I think the newbie got it...

[J.Andrews]

Okay folks, tell me if I'm on the right track here.

This is what I've been reading:
If you're trying to grab some partners with your 1st product it's pretty much a fools errand to attempt direct contact.

Therefore... you need to go out and prove your stuff sells. (Am I on track thus far?)

So that leaves us with what would appear to be a catch 22... I have no history, therefore I have no JV's but I can't get a history without JV's...

This is what I've been doing:
I have been offering my product for a very small sum as a beta test through another forum and collecting data. With this data I am now able to say my page converts very well, and people are excited to pick up my stuff.

From there I will make modifications to the sales letter/product, give said modded product to previous buyers (to say thanks) and re-test in a different area with different people.

This data will then be brought (ever so humbly) before the "Big kids" and they will ask me questions.

Because I did my home work, tested my site, (and even got paid for it!) I'll be able to answer said questions with positive answers... and therefore be welcomed into the bright and sunny world of Internet Marketing with open arms and a freshly waxed lexus.

Am I on track here? Because it's working beautifully and I'd hate to think I was screwed up!

But seriously, is this the way things swing?

[charleskirkland]

Jonny

Well you are half way there. But you are missing something very important.

RELATIONSHIPS

If you start building relationships now then when your product is ready you will have a much better time getting JV's.

Charles Kirkland

[J.Andrews]

Of course! But since I'm a nice guy I figured that would come through in my fantastic posts. ;D

And I'm taking a shot in the dark... but relationships seem to be a bit easier to come by if there are some happy numbers behind them.

[charleskirkland]

You are right.

[David Fransko]

Charles,

Regarding building relationships, how many of the bigger name marketers would you suggest we attempt to build a relationship with at first?

1? 5? 10?

And what is more important - building that relationship solely or proving to them that you can sell a lot of their product?

Obviously, many successful product owners got the "in" with the bigger names because they were top affiliates.

[J.Andrews]

You know, it seems mostly there's no real right way to do this. (There are wrong ways!)

What I've done is write out a plan based on a large swath of other peoples experiences. The nice part is regardless of high-powered JV's I'm:

#1: Still getting paid
#2: Making some fantastic connections
#3: Getting solid testimonials
#4: Testing my page
#5: Getting suggestions for my next product

I've always been a huge fan of the mentality "walk like you don't need help". Not that I wouldn't flip at the opportunity to have some huge marketer promo my stuff, but at the same time, if they decide not to I'm still making a good living "testing".

The other thing I've noticed is how the fundamentals always stay the same:

#1: Provide quality and a personality people want to relate with
#2: Don't force anyone into anything (aka don't sell)
#3: Be respectful
#4: Take action constantly
#5: Follow through

Every time I deviate from 1 of those things something blows up in my face. Now, I have friends and I've worked with lots of people who have never followed those rules, but for me... yea, they're more than just a guide book.

I think as long as it's a mutually beneficial arrangement then everyone wins.

Try to create a strong product that will be a benefit to that persons list. They then will make a boat load of cash promoting it. There's really no downside!

My favorite read was something in The Affiliates Den where Chris talks about how if you have a page that converts the JV's will find you.

You'd think that would be the case. After all, this is a massive business. Who wouldn't want to jump on something that's selling?

As for contacting these people and becoming their friends... I have no idea how to do that. It's not genuine. They know it and I'd know it... I'm hitting them up to suck off their list.

Why not just call it what it is, have everyone play nice and at the end of the day go out for a beer after cutting checks? That seemed to work in the Mortgage industry! Why not here?

So what exactly are these big guys looking for?

There are always the Big 3:
#1: Complete sales system (emails, links videos etc...)
#2: Solid sales letter
#3: Quality product

This is exactly like the music industry. Major labels are all looking for bands with their own sound, their own look, who have done 110% of the leg work for them.

So please tell me if I'm off base here, but it looks like the world becomes all green lights if you bring a product to the table people want with a sales process that converts?

If what you have will benefit the JV's list... they'll bite... if it not... you move on.

Quality Sales + Value+ Numbers Game = Solid outcome.

Am I getting warm?

[Sam Sterling]

Hey,

It's not necessarily a fool's errand to go after JV's the direct way when you're just starting out.

