This guest post is by Tom Ewer of Leaving Work Behind.
If you were an aspiring actor, and you spotted a famous movie star on the street, would you run up to them and ask them for help? You might, but I'm willing to bet that 99 times out of 100, you would get nowhere. In fact, those odds are probably very generous.
I am willing to bet that those odds would improve if you were to approach them, briefly introduce yourself, compliment them on their work, and ask if it would be okay to write to their agent with a few questions that they might consider answering if they get time.
When you're dealing with people above your station, the hard sell is almost always a failure. If you were to deal with your fellow bloggers in the spirit of the more polite and unobtrusive aspiring actor, you would establish some highly valuable relationships.
Embrace your “competition”
As Darren explained, it’s wise to embrace the competition. It doesn't matter what niche you are in—there are almost always going to be more authoritative blogs already in existence. And that is a good thing, for two key reasons:
- It demonstrates that there is a market for your niche.
- It provides you with an opportunity tap into an established audience.
Who wouldn't want to take advantage of a resource of already warm, highly targeted leads?
Nothing is free
So how can you tap into the audiences of your contemporaries? Not in the way that many people try to, that's for sure. Do not emulate the method of the rude and desperate aspiring actor. There is few things more irritating to a blogger than being contacted by another who simply asks for a link to, or mention of, their site.
Assuming that you are the proverbial minnow, you only need to concern yourself with one thing when reaching out to your peers—providing value. Whilst simply asking for help may occasionally reap short term rewards, it...
