How to Ask for Book Marketing Support from a Long Lost Friend

It happens to the best of us. Life gets busy and that relationship you once had has faded into the past. But now you've got a book coming out and you need that person's help. What do you do? How do you ask for help without being rude or burning a bridge? Stick around. That's what we're talking about today. Hey there. I'm Julie the Book Broad author and founder of Book Launchers, a self publishing services team that will help you write, publish and sell a fantastic nonfiction book. Prevention is the best approach to this. Build and nurture your relationships as much as you can. Now, as I say that, let me tell you that I'm not very good at this. I've made several significant career and business changes over the last two decades. I've lived in nine cities and I've moved to a new country. As you can imagine, I've made friends and connections with a lot of different people over the last bunch of years, and I've done a poor job of staying connected beyond the light social media connection I maintained. So this is something I know a lot about because from time to time you have to reach out to someone. Someone you've lost touch with. Frankly, it feels weird, but there's really no reason to feel weird or awkward about it because we all get busy. And you know what? They didn't stay in touch with you either, right? So it's not all on you. Rarely is that loss of contact for any reason other than life got busy and other things took priority. Most of us actually enjoy hearing from that long lost friend or colleague, so know that they'll probably be happy to hear from you. You needing something from them is just a good reason to reconnect from. Not a bad thing. The big thing I'm trying to say is get over it. Don't avoid contacting them just because it's been a long time and you have a motive for contacting them. That said, there's a few things to smooth the whole reconnection over. So the first thing is don't pretend that it hasn't been years. Just acknowledge that up front, even in the subject line of the email. You could say reconnecting or it's me, Julie, your long lost MBA friend or something like that. Don't use my name though, because that would be weird. Use your own name if it's been a while. Don't assume that your name will immediately pop to the top of their mind with how they knew you. So it's a good idea to put it in the subject line I know I've been in so many situations over the years that I'll see a name and I'll go, oh, I think I know them. But where from? Are they long lost friends of my husband or did I work with them or how do I know them? So that can really help to get the email open. Number two, Be polite and to the point. Make sure whatever you're asking of them is something they can say yes to. Ideally, it's not super time consuming or intrusive and don't take a long time in the email to get to the ask. They know you're reaching out for a reason, so just let them know what it is. They're probably busy too, because most people are. And in fact people are dealing with an insane amount of different pressures and challenges and stresses in their life. So recognize that. And you could actually even say that. Just say, please let me know how I can make it easier for you to do this request. They may ask you to draft an email that could be forwarded or send additional information. For goodness sakes. Also give them a polite, easy way to get out of this. You could say, I'm sure you're very busy. I understand if you just can't fit this in, or you just don't feel comfortable making this introduction or whatever's relevant to what you're asking. Number three, Let them know you'd love to do something for them too. If they've already written a book, the best thing you can do for them is read their book and write a thoughtful review. And then you can let them know that you've already done that and say if there's anything else I can do to support you, I'll do it. And it would be ideal if you have suggestions. For example, my uncle is XYZ and you might want to speak at one of his events. But if you don't have any idea of how you can help them, at least let them know you'd be grateful for the opportunity to do something for them. Finally, just let them know that you appreciate a reply and would love to hear how they're doing, even if they can't help. And if they come through with the introduction or whatever it is you were asking for, show appreciation Gift cards, thank you cards, Heartfelt acknowledgments. Just thank them for goodness sakes. I can't tell you how many times I've done favors for people and then heard nothing after I've done the favor. It'd just be nice to hear a thank you now you've opened the door. Maybe you should stay in touch now. I'd love to stay in touch with you. Have you subscribed to Book Launchers launch letter? You can get your copy along with a game plan to help you sell books. You can get that@booklaunchers.com gameplan that's a great way for us to get in touch and stay in touch. And of course, if you like this video, please smash that thumbs up button. Leave a comment below about someone you've reconnected with and how you did it and make sure you've subscribed to the channel so we can hang out more often. I appreciate every one of my YouTube friends and I'd love to give a shout out to a few of these awesome friends. Dwayne Guitar Lessons Tom Wise Poetry from the Heart the G the Wynonna R. Thank you so much for being part of my YouTube community. Your comments are greatly appreciated. And when you comment the day a video is released, you'll be entered to win some sweet book launcher swag. So make sure you've subscribed with the notifications on. I'm waiting for you. There's so many other amazing videos here on the channel like this one that will help you stop self rejecting your book idea. Or this one on setting up your publishing company. Simple little way to make your self published book look really, really professional. I'll see you there.