Beginner’s Guide to Why Collaborations Are the Smartest Way to Grow Your Online Business

Here’s Everything You Need to Know to Start Using Collaborations to Grow Your Online Business Today

The online space is crowded, and standing out feels harder than ever. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you're constantly thinking about visibility. You’ve probably tried all the usual things—showing up on social media, spending (or thinking about spending) money on ads, even cold prospecting. These are the go-to marketing strategies that most people talk about.

But there’s one strategy that not enough people are using—or even know about—and that’s collaborations.

I remember when I first learned about collaborations. I had joined a program teaching me how to host a summit. At that point, I wasn't even sure what a summit was or how it could grow my email list—I just knew I was desperate. I had tried the usual methods: showing up on social media, running ads, even cold prospecting... and none of it worked.

So what did I have to lose?

I went all in. I followed the program and launched my very first summit in October of 2022—and I grew my list from 0 to 311!

Something finally worked. And I was hooked.

Every strategy requires time and effort, but I was thrilled to find one where the time I invested actually paid off. That one summit took me about 90 days to plan, and it resulted in over 300 email subscribers. Compare that to the years I spent posting on social media and gaining maybe 1–3 leads a month (on a good month), and it was clear: collaborations changed everything.

What Are Collaborations in Online Business?

In the simplest terms, a collaboration in online business is when two or more people work together to share audiences, knowledge, or resources to achieve a common goal—typically growth. This could mean co-hosting a free event, contributing to each other’s content, or promoting each other’s offers. The key is that it’s mutually beneficial: both parties gain visibility, value, or leads.

Collaborations come in many forms, which is part of what makes them so flexible and powerful. You might participate in a joint workshop or webinar, swap freebies with another entrepreneur, write a guest blog post, or even be interviewed on a podcast. Larger collabs might include virtual summits or joining in a bundle or giveaway with 20 or more contributors.

Many people confuse collaborations with partnerships or affiliate programs, but they’re not quite the same.

How Are Business Partnerships Different from Collaborations?

A business partnership usually involves two or more individuals formally joining forces to run a business together. This often includes shared decision-making, responsibilities, and profits—and it typically requires legal agreements, contracts, or even shared ownership. Collaborations, by contrast, are more temporary and flexible, usually built around a single project or promotion.

How Do Affiliate Programs Compare to Collaborations?

An affiliate program is transactional: someone promotes your product or service using a unique link, and they earn a commission when someone buys. While it can be a form of collaboration, it’s not usually interactive or co-created. You’re not working together—they’re simply promoting you. Collaborations, on the other hand, involve both parties actively creating value together and showing up for each other’s audiences.

What Makes Collaborations Unique?

Unlike partnerships or affiliate programs, collaborations are usually short-term, relationship-driven, and focused on growing visibility or building your email list. They’re also highly customizable—you can create a win-win based on your goals, your audience size, and the time you have available.

What makes collaborations especially powerful for online businesses is their ability to build trust and connection quickly. Instead of constantly trying to push your message out to a cold audience, collaborations let you borrow someone else’s trust and audience, creating warm leads and community in the process.

If you’re looking to grow without paid ads or spending hours trying to “go viral,” collaborations offer a more personal, authentic, and sustainable way to get seen.

Why Should I Consider Collaborations to Grow My Business?

If you’ve been trying to grow your online business with social media, ads, or cold outreach, you’ve likely felt the frustration of working hard with minimal results. Collaborations offer a smarter, more sustainable way to build your audience, boost your credibility, and attract aligned leads—without constantly shouting into the void.

The Key Benefits of Collaborating

1. Grow Your Audience, Fast

One of the most powerful parts of collaboration is audience sharing. Both hosting and contributing allow you to tap into someone else’s warm, engaged audience—but in different ways.

• Contributing often requires you to already have an audience or platform, because many hosts look for contributors who can bring their own audience to the table. Depending on the host’s goals, they might want to grow their list by attracting new leads or simply provide extra value to their established audience. So, if you’re contributing, having an existing email list or social following can increase your chances of being invited or accepted to the collaboration. You can find collaboration events that do not require you to have an existing audience, but in my experience they are a little harder to find.

