How Networking with Companies in Your Niche Can Create Opportunity and Income!
The Importance of Networking in Your Niche
The importance of networking while building a niche website is often understated. Communicating with companies in your niche can create a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.
You may be wondering:
Who should I be communicating with in my niche?
What are the benefits of networking when building a niche website?
Network with Manufacturers
Reach out to the companies behind the products that you are promoting.
It can open the door to a variety of opportunities and allows you to develop a more personal relationship with the company.
You can discover and implement opportunities that may not have otherwise existed if you simply signed up for their affiliate program and never spoke again.
What types of opportunities?
For example:
One of my niche sites does does reviews on a variety of different supplements. One of the first products I promoted was with a company that did not even have an official affiliate program set up, yet.
However, I reached out to them directly to introduce myself and explain the purpose of my site. I also expressed my interest in testing and reviewing their product. I inquired about whether or not they had an affiliate program I was not seeing.
Here's the kicker:
They were not only interested in having me test and review their product, but they wanted me to help them kick off their official affiliate program. They offered me $20 for every single free trial of their supplement that was generated from my site. Before I knew it, they had generated a unique affiliate link for me and had a product sent out for me to test for my review.
I quickly learned the importance of contacting companies even when you can't find an official affiliate program for them.
It presented an opportunity for me to get ahead of my competition and be the first to promote a new product that was allowing their customers to try it for free. It put me on the forefront of an offer that was going to interest people and have the potential to go viral within my niche.
The was a great success that generated a lot of revenue and continues to generate revenue to this day. However, the opportunity would have never presented itself had I not simply sent out an email to introduce myself to the company and start a conversation.
Contacting the company directly not only resulted in a successful campaign, it also helped me develop an excellent relationship to continue working with them in the future. Meaning, whenever they have a new product they are looking to promote or an exclusive discount, I am one of the first people they contact.
What Other Opportunities Can Networking Create?
Now:
I understand that not everyone is in a niche that would allow them to individually test and review products. However, there is still good reason to reach out to companies and create a relationship.
Here's the deal:
It can help keep your site on the forefront of their minds.
Many companies will be open to some type of marketing collaboration or providing you with an exclusive promo code discount to offer your readers.
I have had some companies willing to link back to us from their site. Others have been open to sharing our review on social media and/or email lists.
Get Creative!
Don't be afraid to get creative in collaborating your marketing efforts with companies in your niche.
For example:
I have run multiple viral contests with companies that were willing to give away a valuable prize to one or multiple lucky winners.
The contest helps grow the brand visibility and authority of their product and creates more conversions and social engagement for me. They contribute the prize and I create and run the entire contest. Therefore, it is another type of win/win situation.
Remember:
Most companies want as much positive content about their company and products out there as possible. Meaning, most will be more than happy to hear from you and work with you to help you create more conversions from your content. Your success is their success and they want you to be excited and motivated to promote their products.
You never know where simple communication may lead you.
Fortunately, this particular site has grown so much over the past 3+ years that many companies will first contact me to have their products reviewed.
However, I always respond and engage with everyone who contacts me because you never know when a particularly attractive opportunity may come up. I also keep an eye on the market and try to stay ahead of my competition by reviewing products from companies that I can see putting a lot of effort into their paid advertising efforts.
The more a company is advertising their product, the more potential there is for people to start searching for reviews about them. Use their marketing efforts to your advantage!
The bottom line:
Don't be afraid to reach out to the companies behind the products you are promoting. It can only help your overall marketing efforts and potentially open the door to opportunities that would have never otherwise existed.
I have even been able to negotiate higher commissions with some companies that saw the potential benefit in my excitement and energy to promote their products. Again, they want you to be as motivated as possible.
I have even been able to even turn some of these companies into clients for my parent company that does online strategic marketing and SEO. Now, I work with them by promoting their products on my niche site and helping them achieve better results to their search engine rankings, organic traffic, brand visibility, and authority.
This creates more income opportunities for me and creates more exposure for them. Just another example of a win/win relationship that you can create.
The overall importance of networking is often overlooked or forgotten about in our industry.
I hope that my examples have helped open your eyes to some of the opportunities you can create by simply communicating directly with a company in your niche.
Start Communicating, Today!
Start reaching out to the manufacturers who produce the products you are promoting or want to promote. Create new relationships and I can assure you that you will open the door to great new opportunities.
Networking is just as important in our business as it is in most any other business. Don't miss out on untapped opportunity or be afraid to create your own!
Networking has opened up a ton of various opportunities for my business and I am sure it can do the same for you.
Get ahead of your competition by taking the extra step. Make sure these companies know who you are and you will find that most will be just as motivated to work directly with you and help you be as successful as possible.
At the end of the day:
Your success is their success!
- Howie
Recent Comments
3
Great point, I am not at this point yet, but will definitely look at it in the future. thank you
That is the dirrction I am heading after practicing with my friends and families and gaining much more experience and when my site has become more established. Thank you for this post.
Hi there
Awesome post and thanks for sharing those interesting ideas
I suspect that we don't even scratch the surface as far as contacting the companies in relation to promoting their products
i have bookmarked this post for later
Cheers PB