10 Jun 2019 · 30 min
Casey Adams shares how he used Instagram DMs to book high-profile guests like Grant Cardone, Gary Vee, and Ed Mylett. He shows the exact first messages he sent, with dates, and breaks down what worked: consistency, a strong personal brand, asking with depth, and moving conversations off the platform.
Questions this episode answers
March 23, 2018.
December 28, 2017.
March 7, 2018.
February 4, 2018 (initial DM) and February 23, 2018 (follow-up video DM response/connection).
February 4, 2018.
Chapters
Legacy of Monsters an Apple Original Series. The world is on fire. I decided to do something about it on November 17th. This place. It's not ours. Believe me. The most massive event of the year arrives. If you come with me, you'll know everything. I promise.
Oh my God. Go. Go, Go.
Legacy of monsters streaming November 17th only on Apple TV.
Plus.
This episode is brought to you by Michigan Economic Development Corporation. In Michigan, you can have both a rewarding career and a quality lifestyle. With plentiful career opportunities in world changing innovating industries from electric vehicles to clean energy to biotech, with room for advancement no matter where you are in your career. Plus, Michigan offers a welcoming, beautiful, affordable and inclusive community for all. Live your best life you can in Michigan. Visit themichiganlife.org.
Happy Monday and welcome back to the Rise of the Young podcast. If you are new here, my name is Casey Adams and I am very excited about this show because today I'm going to be talking about how to send a dm. For those who don't know, a lot of people call me the king of the DM slide. And the reason for that is, is because I've been able to connect with almost everybody in my life over the last two years through an Instagram dm. Yes, you heard that right. My entire network has came from an Instagram dm. That is why if you follow Rise of the Young, which is the Instagram page for this podcast, you'll see a red mailbox emoji as the profile picture. And that is what I like to call the DM slide emoji. And I'll get more into that. But just wanna say thank you so much for tuning in today. Before we get into it, I would very much appreciate it if you could subscribe to the Rise of the Young podcast. Leave a review on itunes and let me know what you think. Preferably a five star if you can do that and let me know honestly give your honest opinion. But that being said, make sure you follow Rise of the Young. That is the new page that I just launched for this podcast and if you notice the page, it's a storyboard and if you go to it, which you can while you're listening to this podcast. But if you're driving, do not do that right now. If you can scroll through and see my journey as an individual, you can scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and really just read and look through what my journey has been and especially on this podcast. So make sure you check that out. My buddy Sabian, Chase has helped me so much with this page, and I'm very excited to show it to you guys. So make sure you go check it out, because I believe it is something that not many people have seen before. But that being said, it's time to get into the show because today's episode is something that I want you to really take seriously, because I believe sometimes you hear all the time, it's like, oh, send her a DM. Send him a DM. Slide in the DMs. And there's this conception and just saying called oh, slide in the DMs. Right? But it's the truth and it works. I'm gonna tell you again, every single guest I've had on this podcast has came from an Instagram dm, Whether that's Grant Cardone, Gary Vee, someone like Jay Shetty, Justin Escalona, whoever it is. And I will bring more names to the table as a reference point. And I'm gonna be reading out the DMs that I've sent to each and every single one of the individuals that I've had on this podcast. And I've selected a few people that I'm going to be reading through the DMs of today. And that is Grant Cardone, Drama Ed Mylett, Andy Frisella, Justin Escalona, Gary Vee, Dee Murthy, Jay Shetty, and Jake Kassin. And these people that I just mentioned, yes, I've had them on my podcast, but I've truly been able to build a, I would say, quality relationship with them. And it all started from an Instagram dm. And people always ask me, what do you send to these people? What is it that you send? So today, I'm literally just going to be reading out my first DM to each and every single individual that I just mentioned. But before I do that, you have to understand this game is about consistency. I've DMed all these people multiple times, and it didn't. They didn't get back to me the first time. So I want you to understand as I'm giving you tactics throughout this show today, don't get upset if you DM someone or