5 Ways To Create Synergy Through Collaboration

Before we get to the post, here are a couple of announcements:

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Now, on to the post...

Collaboration- whether it's a Joint Venture (JV) or a project that you take on with someone else, collaboration can be a great way to pool resources, creativity, and responsibility. It can take many forms, limited only to the extent two marketers are creative enough to pursue. While I believe that benefits of collaboration can outweigh the downside of collaboration, it depends on all sides approaching the project and carrying out their responsibilities. Have you thought about joining in a collaborative effort with someone else? If so, consider these ideas and warnings for your best chances at having a productive collaborative experience.

Types of Collaboration

Here are some ideas on how you may collaborate with another marketer:

1. Co-Author an e-book or book: Not only will you add a resource to your resume, you can benefit when it comes to marketing it. Two (or more) people marketing a product can exponentially expand its reach into the market. Of course, if planned correctly, a co-authorship will also reduce the workload in finishing the book. Here is an example of two veteran authors actually collaborating on a book: Fiction Marketing - Phyllis Zimbler Miller and Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

2. Launch a Web Course- Two experts in the same field can pool their experience and launch a web course. You can create this as a free series designed to find subscribers and an audience for future offers or you can launch this as a fee-based course. If you launch it as a free course, you need to go into the project in agreement on how you will and will not use the subscriber list; otherwise, one person may feel that they have access to the list for anything while the other feels it should be accesses only as a joint venture. A little planning up front can save a lot of headaches and ill-will later.

3. Start a Co-Blog- Experts can start a blog together and rotate editorial contributions. The blog may only post a couple times a week, or more if all parties are experience bloggers, thus knowing the commitment needed to post frequently. If you go this route, I'd recommend using a simple, web-based platform like WordPress or Blogger. That way, the expense is eliminated and all parties can access the blog easily.

4. Co-Launch a Product- Do you have an e-book or another product that may tie in with another marketer? If so, consider joining forces on a launch and offer each product to a joint audience. Bundle them together for a discount. Your prospects will win by getting two quality products at a great price. That may stimulate sales and thus, the two marketers win as well.

5. Host a Web Based Seminar (Webinar). Create a panel of experts to conduct a seminar. These live events can draw nice crowds, especially if great content is promised and delivered. With today's technology, hosting an online seminar is easy and cost-effective. A Google search can return a plethora of platform choices to use to deliver your webinar. One free option that I saw on a Tweet from Penny Sansevieri, CEO of Author Marketing Expert, is Cool Conference Live. I have not used it yet, but it looks like a promising solution.

We can continue to brainstorm opportunities for collaboration, but know that the options are as limited as the creativity of the marketers themselves. If you do decide to enter a collaborative venture with someone else, make sure that all parties agree on the scope of the venture, the responsibilities of each participant, and the methodology of executing the venture. All costs, time commitment, resources and time tables need to be agreed upon up front. It would also be wise to discuss an exit strategy in case circumstances change and one or more parties need to end their involvement.

One other thing- if you enter a collaborative effort with someone, take it seriously and keep your commitments. Entering with excitement is of little use if you don't carry through with your commitments. You can tarnish your reputation as a professional if you bite off more than you can chew and fail to carry through with your responsibilities.

However, the benefits of two serious, talented, and committed collaborators can be amazing! The synergy created can truly be far greater than the results individuals can produce on their own. Start off with something simple and grow into great projects as you learn from the experience.

Tony Eldridge