Tessanne Chin is now one of the Top 5 contestants on The Voice.  Congrats to Tessanne and her many fans who got out the vote amongst our “circle” of friends.  The hard part now begins.  Even though she is clearly the most talented singer on the show she has never garnered the top votes in the last few rounds. To win she will need to get the most votes and the campaign to do that starts before the show is aired on Mondays.  It starts now and it includes going outside your circle of friends. Here are 5 tips to help Tessanne garner more votes during the week before her performances on The Voice.

1. Reach out to Top 10 Voice eliminated contestants 
The Voice top 10 contestants that were eliminated have “tons” of fans that follow then and voted for them. Their fans will have to choose a new contestant to support. Why not Tessanne? Today is the perfect time to reach out the eliminated contestant and fans via social media (Facebook, twitter etc). Matthew Schuler was eliminated last night be gracious and send a word of encouragement. One of his fans from China mentioned they voted 200 times for him and sent a word of encouragement. Send a note to Matthew and his fans on his twitter page,  his fan pages and his fan support facebook page (search facebook and twitter for more pages). Also post in The Voice related forums. Here are 2 example messages

• EXAMPLE 1: Congrats Matthew, I am a Tessanne Chin fan but really loved your performances. Wish you all the best in the future # matthewschuler  #tessannechin #tessanne #matthew #thevoice
• EXAMPLE 2: Matthew, I enjoyed watching you on The Voice and was disappointed to see you go.  You and Tessanne Chin were my favorite singers. Look forward to your album and I wish you the very best in the future.  # matthewschuler  #tessannechin #tessanne #matthew

PS: Note the elimination of the hash tag #teamtessanne. DO NOT USE THIS TAG when reaching out to others of influence as it will seem you are blatantly “soliciting” their endorsement.

2. Seek American Celebrities Endorsements
Celebrities want to connect with their fans and many are watching The Voice. Social media makes it easy to reach out to these celebrities and their large fan bases which can number in the millions.  We stress American celebrities because she will need more votes in the USA to will The Voice.

Kelly Clarkson’s endorsement of Tessanne was huge and probably garnered her thousands of vote. Imagine if she received more endorsements from American celebrities. You don’t need to be blatant in seeking their endorsements; there are subtle ways to go about this.

Here are 2 simple subtle ways.

• Thank the celebrities that have endorsed Tessanne starting with Kelly Clarkson. Follow Kelly on twitter and mention how huge her endorsement was.  EXAMPLE: Kelly, thanks for supporting Tessanne Chin on The Voice. We love you in Jamaica #kellyclarkson #tessannechin #thevoice
• Start a campaign on the songs you think Tessanne should sing and mention the celebrity singer’s name. EXAMPLE: I would love to see Tessanne sing  (name of song here) by Lady Gaga #ladygaga #tessannechin #thevoice

PS: Again note the elimination of the hash tag #teamtessanne. DO NOT USE THIS TAG when reaching out to others of influence as it will seem you are blatantly “soliciting” their endorsement.

3. Host An Early Dinner Watch Party for your American Friends
Jerk Chicken & Jamaican Beef patties will win just about anyone over. There were 5 “watch parties” for Tessanne in the USA and Jamaica this week. There should be more. You can do your part and host party at a Jamaican/Caribbean establishment or at your home. Either location must have WIFI so guest can bring their laptops and tablets to vote and “hype” Tessanne online. Eat, Tweet, Facebook, Watch and Vote.

4. Reach out to friends outside your circle
Posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. is great but you only reach your circle of friends and family. Chances are these are not coworkers or acquaintances because you don’t want them in your “business”.   How about starting a conversation with them about “The Voice” and your favorite contestant during the “water cooler” time? Take the risk and step outside your circle.

5. Gift iTunes credit
It is the season of giving so help get Tessanne 5 votes. If you can afford buy a iTunes gift cards for friends and family, before  Tessanne’s performances on The Voice. Ask them to buy Tessanne’s songs after the show. The cards start at $25 so they will have plenty left to buy other songs for themselves.

“Every battle is won or lost before it is ever fought.” – Sun Tsu: The Art of War