How to get advice from a billionaire + a free PDF download

Today, I have a special treat for you.

But first, a little public service announcement.

Here’s the deal on guest posting for Rich20Something — I’m looking for extremely detailed, strategic insight on entrepreneurship, hustling, lifestyle and other related topics that readers of this blog will find fascinating and helpful. If you have something like that, contact me. I want to read it.

Sadly, I get a lot of pitches that, frankly, make me say WHAT THE FUCK.

Like this pitch I got yesterday asking me to run a post to thousands of readers (that’s you)…on fashion trends??……..

I can’t believe I got as far as “15 Layered Menswear Look” before I stopped reading.

My response: Umm….you clearly haven’t read my site even once.

Not trying to be mean here — I WANT you to post on Rich20. It just has to be a good fit.

Guest posting isn’t rocket science. If you want to post on someone else’s site to promote your work to their readers, you really just need two ingredients:

1.) A relationship with the blogger (leaving comments on the blog and sending them emails works wonders)

2.) A great pitch that will help their readers (make it something that they just can’t find anywhere else)

My friend Nathan Chan had both of those — so it was my pleasure to showcase his work.

Nathan is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Foundr Magazine, one of the highest-rated magazines for business and entrepreneurship on iTunes.

I was absolutely blown away when he was telling me about all the work that goes into launching a digital magazine — but I was most impressed by the incredible amount of high-profile connections he’s made in a relatively short amount of time. Most recently, he was able to get the attention of Richard Branson…who actually took the time sit down with him for an interview.

You know…Richard Branson? One of the richest men in the world. The founder of Virgin.

Yeah, that one. How much do you think Branson’s time is worth, per hour? Incalculable.

A few things to remember: Nathan didn’t start with connections, isn’t rich and doesn’t have any special powers that you don’t have. He just figured out how to get in touch with powerful people by trial and error.

How is that helpful to you?

The answer is simple: leverage. Meeting high-profile celebrities, entreprenuers and high-flyers gives you tons of leverage.

• What if you have a great business idea, but have nobody to be a sounding board?
• What if you need some advice to help you through a difficult situation and need somebody who’s been through it before?
• Or maybe you want to get a jump on your competition by being 2, 5, 10 steps ahead of everyone else.

These are all situations where having a few close, well-positioned mentors can be the difference-maker between you staying where you are and getting to where you want to be. The first step to getting a great mentor is reaching out.

How do you reach out to these high-profile people?

Why would they even talk to you?

Will you come off as needy?

How do you avoid getting shut down by their staff?

Nathan answers all these below — including revealing exactly what he said to get one-on-one time with one of the biggest entrepreneurs in the world. Enjoy.

Take it away, Nathan!

*******

Richard Branson is one of the most respected and well-loved entrepreneurs on the planet. He’s an absolute rockstar and a personal hero of mine.

Have you ever felt like you wish you could speak to one of your heroes? Wish you could learn from them? Pick their brain and all the other impacts and benefits it can have on your dreams? Well I’m telling you can, in whatever niche, or whatever field out there.

So you are probably wondering how on earth did I score an interview with this amazing man?

I’m not a big media outlet, and arguably have no expertise or authority in the entrepreneurship space.

You’d think it wouldn’t be possible. And you’re right; it shouldn’t be.

Well I’m telling you that with perseverance and hard work, it’s very possible. I myself managed to do it after running a digital magazine for six months. I had no connections to begin within this niche, and this is my first ever real business venture.

Through the power of self-publishing via the internet, I have been able to publish a monthly magazine called Foundr, which is a publication tailored for young entrepreneurs. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with over 30+ game-changing entrepreneurs. And one of them just happens to be the man himself: Sir Richard Branson.

So how exactly did I do it?

Below are the key steps that I took, which fundamentally made this all possible. If you take the same steps, you’ll see the same results and maybe you’ll be talking to Richard Branson next.

TACTICAL STRATEGIES:

1. I created a digital magazine / app on the Apple Newsstand, which has allowed me to stake out ground as a big content provider. I’m now an authority and influencer on the topic of Entrepreneurship, startups, and small businesses.

2. I established myself as an authority and influencer in the entrepreneurship niche. Entrepreneurship is something I am very passionate about, and with minimal business experience to my name, I’m certainly learning fast.

