Collaborations
HOW TO & INSIGHTS
“Collaboration OVER competition”
This is an important one, & I hope I cover lots of points that will help you make better decisions going forward
I fully believe in Collaboration OVER competition - but this doesn’t mean you just say yes to every single thing that comes your way, this means that you’re clever about accepting, & approaching the RIGHT collaborations for you, your brand & aligning with the type of lifestyle you want to be living.
I’m going to start right from the beginning, & try & help you in stages, from someone approaching you wanting to collab with you, & the process of what to do next….
People Pleasing - feeling the need to say YES to everything
2. Outlining your Values & Beliefs
3. A similar Dream Audience to you
4. Types of collabs
5. Where to find them
6. What to watch out for
7. Collaborating in the yachting industry
People Pleasing
Feeling the need to say YES to everything
I’ll get right into it….
If you say YES to absolutely everything & everyone that comes to you, or you come accross, you’re going to end up with one hell of a lot of learning curves. Learning curves are good, but by firstly acknowledging if a collab is right for you will save you sooooo much heartache, time, & money!
People pleasing is a real thing, especially for us women who have worked in the yachting industry. The yachting industry is all about people pleasing, & it’s not up to us to decide if something aligns with us or not before we decide to say yes, or no; it’s just always a yes! & whilst this may be good onboard because we’re there to look after the guests every needs, it’s not good when we’re running our own brand, & especially how we deal with situations, & the things we decide to take upon us.
Myself, as well as every single one of my clients, & all the women I’ve spoken to suffer from people pleasing in one way or another, & at all at diff stages. So you’re not alone with this !
HOWEVER….
People pleasing does not help us, & i’ll talk particularly in regards to collaborations.
It’s super exciting when people come to you & want to partner with you, or collab with you - you’ve got interest, that’s great!
But not everyone has your best interest at heart, & many are in it with ‘their’ best interests at heart.
Saying YES to a collab just to please someone else, will only end in heartache for you, a loss of money, & a loss of time.
You don’t need to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way, for example it may not be the right time of year for you, you may not have the time to spend creating documents, you may want to concentrate on one thing etc.
Below i’m going to help you figure out if a collab is good for you or not, & know when to say NO.
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Values & Beliefs
& intricately outlining these
I did Values & Belief’s training inside here in August, if you haven’t done this yet, then this is probably one of the most important trainings you need to do to positively impact how you do things, do it HERE
Outlining your Values & Belief’s allows you to take a step back before making a decision. This also prevents you from just blurting out YES to anyone & everyone. When you hold your Values & Belief’s at the forefront of everything you do, & before you make up your mind in situations than you can never go wrong.
Things do go wrong, I don’t want to lead you into false pretences, BUT, by taking a step back & thinking of your Values & Beleif’s before you make a decision, putting them at the forefront of every decision you make -
you’re going to make better decisions !
You will be making decisions because they are going to benefit you, because they align with what’s important to you, because you believe in them, because it’s the right thing to do at that very time.
What’s very important, once you’ve outlined your Values & Beleif’s is that you take A STEP BACK when someone comes to you with an opportunity, or if you see one you may be interested in.
Does this align with what I value as important?
Does this align with what I believe in?
Why do they want to partner with me?
(ask them, you want them to want to collab with YOU, not just bcus it’s going to boost them, & they’d just work with anyone & everyone)
These questions should be at the forefront of any decision making!
Your Dream Audience
They need to have a similar Dream Audience to you.
There’s absolutely no point in saying yes to any collaboration unless it’s going to help your Dream Audience.
So with that being said, the brand or person behind the collaboration needs to have a similar Dream Audience to you. If you’re not working with me inside my 1-1 brand mentoring programme, then I highly recommend you do my training on Dream Audience inside here if you haven’t done so already, it’s HERE - it’s super duper important you outline exactly who your DA is ;)
You’ve defined your Dream Audience because they need what you have to offer, because they have a problem, & a struggle that you can help them with, because you actually care, & want to truly help this specific audience.
Does their Dream Audience align with mine?
Will this collab help, benefit, positively impact my Dream Audience?
What problems do their Dream Audience have, & do they need what you have to offer?
Will this help me grow my Dream Audience, & help them discover me?
