How to choose the right collaboration partners for your business

Want to increase the size of your tribe? What about creating more loyalty with your followers? Do you feel like you have a lot to give? Then it’s collaboration time, baby!

Collaboration can help you grow your brand and add value to your audience, but the first and most important steps are choosing the right projects and finding good partners.

Having learned this lesson the hard way, we can tell you that not every project that comes up is going to be a natural fit for your business – and not every person who reaches out to you will become a good collaboration partner. The reverse is also true: you have to be a good fit for other business owners as well for them to want to work with you.

Here are a few questions to ask when looking for your next big collaboration project:

 

• Is the project a good fit with your goals? Think about the questions your audience may have that you can’t answer on your own. Then bring in an expert who’s got the answers.

 

• Is it a good fit with your audience? Decide if the project and the partner you’re considering are something your audience would be interested in.

 

• Have you done a “voice check”? Here’s what we mean by that – have you found a collaboration partner who makes your audience feel the same way as you do? If your voice is “professional and well-spoken” make sure your collaboration partner’s is too. If your voice is “laid back and fun”, find a collaboration partner who matches that. Your audience is comfortable with your style, so give them another person that they can relate to.

 

• Do you have the resources? Do you have the time, money, and expertise to provide value to your collaboration partner? Are they bringing resources to the table too? Make sure the relationship isn’t lop-sided.

 

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve realized that collaboration projects really aren’t about you at all. And they aren’t about your collaboration partner either. It’s all about the audience and the project is just a way to provide more value to them.

Just One Thing
Who is someone you’d like to collaborate with? Put a few people through the test above and then choose just one person to reach out to and propose a collaboration project.

We want to learn from you! Share your comments below with your personal tips for creating value for your audience through partnerships.

If you’re looking for more hands-on tools for building your business through collaboration, check out Catalyst! This program will help you create meaningful collaboration projects to help your business grow.