How creating content with other experts can expand your audience and attract more prospects.

Did you know that Great Danes were originally bred by German nobility to hunt wild boars and protect prestigious country estates? Over the years, we’ve kept our noble stature, but lost our ferocious tendencies. In fact, Great Danes are now referred to as Gentle Giants.

I may be massive and intimidating, but I really have no interest in bringing down a wild boar (have you seen how scary those things are?) or attacking anyone. Personally, I get along well with both humans and other animals – except squirrels, which are just annoying. In fact, I find that getting along with others leads to some pretty awesome perks, such as treats, playtime and belly rubs.

Collaborative Content is a Win-Win

Collaborating is also a great way to amplify your content. By creating content with other experts in your field, you can expand your audience and attract more prospects. For example, if you partner with an influencer who has 10,000 followers on social media, you’ll instantly get 10,000 more impressions when your content is published.

You’ll also be able to include more perspectives, giving your content a more well-rounded view. By working together and combining different areas of expertise, you’ll more likely to produce richer, more valuable content.

Collaborative content can take a variety of forms, including:

• Interviews and panels – You can pick the brains of an influencer or a group of industry experts on a specific topic in an interview or a Q&A panel. Each interviewee or participant is then free to share the finished piece with their networks.
• Quotes – Build more credibility to your content by including quotes from experts on the topic within your content. The quote should strengthen the writing, adding insight or evidence. Then, when you publish the piece, you let them know that you quoted them and ask them to share it with their audience.
• Co-write a blog or white paper with another industry expert.
• Internal perspectives – Create a piece of content with the help of employees from all areas of the company, from manufacturing to sales. Pick a topic, such as quality or customer service, and ask team members to weigh in on what it means to them.
• Case Studies – This is a great way to highlight your clients, as well as your expertise. Be sure to promote your client’s product or service, as well as how you helped them solve a problem, make improvements or build revenue.

By working together, you share the expert’s message and expertise with your audience, and in return, the collaborator(s) share your content with their audience, expanding your exposure to a new group of people. These backlinks are highly-effective SEO tools, attracting visitors to your website.

Follow the Rules

Of course, whenever you play or work with others, there are rules that must be followed. I have learned that “pouncing” is unacceptable when you weigh 200 pounds – especially when your friends are smaller than your head!

When you’re attempting to collaborate on content, there are few things to remember:

• Look for websites with a higher domain authority than yours – a link back from popular websites is powerful!
• Don’t pursue the big dog, until you know the big dog, which means do your research on an expert before asking to collaborate.
• Tap into suppliers, partners, customers, and employees when looking for experts on a subject.
• Be as specific as possible about your request. Choose one or two questions to answer or a particular pain point to discuss and solve.

Collaborating Can be Fun

Working alone can be highly productive, like when I’m busy chewing on a giant rawhide bone and would rather not be distracted until I’m done. But it can also be lonely and a little monotonous. Sometimes I feel bad for my content co-worker, sitting alone in her cubicle all day, staring at her computer, trying to think of interesting things to say. That’s why I often stop by to visit, provide inspiration and support, and drool on her desk. She loves it.

Collaborating can break up that monotony, bring a fresh voice to your work, improve the quality of your content, increase traffic, and depending on who you work with, make your job more fun. Why not give it a try.

Want to collaborate on some content? Call my friend and co-worker, Robin Porter at 734-788-6768.

“The Beatles knew it. So too did The Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel and even Sonny and Cher. You make better music when you collaborate. Content marketers can apply the idea in so many ways to create more compelling content, expand their audience, and build meaningful relationships.” – Barry Feldman, Feldman Creative