We are great at going to God's Word for advice and inspiration in our relationships, our personal growth and our spiritual development.  But we don't always go there first for practical direction on our business and ministry decisions.

When we look at scripture through a little different lens, we find so many examples of God using his people strategically to accomplish his purposes.

So our Better Together journey begins by looking at the partnership between King Solomon and King Hiram that played an important role in building the temple.

People usually have three main reasons for not initiating partnerships.

1. Not sure they have enough value to offer a partner
2. Afraid of bothering someone or being rejected
3. Don’t have a plan for growth

We'll shatter these barriers and build your path to partnerships.

Whether you are looking at guest posting, creating a product together or trading social media shares, the quality of your connection makes the difference between a positive experience for you and your readers and a negative one.

So if collaborating is beneficial and Biblical, how do you find the right partners?  The first key is to identify potential partners who are like-minded.

The second key to the perfect collaboration is to build a relationship with your potential partners.  Some courses on partnerships and collaborations will jump straight to the pitch and teach you how to craft the perfect pitch email that gets someone to say yes.

But I’ve found, especially in the Christian market, people aren’t looking for pitches, they are looking for relationships.  We want people we can work with over and over again because we trust them and want to grow together.

Getting to know your potential pitch partners better can help confirm that this new relationship will work (or not) and give you ideas for mutually beneficial collaborations. Engage to build an authentic relationship where trust forms for a partnership, not just to get their attention.

So, now that you understand how important it is to collaborate, maybe you have some ideas about who you want to collaborate with.  Here comes the scary part …. Reaching out and asking.

When you follow this simple format, it's not as scary as you think.

We do collaborations for many different reasons.  Maybe to:

• Increase followers
• Grow an email list
• Sell a product or service
• Create or solidify a relationship

So how do we know if we’ve accomplished what we set out to do?  As you are developing your partnership ideas, make sure you include ways to measure how effective each partnership is.  This will help you hone in on your partnership sweet spot … the types of partners and events that help you reach your goals.

So you heard that the guest post is dead? Well, you heard wrong. Guest posts can still be an important way to reach a new audience, and guest podcast episode are the more modern version.

We'll look at some ways to freshen up these proven strategies.

Everybody loves getting something for free, and a giveaway can create a lot of excitement around your brand.  Working with partners to increase the value of your giveaway make it even more exciting!

Collaborating with an interview or series of interviews is an easy way to get new information in front of your audience and attract new people to you. With several options for format and platform, this is one of the more flexible ways to collaborate.

Podcasting or Vlogging may be one of the ultimate ways to use collaborative audio or video interviews, but there are easier and lower-maintenance ways to get started.

One of the hottest types of collaborations is the challenge and is particularly effective on Instagram, specifically Instagram Stories.

Conducting a webinar or masterclass with a partner offers very high value to your audience as you share your expertise with them. It also establishes credibility and authority around your message.

Many webinars and masterclasses are used to sell a product, course or service at the end, but not always.

Facebook groups and masterminds have become an important place to learn and build community around almost any topic. Whether they are free or paid, many of them offer monthly guest expert training. If you have something to offer that fits in with the focus of the group or mastermind, you can be featured as the guest expert.

Most online ministries or businesses are trying to grow their email list so they can develop deeper relationships with their audience. One great way to build your email list is through a lead magnet swap or bundle.

Given your creativity and passion for your message, there is an endless range of ideas to work together.

After covering some of the most popular ways to partner with others and grow your reach and impact, we'll add on four additional ideas.