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How to organise a collaboration

If you’ve decided to collaborate with another person or business to help increase your reach and visibility, and you’ve chosen who to collaborate with, now you need to organise how this is going to work. Here are some top tips on how to do this. Here are my tips on how to organise a collaboration.

How to organise a collaboration

  • Think about what your objective is. Are you looking to grow your newsletter list? Increase followers on Twitter? Add fans on Facebook? Get more engagement on Instagram?
  • Are you looking to focus on a particular product or service? Or are you hoping to promote your entire offering or collection? Be really clear. Think of the point above when considering this.
  • Discuss what your collaborator wants to gain. This can have a big influence on how the collaboration works and if it’s going to work for you. If they want to grow their Instagram following, but you really want to grow your mailing list, you’re going to have to try and come How to organise a collaborationup with a good way to do this.
  • Think about your offer. And make sure it appeals to your fans and theirs. Competitions often do well, because who doesn’t love a competition? You could also look to offer a discount to your fans and theirs either at the time or at a later date, as a thank you for participating.
  • Be clear on your entry mechanism. If you want to grow your mailing list, you need to find a way to collect this information, if you want to grow your Facebook fans, work out how.
  • Make it easy. Whatever you want to gain, you want people to enter/engage, so make it as easy for them as possible. If you’re offering a discount code, make sure it’s easy to use. If you want them to join a list, make sure that they can do this in as few steps as possible.
  • Play by the rules. Make sure you competition conforms to all Ts and Cs relevant. For example, sharing as an entry mechanism actually breaches Facebook Ts and Cs. Yep. Honest. So do your research.
  • Create eye catching graphics. Whatever you’re doing, make sure you have eye catching graphics to promote it. And make sure that both people involved in the collaboration or happy/using the same graphics so people know it’s the same offer.

If you’re interested in collaborations, you might like this video on Youtube (it’s the cheese one!), or have a read of this blog here about how to find your collaboration partner. And don’t forget that if you need a helping hand my coaching service could be just what you need…

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Who should I collaborate with?

How to pick who to collaborate withHave you heard that collaborations could be big for your business? They could, that is, they could if you pick the right person or company to collaborate with. If you pick a company that isn’t ‘right’ for you, much like a dodgy relationship, it’s not going to work out. If you’ve ever asked yourself ‘who should I collaborate with?’ – this blog is for you!

Who should I collaborate with?

There are a few things to consider when you’re working out who you should collaborate with…

  • Do you have a similar customer profile? If you sell luxury country clothing, you want someone who has customers interested in this. If you sell fine wines or spirits, a company that is pro an alcohol free lifestyle is not for you. See what I mean? In order for a collaboration to work, you need to make sure that your fan base is interested in the person/company you’re collaborating with, and visa versa.
  • Do they share your values? If you’ve ticked the first box, now you need to make sure the second aligns. So, if your customers are anti-fur, don’t work with someone who uses it in their products. If you promote the fact your products are high end and made in Britain, someone who sells bargain basement imported lines is not a good fit.
  • Do they share your brand’s ‘feel’? By this I mean all the other stuff – the customer experience, the tone, the manner – the general vibe. If you’re a happy, friendly, personable company whose customers appreciate you going to the extra mile, a big faceless corporation might not be the best person to collaborate with.
  • What do each of you bring to the arrangement? A collaboration needs to work out well for both parties. If, for example, you’re running a giveaway, you need to make sure that both parties have a useful database/following on at least one platform, in order to ensure that the offer is promoted fully. Size isn’t always important, a very engaged smaller following can have a lot more value than a HUGE following of people who don’t engage or open emails. Of course, it doesn’t stop here. If it’s a giveaway, look at the product value, who’s giving the most in terms of time, etc.
  • Will your customers/fans benefit from the collaboration? This is a must. The offer you’re providing has to appeal to them – or at the very least not offend – because you don’t want a quest to increase your reach and following to alienate your loyal fans.

Here are a few pointers to help you decide who you should collaborate with – what do you think? I’d love to see your comments below.

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