It's Great to Collaborate

Sometimes creating an information product is a tough slog when you're on your own. All of the tasks fall on your shoulders, and some days, you just don't feel like doing anything at all! Wouldn't it be great to have a partner you could turn to for help with some of the work, a fresh perspective, an informed critique, or even some words of inspiration to keep you going?

While a coach or an assistant would fit the bill, you might also consider collaborating with another expert on your next information product. Collaborate, you say? Wouldn't it better to keep all the brand recognition - and money - for yourself? In actual fact, teaming up with others to produce an information product can deliver an array of very compelling benefits.

You can play off each other's subject matter specialties.
Let's say you're an expert in animal nutrition and you'd like to develop a product about the care and feeding of dogs. The emphasis will be on things a pet owner can do to ensure their dogs are healthy and happy. You've got the feeding part down pat, but it's just one piece of what could be a much larger topic. So, you might team up with a groomer to contribute information on making a dog look great, and a veterinarian to discuss other health issues apart from nutrition.

You can deliver more value to your customers.
Now each one of you - the nutrition expert, the groomer and the vet - has a product that showcases your expertise, and the product is three times more comprehensive than what you could have achieved individually. You have created more value for your customers by delivering a wider range of material.

You can gain exposure to each other's customers.
Every time the groomer or the vet sells a copy of the product, you get your name in front of someone new and vice versa. Because your individual subject matter specialties complement each other, rather than compete directly, this exposure to each other's customers benefits everyone. Each of you has essentially tripled your sales force and your potential customer base.

You can play off each other's content creation strengths.
Maybe writing is difficult and time consuming for you but your collaborator loves it. You could split the project tasks so that your partner does the writing and you take care of the production elements such as layout, design and printing. Both names go on the finished project. This type of task distribution works best if you are both experts in a similar subject matter so that one person can knowledgeably write for the both of you.

One caveat about the collaboration route: be sure to have clear legal agreements in place before you start. Have a frank and open discussion to set out the expectations of each partner. Assign responsibility for specific tasks, decide how ownership and revenue will be shared, and plan for eventualities such as one partner wanting to sell off his share of the project. Once you've got the structure in place, collaborate away!