Quick intro
What’s the problem?
Organically taking one step after another when starting a new project or startup can make sense. However, there are some aspects that can supercharge your entrepreneurial journey. High-profile individuals, with their experience and reputation, are one such element that can push your project forward and help you gain traction.
But how do you connect with these influential figures? How can you increase your chances of getting a response to leveraging their expertise or forging a powerful collaboration?
Own background
What’s my context/experience?
In 2020 I started to work on my vision of providing a stage for underground musicians to grow their audience. I started from scratch. So there was no community, no followers, no reputation and I had no industry knowledge. My initial idea was to start an Instagram and Youtube channel and post interviews with inspiring musicians. That would lead to an organically developing and strong base of followers, I thought. But quickly I realized that musicians with more reach would also bring more reach to my project. So I started to reach out particularly to artists who were still underground, but already had a strong fanbase.
In the first few months of starting the project, I sent messages to more than 100 high-profile musicians. And even though I had no reputation and no followers but just a vision, some of the musicians agreed to an interview with me and to create content together. Two of them, for example, were Ski Aggu and Chris Luno, who grew to be on top of the game in their music genres.
Having experienced that reaching high-profile people is not always as difficult as it seems, opened a lot of new opportunities to me. And it continues to be a tool to move my projects forward.
My approach
How do I tackle it?
After reading articles about it, getting advice from other founders, and based on my own experience, I identified six principles that increase the chance of getting a promising reply:
Choose their favorite platform or medium:
Depending on who you want to approach, the platform you use to write your message can decrease or increase your chances of success. For example, to reach out to musicians I mainly used Instagram to text them. When I saw that they were also very active on Soundcloud I chose Soundcloud as I expected less inbox competition there. For other industries LinkedIn, X or direct email can make more sense.
Reach out to people that seem open to exchange:
This is more like a personal intuition one can have. Based on the content or online presence of the person, you might sense if the person is open to messages from strangers. Going one step further, there are even personalities that encourage you to reach out to them via email. For example, Derek Sivers and Nick Gray, two inspiring and high-profile entrepreneurs, mention in their books that they appreciate emails from readers. Speaking of Derek Sivers, I can confirm that he replies to emails.
Communicate the Win/Win and your Why:
If you have something valuable to offer, it should be at the forefront of your message. What I also experienced is that additionally listing your Wins adds transparency and trust to the receiver of your message.
Message with Authenticity and Admiration:
Probably the most important point when reaching out to people who are steps ahead of you. In some cases, you might have nothing to offer them and are just asking for advice or a chat. Therefore, expressing your admiration for their work can lead to them feeling appreciated. Also, you should be authentic in why you are a fan of what they are doing and why you’re excited to connect with them. Generic copy-and-paste messages do not work for that section.
Show your achievements or references:
This can be difficult when starting a new project. But still, there might be something you can share that pushes your credibility. For example, I created a landing page and produced first interviews with friends (who were musicians as well), to show to the high-profile artists that we’re taking this project seriously.
Be patient with results:
My usual response rate when reaching out to someone who inspires me or has a significant reach is somewhere between 5 to 20%. It depends on the industry and what my outreach is about. Ultimately, it's a numbers game. And the feeling of getting a first reply after multiple attempts is worth the wait.
The message that convinced a well-known DJ joining our interview without us having any reputation or published content:
“Hey XXX,
I'm Fabiano and together with friends I'm working on a platform to create a music/art community where artists can connect with each other and have the chance to grow as artists.
Our vision behind it is to give artists a stage to share their music and story.
I came across you on YouTube and I love your sessions! The same goes for your music on Spotify!
We are currently producing content to launch our project publicly in spring.
If you're interested, we'd love to invite you to a shoot in Berlin where we'll interview and photograph you as an artist (I'll also send you the document that reveals our shoot concept).
The next shoot is currently scheduled for 01.02.21, but will be postponed depending on the restrictions regarding Covid.
We would be very happy to hear from you. Let us know if you would like us to spread your story and music.
So that you have a rough idea of what to expect:
An already produced interview: [Link to Video]
And our website, on which you would also appear as an artist:
https://livria.club/dloive.php
Have a relaxing day and maybe see you soon!
Best,
Fabiano”
Plus the attached shooting concept which I sent as an image:
In the end, you have to experiment to get a feeling of what works best for the people you approach. Currently, for example, I’m testing the difference in lengths of the messages. In the past, I focused on long messages that included the Win/Win, admiration, my vision and potential next steps. But as I will start a 40 Hour Entrepreneur Podcast soon, I decided to give short messages a try. Other founders recommended to me using short messages that are less formal and only focus on genuine admiration and the specific ask. Especially, as high-profile people have a full inbox, short messages might stand out in the sea of well structured marketing outreaches. Experiments will show how effective this is.
Inspiration I used for this article
Books, Podcasts, Articles, Quotes
- How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie about how to approach people in business.
- 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris about the limiting belief of not being able to get in contact with well known people.
Community Space
Your comments, ideas, feedback
- What strategies do you use to identify and connect with high-profile individuals in your industry?
- Can you share a time when reaching out to a high-profile person significantly impacted your project or career?
- Beyond direct outreach, what are some alternative ways to build relationships with high-profile individuals in your field?
- Can you recommend any tools or resources that have helped you effectively connect with high-profile people?
- ...
Join the discussion below. Or write me an email to fabiano@40hourentrepreneur.com