid course would only have the persuasiveness of your sales site to go off of. By offering a free email course, you're able to figure out whether Paul's capable of providing you value. If he is, he'll have a call-to-action that upsells you on his paid course which provides even more value.

There's nothing at all wrong with this formula, and IMO it's much "safer" for the buyer.