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I received an email the other day from someone who asked, “It’s so hard to get influencers to take notice of what I’m doing – got any tips?” Yes.

First, change your thinking. Online influencers have a constant need for interesting content to share with their readers.

Create the right content, send it to influencers and I guarantee some of them will take notice and send you traffic.

Here are 9 tips to make that happen:

1: Build Relationships with Influencers – This is the old school method, and frankly also the best method of all.

Rather than trying to find a ‘back door’ route to their audience, you might take the long-term approach of building a relationship.

You can start by supporting the influencer in what they’re currently doing by mentioning them on social media and your blog.

Do round-ups, where you send an interview question to several different influencers and then include them all in a featured post.

Quote them in your blogposts – this is hugely flattering and will get you noticed, especially when you call their attention to it.

Support them and their brand, and you’re well on your way to building a two-way relationship in which they reciprocate and mention you to their audience as well.

2: Actually MEET Them at an Event – Again, this is an old school method that works really, really well.

If you think about it – who are you more likely to support: The stranger who sends you a few emails, or the person you had lunch with at your last conference?

This is the number one reason to attend networking events and look for influencers that you can help, and that can potentially help you.

Always approach them with the attitude of what YOU can do for them and not the other way around.

I say this because 95% of people who approach them at these events are asking for favors.

So, when you offer to HELP them, they will be relieved to have finally encountered a true professional and not someone who is just out to use them.

3: Provide Free Samples – First, you find the industry influencers in your target market.

Next, you reach out and offer them a free product in exchange for their review.

In the beginning, target mid-level influencers. They don’t get approached as often and will likely be more willing to try your product and write a review for you.

And make sure your influencers are following the FTC guidelines for disclosing they received a free product in exchange for their review.

4: Give Free Products to the Influencer’s Audience – Once your influencer shares their review, they can host a product giveaway on their post.

How this works is up to you and your influencer. It could be a contest where people have to enter, such as joining your list, publicizing your contest on social media or submitting a reason why they should get the product for free.

The influencer can be responsible for picking winners and you send out the free products.

Personally, I like to simply ask for their email address to enter the contest, and then I give them the option of sharing the contest on social media to gain themselves several more entries.

This builds my list and makes the influencer happy, especially if I’m giving away several prizes to their readers.

5: Publish Unique Research – According to Sumo, only 20% of visitors will read your entire article.

Worse yet, the average visitor will only read 25% of an article.

Ouch.

Which is why you’ve got to stand apart from the crowd. What’s trending or new in your industry? Can you create a study or poll around it?

You might take polls on social media or your email list, creating unique content for your readers. This will make influencers take notice and possibly even create a viral effect of getting mentioned by others.

6: Niche it Down and Go Deep – Anyone can post about broad topics like, “How to be a better gardener.”

But “How to Grow Miniature Roses indoors in Northern Climates” will stand apart from all the other info in your niche because of its specificity.

Find ways to go beyond the basics and create several pieces of content that cover different angles in depth.

7: Be the Devil’s Advocate – Somewhere inside your niche or industry are controversial topics. This is your chance to find unique perspectives that no one else has covered before.

Tips on how to do this without alienating your core audience:

• Write from an angle that resonates with your readers
• Back up what you say with data
• Write in the tone of, “Have you thought about this…” rather than, “This is how it is, period.”
• Be open to different views while standing by your own. In other words, believe in what you’re saying and be prepared to defend your stance without acting like a jerk.

8: Sponsor a Post – Some blogs will accept a ‘paid-for’ post that’s written either by you or the influencer herself.

You might do a walk-through of your product, showcasing the value to the audience.

A great way to do this is to explain how to do something step-by-step, and then offer your product as the easy, ‘done-for-you’ solution.

9: Be a Blog Sponsor – Some influencers also accept sponsorships for their website.

You can negotiate what this covers, but it could be a sidebar ad, mentions on specific pages, or even mentions on social media and through email.

As a sponsor you have an easy ‘in’ to talk to the influencer about additional ways your products or website might be featured, as well as potentially doing joint ventures.

No matter which methods you choose, consistent action is key.

Not every blog owner you contact will be open to your proposals, but when you…

• contact enough of them
• remain consistent in your efforts
• always think in terms of what you can do for the influencer first

…then you will get the results you seek.

I received an email the other day from someone who asked, “It’s so hard to get influencers to take notice of what I’m doing – got any tips?” Yes.

First, change your thinking. Online influencers have a constant need for interesting content to share with their readers.

Create the right content, send it to influencers and I guarantee some of them will take notice and send you traffic.

Here are 9 tips to make that happen:

1: Build Relationships with Influencers – This is the old school method, and frankly also the best method of all.

