How A Newbie Can Get A JV partnerships

Posted at December 7, 2008

If you’ve been around Internet marketing for any period
of time, you’ve probably heard of joint ventures, or
JVs. These are partnerships where all parties (usually
two, but it can be more) profit from the deal.

But if you’ve been around a while, you’ve probably
also heard that JVs are difficult to get, especially
if you’re brand new. I get questions about JVs all the
time. This Post answers some of the most common ones.

1) I’ve sent out probably 50 JV proposal emails in the
past three months, and haven’t gotten ONE response. How
can I get somebody to say yes? (asked by Clinton Beehler)

ANSWER: Excellent question, and it’s probably the most
common one I get on this topic.

Fortunately, the answer is pretty easy, although it
takes a little work to do what I’m going to tell you
to do.

I get several hundred JV proposal emails every single
week. Imagine getting over 1,000 proposal emails a
month. What would you do with email 1,001? Yep, you’d
probably ignore it. I just don’t have the time to read
them all, much less respond.

So if you want to get your JV proposal read, regardless
of who you’re proposing to, you need to do three things:

* Make your email subject grab their attention. A
generic “JV Proposal” subject line probably won’t get
read. But a subject like “PERSONAL: May I promote [his
product]?” might. No guarantees, but remember, your
subject has to compel somebody to open your email or
the rest of your email doesn’t matter.

* Lead with what you bring to the table. If your entire
email is about how your partner should promote your
product to make you money, that’s no good. Instead,
emphasize how HE can make more money along with you, so
it’s a win-win deal. That’s a better pitch.

* Make the strongest case by dropping names of well
known people you’ve worked with before, or people you
already have on board for the JV already. If any of
those people have given you testimonials about how
good it was to work with you, it’s definitely smart to
include those in your proposal.

* Be creative. Overwhelm him with profit opportunity,
and really go out of your way to make it painless for
your prospect to say yes. For example, if you’ll write
all the sales copy and the email templates for the
promotion, and all he has to do it load stuff up to
his server or autoresponder account, that removes most
of the work for him.

Even if you follow those guidelines, you still won’t
get a yes every time, but you’ll put the odds in your
favor. That’s the best you can do, and it might just
pay off big.

2) How can I get a JV with a big name guru that will
get me four- and five-figure paydays I’ve heard about?
(asked by Roxie Barletta)

ANSWER: This might literally be the $64,000 question.

People want JVs with the big names because that usually
means more profits. But remember what I told you in my
answer to the previous question…I get several hundred
proposals a WEEK. That reduces your odds.

There are really three main ways to get a JV going
with a big name.

First, you can start by promoting their products and
making them money. This proves you actually bring some
profit potential to the table.

You don’t have to win their affiliate contest, or make
them millions. But saying you’ve already made them
some money helps your case.

Second, get an introduction. You can’t force this, so
all you can do is increase your exposure to the big
names and try to develop relationships that might grow
into JVs.

That might mean hanging out in marketing forums and
commenting on their posts. It might mean going to live
events and introducing yourself. It might mean
offering to help them by doing some free work on a
product or launch.

Anything that will help you get to know people is
something worth considering. Out of that could come
partnerships with those people, or perhaps with people
they know…and that might include a big name.

Third, you can shoot for a level below the big names.
This might sound strange, but sometimes it’s best NOT
to target the big names. Instead, target the up and
coming marketers.

When you see a name you don’t recognize in the second
or third spot in somebody’s affiliate contest, that
might be a good person to try.

For example, I did a couple JVs with Mike Filsaime
before he was a big name. Several of them made solid
profits for both of us, but that’s nothing compared to
what our partnerships bring in now.

By targeting somebody who wasn’t a big name yet, I
grew a relationship with somebody who’s now a big
name. And he can say the same about me.

3) What in the world can I offer a JV partner if I
don’t have a list? (asked by Tyrone Hemmenway)

ANSWER: I get this question a lot, and it’s a real
challenge for people relatively new to online
marketing. Fortunately, you CAN get JV partners even
if you don’t have a list.

Having a list is great, but it’s only one of the
things you can offer a partner. When you don’t have a
list, or if your list is really small, that’s where
creativity can make a big difference.

For example, let’s say you don’t have a list, but you
want to do a JV with a particular person you’ve read
posts from in a marketing forum. Ask yourself what you
can offer this person that will make the partnership
pretty much equal.

He might have a list, so he might be the one promoting
a product to people, but can you contribute in some
other way? Probably so. Here are some possibilities:

* If you can write sales copy, you could write some to
promote your joint product. That might save a ton of
money for both of you.

* If you can create websites, you could do the
technical grunt work of getting everything set up so
he doesn’t have to worry about it. That’s great if the
person you’re partnering with is already very busy.

* If you’re good at creating products, you can take
more of the creative load and let the other person
concentrate on other things.

You get the point.

Being able to promote a product to your own list is a
nice contribution to a JV, but it’s not the only thing
that can help a partner. Anything you can contribute
that can save time, save money or bring in more profit
is usually very attractive to potential partners.

And when you propose your JV with these creative things
in there, that has the extra benefit of setting your
proposal apart from the others your partner might get.

4) Do JVs work outside the Internet Marketing niche?
(asked by Lorrie Lipton)

ANSWER: This is an easy one…YES! In fact, JVs are
more common outside of IM than inside. That’s where
they started, actually.

Think about when you go to McDonald’s and order a
Happy Meal. The toy that comes inside the box is
usually from Disney, or Pixar or some other company.
That’s a JV.

So if you’re in a niche other than IM, don’t think JVs
are off-limits for you.

5) What makes a JV one of those monsters that
generates huge profits? (asked by Lakisha Facey)

ANSWER: I think people focus too much on the profits
sometimes, when JV relationships are more important in
the long run, but profits do count. And the most
profitable JVs have some things in common.

First, they promote a great product. For example,
Steven Clayton & Tim Godfrey released Commission
Blueprint earlier this year. It was a fantastic
product, and our JV did very well. A great product
makes everything easier.

Second, the most successful JVs leverage at least one
very responsive list. There’s no way around that. You
can make good money without a big list involved, but
you have to have some buyers, and that means at least
one responsive list.

When I promoted Commission Blueprint, I knew it was a
perfect fit for my list, so I was confident that they
would respond. That made Steve and Tim more willing to
work with me to create a killer bonus for my readers,
and it paid off well for both of us.

Third, they’re professional. The websites work, the
products are laser targeted at good markets, the
graphics for everything look nice, and the promotion
efforts hang together well.

If you want a super successful JV, you need to make
sure it has a solid foundation of all of those things.
If they’re not in place, your chances of success go down.

There are other factors that might make a difference,
but those are the biggest three.

Remember, JVs are about profit AND relationships. Not
every JV will be a profit gusher, but that’s usually
less important in the long run than developing
relationships that grow into larger profit engines in
the future.

Success=Action

Ron Outlaw
http://cashin2000.com/

Credits to my mentor:
Michael Rasmussen

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