feat(skills): add marketing skills collection
This commit is contained in:
1 parent
b3a19860b4
commit
71daa05071
280 files changed
+54006
No files matched your search
@@ -0,0 +1,310 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
name: co-marketing
|
||||
description: "When the user wants to find co-marketing partners, plan joint campaigns, or brainstorm partnership opportunities. Use when the user says 'co-marketing,' 'partner marketing,' 'joint campaign,' 'who should we partner with,' 'integration marketing,' 'cross-promotion,' 'collaborate with another company,' 'partnership ideas,' or 'co-brand.' For customer referral programs, see referrals. For launch-specific partnerships, see launch."
|
||||
metadata:
|
||||
version: 2.0.1
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
You are a co-marketing strategist who helps SaaS companies identify ideal partners and brainstorm high-impact joint campaigns.
|
||||
|
||||
## Before Starting
|
||||
|
||||
**Check for product marketing context first:**
|
||||
If `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`, or the legacy `product-marketing-context.md` filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.
|
||||
|
||||
## When to Use This Skill
|
||||
|
||||
- Finding potential co-marketing partners
|
||||
- Brainstorming campaign ideas with a specific partner
|
||||
- Planning joint launches or promotions
|
||||
- Evaluating partnership fit
|
||||
- Structuring co-marketing agreements
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Partner Identification Framework
|
||||
|
||||
### 1. Audience Overlap Analysis
|
||||
|
||||
The best partners share your audience but don't compete for the same budget.
|
||||
|
||||
**Ideal partner characteristics:**
|
||||
- Same buyer persona, different problem solved
|
||||
- Adjacent in the workflow (before, after, or alongside your tool)
|
||||
- Similar company stage and customer size
|
||||
- Complementary, not competitive
|
||||
|
||||
**Questions to identify partners:**
|
||||
- What tools do your customers already use?
|
||||
- What do they use before/after your product?
|
||||
- Who else is selling to your ICP?
|
||||
- Which integrations do customers request most?
|
||||
|
||||
### 2. Partner Scoring Criteria
|
||||
|
||||
Rate potential partners (1-5) on:
|
||||
|
||||
| Criteria | What to Evaluate |
|
||||
|----------|------------------|
|
||||
| **Audience fit** | How closely does their audience match your ICP? |
|
||||
| **Audience size** | Do they have reach worth partnering for? |
|
||||
| **Brand alignment** | Would you be proud to be associated? |
|
||||
| **Engagement quality** | Do they have an active, engaged audience? |
|
||||
| **Reciprocity potential** | Can you offer them equal value? |
|
||||
| **Ease of execution** | Do they have a partnerships team? History of co-marketing? |
|
||||
|
||||
### 3. Where to Find Partners
|
||||
|
||||
**Integration ecosystem:**
|
||||
- Your existing integration partners
|
||||
- Tools in the same app marketplace category
|
||||
- Platforms your product plugs into
|
||||
|
||||
**Adjacent categories:**
|
||||
- Tools that solve the problem before yours
|
||||
- Tools that solve the problem after yours
|
||||
- Tools used by the same role but different workflow
|
||||
|
||||
**Community signals:**
|
||||
- Who sponsors the same podcasts/newsletters?
|
||||
- Who exhibits at the same conferences?
|
||||
- Who's active in the same communities?
|
||||
- Whose content does your audience share?
|
||||
|
||||
**Data sources:**
|
||||
- Crossbeam or Reveal for account overlap
|
||||
- Customer surveys ("what else do you use?")
|
||||
- G2/Capterra category neighbors
|
||||
- Job postings mentioning your tool + others
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Partnership Types
|
||||
|
||||
Co-marketing is one of **five partnership types**. Know the taxonomy so you route a request to the right play instead of defaulting to joint content.
|
||||
|
||||
| Type | What it is | Primary payoff |
|
||||
|------|-----------|----------------|
|
||||
| **Integrations** | Your product connects to another's (native, Zapier, API-first, embedded) | Retention, expansion, marketplace discovery |
|
||||
| **Reseller** | Partners sell your product + services | Distribution + services revenue |
|
||||
| **Affiliate** | Promoters earn commission on referrals | Low-risk, pay-for-performance reach |
|
||||
| **Co-marketing** | Joint content/campaigns with a peer | Borrowed audience, brand halo |
|
||||
| **App Store / Marketplace** | List inside a platform's ecosystem | Built-in distribution, effective CAC |
|
||||
|
||||
**Flagship proof:** HubSpot's partner program = **$100M ARR, ~40% of revenue, 3,400+ partners.** Mature programs average **~28% of revenue and 2× growth**.
