0:36
Hello, I hope you're having a productive day. Or an unproductive day if that is so what you choose, just make sure that you are choosing to do that and not just letting the day get away from you make a conscious choice. It's way, way, way more fun to play hooky. When you're doing it on purpose. Believe me, do it frequently. Frequently.

0:59
So last week, I gave you one of my favorite, favorite, favorite. I didn't know it was a secret ways to collaborate for free, which is just to start paying attention to your inbox. Those people that you love, follow, admire, think of as a mentor, you know, pay attention. Are they asking questions? Do they want your feedback on stuff? Give it to them. Be authentic.

1:24
I, you can listen to that episode, I'll have a link down below in the show notes. But you can go back and listen to it. I'm not going to rehash the entire thing. Don't you hate that when people when you go to your show that you watch weekly? I know there's still some of those right? And they like recap, either the whole season or they recap the previous episode. And you're like, Yeah, I fucking watched it last week. Okay, so shut up. And I just did it to yo, sorry, not sorry, I don't know. But I just did it.

1:53
Okay, so let's, let's go into number two, we'll move on from that. Let's go into number two. Number two is kind of a two parter. The second way that I want to tell you about collaborating and really make better use of collaborations, it's much easier if you have inventory if you have an inventory of everything that you have to offer. And that means inventory of your freebies and your opt ins, and also of your products, all of it. For multiple reasons. It helps if you have an inventory, but especially what we're going to talk about today, because I want you to have that inventory. And I want it to be like front and center.

2:41
Like you've taken a look at it right? And even like you're staring at it, okay, like, go create your inventory, you're probably driving, so don't do it. Now, you're creating your inventory and you are going to be staring at it, you're going to take a look at it, you are going to have this most amazing freebie that you are staring at and you're like, Oh kay, who should I contact and ask if they would like to share this with the community? I know.

3:12
So you're going oh, God, no, right. You're already doing it. I feel it. I hear you. I have coached a lot of introverts. And it's not just introverts scary for this is getting out of your comfort zone. Getting out of our comfort zone is always scary. It does not matter if we are introvert or extrovert, we're human. And our comfort zone is our comfort zone for a reason.

3:36
Okay, so if you just went Oh, hell no. Just remember, a lot of other people will be doing that too when they listen to this. Okay, but hear me out. This is still not face to face. This is still like, easy let down if it's not a fit. Okay, just like last week's episode when I talked about it. This is still okay, what's the worst that can happen?

4:05
Worst thing could happen. Is okay, there. Let's go there that somebody's pissed off. I've never ever ever and all of my contact times ever had that happen. But let's go, worrywart. Let's go full anxiety. The worst thing that can happen is somebody does a reply when you reach out to them and go, "Holy crap, your product is absolute garbage. I cannot believe you contacted me, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, you're evil and the devil." That's literally the worst thing that could happen when you send out an email bringing up the idea of a collaboration.

4:38
So what happens if that happened? If for some weird, crazy reason, that off the wall thing happened? What would be the worst thing that could happen? Nothing will happen to you. The only thing that would happen is you get to cross this person off of your email list. From off the face of your internet world, you never have to go back to them again, you block them on social media so that you don't follow there. I mean, really, that's like worst case scenario, right? That this person comes back and evil. And they wouldn't be somebody that you would have contacted if they were going to be that evil, right?

5:19
So let's go a little bit more realistic of what could happen, because that's the worst case right there, like rip and tear and horrible, but we know that's not gonna happen for real, we can tell our brain that's not gonna happen. What usually will happen is you don't get a reply. And you're going to start sending out so many emails that you're just going to be like, "Okay, well, okay, that happened." And the second thing that could happen, they just reply with a "no, thank you". And that's still a reply.

5:51
So if there's something in there, on that reply email that you can also reply to with a "thank you", you know, "I would love to work with you in the future, is there something I could promote for you", you know, open up the conversation, then it's not really a fail. You know, just like last week's episode, there's really three different ways this goes. And then the third option is there. Uh, "yeah, let's do this". And you're like, "Oh, God, that's scary, too". Right? It is a little scary. All of a sudden, when somebody says yes, because you're like, "oh, my gosh, so what am I talking about, you're gonna hit people up.

6:26
So you're gonna have this super-duper amazing freebie. I am going to say let's do freebie swaps, it's hard to open the door with the "Hey, will you promote my product", unless it's somebody that you have already worked with before. So start with people that might be kind of level wise, like a lateral, or even people that are a little bit more beginner than you are, you know, if you're intermediate, maybe some of these beginners would like to do a swap with you. I mean, beginners are amazing to work with. If you're a beginner, I know how amazing you are to work with, you are hungry, you are hungry for traffic, and you will absolutely do a great job at promoting not that anybody else won't.

