How I made it onto Tim Ferriss’ Blog

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And how you can too. (Source: TimFerriss)

“Austin built two profitable companies while traveling abroad and having the experiences of a lifetime.”

-Tim Ferriss, New York Times Best Seller, The 4-Hour Workweek

On December 31st, 2009 I was featured on Tim Ferriss’ blog. Tim Ferriss, the author of The 4-Hour Workweek, is practically a legend among entrepreneurs. His blog has 1,000,000+ readers. The exposure I’ve gained for myself and my companies from being featured on Tim’s blog has been astounding. Here is how I did it:

The Specifics:

I was a finalist in a contest that Tim held showcasing the most inspiring 4-Hour Workweek case studies. My video was chosen because it best described how I successfully applied the techniques (Lifestyle Design, Automation, Outsourcing, etc.) from The 4-Hour Workweek. My video was titled, “How I built 2 Startups while Traveling Abroad“.

Step 1: Know your Tools

It is no secret that companies who use better technology usually have a competitive advantage.

I used a service called Animoto that helped my video stand out over the competition. The thing is, Animoto is incredibly easy. You literally just drag and drop pictures and videos into the right order, add a song that you like, and it does all the choreography for you. I don’t claim to be an expert in video editing, but for those who had never seen an Animoto video before, I certainly appeared to be. The key here was that so far, not THAT many people knew about Animoto, giving me a competitive flair over many contestants.

So where do you find that “one-up” in technology to put you above your competition? The simple rule is to keep your ears open. And I don’t just mean obsessing over technology blogs like Mashable or Techcrunch. Following every single breakthrough or new service update is extremely time consuming and can easily distract you from your goals.

Try listening to other channels. I personally learned of Animoto from a German friend who I met while traveling through Panama in February of 2009. He used Animoto for the pictures on his travel blog. Once I tried it out, I was hooked. In retrospect, I may not have learned about Animoto if I wasn’t enjoying myself traveling.

Step 2: Know your Story

I traveled through Thailand and Panama while I was in the development stage of two separate startups. It wasn’t until later, when I noticed a rising trend toward “remote entrepreneurship”, that I realized how unique my own story was.

Study the way successful online personalities (Tim Ferriss, Ramit Sethi, Gary Vaynerchuck) phrase things. Its often how you say things that grabs attention.

For instance, I titled my video, “How I built 2 Startups while Traveling Abroad”. I could have just as easily called it something like, “How to work remotely on your Companies while Traveling“. Which one has more ring to it?

Step 3: Enter a Contest

If I didn’t submit my video to the contest I wouldn’t have been featured on Tim’s blog. No-brainer, right? Most successful bloggers will tell you to focus on writing a blog with good content so that you can guest post on other (more popular) blogs, which will in turn push more traffic back to your own blog. I would go ahead and take it one step further and suggest entering online contests.

I originally made my “How I built 2 Startups while Traveling Abroad” video for the Elance: New Way To Work Contest. Although I didn’t even make the finals in this contest, I was able to network with a ton of people who had the very same interests and lifestyle ambitions as myself. Just from entering the contest, people were interested in me and my blog.

It was not too long after that that Tim Ferriss posted his contest. It turned out that my video was much better suited for this one. Also, because I had already made my video I was able to submit early, which according to Tim, gave me bonus points.

Until Tim hosts his next contest, I highly suggest entering as many contests as you can. They provide a great opportunity for grabbing exposure for your brand online. Vator.tv is an excellent place to start.