How to Meet Influential People

Here is a good video with Tim Ferris and Ramit Sethi on how to meet influential people.

Why Do Influential People Blog?

Influential people blog because it allows them to broadcast their message and extend their influence. It is a way to build a loyal following and in a few minutes, effect what many people think and do.

Even if I am a huge fan of a particular influential person, television and print is not a good medium for me to follow them effectively because I cannot just turn on the TV or leaf though all the print magazines on my own time each day and find out what my favorite influencer is thinking or saying.

In the past, many influential people have been part of organizations that have had websites, but because of the professional polished nature of the website, they could not easily state their opinions openly and regularly.

Now that corporate blogging has hit the mainstream, many more influential people are blogging and creating a following outside of the corporate website. Any author publishing non-fiction better have a blog or they are going to disappoint their readers. Innovators have blogs to talk about their passion for their innovations. VC’s now seem to all have blogs.

Blogging is easy and it is perfectly acceptable to write quick comments that do seem like a great deal of work.

One question you may ask yourself is this. Which came first, the chicken (influential person) or the egg (the blog)?

If someone is even moderately influential and they begin blogging on a regular basis in a focused way on a topic that people care about, they will find that their level of influence goes up each month. Eventually, their blog may eclipse the other things that first gave them influence, because the blog can be accessed daily at a reader’s leisure.

Whether you are an influential person today or want to be an influential person tomorrow, blogs are a great way to capture a larger audience with a minimal effort towards crafting your message and making you accessible.

Influential People

Influential people, it is very likely, have not been influential since birth. While some few influential people may be out of reach of the influentially challenged, many of them like to hear from people and will respond kindly if you craft your message and approach with care and not waist their time.

Influential people are often very busy. Think about how many people would want ten minutes of Oprah’s time if they could get it. Not everyone gets through.

Does that mean you should not try to reach out to people of influence? Not at all.

It may take several tries, and do not set your sites on just one person, but if your goal is to get noticed and to become better connected and influential, one of the best ways to do that is meet people with more influence than you.

Here is an incomplete list of ways to meet influential people.

1. Send an email or hand written letter to any influential writer or influential author you read. Let them know how well you like their work.
2. Write to any influential politician and express gratitude for something you think they did right. (Think about how many negative comments they get.)
3. Mention influential people you would like to meet in articles, blog posts and links from your website.
4. Contact influential people you would like to meet and do an interview. This could be for podcasts, articles or any other type of posts. I saw one website dedicated to CEO interviews, and I am quit sure it was mostly done so the author could meet all those cool influential people.
5. Be bold and interesting. What are you going to say if you do meet one of these influential people? Let them know you appreciate their work and let them talk. Don’t sell yourself too hard, yet have interesting things to say.
6. Give them a reason not to blow you off. If I tell an influential author that I recommend their books to many of my associates, I usually get a warm reception or at least a thank you.

Influential People Reality Check

There are some critical things you must keep in mind if you are going to be successful reaching out to influential people.

First be polite and respectful of their time and privacy.

Next, understand that influence is a currency. If an influential person starts hocking everything they can get their hands on, their value goes down as an influential person. People quickly spot someone who has sold out.

What this means for you is to remember that just because you would like them to help you promote something does not mean they will. Even if it is easy for them to do.

The most important thing to remember is that you will be much more likely to meet some influential people if you try. Not sending that letter or making that call will most certainly result in not meeting them.

I suggest you make a list of influential people you would like to meet. Ask yourself why you would like to meet them, what they could do for you and what you could do for them. Also, know what you would say to them if you did have a chance to meet.

Now work the list and reach out to them. Try different approaches and mediums. Don’t be a stalker, but don’t give up after one email either. Find ways to help or benefit them and you may find yourself a person of influence too.

This article allows comments. Post who you would like to meet and why. (Let’s stick to living influential people please. Jesus, the Easter Bunny and Buddha do not count.)