|
||||
|
||||
Standout moves: **integrations** as a decision factor (83% of enterprise buyers), Calendly's staged ladder (calendar → sales → marketing); **affiliate** power law (20% of affiliates drive 80% of revenue) and buyout clauses (~12× monthly commission); **permissionless co-marketing** (Notion building templates for Airbnb/Amazon/Tesla to ride their brand — no contract needed); App Store distribution (Grammarly 0→10M).
|
||||
|
||||
For the full taxonomy — build patterns, economics, examples, and how to choose where to start — see **[references/partnership-types.md](references/partnership-types.md)**. (Affiliate program *mechanics* live in the referrals skill; keep affiliate work here at the partnership-strategy level.)
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Co-Marketing Campaign Types
|
||||
|
||||
### Content Partnerships
|
||||
|
||||
| Format | Effort | Lead Sharing | Best For |
|
||||
|--------|--------|--------------|----------|
|
||||
| **Co-authored blog post** | Low | Shared byline, link exchange | Thought leadership, SEO |
|
||||
| **Joint ebook/guide** | Medium | Gated, split leads | Lead gen, deeper topic |
|
||||
| **Research report** | High | Gated, split leads | Authority, PR |
|
||||
| **Guest newsletter swap** | Low | Each keeps own leads | Audience exposure |
|
||||
| **Podcast guest exchange** | Low | Each keeps own leads | Relationship building |
|
||||
|
||||
### Webinars & Events
|
||||
|
||||
| Format | Effort | Best For |
|
||||
|--------|--------|----------|
|
||||
| **Joint webinar** | Medium | Lead gen, product education |
|
||||
| **Virtual summit panel** | Medium | Multi-partner exposure |
|
||||
| **Co-hosted workshop** | High | Hands-on education, deeper engagement |
|
||||
| **Conference booth sharing** | Medium | Cost splitting, audience overlap |
|
||||
| **Joint happy hour/dinner** | Low | Relationship building at events |
|
||||
|
||||
### Product & Integration Marketing
|
||||
|
||||
| Format | Effort | Best For |
|
||||
|--------|--------|----------|
|
||||
| **Integration launch** | Medium | Existing integration partners |
|
||||
| **Joint case study** | Medium | Shared customers |
|
||||
| **"Better together" landing page** | Low | Integration discovery |
|
||||
| **Bundle or discount** | Medium | Conversion boost, cross-sell |
|
||||
| **In-app cross-promotion** | Medium | User activation |
|
||||
|
||||
### Community & Social
|
||||
|
||||
| Format | Effort | Best For |
|
||||
|--------|--------|----------|
|
||||
| **Social media takeover** | Low | Audience exposure |
|
||||
| **Joint giveaway/contest** | Low | List building, engagement |
|
||||
| **Slack/Discord community collab** | Low | Community building |
|
||||
| **Joint AMA or Twitter Space** | Low | Thought leadership |
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Brainstorming Partner Campaigns
|
||||
|
||||
When brainstorming with a specific partner, consider:
|
||||
|
||||
### 1. Shared Audience Moments
|
||||
|
||||
- What trigger events matter to both audiences?
|
||||
- What seasonal moments align with both products?
|
||||
- What industry trends affect both customer bases?
|
||||
|
||||
### 2. Combined Value Propositions
|
||||
|
||||
- What can customers achieve with both tools that they can't with one?
|
||||
- What workflow does the combination enable?
|
||||
- What pain point does the integration solve?
|
||||
|
||||
### 3. Unique Assets Each Brings
|
||||
|
||||
| Your Assets | Their Assets |
|
||||
|-------------|--------------|
|
||||
| Your audience size/engagement | Their audience size/engagement |
|
||||
| Your content expertise | Their content expertise |
|
||||
| Your product capabilities | Their product capabilities |
|
||||
| Your brand credibility | Their brand credibility |
|
||||
| Your customer stories | Their customer stories |
|
||||
|
||||
### 4. Campaign Idea Prompts
|
||||
|
||||
Ask these to generate ideas:
|
||||
- "What would we create if we had to launch something in 2 weeks?"
|
||||
- "What content do both our audiences desperately need?"
|
||||
- "What would make customers say 'finally, someone did this'?"
|
||||
- "What exclusive thing could we offer together?"
|
||||
- "What data do we both have that would make a compelling story?"
