You don’t have to send multiple ships per day. If you commit to sending 2–3 ships daily this may already set you up for success. Ooops sorry, are you waiting for me to explain what sending ships means? OK, here is my definition:
sending ships — reaching out to the unknown without having any expectations about what comes back to you.
I send about 2–3 ships daily by reaching out without expecting anything in return. One day I may contact an author of an article I read complimenting her on it or I may reach out to an editor of a magazine to ask about the rules of submission. Another day I will contact someone who I admire either requesting an interview or asking a question, which may provide a great insight for the book I’m writing. If you have a product business, your sending ships may be reaching out to a blogger to ask for a review or opening a masthead of a magazine that your audience reads and reaching out to an assistant editor. You can also answer a question on Quora, write an eloquent comment on a blog post or respond to a press inquiry from Help a Reporter Out. There are so many ways to send ships, you just have to creatively find them.
Here is my advice on sending ships:
- get creative — send different ships through different channels to different people.
- don’t wait to get anything back — this is important, you’re not waiting for any response but you’ll welcome it if it arrives.
- reach out on different channels — comment on YouTube, send a message on LinkedIn, write an email, send a handwritten thank you card, write a tweet.
- make sure your email address has a signature and all your social media profiles have links to your work.
- make a note in your calendar and/or journal — keeping track about where you send ships will make it a habit.
I have been sending ships daily for a few months now and I’m already noticing unexpected results. Thanks to this method I secured a few book endorsements, a couple of interviews, I offered and received some valuable advice, connected professionals providing value to both parties and got offered to review my book when it comes out.
The key to sending ships is… keep on sending ships without waiting on any to get back.
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Originally published at medium.com