So how can you build an online presence? There is a lot that goes into this, but one tip that I wanted to share today is, give something away for FREE!

Give out good, valuable free stuff that people want and that they will tell their friends about. Yes, that means giving away some stuff that you might not normally (like resources you have written or created). With the Internet, we have shifted from a model of receiving payment for content (like books, etc.) to receiving payment for coaching, training, consulting, etc.

So, the author of, let's say, a church planting handbook, should give away the handbook online in an electronic version. He can still make money for the print version. And he can offer receive payment for coaching, mentoring, and training church planters. Who better to enlist to do this, the thinking would go, than the person who wrote the book on this subject?

In the future, this may be the way that many ministers make their living, as churches shrink along with budgets. This may also be the way that a lot of business people and companies survive.

IBM recognized this and went from selling computers-a commodity with a small profit margin--to being a small business consultant, providing small business solutions.

So, ask yourself, what is my true value? What is it that I have that others may not be able to easily get elsewhere? This is where your true value.