Is there some celebrity/star/famous person you’re wanting to shout a friendly hello to, even though you realize the chances of this person ever reading what you say are as good as fan mail getting past an agent? I have a method, and it’s worked for me many times. I warn you that it will require time and effort on your part, not to mention a genuine fondness for this person’s work. But to a true fan, it’s worth the effort. You can be e-mail pals with your idol, your crush—how cool is that?
You start by creating a website for yourself. Any one of the free website services is fine if you don’t have the time or money to devote to a web server. A full site with details and interesting features is the best choice, but it’s not the right choice for everyone. A single page can do just as well. You can make it about yourself, but it’s better to discuss your interests, your hometown, your passions—make yourself fully dimensional.
For example, my first (and successful!) attempt came from my first website, Ceridwyn’s Cauldron, in 1996, which was basically about creativity and inspiration. I found an individual I’d been following since high school, and found that he too was building a personal website. So I thought to myself hey, this guy has been my inspiration. Inspiration was the common point of contact.
Great, so what next? At the time, the first generation of webmasters created and shared various “awards” with each other for excellence in features like easy navigation, content, graphics, educational value, and so much more. We were lifting each other through the dawn of this digital age. As my website was about inspiration and my famous person WAS my inspiration, I created the “Ceridwyn’s Cauldron Inspiration Award for Reaching Out to Fans Online” complete with award graphic and explanation of why this website had gotten the nod. I thought, well, no harm, no foul.
Almost 20 years later I’m still e-mail/chat buddies with this person, who was so thrilled that someone…ANYONE…had recognized what he was trying to do that he had immediately written me back to thank me. And our friendship grew out of that.
What does this mean for you? Follow these steps:
Create a personal website. It does not necessarily have to be a fan site.
Think about what you really admire about this person. Hot bods are not the best choice. Go for something deeper, more meaningful.
Create an award based on your website. It doesn’t have to be anything complex, although the more effort you put in, the more likely you’ll get results.
Find out how to contact this person online. This is the hard part, since there are often so many e-mail addresses are floating around with no hint as to what might actually work. Hit them all, if you want. Sooner or later someone might be kind enough to point you in the right direction.
Were you nice? Polite? In adequate fandom? Hit send and wait for the fun!
Now let’s be clear I’m making no promises. I’m just sharing what’s worked for me. If you give it a try, it might work for you. And maybe you’ll be talking about how you made friends with the famous through online communication. Good luck!
You start by creating a website for yourself. Any one of the free website services is fine if you don’t have the time or money to devote to a web server. A full site with details and interesting features is the best choice, but it’s not the right choice for everyone. A single page can do just as well. You can make it about yourself, but it’s better to discuss your interests, your hometown, your passions—make yourself fully dimensional.
For example, my first (and successful!) attempt came from my first website, Ceridwyn’s Cauldron, in 1996, which was basically about creativity and inspiration. I found an individual I’d been following since high school, and found that he too was building a personal website. So I thought to myself hey, this guy has been my inspiration. Inspiration was the common point of contact.
Great, so what next? At the time, the first generation of webmasters created and shared various “awards” with each other for excellence in features like easy navigation, content, graphics, educational value, and so much more. We were lifting each other through the dawn of this digital age. As my website was about inspiration and my famous person WAS my inspiration, I created the “Ceridwyn’s Cauldron Inspiration Award for Reaching Out to Fans Online” complete with award graphic and explanation of why this website had gotten the nod. I thought, well, no harm, no foul.
Almost 20 years later I’m still e-mail/chat buddies with this person, who was so thrilled that someone…ANYONE…had recognized what he was trying to do that he had immediately written me back to thank me. And our friendship grew out of that.
What does this mean for you? Follow these steps:
Create a personal website. It does not necessarily have to be a fan site.
Think about what you really admire about this person. Hot bods are not the best choice. Go for something deeper, more meaningful.
Create an award based on your website. It doesn’t have to be anything complex, although the more effort you put in, the more likely you’ll get results.
Find out how to contact this person online. This is the hard part, since there are often so many e-mail addresses are floating around with no hint as to what might actually work. Hit them all, if you want. Sooner or later someone might be kind enough to point you in the right direction.
Were you nice? Polite? In adequate fandom? Hit send and wait for the fun!
Now let’s be clear I’m making no promises. I’m just sharing what’s worked for me. If you give it a try, it might work for you. And maybe you’ll be talking about how you made friends with the famous through online communication. Good luck!
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