When two trumps one: blogging, writing & social media partnerships
I’ve suddenly found myself elbow-to-elbow deep in a series of partnerships. I’m co-authoring an ebook with Ron Miller, tech writer extraordinaire, about authentical and personal branding; I’m writing a post with Ari Herzog, political and social media moven (I’m hoping that’s the male form of ‘maven’) that might have some bad words in it; I’m crafting a post with Michelle Minch and Lisa Heindel, two fabulous women that reign supreme in the world of home staging/interior design and real estate, respectively; and, I’m developing a series of webinars called Cookie Coaching with J.S. Perkins, a life coach, and Carol McManus, a chef/baker/entrepreneur.
I couldn’t begin to decide which one of these partnerships I’m most excited about. Some I went after, some just happened, some – I’m sure – were caused by divine intervention, some came after me. But, I can tell you that partnerships carry a load of benefits – no matter what your industry:
- Exposure. When each of these projects is unveiled, I’ll announce them to my networks…and my partner(s) will be announcing the projects and me to their networks.
- Learning. These are smart people that know so much that I don’t know – about their industries, the way they operate in the world and the world itself.
- Enjoyment. Seriously, I’ve gone out of my way to pick interesting, hilarious and/or colorful people to work with.
- Diversity. You all know that I love, love, love my job. But, how great is it to do something just a little bit different every once in awhile. Partnering involves brainstorming sessions that involve more than just my brain and new ways of getting the job done because we all have to compromise a bit on our habitual MO’s.
- Professional Growth. Because I’m learning, stretching and collaborating, I’m broadening the scope of what I know and what I’m capable of doing. Not to mention the venues that I’m doing the work in…
- Relationships. Some of these people I knew previously, but these relationships are deepening as we work closely on our projects – and share the thrill of creation, publishing and, soon, external response.
- More opportunity. I’ve yet to take even one single step in my business – that felt good, positive and productive – that didn’t lead to a new and exciting opportunity.
If you’re thinking about embarking on a partnership, here are some things to consider:
- Combine industries, topics and personalities that are unexpected: like aardvarks and pesto.
- Offer differing perspectives to reach a wider group of people.
- Introduce unique ideas that only your specific partnership could create.
- Seek out people that you want to work with and that have an audience you would like to reach.
- Don’t show up empty handed. If you’re approaching someone else, come with your ideas ready.
- Be flexible. The basis of any partnership is collaboration. As you discuss your plans for the project, you’re going to have to give a little. (Even if it was your original idea, see #5 above).
- Communicate honestly. If something isn’t working for you, say so and do it respectfully. Come at it with the intention of solving a problem together…I bet you’ll end up learning a lot. And, I can’t think of a darn thing that was made better by silence and the harboring of ill will.
Do you use partnerships in your business? How? Why? Can’t wait to hear…
Filed under Blogging, How To, Marketing, Networking, Social Media, The Business | Tags: blog, Blogging, joint venture partnerships, Julie Roads, Marketing, Networking, partnerships, social media, social networking, webinars, Writing, Writing Roads | Comments (15)How can I drive traffic to my website?
1. Blogs. Static websites don’t drive much traffic. Search engines are ranking sites by relevancy – they want to know if you know what you’re talking about, and if anyone cares what you’re talking about. If your site is about dogs, write about everything dogs (dog food, dog health, dog toys, dog breeds, etc.) and talk about what is happening in the dog world now. Blogs offer a productive solution – you are constantly adding content to your site (sending the search engines to visit you again and again) and you can add realtime content to your site.
2. Joint Venture Partnerships. Look around. Who else is selling to your market? One of my clients that I blog for owns a very hip mommy-gear store selling cool highchairs, crib blankets, slings and the like. When we start to look around we see that there is a world of store sites selling to our customers, but not selling our products! Natural baby toys, designer nursing clothes, organic baby food…these sites are all tangent to my client’s site. The beauty of the JVP is that you create a relationship with these other stores; then, you tell your list about your JVP’s store site. You offer your list value and you’ve just been permission marketed to the hilt by your JVP.
3. Keyworded Copy. Some of you have heard this story before. My research showed that in one month, 248 people searched for ‘copywriting for direct mail’ and 10.755 people searched for ‘direct mail copywriting’. Why wouldn’t you use this research to drive these people to your site? I know it is a bit creepy, digging into the minds of internet users everywhere, but it is useful – you are creating a resource based on what your customers are actually looking for. Really, it’s plain old marketing research – just a la SEO. Just make sure that the keyword research comes from a reliable source and that the keywords are strategically placed throughout your site and not dumped in like hay in a stable. Your site must also have VEO (optimization for the visitor) which means that it must be readable – to people. And, yes, using the keywords skillfully in your copy is… a skill! But success is possible at beginner, intermediate and professional levels.
Filed under How To | Tags: blogs, joint venture partnerships, keywords, search engines, SEO, web copy, web traffic | Comment (0)
