A Question about Partner "Credibility" for Joint Ventures?

[Ryan Matthews]

Hello all.

I'm new here and I want to jump right in by asking a question.

I've read on the forum that one of the most important factors to get a JV partner to work with you is Credibility.

Here's my question.

What if you do have a high quality product; you are new to the JV industry; Your sales copy has been tested; you have everything in place........then what is the chances of a JV partner/s will work with you if he or she does not know you at all?

I'm currently in a somewhat similar situation.

Have anyone been in a situation like this and have made a success of it?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Kind regards,
Ryan

[J.Andrews]

I'm new here also, in fact I had a potential JVP tell me about this place and ask that I start making noise!

The way I've pulled in a bit of credibility is by making videos showing what my tactics are.

From what I'm reading you can also ask people to test your product out. You offer it in a prelaunch format, they buy for $7 or something, play with it and give some feedback and/or a testimonial.

Check around for a thread, I saw it last night and it said something about $10 to list the product. Pretty good idea.

This whole JV thing is pretty much like the music industry, you come in, pay your dues, some people like you some don't... but if at the end of the day you have a hot new product... you'll get the nods form Epic and Island.

As in all things, just keep pushing until stuff pops for you.

[Chris Douthit]

Getting JV partners is not an easy task. I get JV offers all the time asking me if I will promote their product, informing me that they will split the profits with me 50/50. The fact is 50/50 is industry standard, that’s not much of an incentive for me when I can promote any product and get that.

I ask them why you?

The most important thing is that the product is a quality product. If I read an ebook or use some software that I like, I will probably promote it to my list. Not because I care about the owner of the product, although starting a JV relationship with him/her is a nice little side bonus, but because I think my list will appreciate the good info.

I sometimes also do deals where I promote someone’s product to my list in exchange for them promoting mine to theirs, but their still needs to be a level of quality you have to sick by. Don’t ever make a deal like this if their product sucks, it will hurt you in the long run. I have also been doing less and less of these as time goes on.

In a nutshell if you really want to acquire some JVs contact potential partners that already have good products. Introduce yourself, complement them on their product and inform them that you wish to promote it to your list. If you are personable and do a good job promoting their product; a couple of months down the road you may want to send them a copy your product and get their opinion. If it’s a quality product they may return the favor.

[charleskirkland]

Chris

People need to print out what you have said and use it. You just gave them a road map to success.

Thanks
Charles

[Hollis Carter]

I feel that 50/50 is the standard rate for JV promotions, but I believe that when someone is doing their first launch or working with someone for the first time this is not antiquate.

Until you have proven yourself and your product, list, service, software ext. you need to realize that the list owner is the gate keeper and should receive a higher percentage of the sale than the producer, because they are increasing their risk by working with you and need to be compensated for the higher level of risk. (high risk - high return)

This will show the JV partner that 1- you have faith in your product 2- you understand the position of the list owner 3- you intend to develop a long-term relationship, because you are not looking for a quick buck from their resources

It comes down to the fact that the list owner needs to understand what your intentions are and trust you.

A high commission is not the only way to do this, producers also need to go the extra mile to facilitate the deal and make a "Yes": as easy as possible. (provide marketing materials, samples, follow up follow up...).

Hollis Carter

[Chris Douthit]

I don’t think 50/50 is a fair split in most cases. On all my products I give anywhere between 55-75% to affiliates, depending on the product. Your right, the guy who has the list needs some incentive to pick you.

Plus, affiliates without lists probably have to pay for adverting, like AdWords or other means. A little extra compensation because they are incurring an out of pocket expense for adverting your product. I would suspect this is also fair.

[affiliaterockstarx]

I have to agree, with these comments.

Quality is the most important and a commission of 60% or higher.

A good way to make contacts is to get involved in all the launches and send an email to the product vendor mentioning your up coming project and ask if you could you contact them in the future to review it for you.

If your product is of good quality they will consider it.

Once you have a few people confirmed in your future emails or letters say "big name marketer" has expressed interest in promoting it and would you be interested as well.

Also hire a website designer and a professional copywriter, no one wants to send their list to an amateur looking site.

Join these launches and take notes.

Charles Kirkland who replied earlier is running a great pre-launch he even mailed out post cards.

Just take notes from his campaign: free videos, well written emails, a great sales letter, great communication with his affiliates.

It is a very professional campaign.

Also don't wait till the last minute to contact people.

Get in touch with people months in advance and really connect with people. Offer to help them out with something and by doing them a favor you will in act the law of reciprocity.

Act like a headliner not the opening act.

Hope this was helpful.

Craig Beckta

[Hollis Carter]

Nice points, hit the nail on the head.

One thing I wanted to add, because I have been recently going through this due to having a tight deadline and budget for this upcoming launch.

In order to have a professional launch and get the right JV's you need to do things like:

direct mail
personal videos
updated JVblogs
good buzz builders
outsourced copy, graphics, website...
and much more.

But I when someone is doing their big launch and is most likely low on fund and in many cases time (like myself have a deadline).
I feel you need to set the proper budget (time & money).

Obviously the number 1 concern is a high QUALITY PRODUCT (without this there is just no point).

It needs to be prioritized between the needs of the customers and JV's to find the perfect blend for success.

Some example questions that often occur:

• Would it be more efficient spending my time today interviewing some extra experts for my product or do I really need to start prospecting for some more JV's?
  
  When is my product and marketing system good enough to show JV's?
  
  Is outsourcing graphics worth the money I could spend on direct mail(gifts) for my big name JV's?
  
  Should I heir a JV Broker and spend more time on my product or do it all myself and outsource my copy?
  
  Is this going to big enough for a big JV contest?

Budgets would have to include:

Money

Camera (HD?)
Lighting
Audio
Software
Outsourcing
Networking
JV's (broker, gifts, postcards...)
Servers/hosting/domains
Scrips
Merchant accounts

Time

Prospecting JV's
Marketing (traffic Generation)
Product creation
Buzz building

The lists could go on forever.

Hollis Carter

[Chris Douthit]

All good ideas, this is really one of the better threads I have seen.

Charles, I noticed you have prizes for your launch. I was also considering putting some pretty proper prizes on the line for my next launch which will be in a couple of months. I would really like to hear how that goes.

[charleskirkland]

Chris

Take a peek at the prizes here

http://seocodebreaker.com/jvblog/


I will let you know it goes. Only a few days left.

Thanks
Charles Kirkland