How To Connect With Potential Collaboration Partners

summit speakers Jul 03, 2019

Collaborations are a great and powerful way to grow your business quickly. You can connect with fellow industry experts and expand your reach online.

They provide your followers and others with social proof since you’re being introduced to your collab partner’s audience by a trusted source. A huge bonus is positioning yourself in front of a new audience without having to spend money on ads. Save that boosted Instagram post for another day.

These partnerships are also extremely flexible. There are no set rules or regulations as to what you can and can’t do with your collaboration. The possibilities are endless. You can swap guest blog posts, IG story takeovers, guest newsletters, podcast interviews, joint webinars, speaking at events, casual shout-outs, or create a product or service together. The key is to find an option that is a fit for both parties.

For many out there, the biggest struggle with collaborations is finding people to connect with! Today we’ll go over the best ways to connect with potential collaboration partners.

Join a free or paid community

When it comes to well-cultivated communities, you can be confident that people in these groups value their business and other businesses. They’re a great place to look for collaboration partners. The main benefit of searching in a free community is the fact that the group was free to join, but within a paid community, you generally find more dedicated, active, and close-knit members.

Here are some of my favorite communities out there for you to check out:

The Collaboration Catalyst

Fueled With Heart

Start a conversation on social media

Social media is the perfect place to build relationships quickly, and it doesn’t take a lot to get a conversation started. It’s as simple as responding to an Instagram story or commenting on a post on your go-to platform. As you continue connecting online and start having more extended conversations, you can take it to a coffee chat (coming up in our next tip) and dive right into a collaboration.

Schedule a coffee chat

Coffee chats are my favorite way to connect with other business owners. Think of it like going to a coffee shop and having a casual conversation with a friend. Minus the getting in the car and going to a coffee shop part. You can start the conversation by talking about life, how they started their business, and how you can support them. This conversation is meant to connect, not to pitch products or services. If the conversation goes well, you can bring up the opportunity for collaboration.

Have a friend make an introduction

If you have a mutual friend with someone you want to connect with, ask them to make an introduction. From there, you can chat on social media, email, or hop on a coffee chat. Your mutual connection is a great way to start the conversation, as well.

Share their content

If you want to dive right in, you can find a great piece of content that the person you want to collaborate with has created. Look through their blog posts, podcast episodes, or even Instagram posts. You can share the content with your audience along with why you appreciate or resonate with what you have shared from them. This can create a powerful first impression of the potential collaboration connection and provides a great way to start the conversation.

Take it to the next level

After you’ve used one or more of the above methods to make a connection, it’s time to take it to the next level! Either decide together a way to collaborate or propose an idea or two of your own that they may be interested in doing. My favorite type of collaboration is online summits! Whether I’m hosting my own and collaborating by bringing in speakers or being the speaker at someone else’s summit. I’ve always gotten the best results with people I’ve already connected with in one way or another.

Take a look at previous DMs on Instagram or scan over your inbox for some great initial options for collaborations. Can’t wait to see what you create and collaborate!