7:07
But there's a hunger when you're a new business owner. Yeah, "I will do all of the things and I will get all of the things done right now". Calming that down a whole 'nother episode, I'm gonna make a note right here. Gonna make a note.

7:20
That has to do with burnout, we definitely will talk about that on another episode. But look at your freebies, look at your amazing freebies, and then start making a list of who would you like to collaborate with? Who is a great business owner, that would be like, like, we have similar things. But we do it in a different way. Or we have, like night and day different products, but they're kind of to the same market.

7:47
Okay, so let's just use a crazy easy example. Like, if somebody is a Facebook guru expert, and say, in this, and I'm not, say I'm an Instagram expert, it might be an amazing idea to swap some freebies, because we know that they are interested in social media, but you're not competing. Because Facebook, and Instagram are different marketing platforms, you treat them differently. As of right now, as of this recording, I should say, who knows down the road.

8:22
So that would be a great option of okay, these are, this would be a good fit, we're not going to be stepping on each other's toes, be great for promotions, great for so many other things. Honestly, that would be perfect. And if you are in the Facebook, or if you're into that the social media stuff, hit me up, please, because we have a bundle coming up at Bundle Bash. And I think it's a November bundle. Yes, the November bundle, I'm looking for all social media people. So maybe that's why I popped into my brain.

8:51
But look for different businesses that are a good coordinating mesh, for getting your freebie in front of their market. And then you're also going to ask them, hey, hopefully you've looked at their website, and you can take a look. But often, most of us have freebies on our site that you don't see right away, or maybe they have a new product.

9:13
So it's a great option to send an email, just starting the conversation with Hey, I saw that you do this and this I've been following along be authentic. So if you have not been following along, don't put that in there. Please do not put that in there if you have not been following if you just went and researched them. But I've been following along and I love what you're doing. And I see that you have blank blank freebie, and I think that that would benefit my community.

9:43
I also have blank blank freebie. And I wondered if you want to do like to do a swap. And I will email my community about your opt in and you email your community about my opt in. It can be that simple. And I know for some of us, if you do keep it that simple without going into a huge ton of detail about you, it's much easier. We're busy, right? We're busy entrepreneurs, and we don't want to read a book. We're just like, just give me the bones of it, please. And then I'll make a decision.

10:17
But make sure when you are doing the reach out for that, that you are making it about them. Like, this is what I could do for your community. And I would love to do that. How can we support each other, you know, it does take a little bit more work, it's a little bit more out of the comfort zone, because you are going to be actually reaching out cold, they're cold emails, right? Better than cold phone calls. Oh, yuck.

10:42
In the way, way back in the day, oh, gosh, way, way, just popped into my brain way, way, way, way, way back in college, I was doing the door to door sales woman thing and oh, gosh, I was even. That was a horrible, I just say, I hate the cold stuff. I guess maybe that's why I love it, I really, really feel like the warm collaboration, like let's make it about you, but not in a skeezy way. Because it's for real going to be about you and authentic. Maybe that's where it all started was way back there and think college and I was trying to make some bucks anyways.

11:17
So have an inventory of what your stuff is, I do recommend having an inventory of your paid products as well, just because in the conversation, who knows where it's gonna go. So I hope you've got your opt in, and then also has an upsell or the natural funnel of okay, well, I've got them in for free. This is what I normally lead them towards, for working with me for purchasing from me from that.

11:44
So I hope you already have that in mind. Because you really do want to pitch first, with your best converting opt in. So don't just go willy nilly on this grab your best converting opt in. Now, what would the conversion be? Conversion means so many different things depending on where you are in your business, you know, first conversion is just the fact that people opt into it. So they like your opt in.

12:12
Second part of a really good conversion is obviously if you're making sales from it, highlight that baby because that baby's working, right. So that's the one that I would really be focusing on, if that's converting, if it's converting and people sign up. And it's also converting into people are signing up and working with you or buying from you. Win win win. Ding, ding, ding. That's the one you really want to focus on.

12:37
Work on getting for, you know, send out 10 emails for the week. Just keep it that simple. So here's here's the things with a freebie swap, you can only do so many and have them be effective, right? Like, personally, when I'm working with clients, which I'm not working with clients anymore, when I was working with clients, we were only doing one swap a week, because you still have to have time for marketing.

13:02
And when you're doing the swap, it's really important that it's a solo email, it's a tit for tat, it is you're sending out a solo, I'm sending out a solo. We're awesome. Look at us, we're collaborating, okay? So it's not going to be stuck in some email full of other links, it's going to get specific and amazing attention. You're going to focus on it, you're going to highlight it, you're gonna be like, yeah, like this, and so's the other person for yours.

13:32
Okay, so that's why you can only really do one. So if you send out 10 emails, send them out on a Tuesday. I don't recommend sending anything out on a Monday because we're all inundated with emails on Mondays. All you have to do is open your email on Monday morning at six o'clock. Am and know, oh, look at everybody in the whole frickin world set their emails, yeah, delete, delete, delete, delete. You don't want to be part of that, or emails that you are actually starting in conversation.

