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Joint Venture Mistake #5 — Thinking Small

October 30, 2009 Leave a Comment

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As Michael Jordan says, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. So identify the rockstar joint ventures you would love to have and approach them. All they can do is ignore you or say no.

One of my clients was looking for speakers and JV partners for an upcoming telesummit and was happily surprised to get a yes from Journalution author Sandy Grason. Turns out, Sandy was trying to reach out to more women in my client’s industry.

Another copywriter I know got Brian Tracy to sign on as a partner for a teleseminar. He first became an active affiliate for him and then asked if he could interview him. Brian Tracy promoted that product to his list and I believe they did another together as well.

(Tip–no matter how “famous” someone is–they ALL know who their top affiliates are!)

You may have to get creative about approaching them in order to get through their gatekeepers and VAs–a simple email probably won’t do the trick. Here are three ways to do that…

    1. Send them a lumpy mail package
    2. Find out where they’re going to be speaking and go meet them
    3. Reach out via Twitter or Facebook

      So remember–you never know until you ask! And of course, keep the first 4 common mistakes you want to avoid in mind when you do:

      Forgetting the “What’s In It for Me?”

      Failing to Set Your Joint Venture Up for Success

      How to Make It Hard for Others to Promote You

      Don’t Jeopardize Their Affiliate Commissions

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      Don’t Jeopardize Their Affiliate Commissions

      October 29, 2009 1 Comment

      While JV partners may give you more leeway because of the relationship you have with them, affiliates often won’t. If they see something that could reduce their chances of success, they’ll just move on to another product.

      Guinea Pig

      So here are a few things to be mindful of:

      • No one wants to be your guinea pig–wasting their time and money by sending people to a lousy sales page. In fact, savvy partners won’t sign on unless they know how many sales page visitors are currently buying (aka your conversion rate). So track and have those numbers ready before you start recruiting.
      • Also, set realistic expectations by telling them what type of prospects you’re getting those numbers from. Because a 10% conversion rate is much easier to achieve from subscribers who already know, like and trust you versus traffic from pay-per-click ads.
      • Finally, avoid commission-killers on your sales page, such as:
        • Navigation buttons or a lot of links to other pages–which slashes the odds that the prospect will actually buy
        • An opt-in form–which (in their eyes) could allow you to “steal” the customer away and take credit for the sale
        • A link for new affiliates to sign-up at the bottom–which encourages some prospects to sign-up as an affiliate first, hoping to get a commission on their own purchase

      (Most programs prevent this but that doesn’t stop people from trying–and again, it increases the odds the original referrer won’t end up not getting credit for their purchase.)

      Tomorrow, the last of the 5 common mistakes to avoid when approaching joint venture partners and affiliates.

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      How to Make it Hard for Others to Promote You

      October 28, 2009 Leave a Comment

      So far, we’ve discussed the difference between joint ventures and affiliates as well as the first two all-too-common mistakes entrepreneurs make when building these types of relationships–forgetting the “what’s in it for me?” and failing to set yourself up for success. Now we have…

      Mistake #3 — Giving Them the Wrong Promotional Tools

      Just as you strive to make customers feel special, you should make sure JV partners and affiliates feel special too–after all, they’re using their resources to promote for you.

      So keep that in mind when you craft messages to them. Also, make it as easy for them as possible by giving them the right tools. That means…

      • Offering the tools they prefer. Some people won’t do three solo email blasts because they don’t want their subscribers running for the exits. They may prefer having you do a guest article or offering a free teleseminar instead. If you don’t have time to find out what they want then at least offer a variety of options.
      • Sending “clean” email copy. It seems obvious, but check the spam score in your email software program and test it by mailing to yourself before you give them email copy to use.
      • Checking video load time. Your partners won’t be happy campers if they’re prospects aren’t converting because your video takes eons to start playing.
      • Also, hosting the videos for big launches on a different server. When Matt Bacak launched a new product back in August, all the video viewings crashed the server–the same server his sales page was hosted on. Again, a sure way to tick off affiliates.

      Stay tuned tomorrow, for another big bone of contention for affilates–jeopardizing their commissions.

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      Failing to Set Your Joint Venture Up for Success

      October 27, 2009 1 Comment

      One of the biggest disappointments with joint ventures or affiliate marketing is when a big partner (or any partner, for that matter) doesn’t come through for you. Unfortunately, it’s an all-too-common occurrence.