3. I hustled. There are no shortcuts around it.

4. I made phone calls. YES, NOT EMAILS. PHONE CALLS. AND MANY OF THEM. We live in age where email/text is the easiest form of communication, so calling on the phone is an immediate point of difference. Not to say email is the wrong way to go about it, but how can you stand out amongst hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of emails that successful entrepreneurs would receive on a weekly basis?

5. I did my homework. Yes it’s all well and good to want to speak to someone who makes a living by blasting people into space. But first I needed to be crystal clear on two points: Firstly, why did I want to speak to him? And secondly, why was I worth his time? This step takes leg work but it’s worth it in the end.

6. GANGSTER TIP: This is if you want to get in touch with any of your entrepreneurial heroes and you have an audience, no matter how big. There’s one thing you always need to take note of: All these entrepreneurs have written books. CONTACT THEIR PUBLISHERS. Tell them you run a blog/magazine/podcast/whatever and that you would like to interview them about <INSERT YOUR REASON>. Publishers love press because it equals more sales for them.

7. Has the person recently launched a new book/service/product? If they’re doing press for their new product, that’s just another reason they would be interested in speaking with you.

8. If someone doesn’t return your call, follow them up. Heck, if someone doesn’t get back to me in regards to anything after a few emails/phone calls, I will contact them on twitter and Facebook private message them. Don’t be embarrassed to keep trying. These people are just simply busy people.

9. Find the gatekeeper – Every single one of these authority figures has someone that handles their press. Find their PR person. It is the PR person’s job to get press. This person may work within your hero’s company or contracted out externally. It is your job to find out!

So now after reading this, you are probably thinking, “Well that’s great Nathan, I don’t have a magazine or a blog or anything. What am I going to do?” If that’s the case, read on.

ACTION STEPS:

1. If you want to become an authority in your desired niche, whether it’s a passion project or a business, you need to be producing content. Whether it’s a blog/magazine/podcast, it doesn’t matter. You need to have a voice. Believe it or not, people will listen. So just START SOMETHING NOW!

2. Consistency and true grit is the key to building an audience and building a business. Without it you will lose interest and give up. There are going to be times when you can’t be bothered. But it’s the ones that keep going who succeed. Whatever you start, make sure you see it out for at least a year.

3. Ship the goddamn thing. I still cringe at listening and seeing my first interview for the magazine, and if I were to compare it to the latest issue, there is a massive difference. But if I hadn’t have shipped, I would still be at the same point.

4. Serve first ask later. Yes it feels great to help people, so help out these influencers where ever you can. If you appreciate their products, write an honest review. Respond to them via twitter when they ask for an opinion. Get on their radar. This will give you a far greater chance to get in touch with them when you decide to reach out.

THE SCRIPT:

So you have tracked down the publisher of your hero that you would like to reach out to. What now? Here is a copy of the exact script I used when making phone calls to track down Richard Branson.

*Please note you may have to use this exact script with a few different people to get in touch with the right person:

*PHONE RINGS*

Publisher: Mandy speaking

Me: Hi Mandy my name is Nathan Chan and I’m the editor of Foundr Magazine, I’m calling in regards to doing a feature interview on Sir Richard I was wondering if you were the right person to speak to for this.

Publisher: Hi Nathan thank you for your call, can you tell me a little bit more about the magazine

Me: It’s for young entrepreneurs, its digital on the Apple newsstand for iPad & iPhone, we have readers from over 150 countries around the world. <Keep your stats handy, as you will be asked to delve further>

Publisher: OK sounds great, well the person you need to speak with is at Virgin, I can put you in touch with her, she might be able to help you, her contact details are …..

Me: Thank you so much for your help Mandy, you have a great day.

So once you speak to the gatekeeper that allows you access to your hero, you will most likely have to send them an email after your conversation. Attached is the exact email I sent Richard Branson’s head of PR after speaking with her in regards to interviewing Sir Richard for the magazine.

NOTE FROM DANIEL: I turned the PDF version of this into a Google Doc. Click here to view it. Adapt it for your purposes.

So there you have it! I’m just an average guy who works hard and dreams big. No other way to describe it. It doesn’t really matter who you want to interview, whether that be Richard Branson, Oprah, or Bill Gates. All that matters is that if you follow these key principles, getting in touch with anyone is possible.

If you would like to get in touch with me or check out the FREE issue of Foundr magazine featuring Richard Branson, please visit: www.foundrmag.com/itunes

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