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Approaching Potential Partners
|
||||
|
||||
### Cold Outreach Template
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
Subject: [Your Company] + [Their Company] co-marketing idea
|
||||
|
||||
Hey [Name],
|
||||
|
||||
I'm [Role] at [Your Company]. We [one-line description].
|
||||
|
||||
I noticed we share a lot of the same audience—[specific observation about overlap].
|
||||
|
||||
I have an idea for [specific campaign type] that could work well for both of us: [one-sentence pitch].
|
||||
|
||||
Would you be open to a quick call to explore?
|
||||
|
||||
[Your name]
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### What to Prepare for the Call
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Account overlap data** (if available via Crossbeam/Reveal)
|
||||
2. **2-3 specific campaign ideas** (not just "let's do something")
|
||||
3. **Your audience metrics** (list size, traffic, engagement)
|
||||
4. **Examples of past partnerships** (shows you can execute)
|
||||
5. **Clear ask** (what you want from them, what you'll provide)
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Structuring the Partnership
|
||||
|
||||
### Key Questions to Align On
|
||||
|
||||
- **Lead ownership**: How are leads split or shared?
|
||||
- **Promotion commitments**: What will each party do to promote?
|
||||
- **Asset creation**: Who creates what? Who approves?
|
||||
- **Timeline**: When does each phase happen?
|
||||
- **Success metrics**: How will you measure success?
|
||||
- **Follow-up**: Will you do more together if it works?
|
||||
|
||||
### Simple Co-Marketing Agreement Outline
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Campaign description**: What you're doing together
|
||||
2. **Responsibilities**: Who does what
|
||||
3. **Timeline**: Key dates and deadlines
|
||||
4. **Lead handling**: How leads are captured, shared, followed up
|
||||
5. **Promotion**: Minimum commitments from each side
|
||||
6. **Branding**: Logo usage, approval process
|
||||
7. **Costs**: Who pays for what (if any)
|
||||
8. **Metrics sharing**: What data you'll share post-campaign
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Measuring Co-Marketing Success
|
||||
|
||||
### Quantitative Metrics
|
||||
|
||||
- Leads generated (total and per partner)
|
||||
- Lead quality (MQL/SQL conversion rate)
|
||||
- Revenue attributed
|
||||
- Audience growth (new subscribers, followers)
|
||||
- Content engagement (views, downloads, shares)
|
||||
|
||||
### Qualitative Metrics
|
||||
|
||||
- Ease of collaboration
|
||||
- Partner responsiveness
|
||||
- Audience reception
|
||||
- Brand lift
|
||||
- Relationship strengthened for future campaigns
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Co-Marketing Checklist
|
||||
|
||||
### Partner Identification
|
||||
- [ ] List tools your customers already use
|
||||
- [ ] Check Crossbeam/Reveal for account overlap
|
||||
- [ ] Score top 5 potential partners
|
||||
- [ ] Research their past co-marketing activities
|
||||
|
||||
### Campaign Planning
|
||||
- [ ] Agree on campaign type and goals
|
||||
- [ ] Define lead sharing arrangement
|
||||
- [ ] Assign responsibilities and deadlines
|
||||
- [ ] Set success metrics
|
||||
|
||||
### Execution
|
||||
- [ ] Create shared assets (landing page, content, etc.)
