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Ready to Hookup with Savvy Joint Venture Partners?

December 1, 2009 1 Comment

Then join us for the Raleigh JV Alert Impact Hookup on Thursday, December 3!

Where:  Tripp’s
3516 Wade Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27607

When:  December 3, 2009, 7-9 PM

It’s the first meeting of the Raleigh area Impact/JV Alert Hookup to provide networking, fun, and a chance to meet others top-level local Internet marketers interested in joint ventures and affiliate relationships.

We’ll mingle and discuss what would be most helpful to you when it comes to creating savvy partnerships to grow your business. Who knows…you could find someone brilliant and put together your first (or next!) million dollar joint venture deal.

Started by veteran Internet Marketer Ken McArthur, JV Alert Live is the wildly popular series of events where Internet Marketers come together to help each other discover new partners and new opportunities to skyrocket their business. Now, it’s going local with Impact Hookup chapters around the world.

There is NO FEE to attend the networking event. Just be sure to bring plenty of business cards and be ready to network. We’ll be sitting so everyone who wants to order dinner can do so, but that’s not required.

Tripp’s is conveniently located on Wade Avenue, just off of 440 and 40 and has plenty of free parking.

If you’re a serious business owner who wants to significantly increase market reach, break down barriers to entry in your market, or simply generate substantial revenues in a shorter amount of time, you’re welcome to join us!

To RSVP, just reply in the comments below or email me at info at compellingcomm.com.

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Joint Venture Mistake #5 — Thinking Small

October 30, 2009 Leave a Comment

basketball
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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            Multiply Your Sales with Savvy Affiliate Marketing

            April 2, 2009 Leave a Comment

            One way to increase your sales is to start offering an affiliate program, or improve your current one.

            Some people complain that paying others to promote their products cuts into their profits. But that’s such a rather short-sighted view. Here’s why.

            • As Dan Kennedy says, you’re not gaining a sale, you’re gaining a customer. People who buy from you once will often do so again and again. So don’t think about what’s left after the affiliate commission–think about what you’re ultimately getting over the lifetime of that customer.
            • You’re getting sales you wouldn’t otherwise get–last time I checked that adds to your bottom-line, not reduces it! People buying from that affiliate link either don’t know you from Adam (or Eve). Or even if they’ve already looked at the product, something about that message compelled them to take action now. If it hadn’t, they probably would have kept procrastinating until they forgot all about it.
            • Research shows affiliate referrals tend to be high quality prospects. Which makes sense because they’re being referred by someone they trust. So they tend to convert more, buy more and return less.

            Who to Affiliate With

            The best affiliates will be people who know you and can endorse you–including people who have bought the product. One smart strategy is to include a message in your post-sale autoresponder series asking buyers if they’d be interested in earning commissions by recommending the product to others.

            Another good source are people who serve the same customers you do, but don’t directly compete with you. Is there an industry heavy hitter you want as an affiliate? Look for a seminar where you can meet them in person instead of just sending an email.

            Or ask if you can interview them for your list so you can start building a relationship with them. But know that most big players won’t even consider an affiliate proposal unless they’re making at least $100 a sale.

            Maximize Your Chances of Success

            Here are some more tips for making the most of your affiliate program:

            Make it as easy as A-B-C. Create a sales page and post as many materials as possible for affiliates to use for promotion–emails, audios, articles. And instead of putting your own web address on any of the items, prompt them to insert their affiliate link.

            Give’em a long lead time.Ideally, you want to give affiliates at least a 2-3 week heads up about an upcoming campaign, longer if possible. People often need time to work around other promotions they’ve scheduled so they’re not overwhelming their list with too much at once. (But remind them a day or two before the campaign starts as well.)

            Start with a freebie. If you’re promoting something with a significant price tag, the best strategy is to give them something free to promote to their lists–such as a report or series of preview calls–where you can have more opportunity to make a case for the purchase. And if you have them opt-in for the freebie, you’re also building your list.

            Do check to make sure this will work with your affiliate program though. If you’re using 1ShoppingCart or Infusion, you should be fine because it will cookie people  the first time they click on the affiliate link–so your affiliate referrer will be credited for any future purchases they make.

            Note: I’m in the midst of building out my affiliate program right now, but if you’re interested, 7 Steps to Creating Copy that Speaks Your Client’s Language So You Land More Clients and More Sales is available with a 50% affiliate commission through Clickbank–just click here. (If you’re not a Clickbank member, there’s no cost to join and become an affiliate for others’ products.)

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