How to Reach out to Influencers When You Are No One — an Inbound.Org Challenge

Important notes before we begin:

ONE. My definition of “reaching out” to influencers or people I look up to has 2 objectives:

A. Get a quote for an article I’m writing (less time consuming, less engagement);

B. Get them to be on my audio podcast — StartUps Romania (very time consuming — planning, talking, checking, etc., a lot of engagement — especially if it ‘s a video interview).

TWO. The challenge I mentioned in the title refers to this question and the upvote thereafter.

RESULTS

One — Massimo Chieruzzi of AdEspresso — provided me with a great quote for an article I’m writing:

I just love this. Don’t know if he has Canned Responses activated, but the reply came within a day.

Two — Adii Pienaar of WooCommerce and Receiptful — agreed to make plans to do my podcast:

This is the results. Read further on for the technique and how you can implement it!

Three — Radu Velcea of CursuriPhotoshop — agreed to start talking about me becoming a paid instructor. The phone call that day sealed the deal:

This was a cold email. The subject line was: “How can I join the team?” Not ASKING whether there are open spots, REQUESTING more info to join.

INTRO

I live in small city by the sea, called Constanta, in Romania. I started my marketing experience doing social-media, writing a book on it and finally settling into a full-time Digital Marketer position at an Online Marketing agency.

2014 has been a year of great change for me — I moved in with my girlfriend, I started increasing my freelance exposure and stopped being afraid of my abilities and knowledge.

2015 is starting to be even more interesting — I proposed to my girlfriend (she said yes), I entered my third year working as a Digital Marketer and I’ve started turning down freelance offers (as I have too much on my plate — and I get to choose who I work with).

MY MOTIVATION

Frankly, I started doing freelance work out of necessity: about a year ago I found myself with more money going out than was coming in (rent, bills, food etc.), as it was the first time I had lived away from my parents.

About 4 months after that I had a tiny revelation:

I don’t want to just survive anymore. I want to LIVE. This mentality drove all my marketing efforts further.

I got myself a small whiteboard (then a bigger one — those things are great for planning, to do lists and motivation) and quickly found I was getting more income sources. More on this and how I made $970 from freelance work last December by starting with a note on a whiteboard — in a future article.

The living and thriving mentality allowed me to want more, ask for more and — quickly — get more. Out of life, marketing plans and financial objectives.

“THE STALKING VAMPIRE TECHNIQUE”

I’ve never thought about this as a “method” or a “technique”. I suppose in the beginning I wasn’t doing such a good job at marketing/branding myself. This article is a small step towards fixing that.

The Stalking Vampire Technique has 2 elements:

1. Find out a lot of data about your target/lead/influencer.
   This can be done obsessively using a lot of tools and tactics. That’s not how I do it. I usually find articles and products I’m interested in on ProductHunt, GrowthHackers and Inbound.org. I then search for the person who’s created that project/written that article. I start a light researching phase (1 hour max) on twitter, blogs and youtube.
   The objective is not to know how many tattoos that person secretly has or what his nickname in high school was. It’s more along the lines of: “What makes this person tick? And how can I be of service to him?”
   For me, it’s a very human thing. I don’t go around building links or asking for money right away. Some might call it relationship building, I think of it as digital human contact.
2. Wait for an open door opportunity, to provide feedback.
   Sometimes it’s a newsletter asking for subscribers to provide comments and suggestions. Other times it’s more along the lines of: “Feel free to email me, if you have a question.” This is the sign you’ve been waiting for and your chance to make a great first impression.

The open door I was waiting for. Quick scan of this personal note at the end.

Email was sent from my personal gmail address, as soon as I scanned the email — hoped Adii would be looking at sending stats (maybe he was).

The naming of the techniques comes from fictional elements of vampires (they’re only allowed to enter a place, if they’re invited inside) and real elements of human interaction (it’s easier to interact with a person, once they’ve requested it).

The “stalking” element could be translated to “researching”, but that doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Also, vampires are known to lurk in the dark and strike when you least expect it (if you haven’t seen What We Do in the Shadows, you should — it’s great).

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

1. Influencers are people too. Treat them as such — with warmth, dedication and kindness. Think of them as a partner, not a boss or a lead you’re trying to convert.
2. Helping someone today might bring you results later on. But don’t think about the timing, focus on the helping part — the universe will sort everything out, in the end.
3. Talking to people is fun. Even for an introvert like me, reaching out to people I respect and admire, talking to people is amazing fund and I’m always excited when I send a new email to an influencer.
4. Always be connecting. Try your luck, do your research, learn the basics of email etiquette, respect people’s time and always look for new opportunities to connect.
5. Anyone can coin a term or tactic. Go ahead, I dare you! Leave a comment with something you do that you think is unique and just give it a name. If you’re looking for more info on naming, I have a small course over at Udemy (with a special discount).

In the end, I truly believe if you treat people like people, you’ll get great results. Have a genuine interest in the person you’re talking to and try to provide as much help and value as you can. If I can do it — so can you!

If you’re looking for someone to create content for you and/or your business, I’m happy to talk via email. Cheers!