The power of the personal.

Ever heard of Seth Godin? He's a prolific blogger, author and all-around marketing guru. He also probably gets hundreds of emails a day from folks commenting on his blog, asking him questions, seeking advice, and generally vying for his attention. At a time when influential personalities take public offense to publicity efforts, how do you get through to someone like that?

I'll tell you how I did it: I emailed him.

While reading his blog post encouraging marketers to reveal truths rather than hide them, I immediately thought of my own reaction to Pennsylvania's recent ban of "growth hormone-free" labels on dairy products. What a perfect illustration of what he's talking about, I thought. I also thought that if he were to mention the ban on his blog, it would get a lot more attention than my little diatribe ever could.

So I sent him an email about my post, and he promptly linked to it from his own. The result was a spike in visitors to Blog! numbering in the thousands (they're still flowing in), as well as rss subscriptions. Given what I assume to be a huge volume of email coming into Seth's inbox from everyone and their brother, I certainly didn't expect a linkback; at best, I hoped he would be as interested in the story as I was and mention it on his blog.

The key to success? I kept my email simple, honest, and relevant.

Simple.
My email was short and sweet: I briefly introduced myself and explained my reason for writing. I didn't reference my own blog post until the end of the email, and then I signed off. The entire email was less than 200 words.

Honest.
My intention was never to get Seth to link to me. My intention was to get eyeballs on the issue of the Pennsylvania ban on "rBST-free" labeling, and I told him as much. I included a link to my post so he could read my own take if he so chose. Happily for me, he did.

Relevant.
My email to Seth was right after he posted his "Conceal vs. Reveal" entry, and it referenced a story that was a direct illustration of his point. More importantly, because I'm a regular reader of his blog, I know that he values fairness and consumer respect—values that played a big part in this particular story. I come across things every day that would probably interest this guy, but I knew that this one in particular was exactly suited to what was just on his mind.

By sending a personal note rather than a generic "you might like this blog entry I wrote," I got what I wanted: Seth Godin made a whole lot of people aware of a dangerous legal precedent. The link to my own site was simply icing on the cake.

Thanks, Seth!