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Cross promotion begins with simple promotion.  Unless two or more individuals have a prior relationship, they usually discover each other because one person promoted or shared the work of the other.  The successful continued development of this promotional relationship depends on whether or not the initial promotion is reciprocated.

But remember, this ‘returned favor’ should never be expected.  It may lead to disappointment.  There are many external factors that are involved in whether or not the person you are promoting will even see your promotion.  Therefore, make sure that if you promote, you are doing it for the sake of increasing the value of your content.

I am discussing the possibilities of what the promotion of others can lead to, but it should not be the goal.  For example, you are in your car on the freeway in rush hour traffic, and there is a car in the lane next to you with its signal on.  You decide to let them over, and they get in front of you, and then do not wave thanks.  How do you feel?  Are you upset or angry?  If so, what was your purpose for letting them over?  Did you do it so that traffic would flow more easily or so that you would get the self-satisfaction and validation of the wave?

When you are promoting others, promote people who have influenced you in some way, either through their services or through content you have read.  Otherwise, your readers may not find value in that promotion, and you may be left in bumper-to-bumper traffic AND miss out on the ‘wave’.

So, what can the promotion of others

do for you and your prospects?

Promoting others will establish your own image as a giving person.  If you are willing to promote the work of others, then it means that you do not take the ‘every man for himself’ attitude in business.   It means that the importance of giving value to your prospects is more important than making sure your own name is all your readers ever see.

It shows confidence in your own value.  By sharing what others are doing, or giving credit to others who have helped you achieve your goals, you are letting your prospects know that you are not afraid to expose them to other leaders, risking that they leave you to follow that person.

Promoting others through giving credit for their product or service that has helped you in some way can also give you credibility.  It lets your prospects know that you have experience and/or training that may help them succeed, too!

And finally, when you honestly promote others, especially if you do it on their own sites, it will help you become more recognizable!  Not only will you be more visible on their site when you leave comments for their blog or post on their wall, but when you use a frequently searched name in your own content, it is likely that others will come across your work while looking for information on the person you credited or promoted.

What are some easy ways to

promote others successfully?

Write an entire article about what someone else is doing, while making sure that you find a way to relate it to yourself and/or your readers.  If you read an article that you enjoyed or that you learned from, share it with your readers by writing a response article.  You do not have to simply share the link to someone else’s content, you can write your own content that shares their information and shows your personal reaction to it.  Did it cause you to think or to act? Tell your prospects about it, and include a link to the original work, so that they can read it for themselves and see what they get out of it.

Write an entire article about what you are doing, but give credit to others who have helped you along the way.  Promoting in the form of giving credit where you believe it is due will not only show your prospects that you are a grateful person, but it will also give them the opportunity to get the same kind of assistance from the same place you did!  You are essentially pointing your prospects in the right direction for their own development as an entrepreneur.

Be where your future cross-promotion partners are!  Go to their blogs, Facebook pagess, etc and leave valuable comments often.  The more you leave comments and interact with them and their visitors, the more promotion you are giving them by contributing to the activity of their sites, and the more recognized you will become by showing the value you can provide.

Leaving comments on your own Facebook page is another way to promote others.  If you want to tag someone in a comment, make sure you are already ‘friends’, then type in an “@” and begin to type their name.  A list will populate beneath the comment box, and you will be able to choose that person from the list.  Once you do that, their display name will appear in the comment box and it will become a link to their page.  Your comment will even show up on their wall, too!  This only works with original wall posts, not with replies to posts.

When YOUR content has been shared:

If you have promoted someone, or even mentioned and tagged them in an article or blog post, and they turn around and promote that content to their own list, what do you do?  In addition to maintaining your post, including answering comments, connecting with your readers, and watching for further promotions from those readers, what can you do to show that you appreciate the promotion of your post?

If the person who reciprocated your promotion is a highly recognized individual, it may seem difficult to thank them personally.  However, there are ways to get your message to this industry leader.  For example, if they shared your link on Facebook, comment on their link post.  If they shared it through an email list, perhaps you can show your appreciation on their personal Facebook page.

What do you do if you discover that someone has shared your content without you promoting them first?  What would you hope someone else would do?  Do you think it would be beneficial to go to their page, thank them for sharing, and then try to find something worth sharing with your audience?  Remember to always do what you think everyone else would do in a perfect business world.  BE the perfect business world.

Is cross-promotion a form of collaboration?

Why do you think cross-promotion can be considered a form of collaboration?  A collaborative partnership involves two or more people working together toward a common purpose.  But what is the common purpose in cross-promotion?  If you and another individual are working together to promote each other, then the promotion itself is the common purpose.  So yes, cross-promotion is, in fact, a form of collaboration!

Thinking about cross-promotion as a collaborative effort might help you remember that it is frequently the first step toward more involved collaborations.  If cross-promotion works out well between two individuals, then it means that the content you both provide work well for both of your target markets, it establishes recognition of and between both of you, and it can possibly set the stage for future relationships.

These are all relatively broad examples of how to invite cross-promotion into your business life.  If you would like more personalized assistance, talk to your coach about ways that you can promote others that will be beneficial to your business and, most importantly, to your community!

Click here to visit an article with more information on collaboration, and then check out the accompanying interview with Richard Goutal, expert collaborator and Coaching Cognition coach!

If you are looking for future collaboration or cross-promotion partners, visit the Coaching Cognition fan page and see what others are doing that you think is worth sharing with your prospects, then practice what you have learned here.

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