Christine Schlonski [0:02]
Hey Gorgeous. This is episode number 197. You are listening to Heart Sells! Podcast. I’m your host, Christine Schlonski. I am super pumped that you are tuning in for variety Friday.

Today, I want to share some tips with you on how to best connect with influencers. As we are approaching Episode 200 and I have done for virtual summits, I have connected with a ton of influencers. And you know, some people said yes, some people said no to being interviewed, and that’s okay. But there’s a really smart way to go about it and oftentimes I see that people don’t do it. Oftentimes, I get emails that I don’t even feel like I want to answer because it’s all about the other person. And what you can do if you are in this place that you don’t really know how to attract influencers, how to get them to give you an interview, give you their time, and then actually also promote your interview. It would really be helpful if you at least know about their work in a little bit more detailed than just shooting out emails, inviting people. And yeah, requesting some things right away.

So what really helps is, if you really like what they do, go to their page if they’ve written a book. I mean, get the book, get a Kindle version for couple dollars and then read it and give them a review. Or if they have a YouTube channel, go and subscribe. Take your time and give them some comments on some of the videos. They will notice you even though if it’s a big YouTube channel, people always notice when there are comments coming in. If it’s Facebook, join their group if they have one, and you know, make comments on their posts, get that engagement. And I know it’s a ton of work. But still, you want somebody to give you their time and then also to promote you. And they probably are further along from where you are. So it’s really important that you have and start a good relationship and that you care.

If they have a podcast, well give them a rating and a review. And not just for the last show, just maybe, you choose an episode that’s a little bit older or something that really gets your interest. And then you connect this way. And then when you reach out, you can say something more specific about their work. Like, you can say, “Well, I read your book, and by the way, I gave you a review on Amazon and here’s what I wrote. And I really like because…..”, and then you give your costs. “I would love to invite you for an interview on my show”, whatever that is, podcast, virtual summit, YouTube channel, Facebook Live, no matter what. When you reach out have a really good reason so they understand that you are not just going for the interview because you want them to email their own tribe, but you have an interest in to the person, into their work. I get approached quite often where people say, “Well, I love your podcast, I’ve been listening for so long.” Then there is no review. There’s no rating. If you like something, take those two or three minutes and go and give the show a review or the book. So that really will put you in a different position when you are emailing them to ask for an interview.

It has served me quite well to do like a really personal invitation where they don’t feel like it’s something I just copy and pasted and send to 100 people hoping that someone will say yes, really crafting a single message for a single person referring to their work. So I can highly recommend when you reach out to people to connect, so that you can kind of, you know, be seen with the other expert at the same place, so to speak, your podcast, your virtual summit, your YouTube show, or Facebook show or whatever it is. Make sure you really appreciate the other person and that all starts by giving first. There’s nothing worse than when you just say, “Well, it’s so amazing”, and you haven’t read the book, and you are you haven’t listened to the show. It just never feels good and the other person will kind of feel the difference. If you already have given them a rating and review, and you can kind of refer back to that, that will really help you to set you apart from all the other people that just to copy-paste, and ask for interviews.

So I hope this was kind of helpful because I get quite a few requests now for people that want to be interviewed on Heart Sells! and if they are not referred by anyone, that I really know and appreciate, so I know they are doing a great job. I really, really take a close look at what they do, why they do it. I also want to know, like, why did they choose Heart Sells! Is it because they send out like hundreds of emails to all different kinds of podcast hosts? Is it something, in particular, so they will make sure that they deliver amazing value to my audience? When you reach out the next time to an influencer and you hope to get them on your show, make sure you have a connection first. That they have seen you somewhere online or have the chance to do so. Because after you reached out, they probably will take your name and Google or have somebody check on you. So they make sure that they are connecting with the right brands and the right names. If you don’t have a name yet in the market, that doesn’t really matter. That doesn’t mean that they will not be available for the interview. It just means that you need to show who you are and why you’re reaching out.

I hope you got some value out of this and I hope you are doing something to grow your list. maybe a podcast, maybe a virtual summit or whatever it is that you feel good about and yeah, lots of success. Hop on over to https://christineschlonski.com/ find the podcast tab and check out all the different episodes we already have available for you. Next week is going to be Episode 200. I’m so super excited about this. And yeah, I can’t wait to hear what you think. You can always reach out to info@christineschlonski.com. Share your feedback, share your stories, and also ask questions so that we can support you from our end over here. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day, wherever you are in this beautiful world. And I’m saying bye for now.