|
||||
- [ ] Coordinate promotion schedules
|
||||
- [ ] Brief both teams on talking points
|
||||
|
||||
### Post-Campaign
|
||||
- [ ] Share metrics with partner
|
||||
- [ ] Debrief on what worked/didn't
|
||||
- [ ] Discuss future collaboration opportunities
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Task-Specific Questions
|
||||
|
||||
1. Are you looking for partners or planning a campaign with a specific partner?
|
||||
2. What type of co-marketing are you most interested in? (content, events, integrations, community)
|
||||
3. What's your audience size? (email list, social following, traffic)
|
||||
4. Do you have existing integration partners?
|
||||
5. Have you done co-marketing before? What worked/didn't?
|
||||
6. What's your timeline and budget for co-marketing?
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Tool Integrations
|
||||
|
||||
For implementation, see the [tools registry](../../tools/REGISTRY.md). Key tools for co-marketing:
|
||||
|
||||
| Tool | Best For | Guide |
|
||||
|------|----------|-------|
|
||||
| **Crossbeam** | Account overlap with partners | [crossbeam.md](../../tools/integrations/crossbeam.md) |
|
||||
| **Introw** | Partner program management, deal registration | [introw.md](../../tools/integrations/introw.md) |
|
||||
| **PartnerStack** | Partner and affiliate program management | [partnerstack.md](../../tools/integrations/partnerstack.md) |
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Related Skills
|
||||
|
||||
- **referrals** — For customer referral and affiliate programs (customers referring customers)
|
||||
- **launch** — For product launches with partners; covers co-marketing as a "borrowed channel"
|
||||
- **content-strategy** — For content planning including co-created content
|
||||
- **sales-enablement** — For partner-facing collateral and enablement materials
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
|
||||
{
|
||||
"skill_name": "co-marketing",
|
||||
"evals": [
|
||||
{
|
||||
"id": 1,
|
||||
"prompt": "We make a project management tool for design agencies. Who should we look for as co-marketing partners?",
|
||||
"expected_output": "Should check for product-marketing.md first. Should apply the Partner Identification Framework with audience overlap analysis. Should identify ideal partner characteristics: same buyer persona (design agencies), different problem solved, adjacent in the workflow. Should suggest specific partner categories: design tools (Figma, Adobe), proposal/contract tools (Bonsai, HoneyBook), client communication (Notion, Slack), invoicing/payments (Stripe, FreshBooks), file storage/handoff (Dropbox, Frame.io). Should recommend audience scoring criteria. Should suggest sources to find partners: integration ecosystem, Crossbeam/Reveal for account overlap, customer surveys, G2/Capterra category neighbors, podcasts/newsletters they sponsor.",
|
||||
"assertions": [
|
||||
"Checks for product-marketing.md",
|
||||
"Identifies same persona / different problem characteristic",
|
||||
"Suggests specific partner categories in workflow",
|
||||
"Mentions Crossbeam or account overlap data",
|
||||
"Lists multiple sources to find partners",
|
||||
"Applies scoring criteria"
|
||||
],
|
||||
"files": []
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"id": 2,
|
||||
"prompt": "We're partnering with a competitor — wait, not a competitor, a complementary CRM company. Help us brainstorm 5 campaign ideas we could run together.",
|
||||
"expected_output": "Should apply the brainstorming framework: shared audience moments, combined value propositions, unique assets each brings. Should propose campaign ideas across multiple types from the campaign type tables (content partnerships, webinars/events, product/integration marketing, community/social). Should suggest specific ideas like: co-authored blog post or research report, joint webinar, 'better together' integration landing page, joint case study with shared customer, integration launch, bundle/discount, conference booth sharing. Should ask the campaign idea prompts to spark ideas: what would we create if we had to launch in 2 weeks, what content do both audiences desperately need, what data do we both have that would make a compelling story.",
|
||||
"assertions": [
|
||||
"Applies brainstorming framework",
|
||||
"Proposes campaigns across multiple types (content, events, integration, community)",
|
||||
"Suggests specific actionable ideas",
|
||||
"Mentions integration or 'better together' angle",
|
||||
"Uses brainstorming prompts"
|
||||
],
|
||||
"files": []
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"id": 3,
|
||||
"prompt": "Draft a cold outreach email to a potential co-marketing partner. They're a content management platform and we make a marketing analytics tool. Both serve B2B marketing teams.",
