Building Relationships with Influencers in My Field

If you're using LinkedIn to build your personal network, make sure you DM people with the right intent. Too many people try to reach out to me (and others) without a willingness to invest in a real relationship. It can be hard trying to find producers, agents, and managers for your screenwriting career. And a lot of advice will tell you that it's a numbers game. If someone reaches out wanting an immediate collaboration right away, that impatience is a red flag. But if someone reaches out with a genuine desire to get to know each other, even if it doesn't result in immediate gratification, well then maybe you have the beginning of real friendship here. But by "real friendship," I don't mean asking strangers if they want to meet you for coffee. This can work as an approach if they're at the same level as you and are also trying to expand their network. But for someone at a different level than you? Someone who fields dozens of these requests every single day? Someone who is already stressed about how few hours they have in the week to move their projects forward and nurture their own relationships? Start even smaller. Demonstrate a willingness to invest in the relationship by: - Reading the information they offer for free, putting it into place in your career, and reporting back with a success story about how it worked for you. - Asking for one specific piece of advice that relates to your career. - Proactively finding something that you can help them with and offering it to them. - Signing up for their class or service, investing in their paid ecosystem. - Offering support for a project or effort that they have. - Spread the word about a service that they offer. - Invite them to an event that will benefit them--beyond just meeting you for coffee one-on-one. Get creative about expanding your network. It will take time, effort, and work. But you'll have way better results, which will actually end up making it way more worth your time.

Here’s a secret to help you supercharge your networking. Stop trying to hit home runs with every touch point. Instead, focus on small wins that move the conversation forward. I see so many people making big / vague asks up front: “Can you hop on a 30 minute call?” “Tell me how you accomplished [Big Thing].” These people are super busy and they’re receiving this email from you - a total stranger. The last thing they want is another item on their to do list. Instead, start with a small, simple ask that they can reply to in <30 seconds. Here’s a formula that's been really effective for me: “Hey [Name], your experience in [Industry] is really impressive. I know you're busy, but I just had to ask: If you had to start over and work your way back to [Insert Achievement], would you do A or B? A: [Insert Actionable Thing] B: [Insert Other Actionable Thing]” This formula makes is incredibly easy for them to say "I'd do A" or "I'd do B." Now the door is open! Go do thing A or thing B, get results, and report back. Let this person know you took their advice and then ask for more. This positions you as someone who values their advice and has an action bias -- someone worth investing in. That's going to lead to deeper conversations and stronger relationships!

If you're hoping to network with someone you don't know, start by helping them. Here's a list of actions you can take to provide value to a new contact: -Listen to a podcast they were interviewed on and reference the episode. -Read their article or other written resource and mention your takeaways. -Watch videos of their interviews or speaking engagements. -Subscribe to their newsletter, podcast, or social profiles. -Add thoughtful comments on their LinkedIn posts or elsewhere on social. -Share their social media content and include your commentary. -Leave a genuine review or rating on their course, podcast, services page, etc. -Attend their company's next in-person or online event, especially if it's free. -Interview them to provide additional exposure to their ideas and accomplishments that could benefit other readers, viewers, or listeners. -Curate resources and opportunities for them based on their actual interests. The goal is to demonstrate a genuine interest in them by going beyond asking for something or using the same generic pleasantries everyone else does.

Most people freeze when they want to reach out to someone influential. Here’s the 5-step formula I’ve used to connect with the CEO of Scribe, the co-founder of Leland, the content team at Notion, and even creators I admire 👇 1. Follow first. Connect later. Don’t just hit “connect.” Follow them, spend a few weeks learning from their content and activity. Be a quiet observer. 2. Find your entry point. Look for a personal connection - a post you loved, a campaign you admired, a shared background, a comment thread you can join. 3. Create context. Once you find something specific, DM them with a message that shows: → You’ve done your homework → Why this moment made you want to connect → What you admire or learned from them 4. Make the ask polite + specific. Don’t write paragraphs. Respect their time. Example: “Would love to ask you 1 question about your work at [company] – totally okay if now’s not a good time!” 5. Nurture the connection. Even if they don’t reply, keep engaging with their content. Most of my opportunities came weeks after my first message. This method helped me land internships, collaborations, interviews, and lifelong mentors. Try this 5-step system and tell me what worked. #linkedin #network #tips