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affiliate_marketing :: Internet Marketing :: Affiliate Marketing
Joint Venture Your Way to Extraordinary Sales
Success with Affiliate Marketing, or Internet Marketing in general, depends on a lot of factors; the product
you decide to promote, the type of advertising you use, the size of your advertising budget, etc. One product
in particular has been around since the dawn of the World Wide Web. It has in the past, and still is making
small fortunes for many Internet Marketers. The product I am refering to is information. Throughout this site
you will find an abundance of information on affiliate programs, marketing, website building, advertising and
so much more. Enjoy!
You
know what makes me really happy? Drinking a Starbucks latte while doing
my grocery shopping at Safeway. Getting my Godiva fix at Barnes &
Noble. Cheap thrills, I know!
Ever wonder why McDonald’s is inside many WalMart stores? Or why
you can buy the board game, Cranium, inside most Starbucks locations?
These are not just lucky coincidences. They are very well-planned, structured, and negotiated marketing strategies. They are implemented by companies that get creative with their marketing by focusing it around who their ideal customer is, where they spend their time, and what they do.
These kinds of joint ventures, or distribution agreements, deliver
convenience to the customer while generating profits for both the
company that manufacturers the product as well as the one that
distributes it. It is a win-win-win.
Joint ventures are likely one of the most profitable ways for you to invest your marketing
time. If you can identify ways to team with someone who already has the
attention and respect of your target market, you will multiply the
results you get from your marketing campaigns.
Think about it - what could be better than someone who
already has the respect of your ideal clients telling them all about
you and what great work you do?
That is all a joint venture really is, afterall. One person or
company putting their seal of approval on another. In simple terms,
they are saying “This guy is okay. You can trust him. I have seen his
stuff, and he knows what he is talking about.”
Smart business owners take the time to identify who else has
contact with their target market and approach those people to ask if
they would recommend them to their clients.
Some arrangements might involve a referral fee. Others
might just be reciprocal agreements – you send me people, I will send
you people.
That is why your printer might be able to recommend a good graphic
designer, your pediatrician can recommend a nutritionist that
specializes in working with kids, and your web hosting company can
recommend a web designer or two. They have developed relationships with
other professionals with a natural crossover with the service they
provide.
Perhaps they met at a networking function, stumbled across each
other during the regular course of work, or took a more proactive role
to seek out joint ventures. It does not matter how it gets done – just
that it does get done.
So, how can you get started? It is easy. Just sit down and really
take some time to think about your ideal clients. What are they like?
What kind of business are they in? What kind of life do they lead?
Where do they live? What do they read? What organizations do they
belong to? What do they do during work hours and off-hours? Where do
they spend their time?
Once you have a clear understanding of them, ask yourself
– based on what I know about my clients, who might already have a
trusted relationship with a group of them?
Some common online examples are ezine editors who have a subscriber
base of your ideal clients, other companies who have a client base of
your ideal clients, or discussion group owners who have a member list
made up of your ideal clients.
In the offline world, you might approach associations whose members
are your ideal clients, other businesses who sell complimentary
products/service to their client base which consists of your ideal
clients, or print publications whose subscribers are your ideal
clients.
Once you have identified some potential joint venture partners,
just contact them with an offer. Decide ahead of time if you are going
to offer a financial incentive or simply reciprocity.
The referral mechanism for reciprocity could be as simple as
displaying one another’s business cards, adding the other
organization’s logo to your materials, or sending out an endorsement of
them to your clients and having them do the same.
The opportunities are endless once you begin to think in the right
terms. So, take some time this week to really understand your ideal
clients. Who are they, what do they want, and how can you best deliver
it to them in a way that is convenient for them and makes money for you
as well as your joint venture partner?
About The Author
Kimberly Stevens is the author of the ebook series, *The Profitable
Business Owner: A Step-by-Step System for Starting & Running a
Successful Service Business*. Download Sample Chapters & get her
free MiniCourse, *The 10 Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make
& How To Avoid Them* at: http://www.askthebizcoach.com/ebooks.htm
kim@askthebizcoach.com
We hope you found the information on this page useful and will return often to browse
the many articles throughout our site. We will be adding new material on an ongoing
basis in order to keep our visitors up to date on the latest promotion and marketing
information and tools that allow so many marketers to earn a full time living on the
internet.
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