      People forget. Or agree to more email blasts than they can actually do without their subscribers running for the exits. Or sometimes, their own product launches end up happening near the same time.

      That’s why Mistake #2 is Failing to Set Your Joint Ventures Up for Success.

      You can’t totally prevent someone from flaking out on you, but here are a few ways you can minimize those chances:

      Willie CrawfordGet On the Same Page

      First, JV guru Willie Crawford says to make sure you ask for “reciprocal” promotions–whatever you agree to do, they should agree to do the exact same.

      Occasionally, you’ll run into slicksters who say yes, but plan to send your emails to that “junky” list they picked up from a trade show and never use. Or decide to just tweet out your promo via social media.

      That’s NOT the same thing because your relationships with ezine subscribers and social media are very different. If you’re emailing your  main list, they should do the same.

      Check-In Throughout

      Second, you should start recruiting partners 6 weeks before a new product launch–but plan to remind and check-in with partners as it gets closer to the launch date.

      That way, you may be able to head off problems before they occur.

      Check-Up at Show Time

      Finally, monitor their actions. If they’ve agreed to email their newsletter subscribers, then sign-up for their list so you see the email(s) that go out. If they’re going to put an ad on their blog, then make a note to check that it’s there.

      If they don’t follow through on pre-launch promotions and you’re offering one of their products as a bonus, you can always remove it before the launch.

      But even if you have no leverage like that, then you at least know to put them on your “do not call” list for future projects.

      Two JV and affiliate mistakes down–three more to go. Look for the next one tomorrow!

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      5 Common Mistakes When Approaching Joint Venture & Affiliate Relationships

      October 26, 2009 Leave a Comment

      Last weekend’s Warrior Forum event has me thinking a lot about joint ventures and affiliate marketing these days.

      While the words “joint venture” and “affiliate” are often used interchangeably, technically, there IS a difference.

      Of course, WHAT that difference is depends on who you ask. I know one marketer who draws the line in the sand based on whether it’s for list building (a JV) or for money (an affiliate).

      Joint Ventures. To me, joint ventures represent more of a mutual commitment–such as “I’ll interview you and invite my subscribers” or “let’s create a virtual bootcamp together.”

      And they can be with the goal of building a list, providing content for subscribers/members, earning commissions or some combination of the three.

      Affiliates. On the other hand, affiliates are typically less formal and more hands-off types of relationships–always with the goal of making money.

      Usually, one person signs up to promote the other’s product for a commission through an online shopping cart or third-party service. So there’s no one-on-one communication unless the promoter becomes a top earner (aka “superaffiliate”) for them.

      Yet either one can be a powerful way to build your business…especially if you avoid five common mistakes.

      Mistake # 1 — Forgetting the “What’s In It for Me?”

      While you don’t want to approach someone like you’re begging for their participation, remember that they could be using those emails or blog ads for one of their own products or services…where they get to keep 100% of the sales rather than an affiliate commission.

      So be sure to address how else they’ll benefit from working with you.

      Exposure to Your List

      One obvious bartering chip is your email list–not giving them your list, of course, but promoting something for them to your subscribers either in your newsletters or via solo email blasts.

      Even if yours is relatively small, people with much bigger lists may agree to email part or even all of their list if your audience is one they’re eager to get in front of.

      So being able to give specifics about who’s on your list and what they’ve shown interest in hugely helpful.

      One way to find out more about your list is to survey your list for some type of incentive.

        Another is to mine the gold in your email marketing reports, which can tell you:

          • Where your subscribers live (based on the location of their Internet service provider)
          • What topics they’re most interested in…based on which ones got opened the most
          • What type of products and services they’re interested in…based on click-through rates

            I also go through and tag names by gender in my Aweber email marketing account.

            And if you have a lot of subscribers, your blog audience may be appealing to them as well.

            Other Value Adds

            Also, three questions to think about are:

            • How can working with you make them look good?
            • How can your product or service help them retain customers?
            • What else can you do for them?

            The last one may be as simple as providing the audio and transcription of your interview that they can sell or offer as a bonus.

            Or, one of the speakers at the Warrior Forum event mentioned that he’d consider working with someone who could provide some content for his membership site. (Tip:  people with membership sites always need content!)

