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Making Joint Venture Approaches That Count

by Robin Porter

Joint ventures are a great way to build a business online, and are widely recommended by many marketing gurus. However, the major drawback is the abundance of JV offers made. Consequently most go ignored for the sake of a well-written e-mail.

I've had a decent success rate with the limited amount of JV's I've proposed. Conversely, I get many JV approaches, most of which go unanswered because the sender made some elementary mistakes. So, to ensure you get a foot in the door, there are a few things you should do when making JV approaches.

- Be clear. State your proposal, and what the other party will get from the venture.

- Ensure that spelling & grammar are correct. Would you bother going into business with someone who can barely string a sentence together?

- Inspire professionalism & trust. These are key principles of a successful joint venture.

- Be specific. Put forward detailed plans & ideas, not vague "can we work together somehow" pleas.

- Make it personal. You must avoid making it look like a mass e-mail, so use the prospects name, mention their website, etc.

- Include as much info about yourself as possible. A brief overview of your company or organisation, your activities, website URL etc, is necessary.

- Write your approach like a sales letter. After all, you are in effect SELLING yourself to your prospect. Convince him that this is a good mutual opportunity that he must not pass over. Sell the benefits to him, grab their interest & make them a "killer offer".

- Make it clear how you will benefit from the arrangement, as well as how they will. People are naturally suspicious of JV proposals where it looks as if the other party does not benefit, or covers it up. Be straight & upfront, and you will be respected for it.

Joint ventures are a powerful, widely used tool. However, successful webmasters & entrepreneurs get many proposals, so it is therefore vital that you make yours stand out as being irresistible.

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