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In a recent newsletter, I talked about affiliate programs and how you can use them to make more money with your web site.

(Remember, affiliate programs give you the chance to market another company's products in exchange for a cut of every sale you help them make.)

But affiliate programs certainly aren't the ONLY "win-win" business arrangement out there! There's a TON of different ways you can partner with other businesses to boost your online income.

Today we're going to take a closer look at some of the best ones, and talk about how you can make them work for YOUR business.

What a strategic alliance is -- and how it can work to YOUR advantage!

One of the most common "win-win" business arrangements is known as a strategic alliance.

I know... "strategic alliance" sounds like something you'd hear in a Star Wars movie. It's really just a fancy term describing a business arrangement in which the partners work together to help each other make MORE money.

Businesses join forces and form strategic alliances all the time. In fact, you probably run into examples of them every day -- literally!

Ever stopped off for a burger at the McDonald's restaurant inside your local Wal-Mart? Or enjoyed a cup of Starbucks coffee inside a Barnes & Noble bookstore?

Then congratulations! You've had a run-in with a strategic alliance!

How do these arrangements benefit the businesses? Think about it... When Starbucks has a shop inside a big bookstore like Barnes & Noble, it gets to put its products right under the noses of a whole lot of potential customers.

(And who doesn't like sipping a cup of coffee or tea while flipping through a brand-new book or magazine?)

Barnes & Noble, meanwhile, is happy to play host to Starbucks because its customers won't have to leave the bookstore to get their daily caffeine fix. And the more time people spend inside the store, the longer they're exposed to all those books -- and the more likely they are to make a purchase!

But it's not just the "big guns" like Wal-Mart, McDonald's, and Starbucks that can benefit from strategic alliances. ANYONE can boost their profits by teaming up with a company that sells complementary products to the same market as they do.

For example, a dog kennel could promote a local pet groomer's services, in exchange for a "cut" of every sale.

Or a golf shop could partner up with a local golf pro and recommend his lessons to their customers -- and in exchange, the pro can encourage his clients to buy all their clubs and accessories at the shop.

With the right business partner, you can put your products in front of new customers and get fresh new products to sell to your existing customers. You can expand your reach AND boost your profits -- talk about a "win-win" situation!

And the great thing is, strategic alliances are ESPECIALLY effective for online businesses...

Read on to discover why!

The top 5 ways to make strategic alliances
work for YOUR site

Thanks to the Internet, it's now easier than ever to get into "win-win" relationships with other businesses -- and generate HUGE profits doing so!

That's because online tools like email, web sites, and blogs make it SO MUCH easier to reach your customers and build rock-solid relationships with them.

And with useful tools like search engines, you can find other reputable businesses who sell to the same customers -- and then work together to promote each other's products.

Everybody wins!

Here are five of our favorite ways to ramp up revenues by forming strategic alliances with other businesses:

1. Enter into a "link-exchange" partnership. You put a link on your site that leads to your partner's homepage, and your partner does the same for you! If you have a a catalog-style sales page, for example, you could put a discreet ad in your sidebar or link to your partner's products.
   
   
2. Promote someone else's products in your newsletter or blog for a percentage of each sale. Your "advertisement" could simply be a link and a bit of salescopy, or it could written as a detailed product review. Whatever works best for your market!
   
   (*NOTE: Affiliate programs are an EXTREMELY effective way to find new products to promote in this way... And you can learn more about my own affiliate program here.)
   
   
3. Build credibility through third-party endorsements. Get to know the experts in your field! Send them free samples, if possible, so they can become familiar with your product. Give them a chance to be impressed by it!
   
   Then, if they like what you've got to offer, ask them for a personal testimonial endorsing your business. In exchange for their endorsement, you can offer them increased exposure and publicity -- because their name and business will be put in front of YOUR visitors!
   
   You might even consider given them a small percentage of your sales. If their endorsement directs a big enough swarm of customers your way, it'll probably be worth it!
   
   And that leads us to our next strategy...
   
   
4. Capitalize on your OWN good name! If you're known as a respected expert in your field, people are going to value your opinion and listen to what you have to say.
   
   So if you come across any products or services your customers might like, why not contact the businesses that sell them and offer to give them an endorsement in exchange for a small fee or percentage of each sale?
   
   Not only will you boost your revenues, you'll get increased exposure and be able to spread the word about your business to your partner's audience, as well!
   
