We are now at Day Five in the Growing Your List Challenge. We're also entering a new topic in the challenge that spans five days, which is all about the benefits of joint venture marketing.
For Day Five, refer to pages 14-16 in the
31 Day Guide to Growing Your List
Discover the secrets of using Joint Ventures and Affiliates to drive tons of (highly targeted and responsive) potential subscribers to your site.
Since we're discussing JV's and affiliates, you're probably assuming you'll need a product to sell to participate in this section of the challenge. Not necessarily...
The Difference Between Joint Venture Partners and Affiliates
Although some people use the terms "JV partner" and "affiliate partner" interchangeably, there are differences.
An affiliate partner promotes your product for a commission.
A JV partner joint ventures with you on product creation, promotion, or other aspects of your business - for mutual benefit. It may be for a commission or profit-share... or it could be for some other benefit such as publicity and exposure, backlinks, etc.
While an affiliate can be a JV partner, not every JV partner is an affiliate. -page 14
I mentioned that you don't necessarily need a paid product to participate in this section of the challenge. And while you don't, it may be something you want to consider if you haven't already.
You can easily put together a low-cost, impulse-buy info product and offer 100% commission to your partners. For inspiration and ideas on creating your product, read my post on Writing Low Cost Reports in the ClickNewz archives.
The upside to creating a low-cost product is that you'll build a mailing list of buyers, instead of just subscribers. Specifically, buyers that buy products on your topic (in your niche) and have a working PayPal account or credit card. 😉
If you don't intend to use or create a paid product...
If you only plan to offer a free newsletter, and have a content-based or affiliate-based site, you may choose to use JV partners in a different way
- with other incentives besides monetary benefits.
A great strategy that is mutually beneficial is Guest Blogging. This strategy works whether you have a blog of your own or not. The one thing bloggers desperately need is a never-ending supply of quality content. When they take breaks, go on vacation or feel less than inspired... they will be grateful to let someone else do the writing for them!
You can also work with other business owners in your market on a co-promotion venture. This may be as simple as exchanging links or personal recommendations, or teaming up to co-host a teleseminar or webinar where you both bring something of value to the discussion.
Don't worry too much about the exact details of your potential joint ventures just yet. For now, simply do today's task - which is the research.
Where to Find JV Partners
The most obviously place to look is on Google. Take the top keyword phrases in your niche and do a search on Google. Make a note of the paid advertisers, the bloggers, the websites, and the communities that show up in the top 20 results.
Check YouTube, and look for active affiliates or those with popular video channels in your niche. Search is going social, so you want fresh affiliates with video presence and/or social media skills going into 2010 and beyond.
Next, check Twitter. Use http://search.twitter.com to perform searches on your keyword phrases, your product/site names, your competition, etc.
Find the people who are already talking on your topic. Whether they are a “super affiliate” yet or not, they are reaching your target market. And they are likely interested in ways to monetize that conversation.
Today's task is to research and find potential partners, whether you are looking for super affiliates or joint venture partners. Refer back to pages 15-16 in your guide for creative ideas on finding these partners.
Additional Resources:
- Increase Blog or Website Traffic - Fast!
- Tips for Recruiting Super Affiliates
- Creating A Successful Relationship With Your Top Affiliates
- Blog Interview & Guest Blogging Tips
- Hosting a Blog Tour
Best,
About Lynn Terry
I've been looking for this for a while now, and now i found it. JV partners are very hard to find especially if you're new to business, but i think teaming up with other people that have the same amount of list subscribers as yours, will give you great results. I've tried also guest blogging and it's great for targeted traffic and opt-ins. Thanks for the challenge.
Guest Blogging is an *excellent* way to gain exposure and build relationships with potential JV partners and future affiliates.
I think JV partners can be relatively easy to find. Sealing deals may be another issue altogether when you're new to the scene - especially if you're targeting the A-List in your niche. My advice is to start lower down (C-List) and work your way up. That way you have successful ventures under your belt and decent numbers to share.
I recently subscribed to this blog and the 31 day challenge seems very interesting. Although I'm 5 days behind, I will read the guide and get started today.
Feel free to start wherever you are. 😉 The posts are all tagged so you can easily find the entire series. At the end of the 31 days I'll publish the entire series in one PDF download for easy reference as well.
Welcome to the challenge! 😀
Thank you for such valuable content Lynn.
Your explainations of all the topics you teach are easy for even a newbie to understand.
Am understanding that a great teacher can share without fear of giving away, as loyalty, trust and respect will stay with them,.and that means repeat customers and partners.
Will recommend you to all.
Cheers
Thank you Mitch!
I think that the 31 day challenge seems very interesting. I will participat as soon as possible.