even if you DM me, and I don't get back to you the first time you DM me. There's so many people that if they're building brands on Instagram, they have a lot of people hitting them up. And I want you to really just maintain your focus of getting in touch with people. And I'm gonna be giving you the tactics and strategies of how to do that effectively today so that you can not only get more people on your podcast, but get connected with quality people and do it in a way that they will genuinely connect with you and build a relationship with you. Because social media is great, don't get me wrong, and I use it every single day. Matter of fact, I probably need to cut down on it, and that's one of my goals. But my goal is to take every single relationship off of social media and to build a real network of people that can not only provide me opportunities, but we can give value back and forth too. So if you're listening right now, and maybe we know each other, my goal is to take our relationship off the platform. And that is a goal of mine, because social media is, like I said, amazing. And I'm so grateful for everything that is provided in my life. But I wanna have quality people in my life, no matter what. I wanna be able to text them, call them, and really just give value to the people that truly mean the world to me. So that's my intent. But that being said, the first time that I understood the power of a DM is in 2020 16. And you may have heard this story before, I DM'd Kayla Maddox. And that led me to speaking on stage in San Diego, California, at an event called Epic Mastermind Experience Boom. And if you follow Rise of the Young, you can actually see the story and the DM that I sent to make this happen. So make sure you go check that out. Long story short, I go to San Diego the first time. Meet Kayla Maddox. The day I get home from this event, I DM'd Tai Lopez on Instagram. And at this time, I did not have a crazy personal brand, maybe 10,000 followers, and I sent Ty a DM. He ended up getting back to me. And you can see that on the page, the DM that I sent Ty. And long story short, I sent Ty a dm. Two weeks later, I'm flying out to Los Angeles, California with my mom and I, and it all happened from a DM to Tai Lopez. I was in his programs, he flew me out to la, and this is all from a DM on Instagram. And I'm 16 years old at the time, and I'm like, wow, the power of the DM is real. Let me keep doing it. So the main way that I've been able to leverage DMs has been from podcasting, because I'll DM somebody asking them to be on my podcast because that allows me to take the next step with them in a relationship. And this is key to building relationships, because if you DM somebody and you're like, hey, great to meet you, let's connect, that's a surface level question. Start taking a step back and say, all right. Is the question I'm about to ask surface level for me, asking someone like Andy Vercella to be on my podcast, it requires depth. Excuse that someone's calling me, but it requires depth. And one of those things that I always tell people is, is go for depth on social media. Actually try to build a relationship through conversation. And the quickest way I do that with people is through a podcast. So now I'm about to read you some of the DMs that I've sent to people and break down the stories of not only what the DM has created from me, but just to truly give you awareness of how powerful a DM can truly be. So, that being said, let's get into it. First DM that I want you to know. Grant Cardone. I DM'd him on March 23, 2018, saying, it's simple. I'd love to have you on my podcast, Grant. Let's make it happen. Literally, that's it. But that was not the first time I DMed him. But he gets back to me, great. Email blank. And I said, sounds good. Thanks, Grant. So I dm, not dm. I sent an email to his assistant and I tell her, hey, Grant told me to send you a message about getting him on my podcast. What does it take to make that happen? I'll be in Miami next week and I'd love to do it in person. She says, this is like 30 minutes later. She emails me back, next Thursday at 3 o'. Clock. Works for Grant. See you at the office. Boom. Sent me the address. And here's the thing. I was 17 years old at the time, I've never been to Miami, and I pre framed that I was going to be in Miami. So I literally told Grant Cardone and his team I was going to be in Miami, even though I had no intention to be in Miami. But then that triggered them to say, hey, okay, we're free that day. Let's do it. So then I book a flight to Miami, I fly down to Miami, and I have and do a podcast with Grant Cardone. And now that DM has not only built a quality relationship with me and Grant Cardone, but but it's just overall giving me so much access to his team and connecting with his team at the office. And