   Finally, one of my favorites...
   
   
5. Buy the reprint rights to someone else's product. When a company has a product like a book or a video that they've been selling for a while, they may be interested in extending that product's lifespan by looking for ways to introduce it to fresh new markets.
   
   This creates a great opportunity for you to get your hands on a well-established, successful product you can offer to your own customers.
   
   When you buy reprint rights, you get all of the files and documents you need to reproduce the product -- and you'll often get a tested and proven salesletter as well. So, all you have to do is put up the salesletter and start collecting orders!
   
   Best of all, you get to keep 100% of the profits!
   

Those are just FIVE of the ways strategic alliances can help you SERIOUSLY ramp up your profits.

But there's no limit to the ways you can establish mutually profitable relationships with other businesses.

You could even go all "old school" and enter into a barter agreement with another business!

For example, if you're a great writer, but can't build a web site to save your life, you could partner up with a design team who could build your web site FOR you. In exchange, you could write their salescopy for them. That way you both get what you need -- without any damage to your bottom line!

Or, if you had a gap in your skill set and you found someone whose expertise filled that gap, then the two of you could team up to create a BRAND-NEW product you could BOTH sell to your customers, then split the profits 50-50!

And that brings us to our next "win-win" business arrangement...

Partner your way to bigger profits by selling
joint venture products!

Let's say you're a building contractor who sells do-it-yourself eBooks on how to build your own house addition.

Your customers have told you time and time again that they're desperate for advice on how to make sure their new additions don't stick out like a sore thumb.

They want to know things like how to blend different building materials or create seamless transitions between the addition and the original house. In short, they're looking for exterior design information.

But YOU can't help them, because you don't know SQUAT about design!

So here's what you do...

You partner up with a reputable designer and work together to co-author an eBook that combines YOUR construction know-how with your PARTNER's design skills... and then sell that product to your customers and split the profits right down the middle!

Not only that, your partner could then offer her offline services through a link on your web site, in exchange for YOU getting a cut of every sale!

Not bad, huh?

THAT'S what joint ventures are all about -- businesses teaming up with each other and pooling their expertise to create new products they can sell to both their customer bases.

Joint ventures may take a little more effort than strategic alliances... but when you partner with the right business, you'll have a great new product to sell to your customers. And THAT will make your hard work totally worth it.

Trust me, I know!

Last year, I teamed up with eBay millionaire Brandon Dupsky to develop a product that combined MY Internet marketing expertise with HIS insider knowledge of eBay...

And the result was a comprehensive how-to course that teaches people EVERYTHING they need to know to ramp up their eBay auctions and explode their online profits!

In fact, a customer recently wrote me an email saying that after he read our Insider Secrets of an eBay Millionaire course, his auctions started getting SEVEN TIMES the number of bids they'd been getting before!

Not only that, he's been able to build up a loyal base of repeat customers -- and boost his successful sales rate to 99%!

Now let's look at a couple more examples of savvy entrepreneurs who have used strategic alliances and joint ventures to add new streams of income to their businesses -- and SERIOUSLY flood their bank accounts!

An "organizational guru" who makes an extra $47,000
a year -- promoting OTHER people's products!

Maria Gracia of GetOrganizedNow.com makes an incredible $375,00 a year -- telling people how to clean their rooms!

Well, she actually does a whole lot more than that...

Her site offers a TON of useful resources that teach people everything they need to know to organize all aspects of their lives -- from their homes, to their offices, to their day-to-day activities.

Maria's "anchor products" are books and organizational systems she's developed herself. But she's formed a number of key strategic alliances with companies that were EAGER to have her promote their products.

And it's not hard to figure out why... Maria's site gets 20,000 - 30,000 visitors a week, and her popular free newsletter goes out to more than 150,000 subscribers.

Talk about a swarm of potential new customers!

And the great thing for Maria is, she doesn't have to go out of her way to find businesses to partner with. In fact, companies usually approach her!

In addition to her own products, she sells...

• Organizational tote bags that help people manage their personal items

• A household filing system for important documents
  
  
• A get-out-of-debt program created by a professional financial adviser

And she also promotes the services of a "relationships" business and a motivational company on her site.

Thanks to these added products and services, Maria's business generates an EXTRA $47,000 a year!

How this "Online Trader" traded his way up to $150,000
a year -- with a little help from his friends!

