Helping Others
As a website owner, I'm constantly asked to use my resources for the benefit of others. Be it link exchanges, free advertising, answering questions, etc. I'm only one person and I have a limited amount of time, so many of these requests must be declined. Considering I generally receive very little benefit from most of the requests that come my way, it's not too hard to say no.What I have noticed over time is that the few people who do convince me to add links to their website or promote them in someway all have one thing in common - they didn't ask directly.
Instead, they approached me with an offer to help or a quick email to say hi and welcome to the neighborhood. They generally told me a little about who they were and what they did and said, "drop me a line if you ever need anything." This simple statement and the lack of email sales-sleaze then opened the door for me to respond with my own request which led the way to more concrete ways we could help each other. Some of my most prosperous business relationships have started in this way.
Here's an example of an email request that not only went straight to my trash, but also resulted in active distaste for the sender:
Subject: Link Exchange RequestHere's a list of my thoughts as I reacted to this email
Message:
I visited your website and really like the layout! I think our audience at http://www.somewebsite would benefit from your website and we have added you to our links page. Please add a link back to our site or we will remove your link.
- This is obviously a form mail.
- No one ever came to my site except a bot scamming for email addresses and using up my resources.
- The sender didn't even bother to include the name of my site or any other reference.
- The idea the they have added a link to my site doesn't appeal to me either - chances are it's on the bottom of some 500 or so links and I'll never see any traffic from it.
- I don't even want a link from their site because the search engines tend to frown on incoming links from link farms.
- Then, after "helping me out" they make the not so subtle threat that I need to link back to them or else…
In comparison, here's an email request I recently sent to The CarGuyShow broadcasted on one of my local radio stations that I'm hoping will turn into a mutually beneficial relationship:
Subject: Hybrid Diesel VehiclesFrom my perspective as a media outlet, this is exactly the kind of email I want to receive.
Message:
Jerry,
I'm listening to your show on WBAP and heard some of your comments about the trend toward diesel hybrid vehicles. I run http://www.dieselearth.com and would be happy to put together some research for you if you were interested in doing a segment. Please drop me a line anytime.
Thank you,
Keeton
keeton@dieselearth.com
www.dieselearth.com
- The email was personal - I found the right person to talk to, used their name (making sure to spell it correctly), and sent my message to them directly.
- It's short - I'm quick to the point without being rude because I have lots to do today and I'm sure Jerry does too.
- It's specific - I'm a listener and was obviously paying attention to his show.
- Not too formal. Formality is a way of showing respect for others, but overly formal emails convey a lack of confidence to the reader.
- Most important, however, is the offer to help. I'm sure it takes some time and effort to put together quality content for a radio show and maybe some help would be appreciated. There's a great chance that if I put a few hours assembling some information Jerry can use in his radio show, he will mention my website on-air without me ever even asking. In fact, I find that I'm more likely to be rewarded for my time if I never ask for anything in return.
