We just got a call today for someone that needs one of our services.  (An eMagazine for an alumni organization.)  Here is the interesting thing.  He found us by looking up an email I sent him nearly two years ago.

I am surprised if someone responds after a week.  2 Years must be a new record.

So how does an email have a shelf life beyond 24 hours?

• It must have a clear subject line that states the purpose.  When someone remembers you sent an email 6 months ago, can they quickly scan the list and find it?
• Have solid contact information.  It is surprising how many people do not have the phone number in the email.
• Clearly state the benefit of what you are offering in the message.  I may not care about health care premiums today, but when it goes up next year I may be looking back for that email that promised to save me money.
• Don’t try to trick people, SPAM people or waste their time with long emails.  Respect people’s time and they will be more likely to call on you when the time is right.

We all know that most emails will be deleted.  But if a gem falls out of the woodwork once a year it is worth the little extra effort.

Years ago, we all knew which people were influential.  Which people could talk about us and generate buzz for us.  It was the reporter, the TV anchor, the country club president or the dynamic speaker.  If these people talked highly about you, it was gold.

Then something changed.  These people were still important, but new avenues of communication were opening up and influence was no longer in the hands of the few.  Now, many people are influential.  Yes, it is diluted and each person does not pack the same influence as influentials in the past, but more people have marginal levels of influence in a more targeted niches.

Influence is measured by the number and quality of relationships you have and the extent that those people respect and listen to your message.  You can leverage technology to have more relationships and more contact with those relationships.  If you think of a blog post as the same as an email out to 50 people, it makes more sense.  Either one is a message reaching people that want to communicate with you. (Or at least hear what you have to say.)

So if you are trying to meet influential people that will be interested in what you have to say, consider some of these options and build relationships with people who have an audience in your particular niche.

• Bloggers
• Website Authors
• Podcasters
• Speakers
• Reporters, Anchors
• Online Community Moderators
• eNewsletter Publishers
• Editors
• Successful Business Leaders/Networkers
• Club Presidents
• People that serve on boards and in the community
• Active Online Social Network Participants
• Professors and Educators (I frequently guest lecture and know it will give me the opportunity to influence students in their future jobs.)

Feel free to use the comments below to let me know which ones I missed.

I sat down to watch a presentation yesterday by Connie Dieken (An excellent speaker) and the woman next to me, Joan Looman of GEMS and I started talking. She asked me some questions about what I do and I eventually mentioned the book.  I happened to have one demo copy with me and she bought it on the spot.  I did not try to sell it to her, she really wanted to buy it.  Random sale

The same evening someone was telling me about stopping in to cold call a business to sell them advertising about 10 years ago.  He said the receptionist tried to blow him off, but the woman behind the desk smiled at him and asked him to come in.

She took him to her big, executive office and when she turned to him, she asked, “Don’t you recognize me?”  It turned out to be his teacher from middle school.  She bought some advertising just because of the chance meeting.  Random.

You can count on a certain percentage of sales from any given activity (assuming it results in at least one sale.)

You can also count on a certain percent of good luck, which is not truly luck.  If you create more buzz, you are communicating with more people and spreading more good stories.  This will increase the frequency of things that happen to you just out of luck.

Maybe I should have named the book 57 Ways to Get Lucky.

I did not have any big clients this time in the elections.  It is not something we advertise, but we do help people create positive buzz and win elections.  Several weeks ago we got 4 leads for people that wanted to use Buzz Marketing to win.  Guess what…. it was too late.

So how do you start today and create a relationship with your constituency so when a new election comes up, it is not something to worry about?  Dave Ruller is the city manager where I live and he uses a software package our company owns to create buzz.  It is a blog/website combo where he constantly publishes his thoughts and work.

Does it open him up to criticism?  Absolutely.  Can you accuse him of not communicating with people?  Absolutely not.

His post today lists how he prioritizes his day and what things he is working on.  Get what is in the top quadrant?  Blogging!  His blog is as important as downtown revitalization because he understands the importance of letting the community know what he does.

Is the world talking about him?  Maybe not.  But he is the most accessible city manager the people in this city have seen.

Who Creates Buzz?
There are three primary kinds of people that will create word of mouth about your company.

• Influentials – They may not actively talk about you often, but when they do it carries a lot of weight.
• Advocates – Your customers and friends that love your company and what it represents.
• Employees – Most employees do not think to create buzz, but they can with guidance and encouragement.

If your goal is to create word of mouth and buzz, you must have different strategies for these different groups. Influencers must be enticed to create some buzz, Advocates must be encouraged to create buzz, and employees must be educated on the importance of creating buzz and how to do it. If you understand your goal and approach, you will be very successful.

Last night I went to a Jump Start Event locally and ran into the CMO of Jump Start, Thom Ruhe.  When he found out who I was, he said he reads our stuff all the time. It is wonderful to meet people who read your blog before they ever meet you in person, and this happens all the time to me.

I suppose it happens to book authors every day.  But how often does it happen to business owners?  Frequently if you blog and do a good job.

When you are writing a blog post, you frequently do it out of habit, and you do not think about the readers.  You should, because they are reading what you write and deciding on the level of relationship they will have with you.

What are your readers options?

• Read one article and leave
• Read and explore the blog for useful stuff that appeals to them
• Subcribe to your RSS feed
• Subscribe to an email newsletter or updates
• Link to you for their website or blog
• Contact you
• Bookmark you – (see bar at end of post)
• Refer to your work in an article, publication, etc.
• Comment or trackback to your post

The more you blog and the higher the quality of your posts, the more this will happen.  It is also important for generating more traffic, which is more people to make these kinds of decisions.