Richard Grady started out online selling novelty items on eBay... But when his competitors started asking him WHERE he got all his great wholesale stock, he knew he'd stumbled on to a exciting new business opportunity!

These days, Richard's pulling in a sweet $150,000 a year, teaching people how to find high-quality wholesale and drop-shipping products. His main products are eBooks and subscriptions to private members-only web sites -- but a healthy chunk of his income comes from strategic alliances and joint ventures.

Like Maria, Richard regularly promotes other people's products in his newsletter. But he's also worked with partners to set up some long-term joint ventures.

One of his partners is a major US wholesaler who approached him to see if he'd be interested in setting up a co-branded web site, in exchange for a commission on sales.

Richard thought it sounded like a good deal, so he said yes -- and it turns out he was right!

Richard and the wholesaler worked together and set up "The US Trader Warehouse," which sells HUNDREDS of wholesale items. Now, every time a customer buys one of those products, Richard gets a cut of the sale!

Find the partner who's right for YOU -- and then hit them with an offer they CAN'T refuse!

Thanks to the Internet, finding a suitable business partner is now easier than ever. All it takes is a bit of research and creative thinking.

Here are some tips to help you get started...

1. Start your hunt with the free search engines. Pretend you're a customer and run searches for the kind of information your market is trying to find online. Then look at the results that come up.
   
   Which listings are for businesses that are trying to sell something to your market? Check them out! See which businesses offer competitive products, and which offer complementary ones.
   
   Take special note of sites that belong to the second group -- they may become your future business partners!
   
   
2. Record your first impressions. As you explore the businesses that sell to your market, jot down your initial thoughts about their sites. Which ones seem the most professional? Which did you want to spend the most time exploring?
   
   THOSE ONES are the winners!
   
   Remember, the average Web user spends only 10 seconds checking out a web site before deciding whether or not it's worth a closer look. And if YOU don't think a site is worth exploring, neither will your customers!
   
   
3. Use the Alexa Toolbar to give potential partners the "once-over." The Alexa Toolbar is a cool free tool you can use to discover all sorts of killer information about a web site. You can find out how long the site's been up and running, how much traffic it receives, and how many other sites are linking to it. You can even read user reviews!
   
   If the site's been around for a few years, has lots of steady traffic, and has a good number of sites linking to it, then it's a great potential business partner.
   
   For more information about the Alexa toolbar and its features, click here.
   
   
4. Don't forget to look offline for partners! Are there any "brick and mortar" businesses you could partner with? For example, if you sell real estate advice online, is there a particular real estate agency you could refer your customers to, in exchange for a fee?
   
   Or maybe you run an online restaurant directory. Maybe you could get local restaurants to advertise your directory -- in exchange for a mention in it, of course!
   
   
5. Contact potential partners personally -- and be PROFESSIONAL!
   A phone call or face-to-face meeting is FAR more effective than an email.
   Live contact helps you establish a personal relationship right off the bat. Potential partners will take you far more seriously, and you'll be able to answer all their questions on the spot -- and make it harder for them to say "No"!
   
   Just make sure you come to the table with a strong argument! Clearly explain EXACTLY how they would benefit from a relationship with you. If you can't present them with compelling evidence that PROVES you can help them increase their profits, why should they bother doing business with you?

Final thoughts

When you're running an online business, you ALWAYS have to be on the lookout for ways to add new streams of income to your site. And one of the BEST ways to do this is by entering into "win-win" relationships with other businesses!

Make sure you keep your eyes open... you never know WHERE you're going to find your next business partner!

Maybe your child's teacher's husband runs a business selling products that appeal to your target market. Or maybe your neighbor's wife is a consultant whose services your customers are ALREADY clamoring to buy!

Who knows? Your next joint venture partner could even be the guy you see waiting at the bus stop every morning! His skills and expertise might dovetail perfectly with your own -- and you just don't know it yet!

In fact, just reading this newsletter, you've already discovered one joint-venture opportunity you may not have considered -- the IMC affiliate program. You can read more about how to start promoting IMC products to your customers -- in exchange for healthy commissions -- here.

The point is, strategic alliance and joint venture opportunities are EVERYWHERE. If you keep yourself open to the possibilities, there's no limit to where you can take your business!

Just make sure you research your potential partners carefully and contact them in a professional manner. Come to the table fully armed with all the best reasons why it's in THEIR best interest to do business with you -- and before you know it, you'll be helping each other skyrocket your bottom lines!