Joint Venture Partners And Affiliates - What's The Difference

Joint venture partners and affiliates have become synonymous with online business today. Most successful online entrepreneurs use joint ventures or affiliates to boost their market presence and profits. But are affiliates and joint ventures the same thing? And if there is a difference, which one is more suited to drive business your way?

Joint Ventures

The best way to understand the difference between joint venture partners and affiliates is to understand what each term means on its own. A joint venture partner is usually another company in your niche market- ideally they are a company that is one of the top rankers or at least near the top. In a joint venture, both companies use the leverage of their partner to boost sales. This can be done in a number of different ways, like sharing client mailing lists or doing shared podcasts. The bottom line here is that both companies are working towards a common goal- that goal will reap both sides profits.

In terms of joint ventures, there are two main schemes that are popularly followed. One is called Co-Ownership- this means that you and your partner set up a business together. This is usually a more risky scheme but it is also the most powerful- if executed properly, a Co-Ownership can bring in a lot of money. The second joint venture scheme is the one that often gets joint venture partners and affiliates mixed up. It is called a Promotion Only strategy- as its name implies, two companies team up for promotional work only.

Splitting The Difference

Now let's look at what an affiliate is. An affiliate is basically a person who promotes your product or service in exchange for money. So how is this different from a Promotion Only joint venture? An affiliate has only a limited interest in your product and its marketing- their job ends with the promotion. Once that's done, they get their money and go. A joint venture partner however, has a far greater interest in what's going on. If a promotional tactic isn't working, you can sit with your joint venture partner and work something else out. You can pool your resources together, brainstorm and come up with some really creative and effective promotional ideas.

Somebody said that when it comes to the difference between joint venture partners and affiliates, joint ventures are like affiliates on steroids. This is true in many ways- a joint venture partner comes with a lot more resources and a lot more drive to make your promotional exercise a success. The best scenario would be to get more than one joint partner to promote your product, all on the same day. This will lead to a remarkable spike in market presence- in fact; many people have used this method and raked in phenomenal sales in a single day! When it comes to joint venture partners and affiliates, a joint venture partner is a smarter option.

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