Co-Operative Advertising

I firmly believe that there is a way we can all succeed. But we have to think smarter.

What am I talking about? Well, I moderate a Ryze network for Canadian work at home moms and on several occassions I've talked about creating our own Canadian version of the Mom Pack within our group. Very few members (and there are approx. 130 members) took me up on this offer - I'm talking maybe 5 people.

The Mom Pack in the US is HUGE!! I honestly believe that Canadians just do not understand what can happen with Co-Operative Advertising. And that's something that I hope to change.

What is Co-Operative Advertising? Great question and I'm thrilled that you've asked ;)

The bottom line is that co-operative advertising helps get your promotional tools in the hands of many potential customers at a fraction of the cost it would take you to do the same. You agree to supply a set amount of promotional material to one or even many other business owners. Those business owners will then include your promotional material in every order they send out, with every coupon pack they deliver, to every person they meet! In return, you do exactly the same thing.

Your material is then seen by many others. Request material swaps with others in similar but not competing businesses - complimentary businesses to yours. For example, a Pampered Chef rep could swap info with someone from Megan's Pantry or Watkins - one sells the tools needed in the kitchen and the other sells the complimentary products, spices, herbs etc.

This isn't the only form of co-operative advertising either. Even simple link exchanges is a form of co-operative advertising if it's done properly. Wahm's United is a resource site for work at home moms and I look for link exchanges with similar or complimentary sites. I receive exchange requests on a regular basis from Casino and gambling sites.. what those site owners see in my site is completely beyond me lol. I refrain from exchanging links with sites like those, regardless of their Google Page Rank, Alexa Rating or any other standard that you look for when exchanging links.

Have you ever participated in an online Bash or Festival? Numerous vendors participate and everyone promotes these events. Visitors to the events browse through all the vendor *booths* or *tables* checking out the sales and special offers - the potential is there for you to make sales from visitors that found the event due to another vendors promotion strategies.

Multi-Vendor parties both online and offline can work in exactly the same way. Co-operative advertising isn't just for online advertising either. Participating in craft fairs or markets is a great form of offline co-operative advertising.

Joining online communities to expand your network of contacts can also hold numerous benefits for every home business. The Wahms United community for example participates together with the Expo-Connector in monthly online expos. Every vendor has their own table to showcase their products and services and everyone participates in the promotion of the event. Our members receive table discounts and special pricing on numerous forms of promotion, allowing your advertising dollars to stretch further.

I hope this provides some insight into the world of co-operative advertising and how it can benefit your business.

Blessings,
Dianne