By MaryEllen Tribby

Many new business owners get so excited at the thought of starting their own profitable company online that they do not look before they leap.

They come up with what they think is a great new idea and start to try to sell it without doing proper market research to determine demand and what customers in their niche are willing to pay for products.

While other new business owners go to the opposite extreme and steer clear of certain top-earning niches because they think there is too much competition.

Getting It Just Right

One of the best ways to put yourself head and shoulders above the competition even in a crowded niche is to link yourself with key companies and influencers.

This way you can offer new products and services, increase your authority in your niche, and earn more income all at the same time.

The easiest and most effective ways to accomplish this are through:

– Affiliate Marketing
– Joint Venture Partnerships, and
– Strategic Partnerships.

Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to get to know the top people and companies in your industry. There are a number of affiliate marketplaces that allow you to link up with top influencers, companies and products all in one location.

The main ones for digital products are Clickbank and JV Zoo.

The best ones for tangible/non digital products are CJ.com and LinkShare.

You create your links once, post ads on your site or paid media and offer that product in your marketing emails. It can be in your own inbox magazine or e-letter. You can even send dedicated emails to sell that product. Regardless how and where you sell the product, those links will keep on earning for you even when you are away from your business 24/7.

Trust Is a Must

However, you MUST be sure that you believe in any product you offer to your community or sell in general.

You should buy the product and test it out. You have a responsibility to make sure it lives up to and surpasses the marketing promises. Even call customer support to make sure that if someone needs help once they buy the product,they will get it.

Remember you must always be an advocate for your community and/or the product you are selling!

While in the process of finding affiliate products to sell, you will discover the top individuals and brands in your niche.

Make a list of them and their websites and email addresses.

Once you have your own large enough email marketing list or are willing to be interviewed or contribute to a webinar about your niche, you can form Joint Venture (JV) Partnerships.

With JVs, you can do reciprocal marketing and split the proceeds. Sometimes that split is 50/50; other times one partner may get more.

If you have a mailing list of 5,000 people, for example, and your JV partner has a similarly sized list, propose mailing to each other’s list and splitting the cash.

If their list is twice the size of yours, email 2 of their marketing messages instead of just one or give that partner a larger split.

There are many creative ways to arrange partnerships. The one constant is that it must be a win-win for both partners!

Strategic Partnerships can be formed online or offline in a similar way.

Partner with anyone who is not a direct competitor but sells complementary products and services.

For example, if you sell wedding gowns, partner with other local merchants who can provide any of the other items commonly required for weddings, such as flowers, formal wear, limos and so on.

Look for the Obvious

One other useful way to find local partners is to offer an interesting workshop or talk at your local Chamber of Commerce.

They will do all the marketing and promotion for the talk. You just need to deliver a great presentation and continue to build your reputation.

Those who get to meet you in this way might just want to partner with you, or know someone who does.

Online networking is great, but don’t overlook the obvious opportunities to forge relationships within the community, especially if you have a brick and mortar store and service.

Remember every business and entrepreneur is judged by the company they keep. Form relationships with the top movers and shakers in your niche with outstanding reputations and see what a difference it can make to your profits.