Do you:

i.) Sell your own product? Not really. A lot of time will be wasted right from the start as you need to work hard to find all the right sources for your promotion and distribution.

ii.) Is it your mailing list? Not quite. It would take a lot of time and effort for you to build a large number of subscribers to your mailing list, not to mention the fact that even more time is required to establish good relationships with them.

iii.) Is it the quality of your product? Nope, because you have to be friends with your customers first before they can enjoy the quality benefits of your product.

So just what is the best kept secret of Internet marketing that can literally propel you to online riches in the shortest possible time?

My dear friend, this secret is called joint ventures, or JV in short. So what are joint ventures? It is simply a partnership between online entrepreneurs with the same vision, objective and passion to take on joint projects that will result in enormous beneficial gains.

Advantages of a joint venture

A joint venture can be very beneficial to an Internet marketing professional. Firstly, since a joint venture involves a few partners, the investment costs will be minimized as it is equally distributed among the partners. On the other, if there any losses suffered, then it will also be shared with all the partners involved in the venture.

Secondly, the partners can bring together all their resources to set up a powerful Internet marketing campaign. The numbers will keep on multiplying: 3 or 4 mailing lists are definitely better than 1; 5 or more products are better than just one offer; joining forces with other people's group of affiliates is always better than marketing with only your own affiliates.

Are joint ventures really that invincible?

Sad to say, joint ventures are just like any other Internet marketing projects: they are not spared from any problems. The main problem is that if your partners feel that you are not capable of making any significant contribution to the venture, they will reject your proposal. The worse case scenario is that they will dismiss you as someone who just want something for nothing.

Basically, your potential JV partners would expect the following from you:

i.) A high quality product that, once released into the market, will sell like hot cakes.

ii.) A group of high-powered and motivated affiliates to help boost the venture's conversion rates.

iii.) And most importantly, a sizeable and highly responsive mailing list that will give their brand and their products considerable exposure.

If you do not have any or all of the above mentioned, then you will have problems attracting potential partners willing to go into a joint venture with you.

So does that mean that if you don't meet the requirements of your prospective partners, you don't stand a chance?

Not really. There are many Internet marketing professionals out there who are willing to look beyond what you currently have. These people understand that you have to start somewhere, because they were after all in your shoes before. They will never forget their early days trying to overcome the difficult challenges of Internet marketing.

But how do you get the Internet marketing experts to say 'yes' to you?

It may sound like a daunting task, but is actually quite simple. All you need to do is just come up with a brilliant idea to get them excited. Your idea obviously has got to be exclusive, and is not found anywhere else. It should be so brilliant that they will slap their foreheads and kick themselves for not coming up with the same idea earlier.

Once you have got the idea, you will move on to the next step, which is to present it to your potential partners. Your presentation has got to be logical enough, and the objective has to be crystal clear, so that they can understand what you are talking about. You have to show them why your idea is so brilliant, and why this idea will be a great success.

How you present your idea is also very important. Just think of it as a formal presentation of a business plan in front of a group of willing investors ready to listen to what you are proposing. Be as professional as you can.

If you can follow all the points highlighted here, you will be able to set yourself up for tremendous success for your joint ventures. And when success finally smile on you, only then will you realize that joint ventures are indeed the best kept secrets of Internet marketing.