Long-term, podcasting is a big plus. It will expand your agency’s “online foot-print” through this rapidly growing format. There is a huge potential for your agency if approached from the right perspective. It must be led by “benefits” to your target audience, not the capabilities of your agency.

Originally posted here:
The Next Big Wave, Podcasting For Agency New Business

When Ben Relles created Barely Political and hired Amber Lee Ettinger to play the role of Obama Girl, it was little more than a fun little one-off which no one thought would become the sort of cultural icon it did.

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Obama Girl Could Take the White House

Sometimes you can’t do everything yourself. You don’t have the budget to launch a big marketing campaign. Or you don’t even know where to start. One of the best ways to promote your website or business is to work together with others to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

The legal form of this is known as a joint venture, where two or more parties create a new entity by contributing equity and sharing revenue, expenses and control. Another form of collaboration is known as a strategic alliance, whereby the parties involved pursue common goals while remaining as independent organizations.

No matter what you call it, collaboration with others will benefit you in ways that go beyond what you can do on your own. Think about it. Each involved party comes with their own established audience, reputation, brand, networks and strengths. Some of them may overlap with your own but usually, they’ll reach people or own assets you don’t.

Some people may have more media contacts. Some may have a specific skill (e.g. design, programing) and others have an audience or customer base that you’re trying to reach. Partnering with them for short or long-term initiatives is a smart way to promote your business, on top of all the online marketing that you’re already doing.

How can you collaborate? The possibilities are endless. For example, you can run joint contests/competitions, set up incentivized referral networks, promote a co-op web product, create content together, exchange ad space or trade skills for exposure. There are many ways to collaborate for mutual benefits. It’s just about finding what works for you.

So how do you get started? Four simple steps:

1. Identify your goals. This is what you want to get out of the collaboration. Your goals will determine who you should work with and having a clear idea of what you want from the beginning will give you an immediate idea of what kind of marketing strategy you want to take, and hence who is most suitable for you.




2. Determine what you can offer. Make a list of benefits you can offer to the opposite party. For example you might have specific personal skills or a website with a built-in audience. Perhaps you’re launching a new product and give away free samples of it away. In other words, this list consists of what you can do for the other parties.




3. Create a List of Potential Collaborators. Start writing down a list of people you want to work with based on your goals, what you can offer and who you think will be potentially interested. Make the list broad: there’ll always be people who’ll turn you down so you want as many secondary options as possible.




4. Pitch the people involved. Draft up an email template and send it off to the people on your list. Try to customize your pitch by using each recipient’s name and including unique information/comments. Keep the emails short and frame them in terms of benefits. Alternatively, try pitching over the phone or a face-to-face meeting. Remember to follow up before permanently striking a recipient off from your collaborators list.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There’s no harm in reaching out to people, all you have to risk is your pride. When it comes to partnerships, you’ll be surprised with the people who will be interested in working together. Don’t automatically write yourself off, especially you have something valuable to offer to another party.

If you’ve never tried any strategic collaborations before, why not start today?

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Strategic Collaborations: A Powerful Way to Promote Yourself

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Strategic Collaborations: A Powerful Way to Promote Yourself

Today’s Picks rock! That’s all the introduction they need.

• You asked for it and, 30+ months later, Techmeme finally delivers a search tool.
• Is PageRank sculpting–via nofollow–real or rumor? Myself and others weigh-in.
• You can now read Google News as a layer in Google Earth.
• Did Senator Barack Obama use online ads to help win the nomination in North Carolina’s primary?
• Yahoo builds the world’s first “petabyte” SQL database.
• “We are not bidding to buy Yahoo,” says Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. Confirming the company is just interested in a small chunk (likely search) of the company.
• I hope someday you get to meet Kimberlie Dykeman in person. I did, and it was the best interview I’ve ever participated in. The next best thing, buying her new book Pure Soapbox.

Pilgrim’s Partners: - Launch RSS, SMS, video, podcasts, widgets, email campaigns – in one application. Check out Shoutlet

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There’s a lot that goes into a good company image. I once went into an interview with a small company. The building I entered was almost entirely void of pictures, had hardly any furniture.

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Be Aware Of Your Image