Before reaching out to strangers by phone or email or messaging, first ask yourself:
1. Am I asking them to give ME something (time, advice, a meeting, a listen, a job),
or
2. Am I offering to give THEM something (assistance, help, time, skills)?
Reaching out to a stranger to give them something unique and valuable is a far more effective approach towards making a connection than trying to receive something from strangers.
For example, next weekend there is the L.A. Comicon packed with industry folks. What a great opportunity to reach out to them and offer them something of value from you.
You could reach out and explain how you admire their work and how you would love to volunteer to help them prepare their presentation, help make their PowerPoint, be their gofer, run errands for them during the convention, help them with logistics, be their assistant, etc.
Don’t make this about you. At this point, don’t make it about being a composer. Don’t make it about wanting advice or a job. Make it about THEM.
Hopefully once you get your foot in the door, other things will follow.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS?
