---
name: platform-partnership
description: "Designs platform partnership programs with integration benefits, co-marketing, and revenue sharing. Use when building strategic partnerships for marketplace or SaaS platforms."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Platform Partnership

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Design a partner program for a marketplace or platform
- Create integration partnerships with complementary tools
- Structure co-marketing agreements and revenue sharing models
- Build a partner onboarding and enablement program

**DO NOT** use this skill for affiliate programs, sponsorship deals, or vendor negotiations. This is for strategic platform partnerships with mutual business value.

---

## Core Principle

A GREAT PARTNERSHIP MAKES BOTH PLATFORMS MORE VALUABLE TO THEIR USERS — IF THE PARTNERSHIP ONLY BENEFITS ONE SIDE, IT IS A VENDOR RELATIONSHIP, NOT A PARTNERSHIP.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Your platform** | "What is your platform and who are your users?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Partnership goal** | "What do you want from partnerships? Distribution, features, credibility?" | Distribution and feature expansion |
| **Ideal partners** | "What type of company would be a great partner? Complementary tools, adjacent audiences?" | Complementary SaaS tools |
| **Partnership model** | "Integration, co-marketing, referral, or full strategic?" | Integration + co-marketing |
| **Resources available** | "What can you invest? Engineering time, marketing budget, dedicated person?" | Limited — solo founder |

**GATE: Confirm the brief before designing the program.**

---

## Phase 2: Design the Program

### Partnership Tiers

| Tier | Requirements | Benefits | Revenue Share |
|------|-------------|----------|---------------|
| **Technology Partner** | Build and maintain an integration | Listed in partner directory, co-marketing, API support | Per-referral or flat fee |
| **Referral Partner** | Send qualified leads | Commission per conversion, partner badge | 10-20% of first-year revenue |
| **Strategic Partner** | Deep integration + co-marketing commitment | Joint webinars, case studies, featured placement | Custom |

### Partner Identification Criteria

Score potential partners on:
1. **Audience overlap** — Do their users match yours? (1-10)
2. **Complementary value** — Does their product make yours better? (1-10)
3. **Size compatibility** — Can you partner as equals? (1-10)
4. **Cultural fit** — Similar values, responsive, collaborative? (1-10)
5. **Strategic alignment** — Does this partnership serve your 12-month goals? (1-10)

**Target partners scoring 35+ out of 50.**

### Partnership Value Map

For each partnership, document the mutual value:

```
## Partnership: [Your Platform] × [Partner Platform]

**Value to our users:** [What they gain from this integration]
**Value to their users:** [What they gain from this integration]
**Value to us:** [Distribution, revenue, feature, credibility]
**Value to them:** [Distribution, revenue, feature, credibility]
```

**GATE: Confirm tiers and target partners before writing outreach.**

---

## Phase 3: Execute

### Partner Outreach Template

```
Subject: Partnership idea: [Your Platform] × [Their Platform]

Hey [Name],

I run [Your Platform] — [one sentence description]. We share a lot of users with [Their Platform], and I think there is a natural integration opportunity.

**The idea:** [Describe the integration or partnership in 2-3 sentences]

**Why it works:**
- Your users get [benefit]
- Our users get [benefit]
- Both platforms grow through [mechanism]

I would love a 20-minute call to explore this. Would [day/time] work?

[Your name]
[Your platform]
```

### Partnership Agreement Framework

Document these terms for every partnership:
- **Scope:** What each party will do
- **Timeline:** Key milestones and deadlines
- **Resources:** What each party contributes (engineering, marketing, content)
- **Revenue:** How revenue or leads are shared
- **Metrics:** How success is measured
- **Duration:** Initial term and renewal terms
- **Exit:** How either party can end the partnership

### Co-Marketing Playbook

Joint marketing activities ranked by effort:

| Activity | Effort | Impact |
|----------|--------|--------|
| Cross-link in partner directories | Low | Medium |
| Guest blog post exchange | Low | Medium |
| Joint social media promotion | Low | Low-Medium |
| Co-authored content or guide | Medium | High |
| Joint webinar or event | Medium | High |
| Bundled offer or promotion | Medium | High |
| Joint case study | Low-Medium | High |

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Partner Onboarding Kit

Prepare for each new partner:
- Welcome email with key contacts and resources
- Integration documentation or API access
- Brand assets and co-marketing guidelines
- Partner dashboard for tracking referrals and metrics
- Quarterly review schedule

### 2. Partner Success Metrics

```
## Partnership Metrics

- **Referral volume:** Leads or users sent by each partner
- **Conversion rate:** % of partner referrals that become customers
- **Revenue attributed:** Revenue generated through the partnership
- **Integration adoption:** % of shared users who activate the integration
- **Co-marketing ROI:** Leads and conversions from joint campaigns
- **Partner satisfaction:** Quarterly check-in survey (NPS)
```

### 3. Quality Checklist

```
## Partnership Program Checklist

- [ ] Partnership tiers defined with clear benefits at each level
- [ ] Partner identification criteria documented with scoring model
- [ ] Value map created for each target partnership (mutual value)
- [ ] Outreach template personalized for each target partner
- [ ] Partnership agreement covers scope, timeline, revenue, and exit
- [ ] Co-marketing playbook lists activities by effort and impact
- [ ] Partner onboarding kit prepared
- [ ] Success metrics defined and tracking is set up
- [ ] Quarterly review cadence scheduled for active partnerships
- [ ] Partner directory or page exists on your website
```

---

## Example

**Partnership:** Project management SaaS × Invoicing SaaS

**Value map:**
- Their users get: Automatic invoice generation from completed projects
- Our users get: Project cost tracking and budget visibility
- We get: Distribution to their 10,000 users, feature without building it
- They get: Distribution to our 5,000 users, sticky integration

**Outreach excerpt:**
"Our users constantly ask for invoicing features, and your users ask for project management. Instead of both of us building what the other already has, what if we connected them? A user finishes a project in our app and generates an invoice in yours with one click."

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **One-sided value** — if only one platform benefits, the other will eventually disengage. Always map mutual value.
- **No success metrics** — "Let's partner and see what happens" leads to partnerships that fizzle. Define what success looks like upfront.
- **Too many partners too fast** — each partnership requires maintenance. Start with 2-3 high-value partnerships, not 20 shallow ones.
- **Ignoring the partnership after launch** — partnerships need quarterly reviews, updated co-marketing, and relationship maintenance.
- **Verbal agreements** — always document scope, terms, and exit clauses. Even a simple email confirmation is better than a handshake.

---

## Recovery

- **Partner is unresponsive:** Set a 2-week follow-up cadence. After 3 attempts, move to the next target. Do not chase.
- **Integration is not being used:** Promote it to your user base with a dedicated announcement. Provide setup guides and in-app prompts.
- **Partnership is not producing results:** Review the metrics at the quarterly check-in. If mutual value is not materializing, scale back or sunset amicably.
- **Partner becomes a competitor:** This happens. Ensure your agreement has an exit clause. Transition gracefully and prioritize user experience during the wind-down.