Overall, long story short, I'm actually going to be speaking with Grant Cardone again in Phoenix, Arizona, July 24 on the impact Players Tour. So if you want more information on that, let me know. It's gonna be 2,000 people. Grant Cardone and Elena Cardone are the keynote speakers. I will be there as well. And it's so cool because from DMing Grant to now speaking on stage with him, that should show you and give you, I would say, just advice and a true purpose of what a DM can do. So that's just one example. Next, Drama, my homie, Drama, we just did an event together in la. Young and reckless, build your empire. And to think that an event with 500 people in Los Angeles, California, with some legendary people like Robert Greene and P Rod and Kevon and Mikey Taylor and all these different guys that Drama knows in his network. That event was created from the DM that I sent to drama on December 28, 2017. Here's what I said. I responded to his Instagram story. He posted a picture of a book. I said, straight fire, bro. Hey, Drama, my podcast is in the top 50 business podcasts, and I'd love to interview you. Can we make it happen? He said, let's do it, brother. And you can see all these screenshots of the DMs that I send on the Instagram page. Rise of the Young. But that's what he says to me. Literally, that is what he said to me. He said, let's do it, brother. I shot my shot. And he said, okay, but before I get into it and I read you any more of these DMs, I'm gonna be touching on this today during the show. And that is, not everyone is not only gonna respond, but building a personal brand is the key to getting responses. If you have no Instagram posts and no profile picture and you have 20 followers and you DM, drama, the chances are he's not going to say yes to be on your podcast or he's not gonna get back to you. And if you aren't asking the right questions, there's no chance. So here's the thing. And this will be on a different podcast that I'll talk about, but you need to build and establish a quality personal brand before you start asking the quote, unquote, big dogs, right? I'm saying asking. When I DM Tai Lopez with 10,000 followers, I didn't have a brand. I was in Virginia. I was posting pictures in my neighborhood, doing book reviews on Instagram stories, and I just shot My shot. And he got back to me. So I'm not saying don't reach out to people. I'm saying know when to ask and know when that you can know. Know when to build leverage around the people that you're trying to get in touch with. You know what I'm saying? So that being said, I DM drama. He gets back to me, we do the podcast. Long story short, we've now been able to build an amazing relationship through not only Instagram DMs but to have an event together in Los Angeles, California. It came from a DM on Instagram. But real quick, before we move on to the people that I've been able to DM and get in contact with, I want you to take a second and make a list right now. And yes, you may be driving your car, so make sure you do this later. Take a moment to make a list of 10 people that you'd like to get in touch with. 10 people that you would like to potentially be business partners or 10 people that you would want to have on your podcast or collaborate with on social media. 10 people. Write down that list. Actually write it down, one through 10. I do this every month. Who do I wanna get in touch with? Who is someone that I truly want to connect with, that I have not connected with yet? Make a list, write it down and send a DM to them once a week. And if they get back, phenomenal. That's the point of this. But know why you're asking them and know why you're DMing them, right? I think there's two main ways that you can approach someone. Number one is just genuinely being interested in their content and saying than a genuine thank you is what people will respond to. That is why they do everything they do on social media. So that's number one. Number two is a strategic ask for me. My strategic ask is to get people on my podcast. And I'm gonna keep saying this so it gets really clear to you that don't just DM someone and say, yo, content's awesome. Keep killing it. Yes, you can do that. But that has no reaction. And by the way, here's the tip of the day. Send audio DMs on Instagram or send video DMs. You are way more likely to get a response from me if you send a video DM on Instagram. So literally, take that advice and test it out. Because if you do that to the 10 people and start small and scale up. When I first interviewed people in my podcast, it was my Homies, it was my friends. And then Once I had 30 interviews under my belt, I then started approaching the big dogs because I was building my brand. I was getting familiar with podcasting. I had a track record. I was a top 100 business podcast, and I had leverage