Types of collabs
There are so many ways you can work with people, & brands
There are so many different types of collaborations, so even if someone comes to you with one way, you may find a different way will benefit both of you in more ways. I keep saying “when they come to you” but you can also go to them when the time is right for you to start doing this. (FYI - you wana get clear on what your brand foundations are first before you jump into collabs)
Ways in which to collaborate -
▾ Insta stories
▾ Insta posts on both of your feeds or on one
(paid influencer posts work well this way)
▾ Insta Live’s (these are great, & help you get boosted on the algorithm too)
▾ TikTok
▾ YouTube
(product sharing, paid, speaking, showcasing)
▾ Facebook group posting
▾ Training - an exchange of knowledge
▾ Competitions/Giveaways
▾ Word of mouth
(if someone is looking for what they offer - a mutual referral collab)
▾ Facebook group posting
▾ Podcasts
▾ Online articles/ blogs
▾ Speaking events
▾ Physical markets
Where to find them
There are so many places you can find people/brands to collab with -
▾ Instagram
(on your account, but also on other ppl’s who have a similar DA as you)
▾ Co-working spaces
▾ YouTube
▾ Podcasts
▾ Reading comments on articles, & blog posts
▾ Fb groups
(there are sooooo many of these, & a great place to also stumble across ideas & be inspired)
▾ TikTok
▾ Events, markets, parties, meetups
(speak to people, tell them what types of brands, or ppl you’re looking for, or just tell them about what you do, & you never know who will be brought up into convo)
What to watch out for
When they come to you, or you go to them.
We all know not everyone is genuine, that you can’t trust everyone, & that not everyone has such good intentions as you do, with that being said -
Things to watch out for when they come to you, & possibly ask, or deep research into -
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Are they contacting me for the right reasons?
Do they want to collab with me, or are they just messaging everyone, & everyone?
What is their goal within collabing with me?
What results did they get from their previous collabs?
What are their strengths?
Are they being honest?
Who else have they previously collab’d with? Do they align with your V&B?
Do you need to buy anything? Pay into anything?
(be very wary about a collab that requires money)
Do they have T&C’s &/or a contract?
Will & how will this benefit me?
Things to think about when you want to approach a person/brand, & possibly ask, or deep research into -
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Why am I contacting them?
How will collabing with them benefit me?
How long do you want the collab to go on for?
What does the collab entail?
What’s your goal with this collab?
What are you going to do, & what do you want them to do?
You want to outline your ideas, & how you’d like it to work, not just go to them saying “I want to collab with you, do you have any ideas”. Spend some time really researching into them, coming up with creative ideas that are aligned to them & their brand, & if you’re reaching out to more than one, make sure you personalise to each individual brand - this is very important!
Collabing in the yachting industry
Super Yacht Content
I have personally spoken to Lucy who runs SYC Insta, & actually helped her on numerous occasions with different things, & we were discussing how she can help out the women within Sisterhood.
They are currently doing a life after yachting series where you fill out a Q&A to do with your biz, i’ve answered them, & they’re super easy, she will then edit it a bit if needed, & post it on their website.
Search for ‘Life After Yachting’ & you’ll find it. She also said it will be shared across their socials, on Facebook & Insta stories.
You’re brand name will be linked to a page of your choice, however their is not a CTA at the end.
Email Lucy HERE
Super Yacht Services Guide
Caroline only list services that come through recommendations – this is how they endorse quality services.
It makes them different to a ‘yellow pages Directory/ Yachting Pages to be exact!’
I spoke to Caroline & she said it’s not just yachty biz’s she showcases, however take a good look at what she includes to see if it’s for you or not - FYI It’s defo not for all of you in here LOL!
Get 3x clients/customers of yours to fill out this form & you will be put forward to Caroline.
Get them to fill this out HERE
Also here is their media pack - a great insight into their pricing ;) HERE
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Here is the link – doesn’t have to be Superyacht Crew/ yachts, just any clients that feel happy endorsing you.
P.S. Always make sure you & them are in it for the right reasons, a lot of brands no matter is they are in the yachting industry or not are in it for their own reasons, so take a step back first before answering them, & have a real think if it would benefit you for the right reasons too.