This is a guest post by Emmanuel from IncomeScene.com
I recently published an interview with Andrew Rondeau on my blog. If you read that interview you would notice that one point he consistently hammered on was this,
That’s the quickest way to be successful. Find a mentor who has a reputation for being excellent and ‘suck them dry’ of all their info and knowledge.
I definitely have to agree with him; you need someone who has tested the waters and can differentiate between a hoax and the real deal. If you prefer learning all the details by trial and error, you can still beat the mark you set for yourself but at the expense of time.
Blogging has become really competitive and you need as much leverage as you can garner to beat your competitors to the game. Quite frankly, getting a good coach or mentor is the way to go, and surprisingly, these people are not the “cocky, distant, over-busy individuals” we think they are.
The reverse is usually the case – very few people care to ask them about what they know. They are usually eager to help people who are serious about learning from them.
Since they are willing to help so we need to know WHO to approach and HOW to make your approach. Hopefully, the rest of this post will help you with that.
How To Find A Mentor
Step 1: Draw Up A Mental Description For The Person
The first thing you need to do is to picture the kind of person you want as a mentor. You should ask yourself questions like, “Do I want to be coached by a blogger or would I prefer a freelancer?” You should decide the attributes you require in such a person; some people are the do-it-now type while others are the take-your-time type. It all depends on which kind of person you feel comfortable working with.
Choosing the right kind of mentor could be tricky, there are those that you will believe they are very good at what they do but when you get really close they are really not worth what they say. Others on the other hand make very little noise yet they know a lot. To get the right person you should be prepared to exercise patience and caution.
Once you’re sure you’ve drawn up a good list of (realistic) attributes you want in your potential coach, you should go on to the next step which involves asking around.
Step 2: Once You Have A Picture Of Such A Person – Find Out The People That Fit The Profile
You have the frame, now you have to look for the perfect picture. You know what qualities your mentor should possess and now it’s time to find out who fits the profile.
As you start your search one thing you would notice right from the start is that it is very difficult, almost impossible NOT to find someone who has all the attributes you’ve listed out. All you need to do is to meet the right people and ask the right questions.
The blogosphere has grown so much and people from virtually all backgrounds are making loads of income online. If you want a 16-year-old making $10,000 every month, do a diligence search and you will find someone. You could start by googling “16 year old making $10,000” and see what you get.
The problem usually does not lie in the availability of mentors or coaches but in the availability of serious interns, students or clients.
Step 3: Convince Them
Now that you are sure about the person or people to learn from, you need to convince them that you are not there to waste their time. Established bloggers and internet marketers have lots of work to do but still they would be willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it.
And because he has to deal with lots of requests, and e-mails you need to grab his attention. You can start with the ol’ method of sending him an email telling him how you’ve learnt a lot from him and how you hope that he would be able to mentor you one day.
From there on you can apply the “Rule of 7” that says a person needs to see an offer 7 times before making a purchase. Applying it to your situation here we can say he needs to hear from you 7 times before your name gets ingrained in his thoughts.
The problem is that interns are usually too lazy to convince mentors to invest more time on them.
The Rule of 7 Explained
When you are trying to make those 7 contacts avoid making it monotonous; you shouldn’t send seven straight e-mails. That would be suicidal. You should look to communicate on different platforms; meet on Facebook, Tweet his posts, recommend his products, and Call him on Skype, etcetera, etcetera.
You should now ask if he can serve as your coach. In most cases he wouldn’t want to say “No” and if indeed he says “No” you’ve succeeded bringing yourself closer to his inner circle. You can “learn from a distance” in the meantime and keep giving him a reason to call you in.
The ultimate rule here however is that the best results come when you keep trying.
It sure would be great to have an experienced mentor to help me get a leg up in affiliate marketing. I currently have no income and survive on savings so I really need this to work out for me.
