Here is a rough draft of a document I’m preparing for a course. Let me know what you think.
Step 1 – Define A Specific Subject
What are you going to talk about? Who is the audience? What is your pitch? What is your area of expertise?
Step 2 – Develop a set of keywords
Create a list of keywords you can enter into a search engine to find information on the subject defined in step 1.
Step 3 – Search
Search these places using the keywords you developed in step 2.
email-based discussions:
These are discussions that occur by exchanging email with members of the discussion group.
+ http://groups.yahoo.com/
+ http://www.tile.net/lists/
+ http://lists.topica.com/
newsgroup-based discussions:
These are public discussions that occur in an area of the Internet known as the Usenet Newsgroups. These are primarily web-based today – meaning the discussion takes place on a web site.
+ http://groups.google.com
web-based discussions:
These are discussion groups formed by private parties and usually hosted on their private web sites.
+ http://www.itch.com/
+ http://www.forumhaven.com/
+ http://www.boardtracker.com/
+ http://search.big-boards.com/
blog-based discussions:
These are discussions that take place on the comment sections of blogs.
+ http://www.technorati.com/
+ http://www.feedster.com/
+ http://search.blogger.com/
Step 4 – Build A List Of Prospects
Using the tools in Step 3, build a list of prospective groups to approach. Decide based on this criteria:
a.) Does the group talk about the kind of information you want to contribute?
b.) How active is the group? When was the last message posted?
c.) How big is the group? How many members does it have?
d.) Is it moderated (has a person leading the discussions) or unmoderated? Moderated is always better because he/she keeps the group’s discussions on point.
Step 5 – Join, Listen, Then Participate
What To Avoid – Mass, Impersonal Email or Messages
The definition of sending mass email is as follows: harvesting email addresses at random online with no regard to who’s email address is being harvested, compiling a list of said email addresses, and sending a form email message to that list. Or posting messages online at random with no consideration as to where you are posting the messages.
Don’t do this. Not only is it just plain rude, it will just upset people and create a negative impression of you.
The Correct Approach
Join the groups and just watch for a while. Get a feel for the dynamics of the group. When a question comes a long that you can answer, jump in. Give good substantive answers. Be a good source of information, instead of just pushing your book.
If you want to offer free chapters or copies of your book, seek out specific contact people (usually the moderators) and send them each an individually tailored email detailing what you want. Get their permission first.
Here is a real-world example to help you better understand what I’m talking about.
It would be totally inappropriate for you to walk into a banquet hall during a formal dinner and start pitching your book, table by table, to the attendees.
But if you went to the organizer prior to the start of the dinner and asked if it would be ok to give an presentation about your book, and the organizer said yes, then it would be completely appropriate for you to be in that banquet hall when the dinner started pitching your book to the attendees.