---
name: co-marketing-plan
description: "Plans co-marketing campaigns with partner selection criteria, shared content, cross-promotion tactics, and attribution."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Co-Marketing Plan

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Plan a co-marketing campaign with a complementary brand or business
- Design cross-promotion tactics with shared content and audience exchange
- Create partner selection criteria and evaluation frameworks
- Build attribution systems to measure each partner's contribution

**DO NOT** use this skill for affiliate marketing, paid advertising campaigns, or solo marketing plans. This is for collaborative marketing where two brands co-create and co-promote.

---

## Core Principle

CO-MARKETING WORKS ONLY WHEN BOTH AUDIENCES GENUINELY BENEFIT — IF THE PARTNERSHIP FEELS FORCED OR ONE-SIDED, BOTH BRANDS LOSE TRUST WITH THEIR PEOPLE.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Campaign goal** | "What do you want from this co-marketing effort? (leads, sales, awareness)" | Lead generation |
| **Partner** | "Do you have a specific partner in mind, or do you need selection criteria?" | Need selection criteria |
| **Your audience** | "Describe your audience size, platform, and demographics." | No default — must be provided |
| **Campaign type** | "Webinar, co-authored content, bundle, giveaway, or something else?" | Co-authored content + cross-promotion |
| **Timeline** | "When does this campaign need to launch?" | 4-6 weeks from now |
| **Budget** | "What is the combined budget for this campaign?" | $0 (sweat equity only) |

**GATE: Confirm the brief before proceeding.**

---

## Phase 2: Plan

### Partner Selection Criteria

If no partner is identified, use this evaluation matrix:

```
| Criteria | Weight | Score (1-5) | Notes |
|----------|--------|-------------|-------|
| Audience overlap (same buyer, different product) | 25% | | |
| Audience size relative to yours (0.5x-3x ideal) | 20% | | |
| Brand alignment (values, tone, quality) | 20% | | |
| Engagement quality (active audience, not just big) | 15% | | |
| Responsiveness and reliability | 10% | | |
| Previous collaboration track record | 10% | | |
```

### Campaign Structure

```
## Campaign: [Name]
**Type:** [Webinar / Co-authored content / Bundle / Giveaway]
**Timeline:** [Start to end date]
**Shared deliverable:** [What you create together]
**Your promotion:** [What you promote and where]
**Their promotion:** [What they promote and where]
**Shared asset:** [Landing page, content piece, or offer]
**Goal metric:** [Specific number — leads, downloads, sales]
```

### Cross-Promotion Plan

```
| Channel | Your Promotion | Partner's Promotion | Timing |
|---------|---------------|-------------------|--------|
| Email | [What you send] | [What they send] | [Date] |
| Social | [Posts/stories] | [Posts/stories] | [Date] |
| Blog | [Article/mention] | [Article/mention] | [Date] |
| Other | [Podcast, video, etc.] | [Podcast, video, etc.] | [Date] |
```

**GATE: Present the campaign plan for approval.**

---

## Phase 3: Build

### Shared Content Creation

For each co-created asset, define:
- Who drafts the first version
- Who reviews and edits
- Brand guidelines both parties must follow
- Approval process and timeline
- Where the final asset lives (whose website)

### Attribution System

```
## Tracking and Attribution
**UTM parameters:**
- Your traffic: ?utm_source=partner_name&utm_medium=co-marketing&utm_campaign=[name]
- Their traffic: ?utm_source=your_name&utm_medium=co-marketing&utm_campaign=[name]

**Tracking method:** [Shared Google Analytics dashboard / separate tracking links]
**Reporting cadence:** [Weekly during campaign, final report 7 days after close]

**Metrics to track per partner:**
- Traffic sent
- Leads generated
- Conversion rate
- Revenue attributed (if applicable)
```

### Campaign Timeline

```
## Week-by-Week Timeline

**Week 1:** Finalize partnership agreement and campaign plan
**Week 2:** Create shared content and landing pages
**Week 3:** Review, approve, and prepare promotional materials
**Week 4:** Launch — both partners promote simultaneously
**Week 5:** Mid-campaign check-in, adjust if needed
**Week 6:** Campaign close, final push, data collection
**Week 7:** Results analysis and shared report
```

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Partnership Agreement (Lightweight)

```
## Co-Marketing Agreement Essentials
- Campaign scope and timeline
- Each party's promotional commitments (specific channels and frequency)
- Content approval process
- Lead sharing or ownership rules
- Data and analytics sharing
- Post-campaign asset usage rights
- Cancellation terms
```

### 2. Results Report Template

```
## Co-Marketing Campaign Report

**Campaign:** [Name]
**Duration:** [Dates]
**Partner:** [Name]

### Results
| Metric | Your Contribution | Partner's Contribution | Total |
|--------|-------------------|----------------------|-------|
| Traffic | | | |
| Leads | | | |
| Conversions | | | |
| Revenue | | | |

### Key Learnings
- What worked well
- What to improve
- Recommendation for future collaboration
```

### 3. Campaign Checklist

```
- [ ] Partner agreement signed
- [ ] Shared content created and approved by both parties
- [ ] Landing pages live with tracking pixels
- [ ] UTM parameters set for all links
- [ ] Email sequences scheduled for both lists
- [ ] Social content scheduled for both accounts
- [ ] Mid-campaign check-in date set
- [ ] Post-campaign report template ready
```

---

## Example 1: Co-Webinar Lead Generation

```
Partners: Email marketing tool + copywriting coach
Shared asset: "Write Emails That Convert" webinar
Your promotion: 3 emails to your 8,000 list + 5 social posts
Their promotion: 3 emails to their 12,000 list + 5 social posts
Goal: 500 combined registrations, 200 live attendees
Follow-up: Both partners email replay + their respective offers
```

## Example 2: Co-Authored Guide + Bundle

```
Partners: SEO consultant + web designer
Shared asset: "The Complete Website Launch Checklist" (co-authored PDF)
Your promotion: Blog post + 3 emails + Instagram stories
Their promotion: Blog post + 3 emails + LinkedIn posts
Goal: 1,000 guide downloads, grow both lists
Follow-up: Each partner offers their service as the logical next step
```

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Audience mismatch** — partnering with someone who has the same audience as you creates competition, not collaboration. Find complementary audiences.
- **Unequal promotion** — if one partner promotes heavily and the other barely mentions it, resentment builds. Define commitments upfront.
- **No tracking** — without UTM parameters and shared analytics, you cannot measure ROI or fairly attribute results.
- **Creating content by committee** — one person drafts, one edits. Joint writing from scratch produces mediocre work.
- **No follow-up plan** — the campaign generates leads, then what? Both partners need a post-campaign nurture sequence.

---

## Recovery

- **Cannot find a suitable partner:** Look in adjacent niches, not the same niche. Ask "Who serves my customer before or after they need me?"
- **Partner stops promoting mid-campaign:** Have a minimum commitment clause in the agreement. If they fall short, reduce future collaboration scope.
- **Campaign underperforms:** Analyze by channel. Usually one channel carries the campaign. Double down there and cut the rest.
- **Leads are low quality:** Review audience alignment. If the partner's audience is not actually your target buyer, the partnership was wrong, not the campaign.