to go into the DMs with people and say, yo, Drama, I have a top 100 top 50 business podcast. Let's do it. And that gave me leverage. So figure out the leverage in your life. Figure out how you can stand out from the hundreds of people asking all these quality people to be on their shows. For me, yes, I could leverage my age. Figure out what you can leverage. Maybe it's your inner niche, maybe they've inspired you, but overall, figure out your leverage point. Next person I've DMed Ed Mylett. Here's what I said, and this is actually a funny story. And shout out to Ed. I said, hey, Ed, I noticed we talked in January and I wanted to reach out to you and get on a call to see how we can collaborate. I'd love to have you on my podcast. It would be such a pleasure. He said, let's do it, brother. Lewis Howes mentioned your name to me today. Email my office and let's schedule it. Boom. It's actually funny. So Ed Mylett sent me a DM prior to me sending him a dm, and he was like, yo, let's collaborate, brother. And when I saw him speak at 10x Growthcon2 in Las Vegas, I was like, wow. Not only has he changed my life through his speech, but he's someone I truly love to have the opportunity to sit down with. So I DM'd him back. I was DMing him religiously, and he said, yo, let's do it. Let's make it happen. But to think that that DM would lead to just me truly building a relationship with him, me being able to ask him questions and text him anything. I'd like to really just have a mentor. I would say by my side. It's truly changed my life. But you can see the DM I sent to ED on March 7, 2018, on Rise of the Young. And it'll just give you some context and you can check it out. Next, Andy Vercella. I say this is February 4, 2018. Hey, Andy, it would be such a pleasure to have you on my top 25 business podcasts. I'm 17 and you've impacted my life in so many ways. Let me know if you are down to make that happen. And then he didn't respond. February 23, 2018. So about 20 days later, I send him a video message. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it had to do something with, hey, what up, Andy? I just sent you a DM about getting my podcast. I would love to make it happen. Let me know. And if you go to Rise of the Young and you go through the DM slide highlighted stories, you can see where I sent him a video message and then he said, would love to do it. What's your podcast called? It's called Rise of the Young. But overall, he got back to me February 23, 2018, and that was the day that I got in touch with Andy Frisella. And that was the day that I then scheduled the podcast with him. We did it. We knocked it out. If you haven't listened to the podcast I did with Andy, Priscilla, check it out. It was amazing. And it was amazing to sit down with him and just chat with him about everything that he's learned throughout his journey. But that being said, back to you, I don't want this podcast to just be about me and the people that I've interviewed and blah blah, blah. I truly want you to understand. And the reason that I'm reading through these people is because I literally asked them, shoot your shot. That's what I want you to know today. Shoot your shot. Who do you want to connect with? Put together that 10 person list and figure out a way to connect with them. And it's truly changed my life. Not only have I been connected with amazing people on my podcast, but my business partners, John Milott, Joshua Denny on Build you'd Empire. I've connected with them through Instagram DMs. Me and John were DMing back and forth. Then he came to my event in Los Angeles, California. And it's been one of those things where we've been able to grow. So I was in John's wedding. Shout out to John and Naja. I was in their wedding recently and I said during my wedding speech, I said, it's crazy to see what a DM can do, right? It goes from me in Virginia, him in Arizona. That's the main reason I'm in Arizona now, is because my two business partners and it all came from a DM on Instagram. So I really just want you to build that perspective in your mind and think about no matter what it is, you can only connect the dots looking backwards, never forward. Steve Jobs said it best. So next person, Justin Escalona, my homie, he's crushing it on YouTube. He's built a brand and I literally just DM'd him on October 22nd. I said, yo, let's get you on my podcast, bro. He said, sure, dude. So now, and I put this one in there because I've now built up a brand and a reputation to just casually say, yo, let's get you on my podcast, bro. And then a, they see that I'm verified on Instagram, they go to my page, they see the content, they see the people that I'm with and I've built a reputation of quality people on Instagram. Therefore people see that and they're more likely to sit down with me. And that's what I