What is a Joint Venture? simply put it is a partnership between 2 or more businesses, which benefits all parties. Joint Ventures is one of the most profitable forms of marketing and most of the time it costs very little or is completely free.

We hear a lot about this method of marketing and how much money people are making, but how can the little business person (you and me) make money with Joint Ventures? Not only the big gurus can make money with this type of marketing, but small people with no lists, can make money as well. Here are a few ways:

Business help business. This is a classic business partnership for example: A business has a great product but does not know how to market it. You have the marketing expertise but no product. You would joint venture with them to sell their products for a commission. This is joint venturing in its simplest form, no need for big lists or even a website. it is a win win situation for both parties. Being an affiliate is another way to use this form of JV although you would need to harness the power of website promotion eventually to make affiliate marketing succeed.

Finders fees can also be classed as a type of joint venture. The most common example being, you help businesses to find clients and they pay you a commission. This can be a very lucrative way to build a business. Home based business recruiting, finding employees for businesses is another way to do this type of JV.

Joint Venturing partnerships. Trading services is a common and cheap way to joint venture. Some of the best Joint Ventures are done this way, an example is when you need a service like web designing and your partner could do with some ad copy. You can trade services. This will not make either of you money initially, but will help both of you grow your businesses and make money in the long run. Smart businesses always look for long term gain.

The art of Joint Venturing lies in the sort of offer you make to your partner. Your offer must be different, an offer that a partner cannot refuse.

In order to make an irresistible offer, you will need to give your prospective partner something that they will have difficulty in refusing. Be original; offer your partner a share for marketing a great product. Give them something that is of genuine value to them. Include something that will benefit their subscribers, (if they are publishers), or visitors, throw in a free useful bonus and you have the making of an irresistible offer. The best type of offer will be tipped in the favor of your prospective partner, remember you can afford an initial loss because ultimately you will have long term gain. The best JVs are planned this way. Let me explain by a common example.

You are a small publisher with a little list or maybe no list and you want to sell your hot product to a large list owner. You know that the editor will have many propositions coming at him on a daily basis so your JV offer must stand out and be irresistible. As mentioned above you would put together an offer, nicely tipped in his favor and you might even take an immediate loss, but as the sales come in it will be worth it.

This type of JV can be used as a short-term and long term business proposition, getting others to market your product for you. You will be making some money on a short term basis, with the immediate sales you will make.

However your sales will not just be short term profit, those same customers will become your customer list and you will continue to gain with back end offers and introducing new products/services to them. People who have bought from you in the past have trust in you and will be more willing to buy other related products and services from you. They will also be interested in new products especially if you offer them special exclusive customer discounts and savings. This will increase their loyalty to you as they will feel special.

Conclusion: As you can see small businesses can take advantage of partnering with larger businesses and create profits for both of you. The best type of JVs are those that will bring long term as well as short term profit. JVs are not just for the “big boys” the small businesses can also profit well and make big money. Just because you are a small business does not bar you from making money. you just have to know how and explore opportunities.

Article written by Cathy Q