We've all seen those big guru launches. They all have redonkulous JV prizes, with the top 10 JVs getting Porsches, skydiving lessons, exotic vacation packages, etc. Every time those contests happen, you always end up recognizing everybody on the leaderboard. That's great for the product owner, but not that great for the vast majority of JV partners.
The point of a JV contest is to encourage JV partners to promote. Most people don't have giant lists - in fact, many JV partners won't have lists at all, so they'll try to promote through organic or paid search.
When you have prizes for the top 10 JV partners, you're really only creating a competition for the top 20 or so people. Let's face it, the rest of them don't stand a chance at winning anything and they'll feel left out. On one hand, you'll be making the top 10 JVs really happy and maybe even the top 20-something happy because they all made a good chunk of change. On the other hand, by having a more inclusive JV contest, you'll be making anyone who puts in effort happy.
Let me go off on a little tangent for a second to talk about something which makes me laugh (but it's also a little sad). Once in a while, I'll see some very inexperienced IMers wanting to launch their $27 ebook in the IM space. They decide that the right thing to do for their product is to do a big JV launch, so they create a "massive" JV contest and post a JV request somewhere claiming that "This will be huge!" Upon clicking through to their JV invite page, here's what we see:
Example 1)
100 sales: An extra $100
200 sales: An extra $200
300 sales: An extra $300
(not kidding...I saw something like this)
Example 2)
1st, 2nd, 3rd place: reciprocal mailing
Man...I could go on about this, but I won't. Let's keep the rant short, shall we? Why should I bust my ass trying to make so many sales of a product that is probably not groundbreaking only to get a bonus of $100? Why would such a pathetic incentive make me want to promote your product? Unless your list is big and responsive, why would I care about a reciprocal mailing to your list?
Guys and gals: don't be greedy. Many of the gurus we all know built their businesses through successful partnerships and business relationships. Hell, I know a lot of them that have nothing going for them except their big lists and million-dollar rolodexes. Make your JV contests friendlier by offering milestone incentives, daily contests...or get creative. And don't just get creative with the structure of your JV contest - get creative with the prizes too. You can't go wrong with generous cash prizes, but think of some fun and desirable prizes that you could give away for everyone who makes 5 sales, 10 sales, etc. Remember, not everyone wants (or likes) Apple products :P
Curtis
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Originally Posted by Brandon Fredrickson
