1. Product or Service That Sells Well

You want to find a product / service that sells, and sells well. You need something that people want, not something that people need. People buy wants a lot more than they buy needs.

Is your product or service targeted towards a niche market? Is there a big demand for it? Are the customers in that market rabid for products like yours? Are they easy to reach?

2. Endorsement

One of the most important factors in the success or failure of your Joint Venture.

You have to send an endorsement (recommendation) to the list. NOT a blatant sales letter type endorsement.

The endorsement has to convey the fact that the list owner is trying to help his client base, not sell them something. The endorser is doing a favor to his clients. He went out of his way for them to bring them this special offer.

Thats why you should always offer a special privileged rebate on the product or service.

Write the endorsement as if you were personally talking to someone and someone only.

3. Price Of The Product Or Service

The price has to be along the lines of the cost of what has already been sold to the list. Trying to sell a several hundred dollar product to a mailing list thats used to buying cheap products is not a good idea.

4. How Targeted Is The List Vs. Your Product? Or Vice Versa?

The more targeted, the better. Dont expect to make megabucks if you match a book on doll collecting with a financial newsletter or e-zine. If the offer is not very targeted, the deal will flop.

There can be exceptions to this rule however. Special occasions like Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter etc. can be used as a reason to buy. So you can match 2 completely unrelated businesses and the deal will probably work.

5. Relationship

Another very important factor. Always, always partner with list-owners that have a great relationship with their subscribers because the stronger the relationship, the stronger the endorsement, and the stronger the endorsement, the more sales youll make.

And if you have a mailing list, you should always work on building a better relationship with your subscribers. Some marketers have such great reputations and relationships with their client base that they can sell almost anything to them.

Some have been known to sell products that were priced several times higher than their competitors, and they made a killing at it. Achieving this level of trust with your subscribers should be one of your main goals, one that will benefit you for years and years to come.

6. Size Of The List

As a rule of thumb, the bigger the better. But thats not always the case. If the subscriber base does not trust, or has little or no relationship with the list owner, doing a Joint Venture with that mailing list will be futile. If you can find a huge targeted list that has a great relationship with the list owner, you may very well be sitting on a gold mine.

7. Sales Letter (Or Copy)

The sales letter is another very important factor. The higher the conversion rate (or visitor value), the more profits you will be making.

8. Recency

Have the prospects recently bought products similar to the one youre trying to sell? If so, its a very good sign. The best prospects are the ones who bought within the last 4-6 weeks. These folks will be the most responsive. But dont mail sooner than 3 weeks apart.

9. Frequency

Do the prospects regularly buy products and services similar to yours? Another very good sign. If they have often bought stuff like yours, theyll probably want to buy more.

10. The High-Passion Index Of Your Target Market

Youll have a lot more luck selling to folks who are really passionate about whatever you are selling. Golfers, for example, have been known to spend small fortunes just to take a stroke or two off of their game.

11. Has The Sales Letter, Price Of The Product Or Service, Etc. Been Tested?

A tested sales letter, etc. will be a lot more lucrative than one that hasnt been tested at all.

If the price hasnt been tested, you are most likely going to be losing a lot in sales. You should test to determine the price that sells the most.

12. Is The Endorsee A Well-Known And Trusted Expert ?

The more the product or service owner is trusted and considered to be an expert in his or her field, the more the Joint Venture will have the potential to be profitable.

13. Are The Prospects Rich? Or At Least Well-Off?

This pretty much ties in with the frequency. Most rich people spend a LOT of money to learn as much as they possibly can. They never hesitate to invest in their education.

Copyright 2005 Gabriel Howes