|
||||
"expected_output": "Should use the cold outreach template structure. Should include: subject line with both company names, brief role intro, specific observation about audience overlap (not generic), one concrete campaign idea (not 'let's do something'), clear ask for a quick call. Should keep it short and personal. Should optionally mention call prep: account overlap data (Crossbeam/Reveal), 2-3 specific campaign ideas, audience metrics, past partnership examples, clear ask of what's wanted and what's offered.",
|
||||
"assertions": [
|
||||
"Includes subject with both company names",
|
||||
"Specific observation about audience overlap",
|
||||
"Includes one concrete campaign idea",
|
||||
"Includes clear ask for a call",
|
||||
"Keeps it short and personal",
|
||||
"Mentions what to prepare for the call"
|
||||
],
|
||||
"files": []
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"id": 4,
|
||||
"prompt": "We've identified 5 potential partners but only have time for one campaign this quarter. How should we pick?",
|
||||
"expected_output": "Should apply the partner scoring criteria: audience fit, audience size, brand alignment, engagement quality, reciprocity potential, ease of execution. Should recommend scoring each partner 1-5 across these criteria. Should weight by current goal (e.g., if lead gen is priority, weight audience size and audience fit higher; if relationship building, weight brand alignment and engagement quality). Should consider partner's history of co-marketing — those with partnerships teams and past co-marketing activities execute faster. Should recommend running a small content partnership first (low effort) to test the relationship before bigger commitments.",
|
||||
"assertions": [
|
||||
"Applies partner scoring criteria",
|
||||
"Includes all 6 scoring dimensions",
|
||||
"Weights by goal",
|
||||
"Considers ease of execution / partnership history",
|
||||
"Recommends starting with low-effort format"
|
||||
],
|
||||
"files": []
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"id": 5,
|
||||
"prompt": "Our partnership webinar with another SaaS company got 200 signups. How do we split the leads?",
|
||||
"expected_output": "Should address the lead handling question from the Structuring the Partnership section. Should explain common splits: each partner keeps their own registrations (cleanest but loses cross-pollination), all leads shared between both (max reach, requires clear MQL/SQL handoff), split by audience source (your list vs theirs). Should recommend documenting this in advance in a co-marketing agreement covering campaign description, responsibilities, timeline, lead handling, promotion, branding, costs, metrics sharing. Should note measuring success: leads generated per partner, lead quality (MQL/SQL conversion rate), revenue attributed. Should recommend a post-campaign debrief and discussing future collaboration if it worked.",
|
||||
"assertions": [
|
||||
"Explains lead split options",
|
||||
"Recommends documenting in agreement",
|
||||
"Lists agreement components",
|
||||
"Mentions measuring lead quality not just volume",
|
||||
"Recommends post-campaign debrief"
|
||||
],
|
||||
"files": []
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"id": 6,
|
||||
"prompt": "Our customer success team wants us to launch a referral program. Can you help us design one?",
|
||||
"expected_output": "Should recognize this is about customer referrals, not co-marketing between companies. Should redirect to the referrals skill, which specifically handles customer referral and affiliate programs (customers referring customers). Should note co-marketing is partner-to-partner marketing while referrals is customer-driven word-of-mouth. May offer brief co-marketing context if it's relevant to the strategy, but should make clear referrals is the right skill for the task.",
|
||||
"assertions": [
|
||||
"Recognizes this is customer referral, not co-marketing",
|
||||
"Defers to referrals skill",
|
||||
"Distinguishes co-marketing from referral programs",
|
||||
"Does not attempt full co-marketing strategy"
|
||||
],
|
||||
"files": []
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"id": 7,
|
||||
"prompt": "We're a SaaS scheduling tool. We keep hearing 'you should do partnerships' but I don't even know what kinds exist. What are our options and where should we start?",
|
||||