14:02
So I usually like to send them out on Tuesdays. And I make a list. I guess I'm going way into it, I make a list of who had contacted. So we do that. And whatever you use for your organization, Google Drive, Excel sheet. Because of the mass, mass, mass amounts of contacts I have, we actually have our own system.

14:23
And I say we because it's through Bundle Bash, and the team uses it. So we actually have a system in Airtable, which I totally am in love with for organizing everything. Thankfully, my mentor in collaboration and who I got certified with Marie Mack, thankfully that was part of the certification was her sharing her system. And it was like thank you, the worlds have aligned.

14:50
But most, most people don't have thousands of contacts to organize. So a simple Google sheet will work. Just write down Names write down when you contacted them, write down what you contacted them about, and put as much information in the Google sheet as you think you might want for later, definitely have their email on there any information about them email their website, what freebie you might have asked them to swap with, you know,

15:20
What I have learned, and especially as every birthday comes, now, I have learned that more is better when it comes to tracking information down and writing it down versus less is more or less is not more, because I will forget the information. So write it all down into a Google Sheet, get your own system in place for how that happens.

15:45
I love doing things on Tuesdays. And then if they don't reply by the next Tuesday, I'm in a different world when it comes to collaboration. So I'm pushy. So, I actually do hit people up on Thursday or Friday. Typically, it's like a three-day turnaround with a "hey, I just want to make sure that you saw this," you know, kind of thing. But you can give it a week, whatever feels comfortable for you. Just make sure that you hit reply to it and bump it up if they did not hit... if they did not do it.

16:16
I had a client and she's amazing, and I love her, and we had to go for the No. And that was hard for me. So there's times where I was contacting people for her event. So there were times that I would be contacting these people up to 10 times. You know, I was really, really, really looking for the no. So I got over it. And it worked. Because the amount of times I get a thank you, even for when we're doing bundle bash, or, you know, any of the events that I've run over the years, I would get a thank you.

16:52
Because they're like, "Well, I set it aside I meant to respond. I meant to go into the form and join, it got buried. It got lost, just totally forgot." Same thing we're all doing right. So that outweighs... I'm trying to think, I'm racking my brain, you know how we all think negative and the negative pops up first.

17:14
I cannot think of a time. And all of the years when I had anybody ever respond. Like a hater with "Oh my God, you've contacted me so many goddamn times, stop." I've never had that happen. Usually, it's that second time and they're just like, "Nope, I'm not interested." But they finally do the No, right. They're like, "okay, yep, no, thank you." And that's cool. Thanks, awesome, you know, mark it down. They're not interested.

17:45
Most of the time. It's even the third or the fourth email that I have sent out. And they're like, "oh, my gosh, I keep forgetting" and then a conversation has totally started. And it's awesome. And it's amazing.

17:58
So go for the No, I guess. If you don't hear a reply back, you know, 3-4-7 days, whatever is comfortable for you send a reply to that email that you sent out. And just "hey, I just wanted to touch base. And see if you're interested in this, you know, I have an opening in my marketing schedule, blah, blah, blah, week, would that work for yours."

18:22
I mean, if the more you can outline it, the better it is for getting the collaboration. And now I feel like I'm going into too much topic. So today, the easy, easy, second Easy, easy way that I want you to collaborate, I want you to have a list of all of your products, but especially your freebies, make note of which one's your best converting freebie opt-in, and then start figuring out who would be good businesses to do a swap and get them listed and get started on that.

18:58
And now I'm sitting here going, "oh my gosh, do I need a spreadsheet for this so that you guys can just grab it." And my brain says yes. So I will go right this minute. After recording, sit my little booty down. And I will create a Google sheet for you with just the basics.

19:18
Now here's how this Google Sheets gonna work. It's gonna have the basics, it's gonna have the things that I think you might need, it's gonna be totally customizable for you to add in whatever you need. So don't be afraid to change it. There has never been a time that I have grabbed a sheet or anything and this might just be my personality. I don't, not going to analyze that because it works and I don't care but there's never been a time that I haven't grabbed something and needed to change it or adapt it in some way to fit me. And that's just normal.

19:55
Okay, so I will get this Google Sheet created with the basics on there and you adapt it to whatever information you will want and what needs to be on there. Also, I do have the three steps for collaboration is free in an opt-in, ah, opt-in for you so you can go ahead and go sign up for that and that's going to give you last week's episode tip this week with a little bit information on a little bit of space, I should say like journal prompts, and then there'll be a third one and that's coming up.

20:32
Obviously, I haven't recorded that one for you, but it's coming up it will be in that opt-in so you can go and grab it now and then you can listen to the episode next week.

20:41
All right, go get to collaborating and creating your best life.