want you to also just be very aware of today, that the people you want to connect with, that top 10 list, figure out, alright, where are you at when it comes to personal branding on Instagram? Where are they at? What, what is the differences? If there's someone that have actually built a brand, they have millions of followers, they're verified, yes, they may get back to you. And I'm saying that from experience because it does happen. But understand, spend time and money and effort building a brand that you reach out to someone and they want to connect with you, they want to collaborate with you. Maybe you have an audience, maybe you're young, maybe you have a podcast that's crushing it in the top 100 and they wanna be on it no matter what. Figure out your leverage point, like I said, and reach out to someone and truly spend time developing a brand prior so that you can ask those little, hey bro, be on my podcast. And then they're intrigued because they see your brand and then they check you out and they start asking questions about it. Next up, Gary Vee. Here's what I said. I said five minutes of your time would be game changing. Let's make it happen. Thanks, Gary. He said, done, Tyler will help. And that was in October 2017. And the reason and purpose we connected was actually through K Swiss. So shout out to K Swiss. I posted on my Instagram story a video of me wearing K Swiss. Gary saw it, he got back to me, he's like, yo, looking fresh. And you can see all this on Rise of the Young. You can check out what I said to him, but he got back to me. Long story short, go to his office in New York, do an interview with him, sit down with him, ask him questions about podcasting and. And Gary was actually the reason why I started a podcast and shout out to Gary, cause he truly changed my life. But DMs like I said, happens once again. D Murthy, I said, D, I'd love to have you on my podcast soon. Let me know if you're interested and let's make it happen. He said, let's do it. Hit me Monday and let's figure it out. Here's the thing. If you notice that message, I said, I ended it with let's make it happen, right? So I'm triggering them to make it happen, right? Pick up on the little things that I'm saying and test these within your DMs. Because if you send a DM to so many people, don't copy and paste them. Number one, be strategic. Know when to ask, know how to ask. And if you have any questions about this that you want to ask me, you can send me a DM and let me know that you came from the Rise of the Young podcast and use the DM slide emoji, which is the red mailbox emoji that you can see on Rise of the Young and send me that emoji. Let me know that you came from the podcast and and I will for sure DM you back with any advice. Next up, Jay Shetty. I said, I look forward to getting you on my podcast. Your content has changed my life. I just want to say thank you so much and have a great day. He said, we will do it for sure, man. Summer this year is best for me. So that's after going back and forth with Jay a couple times, but I remembered Jay Shetty. I got him on my podcast and it was phenomenal. He is someone that you should definitely follow Jay Shetty, and you should definitely strive to connect with him in terms of getting him on your show or collaborating with him. He is phenomenal. But that's another just DM that I sent. And last but not least, Jake Casson, founder of MVMT Watches. I said, yo, Jake, I respect your brand a lot. Would you be willing to hop on my top 25 business podcast to share your story to my audience? Let me know and let's make it happen. He said, yep, let's do it, man. That was February 4, 2018. And shout out to Jake Casson. Today's his birthday. Let's go. But I just asked. That was the first DM I sent him. I've been loving MVMT Watches for years and to have him on my podcast was such a pleasure. So those are all the people that I wanna talk to you about today that I've been able to connect with and the stories that have come from that and the relationships that I've built from that. Just from sending a dm. And you're probably listening right now. You're like, all right, I get it. Send a dm, know when to ask. Build a personal brand. Check, check, check. Here's the thing I really want you to take away. You're only 1 DM away. You're only 1 DM away from finding your next business partner. You're only 1 DM away from connecting with someone that is a potential investor. You're only one DM away from getting that next quality person on your podcast that will grow your podcast and hit you in the top 200 business podcasts or whatever niche you're in. You're only one DM away, right? Russell Brunson says it like this. You're only one funnel away from making a million dollars. You're only one funnel away from cracking the code. But I use it for DMs. You're only one