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Hello Brooke,

My team just forwarded me the link to your blog and I have to admit, you do nice work.  There’s a lot of really cool content, and with the season upon us, it gets me totally stoked for this winter!  That leads me to why I’m writing you.

I’m part of a new social platform called Honk.com, and I think that you would really contribute to our site.  Our focus is on car-shopping, but we’re doing it in a way that’s new to this space.  Instead of focusing solely on mechanical jargon and “gearhead” lingo, Honk is social and people-oriented.  Our consumer reviews and advanced data tools help our members and visitors find the right cars, and see what people in the “real world”, not just automotive journalists, really think about them.  Check out our writeup on Mashable for a deeper explanation: http://mashable.com/2009/11/05/honk/

I’m pulling together a group of contributors from all different walks of life to write on our site about the cars that they most love or hate, and their experiences.  In exchange for their help, we’re going to highlight those reviews and provide special links back to our contributors’ sites, so that their readership can grow as we grow our community.  As I mentioned before – we’re not looking for “car experts” – we’re looking for “life experts” who are great at sharing their opinions and experiences, from their own unique perspectives and lifestyle requirements.

You don’t need to have just purchased a car to contribute, or even to own a particular car to share your views.  Perhaps you’ve rented a car,  borrowed a friend or family member’s, or have ridden shotgun in someone else’s car – share your opinions!!  There are thousands of car-shoppers out there who need help in their search for a perfect vehicle, and I know that your opinions and experiences will really make a difference and bring a fresh viewpoint to our site.

Let me know if you’re interested in contributing, and we can set up some time to talk in more detail, or correspond via email.

All my best,

—
Neil Budde
Community Outreach
Honk.com

Hey Neil,

Does it pay?

Brooke

Hey Brooke,

Thanks for getting back. The short answer is no, it doesn’t pay, at least in a $$ for review sense. The incentive we’re offering is increased exposure for your site – through special badging for our blogger/lifestyle site contributors. For instance, if you or one of your team members were to write a brief review of a vehicle, the photo or badge next to your review, and also on your user profile, would link back to your site. We’re conservatively projecting traffic to be about 500k unique visitors per month in the first year and I think that this is a great way to grow your readership.

Let me know your thoughts – it would be great to have you contribute!!

Best,
Neil