"expected_output": "Should lay out the five partnership types from the partnership-types taxonomy: integrations, reseller programs, affiliate programs, co-marketing, and app store/marketplace — not just joint content. Should note co-marketing is only one of the five. Should reference the flagship proof that partner programs are meaningful (e.g., HubSpot's ~$100M ARR / ~40% of revenue / 3,400+ partners; mature programs ~28% of revenue and 2x growth). Should give concrete moves per type: integrations built native vs via Zapier vs API-first vs embedded, Calendly's staged ladder (calendar to sales stack to marketing stack), 83% of enterprise citing integrations as a decision factor; reseller economics (20-40% of LTV plus 2-3x in services); affiliate power law (20% of affiliates drive 80% of revenue) and buyout clauses (~12x monthly commission); permissionless co-marketing (Notion building templates for Airbnb/Amazon/Tesla to ride their brand); app store distribution (Grammarly 0 to 10M, platforms taking 15-30% as effective CAC). For a scheduling tool specifically, should recommend starting with integrations (retention/expansion, marketplace discovery) given the calendar/CRM workflow. Should point to references/partnership-types.md for the full taxonomy, and note affiliate mechanics live in the referrals skill.",
|
||||
"assertions": [
|
||||
"Lists all five partnership types",
|
||||
"Notes co-marketing is one of five, not the whole picture",
|
||||
"Cites the HubSpot / partner-program flagship stat",
|
||||
"Gives concrete moves for multiple types (integration ladder, affiliate power law, permissionless co-marketing)",
|
||||
"Recommends a starting type appropriate to a scheduling tool (integrations)",
|
||||
"Points to the partnership-types reference"
|
||||
],
|
||||
"files": []
|
||||
}
|
||||
]
|
||||
}
|
||||
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
|
||||
# Partnership Types
|
||||
|
||||
Adapted from Corey Haines's *Founding Marketing*, Ch. 11 — "Partnerships tap into existing audiences." The fastest way to reach customers is through companies that already have their attention.
|
||||
|
||||
**Flagship proof:** HubSpot's partner program = **$100M ARR, ~40% of revenue, 3,400+ partners.** Mature partner programs average **~28% of revenue and 2× the growth** of companies without them.
|
||||
|
||||
Co-marketing (in the SKILL.md) is one of five partnership types. Use this reference to place a given partnership in the right category and pick the right play. The types stack — most companies run several at once as the program matures.
|
||||
|
||||
| Type | What it is | Primary payoff |
|
||||
|------|-----------|----------------|
|
||||
| **Integrations** | Your product connects to another's | Retention, expansion, marketplace discovery |
|
||||
| **Reseller** | Partners sell your product for you | Distribution + services revenue |
|
||||
| **Affiliate** | Promoters earn commission on referrals | Low-risk, pay-for-performance reach |
|
||||
| **Co-marketing** | Joint content/campaigns with a peer | Borrowed audience, brand halo |
|
||||
| **App Store / Marketplace** | List inside a platform's ecosystem | Built-in distribution, effective CAC |
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 1. Integrations
|
||||
|
||||
Integrations are the foundation — they make you sticky, unlock expansion, and earn a spot in the partner's marketplace.
|
||||
|
||||
**Four ways to build:**
|
||||
- **Native** — you build and maintain a direct connection. Best UX, highest cost.
|
||||
- **Platform via Zapier/Make** — ride an iPaaS to cover the long tail without building each one.
|
||||
- **API-first** — expose a clean public API and let partners build toward you.
|
||||
- **Embedded** — your product runs inside theirs (widget, SDK, iframe).
|
||||
|
||||
**Calendly's staged integration ladder** — build integrations in order of buyer intent:
|
||||
1. **Calendar** (Google/Outlook) — table stakes, required to function.
|
||||
2. **Sales stack** (CRM, dialers, Salesforce/HubSpot) — where revenue teams live.
|
||||
3. **Marketing stack** (forms, ESP, automation) — top-of-funnel capture.
|
||||
|
||||
Each rung deepens the account and widens who inside the company depends on you.
|
||||
|
||||
**Marketplace strategy + ASO.** Getting listed isn't enough — apps compete for placement. Treat a marketplace like an app store: optimize the listing (title, keywords, screenshots, reviews, category) the same way you'd do App Store Optimization. Shopify App Store and Salesforce AppExchange are discovery engines; ranking well there is a channel, not an afterthought.
|
||||
|
||||
**Why it matters:** **83% of enterprise buyers cite integrations as a purchase-decision factor.** Missing an integration a prospect needs can lose the deal outright.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 2. Reseller programs
|
||||
|
||||
Turn other companies into a sales force. Partners resell your product and layer their own services on top.
|
||||
|
||||
**Economics:** resellers typically earn **20–40% of LTV** on the software, plus **2–3× that amount in services** (implementation, training, retainers) they sell around it. The services margin is what makes the partner care.
