Have you ever asked someone to sleep with you on a first date, like in the first 5 minutes? Probably not. Building professional relationships is a lot like dating. People want to support and work with people they know and like. So don't try to "sleep with" influencers on the first contact... take some time to get to know them and you'll have a much better chance of gaining their trust and support.

Who are the influencers in your industry? You need to know them, what they write / speak / care about. You need to develop a relationship with them.

Take some time to research everyone who blogs / writes about, speaks about, or knows a lot about your industry. Create a list of them in the spreadsheet attached and rank them from 1 (not too influential) to 10 (very influential).

Follow all of them on Twitter. Add them to a Google+ circle. Subscribe to their blogs. Set up a Google Alert for them. Setup Newsle once they're in your network and reach out to them whenever they make the news (positive or negative you should have their back).