vendor sponsorship idea

[bobhenry]

I am stealing this idea fron the Newsome's on tiny house blog forum.

A letter to potential vendors for item in trade for testing and reviews of their products and services. I thought it just migh help with the somewhat technical items such as battery banks and solar photo voltaic systems. I am hoping to save a few bucks on these rather expensive items along with other items that might be worth incorporating into the build.While this letter is slanted towards the tiny homes concept perhaps this same idea just might work on the smaller tiny trailer builds as well.

THE LETTER......

1. Dear (INSERT COMPANY/ORGANIZATION),
Today in the 21st century people are becoming more aware of our effect on the environment and how we need to be more sustainable. As a very soon retired single man of 62, I am about to embarking on a journey that includes living a more self-sustainable lifestyle by reducing my carbon foot print in society. I am currently building an 8 x 20 foot tiny house.
I am documenting my efforts with blogs, photography, and high definition video. My experience will be shared with tens of thousands of people across the globe to teach others about affordable sustainable living. I am leaving behind my 2100 Sq Ft 3 bedroom house by choice and giving up most modern luxuries. I currently have $3000 invested in the build, and I project an additional $3000 to $4000 on construction materials to make this dream come to life.
The caboose styled little house will have several space saving features along with solar furnace ,solar photo voltaics, composting toilet, rain water harvesting system, a solar water pre-heater and 12 volt ventilation and lighting system. The goal is to be completely off the grid allowing me to reduce my dependency on utility services while creating a debt free lifestyle.
My construction adventures will be extensively documented on such sites as tnttt.com, Tiny house blog.com and Tumbleweed tiny homes.com to name a few. I would like you to be a part of my journey and would like to review your products and share the results with the tiny home crowd on these and other site.
As I am not well heeled and find myself looking for help and bargains to stretch the few dollars I am able to muster and direct to the build. I am looking to your company for a bit of help with my selection of XX (item or items of interest) XXXX and in return will mention your companies name on the websites and You tube videos. Detailed reviews will be written in the blogs of the products and service advice I am afforded. I will also tag your products online to gain recognition.
There is an up swell of tiny home aficionados and a great deal of interest in the features and equipment being utilized in these styles of builds. I believe this idea will become very popular in our world today due to the hard economic times. If you have any questions feel free to contact me anytime. Have a terrific day and thank you for taking the time to look over my proposal.
E: (E-mail) [email protected]
P: (Phone) 765-538-2580
A: (Address) 309 E. South St Linden IN 47955
Sincerely,
Bob Henry

[indycamper]

Hope they come through for you!

[wagondude]

Looks like a good letter. I could be wrong, but would you be trying to lead a DEBT free lifestyle rather than DEBIT free? That would be the only change I would make.

Good luck.


Bill

[mezmo]

Hi Bob,

Yea, is "debt" what you meant?, or is it "debit"?, used in the view of
expenses being deducted from assets?

Also: I'd lose the following:

"As I am not well heeled and find myself looking for help and bargains
to stretch the few dollars I am able to muster and direct to the build."

Reason being: They just won't care, and will probably look at it as someone
asking for a handout - which is unfortunately very easy to deny for an
unsolicited [by them] request.

Instead: Use some wording that will tie into the business world jargon,
along the lines of:

'I'm looking to leverege my investment and efforts to maximize the[my] results
and achieve the[my] goal of "Maximum living results with minimum resource use".
Your [fill-in-the-product name] can/could be a [great/big/good/beneficial/etc.]
help in [achieving] that quest/goal."


And also clean out any wording that sounds like "asking for help". State it
more in a positive light that hints that if they can contribute/join in your
efforts with their product [gratis or discounted], then, Hey - everybody wins.
- They can thus be a part of this great project you are engaged in, and your
reviews can show real world experience with their product.

Good luck tweaking the message.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

P.S. It might also be beneficial to direct/address the letter to their
sales a/o marketing department(s).

And: All[most of] the bracketed words are just various suggestions for ways
to try out different wordings to see what fits your writing style
and needs and sounds best to you.

[bobhenry]

I fixed my boo boo and thanks for giving it the once over. I will rework it a bit and see what happens.