No one wants large-scale, free, credibility-raising exposure?! What's your opinion?

[Bildeberg]

Hey all,

We're putting together an online event doing free screenings of interviews with experts. We actually have partners with relevant lists totalling in the six figures who are eager to promote it. Our snag? Even the smallest, least well known experts, despite being in an idealistic niche, don't seem to be getting back to us with any interest in being interviewed / promoted?!

They *are* trying to promote themselves (webpages, social media accounts etc) albeit rather poorly. When we email them asking if they'd like to do an interview that would go out to a six figure audience of relevant prospects, we're getting next to zero response. One that did respond just raised concerns about how they would be portrayed (well, we're giving you the questions beforehand, and it's in our interest to make you look knowledgable...) and whether we were trying to "steal" their ideas?! It's an *interview*. We're promoting them, showing them onscreen, running a video showing *them* explaining *their* ideas... I'm kind of dumbfounded. Would they turn down an interview on CNN?!

Anyway, here's the invite email we sent out. I'd love any feedback:

Subject: Invitation for {FIRSTNAME} to Speak at an Upcoming Event
Hi there,

We would like to invite you to be part of an online event helping people to {ACTIVITY OF THE NICHE}. It's fast, easy, free and will highlight you as an expert next to many well known, respected names.
All it takes is a short pre-recorded interview or talk, which will be part of a free, online screening. The screening is being promoted by our current partners to hundreds of thousands of people (with more being organized).

Our goal is to inspire all these people to actually use your ideas and make a positive impact on the world, so naturally we're happy to display your preferred websites (blog, charity, amazon affiliate link etc) with your interview. You also get other opportunities if you later wish to share the free screening with your community or friends. Best of all, you get the opportunity to share your information on a scale that, quite simply, can change the course of our worlds next generation for the better.

So, can we count you in?

Warm regards,
{MY NAME}
{MY WEBSITE}

Please share any feedback you might have. I'm rather perplexed by this!

[Daniel Scott]

My first thought it is looks kinda spammy in this day and age.

My second thought is you may not be contacting the right people.

If I saw that I'd probably be half-hearted whether or not I should answer it (I remember Mark Anastasi sent a similar email that was just a pitch for his seminar. Brilliant marketing. Not.)

You're best of opening a dialogue with them first - saying you dig their site or whatever, and putting in some personal stuff so they know it's not mass-produced (e.g. I love your copy... the part where you blah blah really hooked me!).

Then once you hear back from them, tell them a bit about yourself and try and close "the sale".

Look at it this way... do you go up to people at a physical seminar and go "Hey man, want to do an interview with me?"

Or do you introduce yourself and make small-talk first?

Same principles of communication apply. People work with people they like. Get liked first and you're far more likely to get them onboard.

-Daniel

[Dexx]

If I received that, I would immediately notice the lack of information regarding who YOU are and why I should feel this is credible at all.

Very much lacking in that area, especially in this day and age.

~Dexx