I'll get right to the point today.

If you want to sell more online courses, coaching, or consulting services, implementing a handful of simple partnership marketing strategies should be your #1 priority right now.

Yesterday, we covered why partnerships are so much more effective than typical approaches like Facebook ads, SEO, and endless content creation.

Now, I want to show you what those partnership opportunities would actually look like for your business.

Specifically, you're going to see the 3 most effective partnership types for instantly attracting your best fit clients and customers.

Ready? Let's go!

Partnership Type #1: Podcast Interviews

It's a strange phenomenon…

Almost every entrepreneur I know (whether they're just getting started or are a seasoned vet) listens to podcasts. 

Yet almost everyone overlooks them as a customer acquisition channel.

But when you zoom out for a second it's easy to see why getting interviewed on podcasts is such an incredible opportunity for businesses like yours:

  • There are tons of podcasts related to topics in every niche, industry, and business type
     
  • Even the small ones often have hundreds of dedicated listeners
     
  • When the host interviews you, those listeners (many of which are your ideal customers) will automatically trust you

It's by far one of the simplest ways to become a go-to expert in your industry or niche.

But sooooo many people let the same question stop them:

Why would anyone want to interview me? Nobody knows who I am!!

It's natural to worry that you're not well known enough for podcasts to book an interview with you.

But trust me…you shouldn't.

Sure, if you set your sights on the top 1% of podcasts, you're going to be disappointed (Joe Rogan ain't booking you, bro). But the other 99%? Those podcasts (I'm talking about the interview-based ones) are ALWAYS looking for content.

Diana Wu David said it best when I interviewed her about generating $8k in course sales from podcast interviews: "They are desperate for content, especially if it's a weekly podcast."

Constantly finding and booking guests your audience will be interested in is a massive chore for podcasters. It's one of the reasons why many people start podcasts and then fizzle out after a few months.

Examples:

Partnership Type #2: Guest Workshops (AKA Guest Webinars, Partner Webinars, Guest Trainings, Etc.)

When most people hear "guest workshop" or "partner webinar" they imagine something like this:

  1. You present a webinar to someone else's audience (the "partner")
  2. You pitch a product at the end of the webinar
  3. You give the partner a cut of the sales

While this is one way to do a partner webinar, there is another far simpler approach that can often be just as effective at generating sales for your business (while also rapidly growing your email list).

Here's the alternate approach:

  1. You find someone with an audience who is likely to be interested in your topic / area of expertise
  2. You ask that person if you can deliver a free webinar to their audience where you'll teach them valuable stuff about that topic
  3. They promote the webinar to their audience

The win for them? They get to look like a hero for providing high-value content to their audience.

The win for you? You get to show off your expertise in front of a warm audience of your best fit prospects. 

And yes, there are TONS of companies and thought leaders in every niche who are open to the concept of bringing in a guest expert to train their audience. You just need to know where to look and how to ask (more on that later).

Examples:

Partnership Type #3: Guest Blogging (as a "Stair Step" Strategy)

I'm on record as saying that guest blogging is a very hit-or-miss strategy. 

Securing guest posting opportunities is pretty easy, but writing a post that's actually going to have a noticeable impact on your business takes a lot of energy. It's not like doing a podcast interview, where all you have to do is show up for 45 minutes, answer some questions, and be yourself.

That said, guest posting remains one of the best ways to "stair step" your way to bigger and better partnerships with influential companies and brands.

When you prove that you can provide valuable content for someone else's audience, they become even more open to featuring you in bigger and better ways—which can dramatically increase your influence, reach, and reputation.

Quick example:

Austin Church is a branding expert who sells coaching and an online course that helps freelancers find their most profitable and joyful work.

He used a software platform called Podia to build his online course—and Podia just so happens to have an audience full of the type of online creators and the freelancers who make perfect clients for Austin. 

As a Podia customer himself, Austin had an easy way to reach out and ask to write a guest post for the Podia blog.

Pro Tip: When you ask a company, "Can I write a guest post where I show people how your product made me successful?" the answer is "yes" 10 out of 10 times. :)

Austin turned his experience as a Podia customer into a guest post about launching his online course. It went live on the Podia blog in June 2020:

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The guest post alone was a great opportunity to promote his business. For example, there are links to his course throughout the post:

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He was also able to create a content upgrade for the post that helped build his email list:

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But the best part about this guest posting partnership is what happened next.

A few days after the post went live, Len Markidan, Podia's Chief Marketing Office, tweeted a link to it with some nice praise:

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If you're looking for an opportunity to collaborate with a company, one of their executives bragging on you is what we call a "foot in the door" situation. 🙂 And Austin pounced on it using one of the strategies we teach our clients.

He took a screenshot of the tweet and included it in an email to Len thanking him for the shoutout. He also asked if Podia would be interested in having him teach an online workshop for their audience. It was an instant "yes."

But the partnerships with Podia didn't stop there.

The workshop went so well that Podia invited Austin to participate as a featured speaker in their upcoming virtual summit, Create 2020:

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This meant a few things:

  • Austin got to get in front of yet another large online audience of his best fit clients
     
  • Podia actually paid him to speak during the summit (his first paid speaking gig)
     
  • He got featured alongside other thought leaders in his space, bringing him even more credibility and trust:

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The impact of this kind of showcase for your business is immeasurable. But it all started with one small guest posting partnership. I like the way Austin put it:

"With partnerships, each 'single' earns your next 'at bat,' and eventually you're going to hit a home run."

So—how do you find any of these 3 types of partnership opportunities for YOUR business?

I'll give you 2 options.

  1. Book a free Strategy Call with my team and they will identify a prime partnership opportunity for your business right there on the spot. Plus, if it's a good fit, they'll also tell you about Unfair Advantage, our new program where we personally help you attract a constant flow of new customers to your business via partnerships.
     
  2. Check out my in-depth blog post on how to find partnership opportunities on your own, Partnership Marketing 101.

No matter what stage your business is at right now, there are partnerships to be had. Use the resources in this email to unlock them.

- Bryan