I don’t have much experience in offline business, but I have a friend that consults and helps offline businesses. I like to pick his brain whenever I get the chance. One of the things that I’ve noticed in his business stories is how often the successful businesses are ones that are able to partner with other great businesses.
He told me of a wedding planner that was able to build her client base by exchanging referrals with a local wedding store that sold dresses and other wedding products. I love his story of the car salesman that partnered up with well-known local realtor to increase his sales.
He told me the main ingredient that makes these partnerships work is trust. And to build that trust, you have to have positive face to face interaction. Yes, you can get away without this interaction if you have a good referral. But even that referral is built through a face to face friendship.
Basically, it boils down to personal interaction.
So how can we apply this principle online? I mean, it can be difficult to interact with an online business person face to face.
This is where blogging can help a lot. If you have a blog, all a prospective partner has to do is check out your blog. By reading your blog, they should get a sense of the kind of person you are. Moreover, they can do it on their own time so you don’t have to inconvenience them with a scheduled meeting.
Let’s face it, people respond to other people whereas they ignore the impersonal, faceless company. A business blog is one of the best ways to put a “face” to your online business.
Therefore, if you want to partner with someone, make your offer and then point them to your blog. If they like what they see, they’ll partner with you.
Also, to make your blog more personal, write in a conversational tone and include pictures of yourself on your blog’s about page.
