How is your Online Marketing and Social Networking going to attract leads to you?

In my internet marketing business, I often discuss the how-tos of attracting warm leads by creating "buzz" around your business. I help many solo-entrepreneurs "brand" themselves, attract referrals, develop a free offer, use capture forms on websites, implement autoresponders and email marketing, and engage in social media networking.

This article from The Multiple Streams Queen and Coach Alicia Forest about the "Compelling Free Offer" is just so good, I want to share it with everyone! Here it is, reprinted in full!

If you would prefer to listen to the article on her blog, click here.

What's Your CFO (Compelling Free Offer)?
By Alicia M Forest, MBA
6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor

One of the reasons I love the business model I teach is because it effortlessly PULLS clients to me. I never have to chase them or worry about having as full a roaster as I want. The first step in making this happen is creating what I call your CFO - Compelling F.r.e.e. Offer. The problem is that very few solo-preneurs actually utilize this simple method of attracting all the clients they want.

Your Compelling F.r.e.e. Offer (CFO) is what entices people to want to find out more about you and what it is that you're offering. When you make your complimentary offer compelling enough, more people will be interested in taking advantage of it, which increase the audience to which you can then market to.

Your CFO can be packaged in a variety of ways: a mini e-course, a checklist, a CD, an audio download, a special report, a free teleseminar, etc. I offer a few different CFOs - a special report, an audio download, and for joint ventures I offer one of my paid products for free as a bonus to their paid offering.

The content of your CFO should be broad in scope, yet address a particular problem your target market is struggling with, something that they'd pay to have a solution to. That's what makes your offer compelling in the first place, and it's what attracts them into your Marketing & Product Funnel. Your CFO should be loaded with valuable content, so much so that you leave your prospect thinking, "wow, if this is what he/she gives away, imagine what his/her paid stuff must be like!"

To lead them further down your funnel, you'll want to be sure to not give away the store in your CFO, but share what the problem is, what your solution to the problem is, giving them a taste of how you can solve it for them. But what's key to making your CFO successful is to not just give great content, but to leave them with wanted more. The 'more' comes by way of your paid products and services.

The results of having a CFO are three-fold: you build your credibility and become known as an expert in your niche, your word-of-mouth marketing catches fire, and you're approached to share your CFO with even more people through joint ventures and strategic partnerships.

The mistake I made when I first started my consulting business was trying to pitch my services to people who didn't even know me (I cringed when I remember all those wasted early morning networking breakfasts). We all know that it's much easier to get business by referral, right? Because the person referring you has a relationship with you, and they have come to know, like and trust you well enough to pass your name along to their friends and colleagues.

That's what this method of marketing does for you. Your CFO is the start of building that critical know, like and trust factor with your prospects so that when they are ready to invest some money in a solution to their problem - whether via a product or service - your name is at the top of the list.

And the best part? You NEVER have to sell them on what you're offering. It's brilliant, really.

So, start researching what it is that your target market wants most, what problem is keeping them up at night. Then create your solution and offer it to them as your CFO to get them into your Marketing & Product Funnel. It's a winning formula every time!

Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit www.ClientAbundance.com