Whether you’re launching your website, promoting a special deal or simply sharing with the world your newest creation, one of the best ways to exponentially reach more people with the news is to partner up.
We’ve all done it: You create this gorgeous new 6 week course or value-packed free webinar and you send an email to your friends, family and colleagues asking them nicely to “Please share this!”
But too often I see everyone from entrepreneurs to authors standing in their own way when it comes to rallying others to spread the word. They put all the burden on the person they are asking. They expect them to take time out of their busy day to look up the information, come up with the copy for the post, find the email link to the sales page or – in some cases – even leave out the ACTUAL name of the thing they want promoted!
We’re all busy, folks. Your big launch is not even a blip on someone else’s radar. They have their own stuff to deal with. I mean, seriously, they have work to do, kids to raise and binge episodes of House of Cards to catch up on. Respect their time.
You have to make it as easy as possible for someone to promote you so they don’t even think twice about it. (Tweet this!)
Here are 4 clever ways to make it super easy for people to promote you:
1. Be Brief and Use Bullets: Don’t simply make them link to a page they’ll be forced to sift through. Or worse send them 9 paragraphs painfully detailing the ins and outs. Instead, give them the highlights in the email: Name of (whatever it is), dates, cost, target audience, and WHY that person’s own tribe will or should care. People are often reading this on the go, so respect that. Bulleting out the main points can help.
Example:
Hi Trish! Would you mind sharing the news of my latest coaching program with your community of working women? It’s right up their alley as they work to save money and fund their dreams!
- 6 Weeks to Solvency: A 6 week virtual coaching program
- 10 am to 11 am Pacific Time Wednesdays starting August x ending on September Y
- It’s perfect for anyone in your tribe who is struggling to pay off loans or credit card debt to help them fund their future.
- Registration and Details: xxx.com
- Cost: $250
2. Write the Copy for Them: If you are asking someone to Tweet, post or send info in their next email newsletter, don’t just say, “Would you please promote this thing for me? Thanks!” Instead take the time to craft the actual tweets, posts or copy so they can easily cut and paste. Give them some options so they can choose the platform that works best for them. When you ask someone a favor, you have to make it a no-brainer because even if they really, truly do want to help, they’ve got stuff to do.
Please don’t forget to SHORTEN THE LINK and embed it for them! It’s crazy to make them cut and paste the link, embed it and then share it…..and add your own social media handle so they don’t have to find you and tag you.
PS: This is the part where you can link them to a promotional page that specifically has all the copy/posts ready to cut and paste. I see this with book promotions all the time. It’s useful if you are offering a lot of options yet you want to keep the email itself short and sweet. Just depends on how much you’re offering them for the promotion.
Example:
Here’s are some snappy tweets, Facebook posts or some newsletter copy you can use which I crafted for you to save you some time – but please feel free to edit and add your own flair!
Tweet: In debt? Check out this new course from my gal @twitterID to get footloose and fancy free: bit.ly/6weekssolvency
FB: We all know being in debt sucks. It’s sucks your money, energy and even health. Make this the year you stop the madness! My good pal, @JaneDoe is a money expert and wise woman who can help you get from stressed to solvent in no time. 6 Weeks to Solvency starts on August x so sign up now and grab your spot! Details: bit.ly/6weekssolvency
Newsletter Copy: (You get the idea….!)
3. Make images available: Images help our social media posts stand out so why not offer them an option to share some cool ones? Especially if they use Pinterest or Instagram. You may want to send them to a page where they can download images of various sizes to use (unless you think your images are small enough to not clog up their email server), Not sure of how to size the images for each platform? Check out this image size cheat sheet.
4. Offer an incentive that helps their brand: Why not make this opportunity one in which they can earn brownie points with their peeps? Create a special discount code just for their community or throw in a little something extra that can boost their brand as well. And PS, Depending on how exclusive you want the offer to be (i.e., not for all their Twitter fans, let’s say, but just their email subscribers), you can add this code straight into the pre-written posts– again, to make it super easy for them to share.
Example:
If you’d like to offer them some extra love, please accept this unique discount code just for your people. Just have them type the code SAVVY at checkout and they will automatically get $50 off!
Or
And let’s do something special for your community: if you’re game. I’m willing to put together a free webcast and co-host it with you (I’ll do all the work!) that we can promote exclusively to your list. This way, we can promote the course and code, but you can also talk to them about what you’ve got cooking, too!
The bottom line: when you ask for promotional help, you have to make it as easy as possible for the person to say yes and take immediate action.
Ready to share your brilliant work? Get your FREE action guide, 4 Clever Ways to Make it Easy for Others to Promote You by clicking the button below. 🙂
Image Credit: Ben Grey via Flickr
