Written by Samantha Royer: Founder of She Is Bold, Marketing Strategist, mentor,  mama X3.

You know, those fun opportunities where you see friends supporting friends on the ‘gram featuring each other or co-hosting Facebook lives?? That’s what I’m talking about: Collaborations. And today I want to answer some of your questions about collaborations and show you how to use them to grow your audience.

Questions like:

“How are people even getting these gigs?”

“What the heck would I even say to pitch someone (or what if they ask me??)”

“And do they really do anything besides make you look cool??”

(Plus a couple other must-have tips to make a collaboration successful.)

I want to share some of my very own ways I’ve been working with some new #Instafriends with collaborations because I want you to have the same growth, engagement, support, AND dollar bills that come along from this super cool opportunity. So without further ado…

HERE ARE 6 COLLABORATION IDEAS FOR YOU TO TRY:

1) EMAIL YOUR LIST ON THEIR BEHALF
Yes, even if you don’t have a large list! Nothing is more direct and impactful than showing up in your reader’s inbox with exclusive goodies that they can’t find anywhere else (like your blog).

Keeping your VIP readers feeling extra loved and providing high value will create both loyal fans and CUSTOMERS for both of you!

2) COHOST AN Instagram OR Facebook LIVE
Find someone who has a similar audience that compliments your products, services, and messages. If you’re a photographer, maybe you find a stylist to talk about what to wear. If you’re a marketing strategist who has a heart for Christian boss babes, partner with a faith growth coach (who also loves coaching entrepreneurs!).

Finding someone who shares the exact same ideal client makes the collaboration mutually beneficial and strengthens the trust with both audiences by showcasing your expertise and creating more authority for your brand.

3) COHOST A WEBINAR OR WORKSHOP
Besides the fact that webinars and scheduled workshops are one of the quickest, easiest ways to grow your email list… just saying that you’re co-hosting or featuring a special guest for your next webinar or workshop makes you look super cool. 😎

Tip: NO, you don’t actually HAVE to spend money to host these things! Webinarjam offers a free trial for 30 days and you can promote your workshop/webinar for free throughout your social media and email list instead of taking the paid route for your next collaboration or just host an informal workshop in your Facebook group!

4) SWAP SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS FOR EACH OTHER
The easiest, most basic collaboration opportunity– post on your collaborators’ behalf on your own IG or FB by telling your audience how much they inspire you or how their product/service has impacted you.

Let them know where they can follow them and how it would compliment your product/service and/or give them a link to check out their latest offerings.

5) CREATE A REFERRAL PROGRAM
This sounds techier than it really is but I didn’t know what else to call it. Here’s my real life collaboration example to help:

I’ve recently partnered with a virtual assistant (who I’ve worked with previously and am just tickled to call her my FRIEND!)–Marieanna Wild of Stay Wild Love.

We both have a similar ideal client and she’s basically the “doer” of the marketing strategies or the “implementer” if you will. So before she decides if a client is a good fit, she makes sure they have a solid marketing strategy in place since that is not her forte–That’s where I come in 🙂

Since Marieanna knows (and trusts) me, anyone she knows who needs a strategy before they can work together, she sends my way and in return, anyone I know that is seeking implementation and not just strategy- I send her way. Hello ideal clients!

6) SWAP GUEST POSTS
This collaboration idea is straightforward: swap guest blog posts with one another.

Or you could totally just ask to swap and both of you create something custom for each other, that’s cool too! Just make sure at the end of your posts you give a clear call to action so that the new readers have a chance to join your email list or purchase your product/services. Always always ALWAYS have a call to action for both parties. Which brings me to a few more points:

TIPS FOR MAKING COLLABORATIONS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL:

•Find someone to collaborate with who has a similar audience size to make the pitching process much less intimidating and to provide the same “amount” of audience value.
•Prepare before you pitch to a potential collaborator. Tell them what blog posts or lead magnets would be a good fit, or what types of posts you could write for them that you think would add value and compliment their audience. This takes the “work” of brainstorming ideas off their plate and makes you look easy breezy to work with (and thoughtful!).
•Add even more value to your collaborator by showcasing your own skills or providing them with some sample products. This will help them speak from a level of experience with you when they promote on your behalf and also potentially open a doorway to working with you!

And hey, if you think after reading this blog post She Is Bold could be a good fit for a collaboration, check this out!

You don’t always have to pitch someone the idea of collaboration to land one though. Look out for “partner with us” pages or “partnership” pages on potential collaboratee’s sites.  Also, don’t shy away from throwing out a collaboration opportunity to some of your favorite Facebook groups or throughout your Insta stories– people may be just as shy as you to reach out so opening the conversation up for them by posting a “Looking for collaborators for ____” post is sometimes all it takes to get started (and take the pressure off of reaching out to someone individually!). 💃

Collaborations are a great opportunity for you to “spread the Word” so go get ’em boss and cheers to collaborating! 🥂