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affiliate_marketing :: Internet Marketing :: Affiliate Marketing
The Truth About Joint Ventures
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!
This is a "Shareware" Article (what's that? read on...)
This article is shareware. Give this article away for free on your
site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire
article is left intact including this notice.
Copyright © 2003 InstantMarketingMiracle.com
I'm sick and tired of getting hundreds (sometimes thousands) of Joint Venture proposals per week, all claiming the same thing...
"We assure you that our product is not in direct competition with yours..."
My only reply: "Who cares if it IS?"
Now, I know that this article may go against almost everything you've ever been taught about Joint Venture marketing,
but I think it's high time someone laid out the truth about JV's. By
the time you finish reading this article, you'll understand that in
MOST cases...
"There is NO SUCH THING as Direct Competition!"
Whew... There. I said it. ;-)
Think about it.
Let's say you're selling an eBook on "Make Money with ABC" and the
other guy is selling an eBook on "Make Money with XYZ". Normally, to
most people it would seem that these two are in direct competition with
each other.
WRONG.
Here's why:
Because unless Mr. ABC and Mr. XYZ had word-for-word, line-for-line, page-by-page the EXACT same content
within their eBooks, (which is quite unlikely) they could both sell
these eBooks to the exact same market, and most likely would be able to
sell to the exact same customer.
Ok ok, now I can hear you saying "But if Bob bought the ABC eBook
before he found the XYZ eBook, he probably wouldn't buy from Mr. XYZ
because he'd already have what he was looking for from Mr. ABC!"
Sorry, but WRONG again...
To prove this statement, look no further than your own computer.
How many internet marketing related eBooks do you have?
Ok, let's get more specific...
Let's say you're interested in search engine positioning.
Are you going to only buy ONE book on SE positioning?
Or are you going to try out several different books, knowing that
you just might find different information, or even a different
perspective or view on SE positioning?
Another example...
Let's say you're interested in Copywriting.
Now, are you going to only purchase one book on copywriting and
consider yourself "well versed" on the subject after you've read it?
Didn't think so.
This little "rule" applies to virtually any information product,
UNLESS you're selling the exact same thing. (i.e. you've bought
reseller rights, you're an affiliate, you run the same service, etc...)
So, now that you've realized that direct competition is only a
'myth', you've unknowingly opened the doors to unlimited possibilites
with your own products and services.
Stop being an enemy of your "competition" and become their friend!
If you own an info-product, (as long as you're the only one selling
it) research your closest possible "competition", and offer them a
Joint Venture. You may want to enlighten them to the fact that you're
not really in any competition since both of your audiences are
extremely targeted to each other. Then, simply do a cross-promotion.
I'll give you an example.
Let's say, I just created an eBook on Joint Ventures.
Then, I search for the closest competition I can find. Once I've
found what I was looking for, I would email them (or phone them) and
let them know that I would like to sell their JV eBook as a back-end to
my JV eBook.
I could simply place it under a "Highly Recommended Reading" Column, or just send a mailing to my customer list about it.
(notice I'm telling them what I would like to do for THEM before I ever mention what I want them to do for ME...)
I would then continue by telling them that any time someone
purchases their eBook from my efforts, THEY would keep 100% of the
profits.
This would be 100% FREE advertising for them, and that's REALLY hard to say "no" to. ;-)
I would then ask them if they would be willing to do the same thing for me, except I would let them use an affiliate link, so they can still profit from MY eBook when they make a sale from their efforts.
This may seem crazy at first, but if you try to see this JV through
the eyes of your potential partner (or "competition) you'll understand
that I'm placing their needs and wants FAR above my own. This shows
them that I am willing to lose a little on the deal for THEIR benefit.
And more often than not, they'll not only accept the offer, but they'll
insist that I use an affiliate link for their product as well. :-)
There you have it.
I've just eliminated my "competition" by becoming their friend, and
in doing so, I'm getting FREE advertising from extremely laser-targeted
PAYING customers who are definitely interested in what I have to offer.
Now, go use your imagination and think of some JV's you can do with
your "direct competition" to befriend them. You'll soon realize you
never had any REAL competitors in the first place.
About The Author
Jason "The marketing Machine" Mangrum is known to be the one of the most innovative experts on Joint Venture marketing. If you need help with JV ideas, Jason has created a killer software
product that automates the entire Joint Venture writing process in less
than 30 seconds. You can get more information (and a free eCourse)
here: http://www.InstantMarketingMiracle.com
jason@instantmarketingmiracle.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
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