Direct Outreach to a Best-Selling Author

A core self-promotion strategy within the Book Yourself Solid system is direct outreach. Direct outreach is many things, but I see it as your “list” of well-known people within your field or the target market you serve. Over time, your goal is to develop loose relationships with those people.

But wait . . . they’re too busy, too well-known, too many people want their time, right?

In one situation I  learned not only is that not the case, but the author I was reaching out to enthusiastically welcomed me and thanked me for helping spread her message to my audience.

One of my favorite books about women and communication is Lois Frankel’s best-seller Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office. Dr. Frankel has a thriving coaching, writing, and speaking business, with over 30 years of experience. She’s been interviewed by the Today show and Larry King Live (just to name a few).

I wanted to bring the concepts of the book to women business professionals in my area. So what to do?

I did the one thing I knew how to do . . . create a class! I taught a complimentary class to a group of local professional women, with great reception. I knew I was on to something. After garnering some testimonials, I wrote a 1-page letter to Dr. Frankel outlining my wish to teach the concepts in her book, including the testimonials.

I didn’t know where the letter would land. But sure enough, it landed right on her desk! After a follow-up phone call and discussion with her assistant, I received an email from Lois herself. She thanked me for my professionalism and enthusiasm and granted me the permission I was seeking to teach her concepts. She was warm, friendly, and genuinely appreciative that I reached out.

The lessons here?

1. I’ve come to believe that many well-known thought leaders welcome calls and emails from their audience and take it as a sincere compliment.
2. I could have let my own fears stop me from reaching out, but I did it anyway. I knew Dr. Frankel’s message was one my audience needed to hear, and if I let fear stop me, I wasn’t serving my clients to the best of my ability.
3. Do your homework before reaching out. You may not teach a class like I did, but make sure you’ve researched the author and that you’re naturally spreading that person’s message as part of your own work.
4. Look for other opportunities to build the relationship. This experience led to a wonderful phone interview with Dr. Frankel, where we talked about the concepts of Nice Girls in the context of women business owners. (Which I’ll share with you soon!)

Make that list of well-known people you want to reach out to – one at a time, develop and implement a plan to contact them – whether it’s to comment on their blog, post a review their latest book, or to let them know you follow and appreciate their work.