Marketing Collaboration

Q:  How can I find someone with marketing skills to collaborate with me?

Kate

A:  Hi Kate–

First, you need to get clear on exactly what you need.  Make a list of the areas in which you need help and create a job description for this collaboration that includes all the responsibilities and tasks you want handled.  Realistically, you many not be able to find one person to do all that you need, so take some time to review your needs and see if what you're written falls into categories, such as Internet marketing, social networking, or PR.

Now you've got a couple of options here:

1.  Hiring help.  If you have the means to pay for assistance, this will probably be the most successful route for you.  You can Google some keywords or categories of responsibility to see what sites come to the top and check them out.  Or, you can submit your job description to places like Guru.com, Elance.com, or GetaFreelancer.com if you're seeking contract services.  If the duties are extensive enough, you may want to hire someone as an employee.

2.  Barter. Bartering can be a tricky situation to negotiate.  Both parties must need the service that is being bartered and would be willing to pay for that service if they had the cash available.  When bartering, I advise doing a cash for cash exchange, i.e. $400 of coaching for $400 of web design, for example. And, the barter agreement should be written and limited in scope with a review date attached.  At the time of the review, each party needs to determine if the barter is working and make the decision to continue or quit.

3.  Interns.  You might consider "hiring" an intern. There are 2 sites that I know of that have info on how to successfully do that. One is https://superinterns.com/ and they offer a teleclass series, I believe. The other is an ebook called, Profiting from Internships.  However, I'd urge you to proceed with caution, as I just read a scathing review of this book, https://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/365988/the-internet-s-biggest-problem.html that urges people to be wary of violating US Labor Laws.  Fact or fiction? I don't know, but make sure you are legally protected before you proceed..:)

4.  Commission.  You can offer a commission or percentage of sales based on the sales generated after the marketing was implemented.  Of course, it may be difficult to ascertain what's attributable to what, so you'll want to have a clear agreement in place that details when a commission is paid.

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