Affiliate marketing is an increasingly popular method for all kinds of businesses to reach new audiences and grow their brands, and Joint Venture (JV) partnerships are an easy way to expedite this growth. Here we’re covering the basics of JV partnerships, the benefits, best practices, and common challenges associated with this form of collaboration.

What Is The Difference Between JV Partnerships and Affiliates?

There is a subtle but distinct difference between JV partnerships and affiliates. An affiliate sends traffic one way, typically from their list to your offer, and you pay them based on the results. But a JV partnership is a two-way flow of mutually beneficial traffic, which may also be compensated via a commission from either side based on the list size difference. 

What Is A Joint Venture Partnership In Affiliate Marketing?

While a joint venture partnership has different meanings in the business world, in the case of an affiliate relationship, a Joint Venture or JV partnership is an arrangement where two people or companies with similar client lists team up to promote each other’s offers. 

Examples of JV Partnerships

JV Partnership and Email Marketing

One of the most common examples of a JV Partnership is one where you send clicks/traffic to a partner’s offer in exchange for them sending the same amount of clicks/traffic back to your offer. This is also known as a reciprocal or “recips” in the affiliate world. This strategy can be a great way to get more eyes on your offer and benefit a partner in return. 

JV Partnership and Content Creation

While email marketing is the most common exchange between affiliates, a JV Partnership can also be built around creating an offer or content together. For example, an fitness influencer and a brand selling supplements could team up and create an ebook together. The ebook can be filled with offers to promote both partners and link to those offers. Both partners would then promote the ebook on their platforms. 

JV Partnership, Lifestreams, and Podcasts

Sometimes JV Partnerships look like two influencers trading off being on each other’s platform and promoting their offer. Examples of this include: being on each other’s podcasts, live streams, webinars, or any other promotional platform. This partnership is advantageous when both partners are influencers or have mutually beneficial expertise. 

JV Partnership and Revenue Sharing

When JV Partners come together to create something new, they don’t always send separate offers but instead work together to create a joint offer. That can look like bundling products, selling a course together, etc. In some cases, the right partnership for them is a revenue-sharing model, where partners split the profits of their collaboration.

Creating An Affiliate Marketing JV Partnership

Identifying Potential JV Partners

One way to locate a compatible JV partner is by researching other businesses in the industry and looking for companies with brands and audiences that complement your own.

For example, if you’re selling health supplements to women 45 and up, a potential partner may be someone marketing to women 40 (or 50) and up who are working on improving their fitness, diet, or even their relationships.

Negotiating JV Terms and Conditions

Once you have identified a potential JV partner, it’s time to negotiate the terms and conditions of the partnership. This includes determining the objectives and goals of the partnership, as well as expectations for each partner. For example, will you send 30,000 clicks in return for 30,000 clicks to your offer? Be sure to clearly outline the arrangement in your partnership agreement. You’ll be glad you did!

Sharing Resources And Assets For Lead Generation

In some JV partnerships, partners collaborate on cross-promotion, lead generation, webinars, podcasts, and other advertising platforms. For example, one partner might have a team of writers who assist with the creation of an ebook, and another partner has a platform with a huge online following for a live stream. Again, be clear in the agreement on how these resources will be leveraged within the partnership.

Setting Objectives, KPIs & Goals

Clear objectives, KPIs, and goals are crucial components of a successful partnership. This includes determining what each partner wants to achieve through the partnership and setting performance metrics to measure success. Clear objectives and goals ensure everyone is working towards the same result. Determine exactly how each partner will track results and what will happen if targets are not met. As daunting as it sounds, it is important to discuss exit strategies upfront, even as your joint venture is just starting. Your partnership has the best chance of success when everyone is on the same page from start to finish. 

Troubleshooting JV Partnerships

In a perfect world, all JV partners hit their goals, KPIs, and expectations. But sometimes, that doesn’t happen. So, in addition to having clear expectations, you’ll need a plan to rebalance the partnership if one side isn’t hitting its numbers. Being clear on what you’ll do in advance of anything actually going wrong is important in building and maintaining a good JV Partnership. 

Measuring Success and Making Adjustments

After the JV partnership is up and running, keep tracking your performance metrics (such as clicks conversion rates and revenue), troubleshooting your offer and funnel conversion, updating swipe copy, and making all other necessary tweaks to continually improve your offer performance. 

A Rising Tide Raises All Ships

Though affiliate marketing may seem simple (and in some ways it is), a wealth of knowledge is needed in order to really make your business a success and for sales to start climbing. All affiliate marketers have those pivotal lightbulb moments, things they wish they knew sooner. And no matter how big or small, another thing that all affiliate marketers have is a network. The Affiliate Mastermind Community – Traffic Tribe brings everyone’s knowledge and resources together in one handy spot.

When you join Traffic Tribe, you’re tapping into a network of 230+ companies that are all sending each other traffic, introducing each other to new partners and influencers, and growing their businesses together. It’s the cheapest and fastest way to meet new vetted, reliable JV partners every single month, grow your knowledge base of top marketing strategies and make some major headway on your affiliate marketing goals.

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You’ll get 15 lessons and 7 actionable tools designed to meet you at any level (beginner, intermediate and advanced) and help you build a steady affiliate revenue coming month after month, year after year! 

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