by: Adam Waxler
There is a great deal of talk on the Internet about joint ventures and how they can lead anyone to a rapid increase in profits.
Is this true?
Yep.
You see, the best part of doing a joint venture is that it gives small businesses the opportunity to benefit and profit from the traffic of a large business.
And, joint ventures work regardless of your niche market. For example, the first web site I created sold (and still sells) my ebook on teaching strategies. However, there are literally thousands of high-ranking, high-traffic teaching web sites. How in the world was I going to compete with them when I was just starting out?
Well, the good news is, I don't have to compete with them. Instead, I can use these web sites to my advantage. That is what Joint Venturing is all about and that is why it works so well for small Internet businesses.
Instead of trying to compete with major web sites, simply have those sites sell your product for you. Of course, you will have to give them a nice percentage, but it certainly is worth it.
First thing you will want to do is set up an affiliate program. Setting up an affiliate program is simple. Clickbank is just one a several companies that will handle all your affiliate needs for a very small fee. However, you can also purchase software such as AssocTRAC 4.0 that is an all-in-one affiliate management solution (http://www.marketingtips.com/assoctrac/t.x/806885).
You will also want to make your product as easy as possible for your JV partners to promote. For example, you will want to create pre-made classified ads, articles, graphics, banners, e-courses etc. that your JV partners can simply copy and paste and add their own affiliate id.
Once you have your affiliate program all set, you will need to flush out high-ranking, high-traffic sites within your niche market.
One way to find joint ventures online is by subscribing and participating in online forums that deal with your target audience. If you are involved in Internet marketing the Internet Warrior Forum is a fantastic forum for finding joint venture partners: http://www.money-teacher.com/internetwarrior.htm
Of course, you could also do a simple Google search for keywords in your target market and then do a little research on the top web sites. However, you want to make sure you find web sites that have a great deal of traffic.
There are a couple of ways to go about this. I would suggest downloading both the Alexa toolbar and Google toolbar. Both these toolbars will give you an idea of how much traffic the sites you visit get. Google gives sites a Page Rank (PR) from 1-10. The higher the better. Alexa gives a number rank...the lower the better.
Then, for each web site you visit as a potential JV partner, you need to do a little research. See if their web site is promoting other products. If they are then they will likely promote yours as well.
However, even if they do not promote other products on their site, they still may promote other products through their e-zine or newsletter, so don't count them out just yet.
Try to build up a large list of high-ranking, high-traffic sites that could possibly promote your product.
Once you have your list (the larger the better), you want to send a carefully written email explaining the advantages of doing a joint venture together. Tell the business owner the benefits of the joint venture. Explain why it would be a win/win situation for both of your businesses. Make sure to explain the benefits of your product (just as you would in a sales letter) and make sure to let your prospective JV partner know that this will be an easy way to increase both of your profits. Your email should have a link to your affiliate page that clearly explains how to sign up for your affiliate program and provides simple copy and paste promotions for them to use.
Basically, you want to make it so easy and profitable for them that they can't say "no".
Oh yeah, but keep it fairly short :)
Using all the methods above will greater your chance of constructing a profitable joint venture.
Of course, the above methods take time. Fortunately, there is also software available that will help you put together powerful joint ventures faster and more efficiently by taking out most of the legwork. Here is a great example of such software: http://www.money-teacher.com/makelinks.htm
Either way, using software or doing the work yourself, joint ventures are the best way to skyrocket your profits. And remember, joint ventures work for all niches and are great even for small businesses.
Copyright 2004 Adam Waxler