How to Meet the Rich, Famous, and Powerful While Sitting on the Toilet
I will teach you how to meet anyone.
I have met more than half my network from “cold” messages to people on social media. I’m not even kidding — tweets and Facebook messages have directly led to friendships, investments, new business, concert tickets, invites to exclusive events, and more. I’ve even done it while sitting on the toilet (check out my recent convo with the Google Glass team).
Am I magic? No. Do I have a proven system? Absolutely, and I want you to know it so that maybe one day you will reach out to me and something magical will really happen.
Here is the secret to talking to and getting in touch with anyone using social media. Ready?
Like most people, you likely have the misconception that important people are impossible to get a hold of if you don’t already know them. They are so famous and amazing they would never notice you, right?
WRONG!
Fact #1: Unless this person or brand falls under the category of uber celebrity, and we’re talking Justin Bieber level here, then this person is probably not getting messaged on social media nearly as much as you think.
Fact #2: Just like you, important people LOVE getting messages. It strokes their ego! I have personally seen celebrities sit in a corner and scroll through incoming messages from their fans — glued to their iPhones like their life depended on it. They. Read. Everything. If you send them a message they are very likely to see it — especially if they fall in the category of not being Justin Bieber.
Alright! Now that you know the secret, here are the ground rules for starting that conversation!
- If you don’t already have one, create a social media account and use it. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube… whichever one floats your boat.
- Before sending a message always check to see how many other people are sending messages to this person. If you are using Twitter a simple search for their @username will show you how often tweets are being sent out. If it’s less than 10 an hour you are golden. Send them a tweet! If they are getting a lot of tweets right now — check back later!
- Make your message interesting, intriguing, and relevant. If your message is generic, it’s not going to work. If your message sounds like spam — it’s not going to work. I get people messaging me all the time that I don’t respond to because it seems like a waste of time. But guess what? I also respond to a lot of people because they send me interesting, intriguing, or relevant things.
- Be short and to the point unless you are incredibly interesting and can captivate an audience with an essay or blog post. (Example: My friend Matty Mo is magical with words).
- Be nice! Duh.
- Show that you can provide real value to them. If you put yourself out there and they don’t respond, then they obviously don’t need what you’re selling and you should move on.
- Don’t be upset if it doesn’t work right away! Try starting conversations with lot’s of people and brands. Be persistent but don’t be annoying.
- SUPER PRO BONUS TIP: If you can’t get a hold of that person or brand that you want, and you think it’s because they are too popular (and not because you are boring or annoying), start hitting up people on their team! That important person may be getting hit up all the time — but is their social media manager? Their hair stylist? Their intern? Get creative!
Boom! There you go. The secret to starting any conversation online. Please let me know if you do this and who you are able to get in contact with. It makes me excited when you guys are successful.
Now go tweet someone, or tweet at me. I would love to talk to you! (even if you are sitting on the toilet!)
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Update: Wow, I can not believe how much you guys loved this! You are blowing my mind. Thank you for all the <3
