This is still a common philosophy and works really well when that low cost product is highly related to your content. I do this with my literature organization template ($8). But it is hard to create a new product that would work well for every piece of content. So you may miss people that would be served by a semi-related freebie but wouldn't by a semi-related low cost product.

Yes, you want to have a list of people that would actually buy, but someone may be on your list for years before you create the product that addresses their needs for them to buy. If your only CTAs are low cost products then, you may be missing people you want to serve in the future! This is especially the case as you broaden or change you niche.