• Hosting, on the other hand, gives you full control and can be a powerful growth tool, especially if you’re starting from zero. As a host, you can invite contributors who already have their own audiences to promote the event, helping you rapidly build your own list or visibility. This was exactly my experience when I hosted my first summit—I went from zero to over 300 email subscribers by bringing together experts with and already established audience.

Hosting requires more upfront work but offers long-term rewards in authority, audience growth, and relationship-building.

2. Boost Your Credibility

Hosting a collaboration positions you as a leader and authority in your niche. When you organize an event or project, your audience sees you as the one bringing value, leading conversations, and creating impact. On the flip side, contributing to someone else's collaboration allows you to borrow trust—being featured by another respected business owner automatically elevates your perceived credibility.

3. Save Time Creating Content

Collaborations create content with other people instead of by yourself. Whether you’re co-hosting a workshop, joining a bundle, or participating in a summit, you’re able to generate fresh, engaging content without carrying the full workload. Plus, hosting collaborations gives you a goldmine of content you can repurpose—quotes, clips, emails, and more—to keep attracting leads long after the event is over.

4. It’s Not About Competition—It’s About Connection

A lot of entrepreneurs worry that collaborating means sharing their audience with a competitor—but in reality, collaboration builds community, not competition. People buy from those they trust, and trust is built faster when you're aligned with other experts they already follow. Collaboration isn't about giving up your customers—it’s about creating more value and becoming part of the conversation your ideal client is already having.

What Types of Collaborations Are There?

One of the best things about collaborations is how flexible they are. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach—you can choose formats that align with your strengths, goals, and availability. Whether you’re just starting out in your business or having been in business for years and looking to expand your reach, there’s a type of collaboration that can work for you.

Common Collaboration Formats

1. Virtual Summits

These are online multi-day events featuring a lineup of speakers sharing their expertise around a central theme. As a host, you bring together contributors and grow your list by requiring email sign-up. As a speaker, you get visibility, leads, and credibility.

2. Bundles & Giveaways

Participants contribute a free or paid resource in exchange for list-building opportunities. Hosts organize the delivery and promotion, while contributors share with their own audience. This format is quick to execute and can lead to hundreds of new leads.

3. Joint Workshops or Webinars

Two or more business owners co-create and co-host a live workshop, bringing their audiences together for a shared learning experience.

4. Guest Blogging & Podcasting

Share your expertise by being featured on someone else’s platform. This boosts your visibility and positions you as a thought leader. (Or host your own Podcast or Blog and bring on guest into your hosted platform.)

5. Social Media Takeovers

Temporarily post on another person’s account (like Instagram stories) to offer value and introduce yourself to a new audience.

6. Freebie Swaps

You promote each other’s lead magnets to your email lists or social media, allowing both of you to grow your audience with minimal effort.

What’s the First Step to Start Collaborating?

Getting started with collaborations doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The key is to match the type of collaboration to your current goals and comfort level. If your goal is to grow your email list and you're just starting out, contributing to a bundle or summit can be a low-risk, high-impact opportunity. If you’re feeling more confident or have a clear vision, hosting your own small event—like a mini summit, bundle, or co-hosted workshop—can be incredibly rewarding.

Begin by asking yourself:

• Do I want to grow my audience, build credibility, or create new content?

• How much time can I commit to this project?

• Do I have an existing network or audience to leverage?

Start with your own circle. Who do you know that serves a similar audience but offers a different service or focus? Reach out and propose a simple collaboration, like going live together on Instagram, doing a freebie swap, or writing a guest blog post. If your network is small, consider joining a collaboration community where other business owners are actively seeking contributors or co-hosts.

With anything new, it may be slow and awkward in the beginning but one collaboration often leads to the next. Soon you will be able to fill in your calendar with collaboration events that are steadily growing your business.