|
||||
|
||||
**HubSpot's agency playbook (Peter Caputa).** HubSpot turned marketing agencies into resellers by making the agency's own business better: give them a product to sell, certifications to differentiate on, and a co-selling motion. Agencies became a durable, compounding distribution channel — the engine behind the $100M ARR partner program.
|
||||
|
||||
**Partner enablement is the work.** A reseller program lives or dies on enablement: onboarding, certification, sales collateral, deal registration, co-selling support, and a partner portal. Signing partners is easy; getting them to actually sell requires you to train and equip them.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 3. Affiliate programs
|
||||
|
||||
Pay-for-performance reach. Affiliates promote you and earn commission on conversions — low downside, since you pay only on results.
|
||||
|
||||
**Proof points:**
|
||||
- **ConvertKit + Pat Flynn** — a single trusted creator can become a top-of-funnel channel on their own.
|
||||
- **Demio** — **50% commissions** to make the program worth a promoter's real effort.
|
||||
- **Cometly** — **$251K in a single launch day**, driven by one top affiliate plus **Rewardful** for tracking and payouts.
|
||||
|
||||
**The 20/80 affiliate power law.** ~20% of affiliates drive ~80% of revenue. Don't spread effort evenly across a long tail — **identify super-promoters and invest disproportionately** in them (higher rates, custom assets, early access, direct relationship).
|
||||
|
||||
**Buyout clauses.** For a super-promoter you want to lock in (or eventually replace with owned channel), a buyout clause lets you pay out future commissions as a lump sum — commonly **~12× the monthly commission**. It caps long-term liability and gives the affiliate a clean exit.
|
||||
|
||||
> Affiliate mechanics — commission structures, cookie windows, fraud, tooling (Rewardful/Tolt/PartnerStack) — belong in the **referrals** skill. Keep affiliate work here at the partnership-strategy level: which promoters to recruit, how to tier them, when to buy out.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 4. Co-marketing
|
||||
|
||||
Joint campaigns with a non-competing peer who shares your audience. Covered in depth in the main SKILL.md (campaign types, partner scoring, agreements). Two ideas from the chapter worth calling out:
|
||||
|
||||
**Permissionless co-marketing (Notion's coined move) — the single most actionable idea in the chapter.** You don't need a signed partnership to ride a bigger brand. Notion built and published templates *for* Airbnb, Amazon, and Tesla — no permission, no contract — capturing search demand and brand halo from companies far larger than itself. **Build assets around brands your audience already loves; let the association do the work.**
|
||||
|
||||
**Content ecosystems.** Gong earned reach by showing up consistently on **SaaStr** (the audience it wanted, hosted by someone else) rather than only building its own. Pair with the lowest-friction swaps — **newsletter swaps** and cross-promotion — where each side keeps its own leads and simply exposes the other to its audience.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## 5. App Store / Marketplace
|
||||
|
||||
List your product inside a platform's ecosystem and inherit its distribution.
|
||||
|
||||
- **Grammarly's Chrome Web Store extension** took it from **0 to 10M users** — the store *was* the acquisition channel.
|
||||
- Platforms take **15–30% of revenue**. Treat that cut as **effective CAC**: you're buying distribution instead of running ads.
|
||||
- **Go all-in on one platform when it maps to your ICP.** Arrows built its entire GTM around **HubSpot** — deep integration, AppExchange presence, co-selling — rather than spreading thin across many ecosystems.
|
||||
|
||||
**When to choose this:** if a single platform owns your buyer's daily workflow, being *inside* it beats trying to pull users out to your own site.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Choosing where to start
|
||||
|
||||
- **Retention/expansion problem** → Integrations first (and the marketplace listing that comes with them).
|
||||
- **Need distribution without headcount** → Affiliate (fast, pay-on-results) or Reseller (slower, higher-touch, services upside).
|
||||
- **Have content but no reach** → Co-marketing, starting with permissionless assets and newsletter swaps.
|
||||
- **A platform owns your buyer's workflow** → App Store / Marketplace, all-in.
|
||||
|
||||
Programs compound: integrations create marketplace presence, marketplace presence attracts resellers, resellers and affiliates create the case studies that fuel co-marketing.
|
||||
Reference in new issue
Block a user