Rather than trying to find a ‘back door’ route to their audience, you might take the long-term approach of building a relationship.

You can start by supporting the influencer in what they’re currently doing by mentioning them on social media and your blog.

Do round-ups, where you send an interview question to several different influencers and then include them all in a featured post.

Quote them in your blogposts – this is hugely flattering and will get you noticed, especially when you call their attention to it.

Support them and their brand, and you’re well on your way to building a two-way relationship in which they reciprocate and mention you to their audience as well.

2: Actually MEET Them at an Event – Again, this is an old school method that works really, really well.

If you think about it – who are you more likely to support: The stranger who sends you a few emails, or the person you had lunch with at your last conference?

This is the number one reason to attend networking events and look for influencers that you can help, and that can potentially help you.

Always approach them with the attitude of what YOU can do for them and not the other way around.

I say this because 95% of people who approach them at these events are asking for favors.

So, when you offer to HELP them, they will be relieved to have finally encountered a true professional and not someone who is just out to use them.

3: Provide Free Samples – First, you find the industry influencers in your target market.

Next, you reach out and offer them a free product in exchange for their review.

In the beginning, target mid-level influencers. They don’t get approached as often and will likely be more willing to try your product and write a review for you.

And make sure your influencers are following the FTC guidelines for disclosing they received a free product in exchange for their review.

4: Give Free Products to the Influencer’s Audience – Once your influencer shares their review, they can host a product giveaway on their post.

How this works is up to you and your influencer. It could be a contest where people have to enter, such as joining your list, publicizing your contest on social media or submitting a reason why they should get the product for free.

The influencer can be responsible for picking winners and you send out the free products.

Personally, I like to simply ask for their email address to enter the contest, and then I give them the option of sharing the contest on social media to gain themselves several more entries.

This builds my list and makes the influencer happy, especially if I’m giving away several prizes to their readers.

5: Publish Unique Research – According to Sumo, only 20% of visitors will read your entire article.

Worse yet, the average visitor will only read 25% of an article.

Ouch.

Which is why you’ve got to stand apart from the crowd. What’s trending or new in your industry? Can you create a study or poll around it?

You might take polls on social media or your email list, creating unique content for your readers. This will make influencers take notice and possibly even create a viral effect of getting mentioned by others.

6: Niche it Down and Go Deep – Anyone can post about broad topics like, “How to be a better gardener.”

But “How to Grow Miniature Roses indoors in Northern Climates” will stand apart from all the other info in your niche because of its specificity.

Find ways to go beyond the basics and create several pieces of content that cover different angles in depth.

7: Be the Devil’s Advocate – Somewhere inside your niche or industry are controversial topics. This is your chance to find unique perspectives that no one else has covered before.

Tips on how to do this without alienating your core audience:

• Write from an angle that resonates with your readers
• Back up what you say with data
• Write in the tone of, “Have you thought about this…” rather than, “This is how it is, period.”
• Be open to different views while standing by your own. In other words, believe in what you’re saying and be prepared to defend your stance without acting like a jerk.

8: Sponsor a Post – Some blogs will accept a ‘paid-for’ post that’s written either by you or the influencer herself.

You might do a walk-through of your product, showcasing the value to the audience.

A great way to do this is to explain how to do something step-by-step, and then offer your product as the easy, ‘done-for-you’ solution.

9: Be a Blog Sponsor – Some influencers also accept sponsorships for their website.

You can negotiate what this covers, but it could be a sidebar ad, mentions on specific pages, or even mentions on social media and through email.

As a sponsor you have an easy ‘in’ to talk to the influencer about additional ways your products or website might be featured, as well as potentially doing joint ventures.

No matter which methods you choose, consistent action is key.

Not every blog owner you contact will be open to your proposals, but when you…

• contact enough of them
• remain consistent in your efforts
• always think in terms of what you can do for the influencer first

…then you will get the results you seek.

There’s a free and open source software – called OBS Studio or Open Broadcaster Software – that can do remarkable things for your business.

For example…

• You can live stream from your desktop to YouTube. You’ll rank better than standard YouTube uploads, plus you’ll experience a better quality than Hangouts on Air
• You can record your videos for later playback
• You can do live webinars (think of the cost savings here!)
• You can do live broadcasts with Facebook, getting a much stronger reach than traditional methods
• You can stream pre-recorded videos to Facebook and YouTube

For a Facebook Live Post, the number of page likes is your total possible audience for a live post.

Multiply that by 25%, and that’s generally going to be your total reach when doing a live post, versus the standard 5-10% for a text and or image post.

Then, you click the “Boost Post” button, and you can DOUBLE your reach. So we’re talking about reaching about HALF of your potential audience, instead of the usual 5-10%.

