This is the second part of the series on influencer outreach. Click here to view the first part.
Before you outreach
So now that your mindset is reset, it’s time to think about other tasks you need to tackle before you start your outreach.
1. Create your list
The first thing you need to do is create your own list. Here are some links to tools and articles that can help you with the process. (You can view the original article for more details).
2. Get to know the people on your list
Research your influencers online to find answers to these questions e.g. read their blog, follow them on social media, and subscribe to their newsletter. If possible, attend a conference they are speaking at or attending.
3. Start your influencer outreach
There are so many different ways you can reach out to influencers – you can do an outreach campaign to get noticed, help the influencers with something, or make some sort of non-promotional request.
Here are some ideas for influencer outreach with tips on how to do it.
4. Promote something important to them
Let’s go straight to an example.
If an influencer just published a new book, they’d love to see a good review on Amazon. So make an effort to read their book and write a review.
For bonus points, record a video review so that they get to see and hear you!
5. Share their content- It will always help you.
6. Respond to their questions- You never know what that may produce
7. Interview them- Interviews give you a chance to chat and get to know the person. If you can't travel to a conference, you could do a podcast interview and feature it on your website.
Other ways to get influencers to promote your content include the following
8. Guest post on their site
9. Provide useful feedback
10. Compliment them
11. Don’t forget to follow up
Influencers are extremely busy people who get bombarded by sales pitches and outreach messages all the time.
So if you don’t get a reply the first time around, just assume they didn’t get/read your email.
Most replies are triggered by the second or third email which is why sending follow up emails is so important.
Track your outreach
When you start your outreach process it’s important to track the results so you know what worked and what didn’t work.
You can do this simply by making a spreadsheet to track your outreach campaign progress e.g. number of emails sent to an influencer, positive/negative responses or use tools ( see the original article for a full list of tools)
Let’s wrap it up
Connecting with influencers is important.
The fact that too many people are simply bad at outreach gives you a huge advantage.
Follow our approach to influencer outreach and watch your results improve.