Can You Help Me Spread The Word?

In exactly two months I’ll be home, hanging out with my family and getting ready for the Asian leg of The Happy Nomad Tour. I’m looking forward to it. But hopefully I can spread the word about The Happiness Plunge as well…

For the past week, in between teaching my English classes here in Peru, I’ve been working on trying to reach out to the media. I could do some interviews and help get my story out there while I’m at home. And to be honest, I hate it. I feel like it’s such a waste of time and I feel a bit strange contacting the media to cover my story.

My process has been to search for journalists who have covered stories similar to mine, try and track down their email address, write them a pitch, and wait. So far, none have responded. My BusinessWeek article happened because my business school mentioned my story to a reporter there and I got in Huffington Post via a local article written about me.

I need some help reaching out to the media, which is why I’m asking for your assistance.

Why do I want to get media coverage?

Probably not for the reasons you’d think. So far I’ve made $0 from this site and I’m totally happy with that. I don’t ever see myself putting advertisements here.

But each time I’ve done an interview people have written me to thank me for sharing my story. They’ve told me how what I’m doing has rekindled a flame within them to pursue their dreams – and take the plunge. As someone who aspires to be the Johnny Appleseed of positivity, it’s hard not to want to do more of that.

Admittedly, publicity helps further my goal of earning money through speaking and consulting. Unfortunately, my savings will run out eventually and I will need to start earning something to keep The Happy Nomad Tour going. Also unfortunate, the world works on trust and credibility. Mentions in the media, apparently, give me credibility.

How You Can Help

Anything helps, really. But below are some of the ideas I had:

1. Share articles with friends and family via social networks. This probably helps the most in getting the message out about taking the plunge and living a happier and healthier life. The media casts a wider net, but a recommendation from you goes farther among your network.
2. If you have friends in the media (in any country), tell them about this site or connect me with them. My email address is [email protected]
3. “Like” the Facebook page and follow @HappinessPlunge on Twitter.
4. Sign up for the weekly newsletter and then forward it on to friends/family.
5. Contact your local media or any bloggers you know and see if they’d be interested in doing a story about The Happy Nomad Tour or interviewing me.
6. Anything you can think of 🙂

I thought long and hard about whether to put such an article up on the site. Some may think I’m “selling out” or something like that. I’m just trying to further my personal goal of showing others that a life based on your passions leads to a happier and healthier life (and that it’s possible – I’m proof!). And I’m trying to further my professional goals of speaking to companies and students about The Plunge and sharing what I’ve learned along the way to make the world a better place – and hopefully earning the small amount money I need to keep The Happy Nomad Tour going.

On my trip, as you’ll see in coming How The Happy Nomad Tour Rolls articles, I outsource/crowdsource some core aspects of this trip – housing and finding volunteering opportunities. I often ask “the wisdom of the crowd” for help and they’ve responded with amazing volunteering opportunities and amazing free housing opportunities.

If I can be so bold as to ask for free housing in remote parts of the world, or fend off attackers in Colombia, I should be able to ask for help in spreading the message and story of this site, no? Still, this is hard for me!

The best part is this.. If I go home and get no media coverage, it’ll mean more time with my family and more relaxation for me. Nothing wrong with that 🙂

I thank you from the bottom of my heart in advance, and thanks for your support.