Plus you’ve got to realize that a live recording is going to make a much bigger impression, or have a bigger impact than a simple text or picture ever could.

It’s the difference between receiving a postcard, versus someone knocking on your door and saying hello.

You can download OBS Studio at obsproject.com

So what features will you find on OBS Studio?

Tons. For example:

Picture in picture. You might show your desktop while simultaneously showing yourself on the webcam. Move your picture within a picture anyplace you like (bottom right, top left, center, etc.)

This is a great feature for Facebook, since on Facebook your video might look like a still photo until someone clicks on it.

With the picture within a picture, Facebook users can see that there is a live person talking, which will encourage them to click on the play button and hear the audio.

Livestream a pre-recorded video – injecting a video right into your screen.

Let’s say you’re streaming yourself introducing the video, then you can play the video and when it’s done you can switch back to yourself, or a still image, or whatever you like.

You can use different sources for your video. For example, you can show your desktop (your entire monitor) or window capture (shows just one window).

If you have other people speaking on your live event, you’ll want to enable desktop audio so they can be heard.

If it’s just you speaking, then you can enable the mic in auxiliary.

Adjust the volume levels to equalize the other voices with yours.

You can create a test page on Facebook to play with live broadcasts to test your video and audio settings, to learn what you’re doing before you do it for a live audience.

Here are more features straight from the OBS Project website:

• High performance real time video/audio capturing and mixing, with unlimited scenes you can switch between seamlessly via custom transitions.
• Filters for video sources such as image masking, color correction, chroma/color keying, and more.
• Intuitive audio mixer with per-source filters such as noise gate, noise suppression, and gain. Take full control with VST plugin support.
• Powerful and easy to use configuration options. Add new Sources, duplicate existing ones, and adjust their properties effortlessly.
• Streamlined Settings panel for quickly configuring your broadcasts and recordings. Switch between different profiles with ease.
• Multiple themes available to fit your environment.

Live Streaming to Facebook

Doing a live broadcast from your Facebook Page is pretty simple:

• First, login to your Facebook page, click on “publishing tools” in the upper right corner. Click on “videos” and go to “Plus Live.”
• Copy the stream key, and paste it into the OBS Settings. Select Facebook, paste, click okay and you’re good to go.
• Click the preview button to see if everything is good. Under, “What’s on your mind,” you’ll place your call to action and link.
• Then fill in the video title and video tags.
• In OBS, click the ‘start streaming’ button – you are now streaming live.
• When you’re done, click ‘stop streaming’ in OBS.

Easy, right?

If you’re not already using OBS, give it a try today. You’d be surprised how many six and seven figure marketers are already using it.

And to make it even better…

Cranking Up Your Presentation with Eyeball Glue

Okay, everyone has seen a screen capture video, and they’ve seen talking heads, and they’ve seen talking heads inside a screen capture.

Which is to say, OBS is great, but so far we haven’t used it in a way that really captures those eyeballs and glues them to the page.

For this, we need to add another tool to our arsenal – eQuil SmartPen 2.

Remember sitting in class and your professor was droning on and on about…

…well, you probably don’t remember because it got kind of boring.

But then he got out his marker and started to draw on the board as he was speaking, and all of a sudden you sat up in your chair and PAID ATTENTION.

Why was that?

Probably because you were being visually stimulated. What would he draw next? Why did he just draw that stick figure? What’s with the drawing of a cat in a beaker? And so forth.

You got interested.

And your audience is no different. Screen capture, unless you’re doing something really exciting, can be – let’s be honest – somewhat boring.

But everyone loves to watch somebody draw, even if they’re terrible at drawing. It’s fun to figure out what they’re drawing and how it relates to what they’re saying.

And with the eQuil Smart Marker, you can do just that.

https://www.myequil.com/home/

The pen uses real ink, and you write on paper just as you normally would.

But everything is recorded electronically, too. So if you’re writing or drawing during your broadcast, then your viewers can see it on the screen.

Or you can record your sketching and writing ahead of time and play it during your live broadcast.

In either case, you’ve just opened up a can of eyeball glue that will flat out work.

I saw this demonstrated at an event I was at and it blew me away. I didn’t want to stop watching.

And by the way, it’s got other great uses, too.

You can capture your thoughts in a natural way through your writing and drawing.

You can convert your handwriting and notes to text you can edit.

You can easily share your notes, since Equil works on all devices.

You can select from a range of colors and pen tips, and add photos to enhance your notes.

Your only limit is your imagination.

Now then, I suppose I’ve sounded like a commercial for both OBS and the Equil pen.

But check them out and I think you’ll agree they are both ‘must have’ tools for your online business by helping you grow your reach and engagement with your audience.