Some online business owners prefer to work independently, while others thrive in connecting with others in a give-and-take kind of relationship. Regardless of the niche you’re in, there are going to be others that have built a similar business to yours and could benefit from a collaboration with you as much as you could.
You’re not focusing on direct affiliate competitors who do exactly what you do, but those who run a business that attracts a similar audience to yours or share the same brand values as yours.
Who Are You Looking For?
You’re going to be aiming too high if you start to reach out to those with a very high following. What we call “influencers” today can be found in any niche, and since they have a very well-established presence, they won’t be interested in collaborating with newbies unless they get paid, and they’re most likely very expensive. Try to find other business owners who might be in a stage similar to yours, and looking for others to collaborate with.
There are different ways to establish successful collaborations. Ideally, you want the other business owner to mention you to their e-mail subscribers, Social Media followers or blog visitors. And of course, to make it worth their while, you have to do the same for them. Some collaborations evolve and last long, which can be fruitful for both businesses.
How To Initiate A Collaboration?
Be clear and direct about your goals when you approach others to collaborate. It’s great if you end up getting a few sales from the collaboration, but you might want to consider other business assets, like building your e-mail list or gaining more followers on your Social Media profiles.
When you decide to reach out to other players in your niche (or related niches) for a collaboration, you must first decide on the offer you’re going to present to them. For example: If you end up selecting someone that sells a product, ask them if they’d want to be interviewed or if they’d like the product to be shared with your readers. Get creative and detect what kind of value they could be interested in and offer it to them.
For that to happen, ask yourself a few questions:
- “Would it make for the two businesses to be mentioned together?”
- “Does this person’s blog get enough engagement on their content?”
- “Is this person likely to work with me?”
How To Find Others To Collaborate With?
Fortunately, Social Media is the world’s most accurate phonebook, and the easiest people to find are those who are regularly active online, which is exactly what you’re looking for. Search keywords, hashtags, or accounts and create a list of names to reach out to. You should get very familiar with their business and show them that you’ve done your homework before you’ve reached out to them.
If they have a website or a blog, you should definitely read their About Page, include some of what you’ve learned about them in your e-mail or message, and let them know why you’ve decided to reach out to them in particular. This will make your approach unique and personal, which helps you build a connection with them, and gives you a higher chance of response than writing a general text and sending it to everyone you want to collaborate with.
Do You Have An Established Presence Online?
With 800 million monthly active users and the most engaged Social Media audience, Instagram is exactly where your potential audience is spending their time. You want to reach them, connect with them, and convert them into loyal followers and potential customers. Whether to work on your existing Instagram account or to help you create an entirely new account, this is a complete Instagram design kit to help you grow your account and attract your audience.
