Today we’re talking all about the exact tactics that I’ve used in my business to build a multi-million dollar network of high impact influencers.
Although connecting with these influencers has meant business growth and financial impacts, the more important thing is that they’re really good people have have become great friends, colleagues, and business partners.
And that’s what I want for you.
So without further ado, let’s dive right into the meat and potatoes of how to create a greater relationship with the top influencers in your industry…
Alright, so step number one is to identify and strategize.
What this means is making a list of the top influencers in your industry that you wanna connect with and then trying to figure out the strategic reasons behind why you wanna form these relationships.
Now if you’re watching this video, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that the main reason that you wanna get involved and start a relationship with some of these influencers is for business growth opportunities.
That’s great and we’re gonna cover how to do that and the benefits of it in just a minute…
But also understand that there are benefits to connecting with influencers far outside just the normal business growth.
Including making a lot of great friends with similar interests and who have already achieved some level of success that you’re aspiring to.
In fact, many of my best relationships actually started this way.
And they turned out to be some of my most profitable relationships later down the road.
But that early seed was planted by just trying to go out there and be a good friend to these people that I really looked up to and aspired to be like.
Now when it comes to identifying and making a list of the top influencers in your industry, I’m gonna suggest you start smaller then larger.
Because the last thing you wanna do is make a list of 100 plus names and start sending out cold email pitches and just try to kind of weasel your way in there.
It’s not gonna come off as authentic and it’s not gonna be well received.
Rather, if you pick a few, maybe 10 or less of the top influencers that you really resonate with.
The type of people whose message connects with you.
The type of people who’ve built a business like you wanna build.
Or the type of people that create the content you wanna create.
From there, you’re going to be able to follow the rest of the steps a lot easier and it’s gonna be a more authentic and more ethical way to build these relationships.
Step number two is to research and engage.
Now, this step is important because it’s all about building a real and thorough relationship which means that you’re going to need to start engaging and consuming some of their content.
The way to do this is to do it unobtrusively by getting on their radar slowly and authentically.
Whether this means commenting on a YouTube video, tweeting back to one of their tweets, sending them a message on Instagram, whatever it is, find a way to start engaging with the content and then sharing your thoughts and you opinions with them.
Also, for bonus points, don’t be afraid to send them a thank you or to share their stuff which really shows that you’re getting behind and promoting it.
And I can almost guarantee, it doesn’t matter how big the influencer is, when someone thanks them and shares their stuff, it’s a real, real support system.
And it’s always well received.
Now a quick word of warning:
You can go too far if you try to jump in there and start commenting on everything and sharing everything and posting everything overnight…
And just doing that for a couple weeks and falling off the radar if they don’t respond right away.
So understand that you’ve gotta do this authentically and you’ve gotta play the long game.
Real relationships aren’t built on a couple retweets and a couple comments on a post.
They’re built over time by providing value and engaging with the influencer.
All that said, let’s move on to step number three which is invest and apply.
Alright, so if we’ve talked about sharing and engaging and commenting on their stuff, that’s a great first step.
But to really separate yourself from the crowd, and to really go out there and make an impression, you’re gonna have to put some money where your mouth is.
And this means to invest in their products, or their services, or their programs, or anything else that they might be selling.
Now the benefit of investing in their programs or services or offerings or whatever it is they’re selling is that it immediately separates you from the thousands, or tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of other people that follow them but don’t put up the cash.
But to really take it one step further, just buying their stuff isn’t enough.
You wanna leverage this and throw some gas on the fire by actually using it.
But not only using it, using it as best you can.
Getting the best results you can possibly get, and then letting them know.
Which leads us nicely into step number four, case study and appreciate.
The key with step four and the key with showing them that you’re actually serious about them and their message and willing to support them, is to take what you’ve bought and to put it to the best use possible.
And then document the results that you’ve gotten.
For example, if they sell a course on how to do Facebook ads, take the course on Facebook ads, run some Facebook ads, get some results and let them know about what you’ve achieved.
If they happen to sell a Photoshop package, well, buy the Photoshop package, apply it to the photos and then send them the results that you’ve achieved with their program.
What you’re doing here is separating yourself from the herd of people that just follow them, and people that follow them and maybe buy their stuff.
There’s a very small percentage of people that’ll follow them, buy their stuff, put it to use and then tell them about the results they’ve gotten.
When you do that, you really stand out on their radar.
And if you do it enough, they really start to pay attention.
Alright, and now it’s gonna take us to step five and the final step of the influencer marketing outreach strategy:
Expect nothing in return.
Now this last one is a bit of a tough pill to swallow.
But I really want to encourage you to not expect anything back–and certainly not anytime in the near future.
After all, again, relationships take time…
Especially important relationships with busy influencers.
And the more popular they are, the more messages and responses to their content they get on a daily basis.
So it’s gonna be tough for them to make sure that they respond to each and every one, much less read every single one.
Again, that’s why you’re gonna wanna follow all the steps we’ve just covered to help separate yourself from the herd.
But it’s important that you don’t approach these relationships with the expectation that you’re gonna get something back.
Because you’re gonna come across as someone who’s just out to get what’s theirs.
And this is why it’s important to only reach out and only start following influencers that you actually like.
Building relationships, whether it’s with influencers or anyone else in the world, takes time, especially really meaningful relationships.
Alright, so those are the five main steps of this strategy…
But I’ve got a few more bonus tips for you right now in a lighting round.
Rule number one: don’t cold pitch.
The last thing anybody wants is an offer or a message in their email inbox that’s selling them something when they have no idea who you are.
So don’t do that.
Lesson number two, we’ve covered this before, but I need to say it again: this does take time.
This is not an overnight strategy, especially if you wanna build a real meaningful relationship with the influencer.
Point number three, you wanna aim to provide value anywhere, everywhere and at anytime that you’ve possibly can.
Think about providing value and you really can’t go wrong.
Number four, remember, they’re busy.
And they get a lot of requests so always be looking for ways to differentiate yourself and help them by supporting their goals and their mission.
And number five, and probably the biggest and most important bonus tip I can give you…
Is to stand out by caring more and thinking about the things that others are not willing to do.
If you can take that extra step and go that extra mile, you’re gonna stand out and you’re gonna make a bigger impact.
