Alex Foo of Christmas Island, Australia writes:
“I resigned from a prestigous job three years ago when I discovered that I could help people start Speaking Chinese in 58 minutes with no pen, no paper.
“My dream is to help 957,000 people around the world start speaking some basic Chinese before the Beijing Olympic Games held in August this year. Equally important, a portion of the proceeeds from my DVDs and CDs will go to help 6 million men, women and children help themselves so that they no longer have to worry where the next meal is going to come from.
“What’s the best way for me to spread the word about what I’m doing? My website is at http://www.ChinaSpeak.com.au (turn down your speakers).”
My first thought is all the sportscasters and sport talk shows – both radio and TV. A few might find this a fun adjunct to their news about the olympics.
There is a new show on Nick Jr. (Ni Hao, Kai-lan) that is similar to Dora the Explorer and the main character Kai-lan speaks Mandarin Chinese. You could reach parents and children who are interested in learning Chinese through Nick Jr.’s web site and show. You could piggyback on the new show and write tips to teaching children Chinese and send it to news outlets.
Could you consider styling a contest in the mode of Big Brother where the prize could be a trip to the Beijing Olympics.
Contestants are put in a house they speak only Mandarin or only English.
Even dicier a dating reality show in vain of The Bachelor/Bachelorette series but where there is a language barrier.
The home-schooling niche is huge, and I’ll bet lots of parent teachers would love to get their kids involved in this.
Go to Technorati and search for blogs devoted to home-schooling and pitch bloggers.
Here’s another idea. What about reaching out to companies that do business in China. How can you help their employees learn Chinese quickly?
What are the benefits of learning Chinese? Does it make somebody more employable? Think of as many benefits as you can and list them on the sales page at your website.
Thanks for all the comments guys!
I only just got back to civilisation
with internet access.
Definitely some Great new ideas to follow-up on.
With much gratefulness
Alex
=)