“How’s it going? I’m David.”
Visiting my parents in Spokane, I’ve found myself saying that a lot. No one here really knows me, and that means constant introductions.
But most of those conversations proceed naturally — we’re meeting each other incidentally in the flow of the day, not seeking each other out. How do you introduce yourself to someone you’re deliberately starting a conversation with?
That’s the question you need to answer with one-on-one marketing outreach.
There’s a good and a bad way to reach out to somebody (I know; I’ve done both). Good outreach feels natural, and the best salespeople I know are great at it: focusing on needs, finding rapport, building a relationship based on mutual value. Bad outreach is like getting hit on by a frat bro in a bar.
There’s a lot that goes into making personal outreach work.
Why One-on-One Outreach?
Here’s the thing many people don’t realize: all marketing is one on one.
Marketers build connections between brands and people. Whether it’s a social media post, a podcast or an email, you’re connecting a brand (personal or corporate) to a person. They might “know” that it’s a broadcast and others are receiving it, but they don’t care; good marketing is focused on their specific needs and how you help them.
The problem is that it’s not always that simple.
In the current marketing landscape, third parties are creating barriers between you and your audience. Google, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok are businesses that sell attention. These platforms cost more in time, effort and money than they ever have; they’re introducing friction, then offering to remove that friction as you invest in them. “Free” is no longer free.
That’s where one-on-one outreach comes in — by offering a connection on a personal level, without the barriers that third parties can put up. Email and SMS broadcasts offer this too, but personal outreach lets you handcraft an appeal to a single person. You circumvent barriers and build rapport by reaching people directly.
>1: Define the purpose of your outreach.
Marketing outreach is different from sales outreach, even if it looks similar. Sales connections are fundamentally aimed at one thing: making a sale. Marketing outreach can have a variety of purposes, including:
- Building a relationship
- Getting access to a new audience
- Driving engagement for downloads, listens or views
Decide before you start: what am I trying to do here? Then tailor your approach.
For example, when I was writing about the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team, I started a series of articles called Fraternizing with the Enemy where we’d preview each week’s games with writers who covered the opposing teams. The purpose of the outreach was simple: to offer an insider’s perspective on the team to Thunder fans (and for both me and the other writers, to introduce our work to other passionate basketball fans). It worked; I was never short of contributors, mostly because it was clearly defined why we were collaborating.
Define what it’s about first to start your communication on the right foundation.
>2: Seek out people who already know who you are (if you can).
It’s a whole lot easier to get someone to open the door to you if they know who you are.
Your other marketing efforts should pave the way for this outreach already. Common connection points include:
- Networking events
- Personal contact, either online or offline
- Reactions, comments or reposts of your social content
- Mutual acquaintances
- Contributions to the same content pieces (roundtables, etc.)
Your target needs to know your name/brand and what you’re about, even if you haven’t actually talked before.
Don’t be haphazard about your outreach. David Ogilvy famously had a “wishlist” of clients he wanted to sign to his agency, and even if you’re not trying to directly close business this way, keep that principle in mind. You can invite connection points if you’re smart with your regular marketing material. Aim some of your efforts at brands and people you think would be good outreach targets — sharing articles or podcasts, calling out good work they do, using lookalike audiences to reach them through advertising.
Pro Tip: The best way to prepare the ground for potential outreach is through a sincere expression of admiration. If they’re doing something well, use it as an example or quote it in one of your pieces, then tag them on socials where they’ll see it.
>3: Bring something valuable to the table.
When someone is actively seeking you out and you know you have a hot lead, you can hard sell.
This is not that.
For marketing outreach, you have to connect first, ask questions and offer answers, then pitch the purpose of the outreach. If your first message doesn’t offer clear, personalized value, be prepared to be ignored.
Here’s an example of a LinkedIn message my boss Ed Bardwell received recently:
Hi Ed Bardwell 👋🏻, Just came across your profile and saw that we work in the same business domain😁. I would love to connect🤝and be a part of your professional network as we can be helpful👍🏻to each other in many ways.”
This is worthless. We can be helpful to each other “in many ways?” Show me. Don’t tell me. Have something right up front that cements your value in that other person’s mind.
Here are a few ideas:
- Collaborations. The Fraternizing with the Enemy article worked well because most of us were still trying to build audiences, so every collaboration with a decent sized platform helped. Exposure is still valuable in some markets. Pitching guest posts, roundtables and other opportunities for exposure to potential outreach partners can be very effective.
- Information. This requires knowing your subject well. Are they working on something that you have knowledge of? Don’t be afraid to volunteer your help. Carefully. Don’t unintentionally belittle their experience or knowledge; offer what you know as a “hey, I love what you’ve talked about so far. What’s your take on X?” or something similar. Then offer your knowledge if it’s asked for. Bait first then set the hook if it feels like they aren’t going to spit it out.
- Sales or discounts. Be VERY CAREFUL with this, as it can come off spammy. This works best with people where there’s already a strong connection and rapport; ideally you should be multiple interactions down the pipeline. If they are looking for help on something where you can offer help or expertise, let them know when you’re running a special that impacts them.
Go for specific over general. For example, I get a lot of people reaching out to me on X (Twitter) about basketball apps they’re putting together. They want me as a beta user. Usually these aren’t relevant to me; they’re for fantasy, or card trading, or some sort of random thing I’m not specialized in. The only ones I’ve actually used are the ones that pertain to my specific niche: the NBA salary cap.
Relate your outreach to something your prospect is working on. Don’t just launch a general appeal out into the ether. Offer an opportunity or solve a problem.
Outreach without value is spam. And if you become spam, either through selling too hard or not knowing what your contact values, you can kiss that contact goodbye. I’ve whiffed a few contacts this way. This normally happens when there’s a huge disparity in audience or relevance between you and your prospect — when they have way more to offer you than you can offer them. Be careful.
>4: Follow up with your prospect.
Everyone has seen the guy who hits on every woman who walks through the door, even if the previous people he’s hit on are still there. It’s obvious he’s not in it for the long haul.
Don’t be that guy. No one likes that guy.
For your marketing outreach to work, the people you talk to have to feel valued. One outreach usually isn’t enough. Think back to your goal; it often takes more than one touch for that goal to actually be achieved. You’re building a relationship, not chasing a one-night stand.
Check in within a couple of days if you haven’t heard from your prospect, and follow up at regular intervals. Be personal. Your outreach can’t feel boilerplate (even if it is). It needs to feel like it’s coming directly to them.
Pro Tip: Don’t lean on “personalized” subject lines or body text to make it feel personal — studies show that personalized subject lines are now actually performing worse, as they’ve become a sign of spammy marketing messages. There’s no cheat code to making something “feel” personal; you have to put in the effort.
Many of the people I reached out to with my Fraternizing with the Enemy outreach are still contacts today. I hear about NBA news ahead of other people; I have a network of people I can tap to find out what the story is on any team. And that’s because I didn’t approach my outreach as something that was a one and done, but a mutually beneficial relationship. There’s value there for you and them (and if there’s not, don’t bother).
Optimize Your Outreach
One-on-one outreach offers a unique, personalized way to reach your audience. If you’re running into issues reaching your audience with third-party platforms in the way, try reaching out personally through DMs, text messages or emails.
Decide what your goal is, reach out to those who already know you, bring something valuable to the table and follow up to build a relationship. You’ll be surprised what you can accomplish. And if you need a hand, don’t hesitate to reach out. Just drop us a line, anytime.
Best Regards,
David Brandon
Copywriter
Rainmaker Digital Services