1 | Exposure to a unique audience

McDonald’s and Burger King have comparable customers because they all eat burgers, but they aren’t completely alike. They offer the same product in 2 contrasting ways. Burger King offers flame broiled, but McDonald’s has fried. These 2 competitors may come together with a third party to sponsor an event. e.g. charity This would be a collusion for a worthwhile purpose. This is a collaboration.

Email subscribers, Instagram followers, and Facebook fans are familiar with your content. New subscribers can be obtained thru collaborating on these social platforms. Webinars, forums and seminars are also an excellent way to network with like-minded people. Businesses use these platforms to gather data via influencers, while maintaining their own platform/s (home base).

2 | Supportive people

Collaborating is sharing resources. Your followers/fans notice collaborations with other businesses, and this reflects positively for both. Consumers like supportive partnerships with excellent customer service. It’s possible a new business partner will have ideas you hadn’t thought of and vice-a-verse. Social media is a great way to reach billions of those supporters.

Writers have unique writing viewpoints, voice, and styles. No 2 authors are alike. Placing your content on alternative blogs is a perfect way to attract a new audience. An example of this is “In The Spotlight,” a page where artists improve their brand awareness through our audience and vice-a-verse.

Attitude is important in achieving a successful collaboration. Control your attitude toward having partners. Give each consumer a pleasant shopping experience and every client a trustworthy partner. Nobody can stop an amazing product or service offer if it’s needed, free and sold with a terrific attitude.

3 | Great minds think alike

Are you aware newspapers, magazines, books and blogs build quality readership through writer collaborations? Two or more writers are better than one. When people come together, extraordinary things can happen. Have you considered the amount of value you will offer?

Develop a project you can agree. You will make a large impact cooperating versus going it alone. Having the support will free up time to concentrate on other ambitions. Perhaps you can partner with another business to offer a combined service. e.g. Inviting someone to your YouTube Channel to sell hairstyle accessories or clips, while you offer wigs and hairpieces.

4 | Grow your business with confidence

Innovation happens with teams. Did you know musicians borrow song lyrics and music? It’s a commonplace method in the entertainment industry. Those collaborations are called remixes.

Two or more artists work collectively on a project from start to finish, and reap higher rewards. Can you image a film director playing all the acting roles, the cameraman, the editor, and producer in the same film? It sounds very tiresome, because working together has its benefits. Engaged groups learn more and can do more.

Work out details of the agreement with a contract. Contracts are a wonderful way of keeping business collaborators protected, respected and binding. Collaboration is a working relationship, based on character. An unscrupulous person can become unsettling and costly. Enter all business deals with knowledge, clarity, and legalities.

5 | Taking ideas to market

Collaborations help us solve problems. Consider the abundant value you bring to an audience, the wealth of information and the new business partner/s gained.

Brainstorm each aspect of your collaboration. We’ve achieved many objectives this way. Outsourcing is a type of collaboration where you hire outside companies to do what they do best. e.g. spokespersons, distribution, manufacturing.