Hello Dennis,
Since you are sure you do need a mentor, one of the things you should do next is to look for the kind of mentor you want (someone who is most probably in your niche) and make your first contact.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is NOW!” – Chinese proverb.
Have a lovely day!
Emmanuel Olonade
The proverb you mentioned made my day!!
Thank you!
As for the mentors, I really admire mine. He is a very very active blogger in my country. I actually met him in a lan party!!! (great times)
We chatted and chatted and he told me about the blog thing (it was in 2007 if I remeber right).
Anyway if you can, find a mentor!
You always need a mentor no matter where you are in life there is always somebody who can help you grow.
If you want to be more subtle about, hang around his blog and ask intelligent questions at opportune moments, this is a great way to establish a relationship with him. This is the organic way of finding a mentor.
Thanks Neil,
Sometimes the way to go about things is to be subtle; if he gets a hint that you care less about what he does (his blog) than what you stand to gain from him, he would probably give you no audience at all.
The way to go about it is to be sincere. Your sincerity shows in the kind of comments you make or the questions you ask.
Tha;nks for the comment Neil.
The rule of 7! I must confess that I have not heard that rule! I like your tips. Blogging is not instinctive, so a good mentor’s advice can be gold to the blogger. Your article contains many valuable tips for obtaining a mentor…
One suggestion I might add…offer to do something for your potential mentor. Is there any mundane task that you can perform in exchange for her/his valuable advice?
I don’t know how many of you agree with my comment,But i personally feel that now a days finding some good mentor its very difficult.No one is ready to see any one success.SO to be a success full person you have to mentor yourself and compete with yourself only.Set benchmark for yourself,fight with yourself.That is the only way to learn and achieved success.
Hello Sandy,
Well, I’ll agree with you to an extent here. People are increasingly pressed for time and they will continue to get more pressed for time! That’s why it’s important to be of use to them first. There are people out there who are willing to help but most times the problem lies with the people seeking to be mentored.
The bottom line is to first try to build a relationship/friendship with them.
Thanks for the (honest) comment Sandy.
I think this is a big incite you’ve hit on. A mentor relationship does not need to be a one way street, there can be a mutual benefit from such a relationship. Be of use! Make the time mentoring you worthwhile for that person! I enjoyed your article but I think this is the key component!
You should always approach life with an attitude of learning. You can learn a great deal from pushing yourself, through trial and error, but there will always be people around with more experience, willing to share their incites. Those who are willing to listen to intelligent and successful people will become successful themselves. There are people interested in becoming in mentoring out there. You just need to find them, and connect with them, as discussed in this post.
Thanks Robert,
It’s as simple as that, “Those who are willing to listen to intelligent and successful people will become successful themselves”. You can’t feel too big to learn from others and expect “real” success.
Have A Lovely Day!
A good mentor is a good friend i think.From a good mentor you can learn lots of things.But if you don’t wish to learn anything even the best mentor can’t give you anything.So it is a two sided subject.
That’s True John, having a good mentor can help you build a long term relationship. And you should be ready to learn!
Thanks and Have A Lovely Day!
Emmanuel
Having a great mentor and knowing how to use them is definitely one of the quickest ways to achieve success. Somebody that has spent years building knowledge and contacts can save you all that time if you had to do it all yourself. An even smarter thing to do is have 3 or 4 mentors.
like the idea of video marketing while the numbers of the video watchers are huge, but not only for that.As a person I really like watching videos which talks about a product, and the most important is that the video is made by someone who had test it before and has a personal opinion.
When we feel uncertain about something the need of a teacher comes as natural as it may be- and usually finding a mentor or simply person who has greater knowledge than youon the subject happens naturally. We just need to handle our fears of rejection and be honest- I am so surprised that so many people don’t mind to share their experience and information with others.
Well, I’ll agree with you to an extent here. People are increasingly pressed for time and they will continue to get more pressed for time! That’s why it’s important to be of use to them first. There are people out there who are willing to help but most times the problem lies with the people seeking to be mentored.