E's Into the Conversation - Part II

Extend Your Reach

One of the businesses I've been working with is looking for customer evangelists. My counsel is look for bloggers who have a passion for their type of product and get into their hands. Bloggers are in the habit of sharing their honest opinions (they do it offline too).

Last week, I found that David Lorenzo practices this very well. Each month, I host a Blog Workshop. David found out about it and offered advance copies of his new book, Career Intensity, to those attending the next workshop.

I wouldn't normally recommend a book I haven't read yet (release due in May), but I've read enough of Dave's work on his three blogs to know this will be a great read.

IMPORTANT NOTE: David is extending his reach by offering his book at the workshop. But that's not where this story starts. How did our paths cross in the first place?

Ron McDaniel's Buzzoodle is another blog I read regularly. That's how I found out about Career Intensity. I eventually place Career Intensity on my list of Blogs I Read. I'm sure that's how David found my site.

Here's what's interesting. By searching Ron's site, we find their relationship started early last summer with an email from David to Ron. Think Mr. Lorenzo extended his reach?

Find bloggers who have a passion for your type of product or service and get it in their hands. Engage in a Conversation. Extend Your Reach.

Want to learn how? Register for the Iowa Blog Workshop (and get an advance copy of Career Intensity) right now.

Technorati Tags: Career Intensity, Buzzoodle, Iowa Blog Workshop

Comments

[Dave Lorenzo]

Thanks, Mike.

Ron and I have never met in person, but he is definitely a friend. We share similar business interests and we bounce ideas off of each other.

Blogging made it possible - along with both of us being extroverts.

When you start a blog, you take a risk. You're essentially putting your thoughts on display. People may not agree with everything you post and they will let you know that.

The risk pays off when things like this happen - you meet great people.

[Mark True]

Mike:

Good point about connecting with bloggers who have a passion...but instead of just getting into their hands, how about getting into their heads? Try to understand what they need and then give it to them. Is it more information? Links to like-minded individuals? A different viewpoint?

By carrying on the conversation, you can create a relationship that lasts and produces more conversations. And that's a good thing!

[mike]

Mark, I like what you're saying. Let me go a bit further on this idea and suggest that reading deep into a blog is key. Months of posts - not a few weeks.

The research will give a better sense of whether a true like-minded passion exists, or if there's just an instance of commonality.

The strategy you suggest will certainly create the all-important "sense of ownership." It'll work better with a service or a product in beta, than one that's already been put to market, yes?

[Mark True]

Mike:

The product in beta clearly offers the most opportunity, but I believe products already on the market can benefit greatly from finding the right online or offline evangelists, too. In some cases - I can't think of an example right now - evangelists could be the ones who reposition a product and send it skyrocketing into another market or segment.