Lauren Caselli of Living Life Barefoot shot me a shimmery prompt early this morning.

Hey Alex,

Lauren

I will spare you my extended thoughts on fairy wings (too femme) and foofy tutus (only if they’re neon green) and pirouettes (difficult). But how I got my clients — that’s a tasty question. With a two-part answer. Behold!

PART ONE :: Construct your promotional pie chart

When a client asks me how to promote their business, find a sweet j-o-b, or spread the word about a new venture, I tell them to visualize their promotional plan as a personalized pie chart.

Your pie has several slices, and the size of each slice is determined by your promotional personality.

:: If you’re intensely reclusive, but razor-sharp with words, your BLOGGING slice may be larger than your PUBLIC SPEAKING slice.

:: If you shine on camera, but break out in “business hives” (as Dyana Valentine would say) when it comes to cranking out daily blog updates, your VIDEO SERIES slice might be dishier.

:: If you loathe all things virtual, but rock at face-to-face interactions, CO-WORKING, COMMUNITY EVENTS and COFFEE DATE slices could dominate your pie.

Feeling my flow? Here are a couple more promotional slices to round out your ideal pie:

Online Sphere

:: TWITTER / FACEBOOK / LINKEDIN
:: E-NEWSLETTERS
:: GUEST-BLOGGING
:: INTERVIEWS
:: TESTIMONIALS
:: PODCASTS
:: SEO OPTIMIZATION
:: GOOGLE ADWORDS
:: CONTESTS, GIVEAWAYS, COUPONS & VOUCHERS
:: AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
:: SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISING
:: PUBLIC WEBINARS
:: DISCUSSION FORUMS
:: ONLINE JOB APPLICATIONS
:: QUERY LETTERS & SPEC SUBMISSIONS
:: VIRAL YOUTUBE VIDEOS ABOUT DOUBLE-RAINBOWS & DOUBLE DREAM HANDS

Offline Orbit

:: NETWORKING EVENTS
:: CONFERENCES
:: UNCONFERENCES
:: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS
:: WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS
:: GUERILLA ADVERTISEMENTS
:: PUBLIC RADIO
:: PRO BONO GIGS
:: BOARD OF DIRECTORSHIP
:: DIRECT MAIL MARKETING
:: PROFESSIONAL GUILDS & UNIONS
:: OPEN MIC NIGHTS
:: CHANCE ENCOUNTERS
:: THOSE DUDES WHO DRESS UP IN FURRY COSTUMES, STAND ON STREET-CORNERS & TWIRL SIGNS WITH ARROWS

PART TWO :: Attract high-caliber, high-impact advocates

The bestest / fastest way to attract elite clients, and lots of ‘em?

Be triple-distilled, out-of-this-world, riotously exceptional at what you do.

If you’re consistently ace, you will transform curious cats into customers > customers into advocates > and advocates into rabid, ferocious, die-hard fanatics.

:: Be sooooo good, that people literally can’t stop talking (and tweeting) about you.

:: Be sooooo good, that people boast to their friends about the fact that they locked you down.

:: Be sooooo good, that people acknowledge you in their manuscripts, send you gift certificates to Ayurvedic spas, and offer to buy you cars.

And once you’ve attracted your fanatical advocates, be sooooo good to them. Treat ‘em like VIPs. Roll out the red carpet, the purple throw rug, and the aquamarine duvet. Express your gratitude, frequently & fiercely. Send them presents. Make them feel like the act of promoting you to their audiences is a JOY, an HONOR, and a DELIGHT.

And if all else fails, threaten to take your pants off. Folks seem to respond to that.

Gems & Gurus

MARIE FORLEO is a marketing mastermind, with some raucous promotional tactics. She’s built a coaching business that attracts leading-edge, affluent, remarkable women from around the world.
Her Rich Happy & Hot event sucker-punched my approach to client attraction. If you’re not a Forleophile yet, get on it.

MICHELLE WARD rocks social media, cross-promotion, contests and scholarships like nobody’s business. Wait. Not nobody’s business. Her business. She also recorded her very own theme song. Double-dream-hands, all the way.

DAVE NAVARRO is all about mailing list expansion, product launches and shockingly rapid business growth. If you’re intrigued by digital products, online workshops and other forms of ‘passive income,’ scope out his services.