How to Make Partnerships with Rockstars in Your Niche

October 12, 11:24 PMSF Marketing and PR ExaminerSusan Harrow

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the SF Marketing and PR Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Shel Horowitz

Guest Blogger Shel Horowitz is a copywriter, marketing consultant, author, speaker who says, "I show the world the *value* in your *values*." Sign the Business Ethics Pledge - Help Change the World.

Next year, my eighth book will be published by a major house…and my name won't be first on the cover. That honor goes to Jay Conrad Levinson, the marketing superstar who created the Guerrilla Marketing brand (not to mention helping create such 60s icons as the Marlboro Man, The Pillsbury Doughboy, Allstate's good hands, United's friendly skies, and the Sears Diehard battery). Jay's participation convinced the publisher to treat Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green as much bigger and more important book—and means the book will be heavily promoted through Jay's enormously powerful marketing machine.

My partnership with Jay is only the latest in a long series of business relationships with industry gurus and major players that I've built for myself and my clients. Some of the others include the director of a Paramount Pictures feature film closely related to a client's book…the four most famous names in independent publishing…one of the foremost Green economists of our time…the woman Fast Company dubbed "The Pied Piper of Facebook"…more than a few of the Internet marketing superstars…and many others.

How do I get these folks to work with me? Here are a few of the techniques:

• Build relationships long before you need favors. Become fans on Facebook, follow them on Twitter (and retweet or respond to their tweets once in a while). Subscribe to their newsletters and drop a quick note when you like (or want to gently disagree with) an article. Congratulate them on new kids or grandkids, wish them a good trip when you read that they're off somewhere interesting, connect them with resources and people who will be helpful to them. Believe me, you build up plenty of karma points doing these things, and they will remember when you do need a favor.
• Phrase your request to focus on what's in it for them. As an example, the letter I wrote for my client who connected with the Paramount director was all about how she, as a person who lived through the events of the movie, could help the studio promote the movie (and of course, her own book would be promoted as well). She ended up not only becoming an informal consultant to the movie but also getting interviewed by CBS News and the New York Times. Another example: my successful book proposal focused heavily on how many marketing partners I could bring in and how many readers would be exposed to the book.
• Develop, and DESERVE, a reputation as a quality person who does quality work.
• Do what you can to build your own star credentials. Start a blog, publish articles, comment on other people's blogs, answer reporter queries from HARO (helpareporter.com), participate in online discussion forums as a knowledgeable, helpful, friendly expert…and before long, people will be saying, "I see your stuff everywhere." Soon they'll be asking YOU to blurb their books, participate in their product launches, do teleseminars together, meet with you when you attend a conference…in short, it won't be too long before you're the rockstar that others pursue.

Copywriter, marketing consultant, and speaker Shel Horowitz's Apex Award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, goes into great detail on marketing through partnerships, and many other ethical, affordable, and eco-friendly strategies. His most recent book is Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers.

Follow me online
Social media is about making connections. Connect with me on the following social media sites.
Twitter - Examiner.com - Facebook - LinkedIn - YouTube - Biznik - Hubpages - Huffington Post

Join the Cosmic Mending Kit Ning Group
A community of people devoted to creating beauty, art and peace in the world beginning with themselves.

Have A Topic Idea?
I'd love to hear it! Just email me any time here and let me know what topics you'd like to know more about.