If you really wanted a JV with a particular marketer, you could see what they were selling, write a 10-20 page PDF eBook that complements and OFFERS VALUE to their list, and ask them if they would be interested in offering it to their list. A lot of marketers are actually looking for content to offer to their list... you could be their source!

You could put a short blurb about your site at the end of the report (with your partner's affiliate link), and if people like it, they'll visit your site and hopefully buy.

Your JV partner would really appreciate that and be willing to work with you again.

Hope that helps,

Sam

[Dee Monty]

It can be difficult, but everyone has to start somewhere.
Not everyone is extrovert, many webmasters are often quite solitary by nature-shy even.
Many don't want/like the idea of their 'name in lights all across the net either' and prefer to stay under the radar. Doesn't make their products any less worthy or of less value because of their connections.

Remember the guys who developed Trivial Persuits (the board game). They went to every bank and joint venture broker they could find and everyone knocked them back. In the end they mortgaged their houses/sold their cars and well- eventually laughed all the way to the bank- so don't get discouraged. Keep building your lists and make friends with good people- who you may want to JV with later on.

If you have a good product, try approaching a few people, what's the worst they can do? Just be polite and respectful- they can allways ignore you if they aren't interested. I certainly don't turn a JV away just because I don't know the person who produced a product yet.
I'm sure a lot do- but we are all differen't.
You only need a few good JV Partners to get you going and you can keep your pool of JV's small too if that suits you better. Although some marketing super stars, of course have bigger lists- it can pay off to chance a JV with a less well known person - they may well do more promotion and put more effort in producing great results for both of you.

Sometimes it can be a case of quality not quantity- so don't sweat the numbers. Keep going:)
Thats my view- may not be everyone's....

[Hendry Lee]

I can certainly relate to this post.

I'm in the process of finishing my first product too. Thanks for sharing this. I really appreciate it.

Jonny, your idea about getting a few people to test the product is exactly the tactic I want to use. But one thing I'm not very clear is that:

- You offer some beta testers access to your product...

then what? There seems to be a missing link there before you said that
"With this data I am now able to say my page converts very well, and people are excited to pick up my stuff."

Please shed some light on what steps you take so you can optimize your landing page, sales process, etc. Thanks!

[stiqan]

Hey, yeah.. Instant messenger is the single best tactic IMO to build a relationship.

Show them some knowledge and also give them a copy of your e-book a few stats, testimonials and show a video of proof and some people will be glad to promote your stuff. That's MY experience, since I started with "nothing" and it's going pretty well so far =)

- Chris

[J.Andrews]

Hendry,

Sorry to take so long getting back to you, I've been writing like an insane person!

What I meant when I said something about the data was that I'm offering my product at a deep discount PROVIDED they give some feedback. I don't care if it's positive or negative. I just want feedback.

On top of it I'm now able to say that from pre-sold traffic my page converts at 35%. It converts at 10% if you look at what happens from the forum through the final sales process.

I also know people want me to talk more about how TGA will work with small business owners as well as Affiliates.

After about 2 weeks of testing and conversations with buyers here's the bottom line:

1: I am now ready to launch
2: My page converts very, very well
3: What I offer is truly of value to a massive group of people
4: I have already been approached by JV partners
5: I know where the product needs to go to benefit even more people
6: I made a lot of money testing.
7: I got more testimonials

Even the few people who didn't like it had valuable feedback. In fact, I had a total of 2 returns, and both of those I turned into raving fans because I included them in the development process.

I wanted to know what about TGA made them want to return it. They told me, I asked them if I could use them as a test subject and have their website and progress detailed in a video...

They said yes, and all of them decided to keep the product.

In fact, that's the next book I'm going to write: How to turn Hate Into Love and Make Money Doing it!

Now I have 2 more videos to offer my launch clients.

But what was even more valuable is the return requests were not for things which I didn't cover. In fact, what I learned was I needed to make a headline in my book a bit bigger and they would have seen exactly what they wanted to know. (Some things are so very odd)

Being this is my first launch I can't say for sure I'm doing it the best way. However... I can say it worked, my goals were met, I made money and I am confident about letting the "Big Kids" see it.

I guess we'll see what we see!