DM away. Shoot. Maybe you DM me and you say, hey, Casey, get on my podcast. Then I get on your show, and then I promote it. And then Edmillette says, yo, whose show is that? Let me get on it. Whatever it is, I'm just making this up. But you're truly only one DM away. So send DMs, make a list of 10 people. Send them DM once a week. Know when to ask. Be strategic. Don't write a book in the DMs. That's the biggest thing. When people write me 42,000 words in the DMs, I'm like, Dude, I respect it, and I'll read some of them. But be quick. People are on social media. Their attention spans are so, so, so small. Just ask, shoot your shot. Be genuine. And here's, like I said, tip of the day. Send video DMs. People will get back to you, they'll watch them, and they're more likely to actually send a video message back to you. So that is definitely a key that I would love to give you today. So last but not least, share your DM story with me on Instagram. Literally. I want you to listen to this podcast and let me know, has a DM changed your life yet? If not, but I'm sure it will after listening to this podcast, because you're gonna be sending a lot of DMs, and, yeah, share your DM story and tag me on Instagram, aceadams1 and tag Rise of the young. Rise of the young. Tag me and say, this is my DM story and tell the story. How has a DM changed your life? Let me know and I will be reposting this on my Instagram feed and on my story because I truly believe DMs will change people's lives. And it's already changed my life. I have so many friends and partners of mine that a DM has changed their lives as well. So I wanna do that today and ask you to share on your Instagram or with me personally and say, this is how a DM changed my life. Use the DM slide emoji, which, if you follow Eyes of the Young, you will see it. It's just a red mailbox emoji and boom, that's the DM slide emoji. So do that, let me know what you think. And to wrap up this podcast on this Monday morning, if you're listening today, don't be afraid to DM the biggest people, but understand DM people that are, I would say, on your level, focus on connecting with the people that you can add value to right away. Yes, it's good to shoot for the stars. You want to get the biggest people on your show, but get people that are also low key, very low key. I'm low key. You know, shoot me a DM and ask me to be on your show. I would love to do it. Let's make it happen. But yeah, just overall, shoot your shot, know when to ask, be genuine, keep it real. And yeah, that is how you send a dm. I hope this episode brought value to your life. If it did, share it with a friend, because that is all I ask of you. Share it with a friend that can get value from it. Share it with a friend that needs to start sending DMs to people and needs to start building a brand on Instagram. Because it wasn't long ago, three years ago, when I was 15 years old, sitting in my bedroom in Virginia with a thousand followers on Instagram, with no network in business, still in high school, taking biology and I started sending DMs, I started building a brand. And if you listen to my podcast and you've seen the people I've been able to sit down with and the opportunities that have came in my life, it has truly came from DMs and yeah, it's crazy to see what can happen. So that being said, I just wanna wrap this up and say thank you so much for tuning in to the Rise of the Young podcast. If you have not already followed Rise of the Young on Instagram, make sure you do, because that is where all of the updates and giveaways will be happening for this podcast. Literally. The page is a giant storyboard. It will be giving you the life story and the journey of who I am. And it's taken months and months and months to develop this storyboard. And if you go to the page, you can scroll through it and you'll be able to visually see what I mean by that, because we've built a grid format, a grid format, my buddy Sabian, Chase and I. And it looks very compelling on social media. And it'll tell the story of this podcast. So that being said, go check it out. Check out Rise of the Young. Follow it. DM me on there. That's where you have the most access to me, is through Rise of the Young. And I will be getting back to each and every single one of you. That being said, enjoy your day. Make that list, send some DMs and keep crushing it. I'll talk to you guys on Wednesday. Talk to you soon.
Legacy of Monsters. An Apple original series. The world is on fire. I decided to do something about it on November 17th. This place, it's not ours. Believe me, the most massive event of the year arrives. If you come with me, you'll know everything thing. I promise.
My God.
Go, Monarch. Legacy of Monsters. Streaming November 17th only on Apple TV.
Plus.
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