            So avoid mistake number one by showing how working with you will meet THEIR needs and wants, as well as yours.

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            Warrior Forum Internet Marketing Event Raleigh Photos

            October 26, 2009 2 Comments

            Here’s my photo set from the event–I think you can guess which one I am…

            [flickrset id="72157622662631490" thumbnail="square"]

            The other folks are (from left to right) Cynthia Richards, Jason Fladlian, Tim Castleman, Willie Crawford, Robert Plank and Niche Prof Ron Capps.

            You can click on each photo for more comments…

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            A 3-Part Strategy for Motivating Clients to Give Referrals

            October 13, 2009 1 Comment

            Recently, I had a Marketing Strategy Session with a chiropractor client and one of the topics was getting more referrals from past and current patients–here are a few tips I shared that could be applied to all types of businesses.

            First, it’s important to know most people really do like to give referrals because it makes them feel good to be able to help a friend or family member in need.  Some folks also get a kick out of looking “connected.”  So keep that in mind so you don’t feel like you’re asking for a favor.

            That said, then why don’t they refer others more often?

            1. Either they forget or just don’t know how to do it. For example, if they hear someone say they need a chiropractor, they may think of you. But it’s far more likely they’ll hear someone complaining about a problem you can help them solve.

            Problem is–does your client know all the problems you can solve (or what you specialize in)? And can they explain what you do to someone who’s never hired someone like you before? Often, they don’t or they can’t.

            2. Incentives that feel like disincentives. Businesses also don’t always think through the psychology of the incentive they’re proposing. Here are three types to avoid:

            • The slap-in-the-face incentive. Say your client just paid you $300 for a session. Then you send them a thank you note and $100 off coupon “to give to a friend.”   If it’s something they can share with a family member it might be OK, but can you see how they might be annoyed at passing along a discount they didn’t get to someone else?
            • The not-so-special special. Another problem is sending them a certificate for a discount or gift anyone can get by going to your website. People like to feel that they’re sharing something special. It’s not special if any one with a computer can get it.
            • The token incentive. If your sessions cost $300, sending the client a discount certificate for $10 off to give away doesn’t feel very meaningful.

            So you want to come up with an incentive they’re motivated to pass along…and help them figure out who to give it to.

            Here’s a three-part example that makes it super-easy for that same client above to refer others to you…

            • Send the client  (yes, by USPS postal snail mail if possible)  an exclusive certificate for $100 off a friend OR family members’ first visit. It’s special and meaningful.
            • AND tell them if their referral comes in within the next 30 days, the client gets a $100 gift card of some sort (gift cards can often be purchased for less than face value but you could also do a big discount off their own future visit. ) This rewards the client and encourages them to follow-up about using the certificate.
            • AND tell them “The next time you hear someone complain about x, y, or z, tell them our [what you do in plain English] can help” in the letter that accompanies the certificate. Now they’ll be alert to people mentioning these complaints and know how to describe what you do in simple terms.

            Of course, after you send out the mailing, you could send a couple emails or postcards to remind them as well.

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            Marketing Lists You Can’t Miss — 3 Killer Posts from Around the Web

            October 2, 2009 2 Comments

            Today, I thought I’d share some of the best posts of links I’ve come across in the last week or so–full of great and resources for your marketing pleasure…

            The Internet Marketing List: 59 Things You Should Be Doing But Probably Aren’t gives you even more things for your to-do list–courtesy of @portentint. My personal favorite has to be the first one…

            If you have a Flash introduction on your web site, delete it. If you don’t agree, try this: Shove your head into a bucket of water. Stay in there, not breathing, for 10 seconds longer than is comfortable. That’s what you’re doing to your customers. Delete it, please. (I second that!)

            I bet you’ll find at least one new strategy to attract visitors (and probably more!) in this post on 21 Untapped Traffic Sources from @buzzblogger. I’ve already started implementing the video responses and article site bookmarking ones…the tutorials tip is a great one too.

            4.6 Million WordPress Tools and Training Resources from @bendtheweb has links to, well, a heck of a lot of WordPress plug-ins, plug-in best of lists and more. (Don’t go overboard though, or your blog will load as slow as molasses.)

            Any killer list posts you’d like to share?

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