In Michael Stelzner’s keynote speech for the 2009 Copywriting Success Summit, he mentioned a very crucial point if you want to attract more of your target audience.
A lot of marketing experts like to tell you that if you just “hang out where the market is” (forums, social networks, etc.) – you’ll inevitably get traffic and sales. But that’s not entirely accurate…
That’s because they’re already following someone (or many people) – known as Firestarters. And those are the people you want to get in touch with.
Here’s how to do it.
Firestarters are like the celebrities of your niche. They have already built up an audience of fans and followers who closely match your ideal customers too. But you can’t simply walk up to a Firestarter and spout off your ideas for a joint venture or anything else you want them to do for you.
How to Get Top Bloggers and Website Owners to Notice You
Stelzner notes that to get the attention of Firestarters, you have to do a lot for them first. The Law of Reciprocity will eventually kick in here, as you review their books on your blog, retweet their twitter updates, comment on their blogs and so forth.
Getting all this exposure is bound to get their attention – so that you in turn get a foot in the door. Once that happens, it’s good to touch base with them, mention that book review you did or those blog posts you commented on, and start up some conversation with the Firestarter.
Then politely ask what their schedule is like over the next few weeks, and see where it goes. And keep in mind, this method isn’t just about what “might” happen – it works – and it works EXTREMELY well. I’ve made amazing network contacts and been promoted on Copyblogger, TwiTip, ProBlogger, Search Engine Land and many more blogs related to my industry.
Relevancy is the Key to Getting Noticed
Just because somebody has 30,000 Twitter followers or 5,000 Facebook fans doesn’t mean that audience is actually relevant or helpful to you. Notice who’s following them and look to see if the majority of fans and followers seems like the kind of people who would be interested in what you have to say or offer as well.
And you don’t just have to stop at Twitter or Facebook. Check out forums (who has a lot of posts with a good amount of ratings or “thanks” from other users?), LinkedIn (who has a lot of REAL network contacts?), small up-and-coming blogs, and so on.
By connecting with Firestarters through multiple sources (and multiple niches), you’ll exponentially increase your audience of readers and potential customers by leaps and bounds.
