Reading time: 8
min
Dear
reader,
This
a couple of years old but still up-to-date interview contained so
many important thoughts about increasing sales that I had to acquire
permission to republish it for your benefit.
Please
enjoy the article!
Christian
Dillstrom
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- -
I
have heard about business-to-customer (B2C) influencer marketing,
which involves celebrities like the Kardashians being paid to
recommend certain brands on social media. These people have large
followings, of course, and the sales results of such campaigns have
been amazing.
A
global growth hacker Christian Dillstrom, whom I have already
interviewed, reminds us that there is also business-to-business (B2B)
influencer marketing. He has done this worldwide and explains that
B2B influencer marketing has a much greater impact than B2C
influencer marketing.
Christian
is involved in three types of B2B influencer marketing: investor/VC,
decision maker, and media/blogger. I am interviewing him about each
of them. This interview is about Investor/VC Influencer Marketing.
WHAT
IS INVESTOR/VC INFLUENCER MARKETING?
It
is a very effective way to make a group of investors or VCs aware of
your startup or established company.
The first and biggest problem you have in obtaining funding is
that too few investors know enough about your venture — or don’t
know about it at all.
”Investor
influencer marketing changes that.”
HOW
DOES SUCH MARKETING HAPPEN?
Others
may do it differently, but what I do is work with you to produce an
interview that introduces your company as an investment opportunity.
"That
article serves as a long but easy-to-read sales pitch for your
venture."
It
gets published on my blog, where the article can be read by my 15-31
million monthly business readers. Once your interview is published, I
invite all the investors you are interested in to comment on it.
WHY
WOULD AN INVESTOR TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE ARTICLE?
That’s
a key question.
The
answer is that with my tens of millions of monthly readers, I am one
of the most widely read business authors in the World. And I am one
of the most experienced global growth hackers in the World.
So,
I have a very high — and global — B2B credibility. In other
words, when I invite investors to comment on an article about an
interesting investment opportunity, very few will decline to read it.
DOES
THIS MARKETING METHOD WORK EVEN IF AN INVESTOR WHO READS THE
INTERVIEW DOES NOT COMMENT ON IT?
Yes,
commenting makes no difference if most of the investors
you’re interested in read the interview. Once they have read it,
they can contact you if they want to learn more about your
venture.
Of
course, any comment that is published will make the interview article
even more interesting and convincing. However, the effectiveness of
this approach does not depend on how many comments are posted.
WHY
PUBLISH AN ARTICLE ON A BLOG?
WHY
NOT JUST EMAIL THE ARTICLE TO THE INVESTOR YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT
YOU AND YOUR COMPANY?
My
blog has received 15-31 million monthly business readers since early
2015. In the last two years alone, it has received over 560 million
readers from 240 countries.
The
blog platform I am using is powered by Google. Funny business is not
possible for very long in Google as it knows what’s really
happening on the Internet.
So,
when Google says that a particular blog has tens of millions of
readers, its statement it a credible one. And people are much more
prone to credit the content of such a blog than they are to credit
the content of a little-read, unpopular blog.
I
have tens of millions of business readers every month, and my readers
are always eager to read my blog.
”This
readership means additional credibility for the content,
as
does my endorsement.”
In
addition, sending emails does not make the content popular or
credible because there is no trusted third party that can prove its
credibility.
”It
is just an email.”
WHY
ARE THE ARTICLES IN AN INTERVIEW FORMAT?
Readers
love to read casual interviews. That format is one of the reasons
that I have tens of millions of monthly business readers.
Unless
the investors read the article through to the end, there is no hope
that they will take the desired action.
HOW
MANY INVESTORS WILL BE INVITED TO READ THE INTERVIEW?
WHO
SELECTS WHICH ONES ARE INVITED?
Any
amount may be invited. You pick the investors and send me the list of
them.
OKAY,
SO... YOU ARE A VERY CREDIBLE GROWTH HACKER AND PUBLISHER, AND WILL YOU INVITE ANY NUMBER OF INVESTORS TO READ A CREDIBLE ARTICLE THAT
INTRODUCES MY VENTURE AS AN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY?
Not
quite. We will also collect weak and strong signals of the reactions
of targeted investors. Those signals with contact details of an
investor are then delivered to your mobile phone.
As
a result, you will have the optimal moment of arranging a meeting
with an investor. And that will get funding for your startup or
company if it is possible to get funding for it.
DO
YOU OFFER THIS KIND OF INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR ANY STARTUP OR
COMPANY?
Of
course not. My own reputation and credibility are at stake, assets
that I have developed over decades.
But
I am eager to speak with any start-up and company that contacts me to
find out if I can endorse them.
WHY
ARE YOU DOING INVESTOR/VC INFLUENCER MARKETING?
I
have seen a lot of great startups and companies, all over the world,
which are really struggling to get funded.
”But
I think they deserve to get funded.”
My
own situation is very different. I have repeatedly been offered
funding when I have had no need for it. Of course, having a
readership of tens of millions of monthly business readers makes it
easy to turn down offers of funding.
I
am trying to remedy the imbalance of the situation. I am known and
credible and am offered money. But too many great startups die
because of a lack of funding just because investors know nothing
about them.
ARE
YOU OFFERING INVESTOR/VC INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR FREE?
Not
anymore. I've learned that people don't appreciate the value of
something that is simply given away, and I really don't want to waste
my time.
”I
really do not want to waste anyone's time. Neither mine nor yours.”
A
minimum of 5% of equity and if there are different series of shares,
I want my shares from the series with the most votes.
”After
all, I really want the start-up to grow big to return my investment.”
The
amount of equity I want obviously depends on the amount of work I
estimate I need to do to make the start-up successful.
HOW
DO I FIND OUT WHETHER YOU WILL ENGAGE IN INVESTOR/VC INFLUENCER
MARKETING FOR ME OR FOR MY CLIENT?
Easy
enough. Just contact me!
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Christian
Dillstrom.
Please
stay tuned for further interviews.