The Partnership Email Template

• ‍Subject: Partnership opportunity: [Specific benefit for them]‍
• Opening (Authentic Connection): "[Specific reference to their recent activity/content/achievement]"‍
• Context (Partnership Positioning): "We're working on [brief description] that might align with [their goals/initiatives]"‍
• Value (Reciprocal Benefit): "Specifically, we could [concrete value proposition for them]"‍
• Proof (Social Proof/Credibility): "We've already [relevant traction/partnerships/results]"‍
• Next Step (Clear Ask):"Worth exploring? [Specific, low-friction next step]"‍
• Close:"Best,[Your name]"

Examples

Example 1: Content/Thought Leadership Partnership

The Research:

Alex spent 30 minutes researching Sarah, who runs a LinkedIn newsletter with 50K+ subscribers focused on sales operations. He found:

• Her recent post, “Why Most Sales Playbooks Fail”, got 20K impressions and hundreds of comments
• She often features tools or frameworks that improve sales productivity
• She asked her audience last week: “What’s your #1 CRM frustration?”
• Her audience is primarily sales managers and revenue leaders at B2B SaaS companies

The Email:

Subject: Sales ops data your readers would love

Hi Sarah,

Loved your recent post on why most playbooks fail—especially your point about generic workflows that reps never actually use. That’s exactly what our customer research shows too.

[Context: References her specific content and insight]

We’ve been analyzing CRM usage across 1,000+ teams, and the data is eye-opening. For example, we found that teams who customize fewer than 5 fields in their CRM close deals 2x faster.

[Partnership positioning: Leading with insights, not product pitch]

I think this would make great content for your readers. What if we co-created a short report or LinkedIn post breaking down these counterintuitive findings, framed around “What actually drives rep adoption in CRMs?”

[Specific collaboration idea with content value]

We’d of course attribute everything to your newsletter and promote it across our own channels, but honestly I think the data itself would be the real hook.

[Shows reciprocal value, not just self-promotion]

Would you be open to a quick call? I can share some of the raw data and past collabs we’ve done with other creators in this space.

Best,

Alex

Why This Would Work:

• References her content directly (credibility + personalization)
• Leads with data her audience would find genuinely useful
• Proposes collaboration, not sponsorship
• Positions her as the hero to her readers
• Keeps the next step specific and low friction

Example 2: Content Partnership (Podcast Host)

The Research:

Sam researched David, host of a sales leadership podcast with 15K monthly downloads. He discovered:

• David’s recent episode on “Pipeline Forecasting Mistakes” got strong engagement
• He regularly brings on SaaS founders to discuss sales best practices
• His audience consists of frontline sales managers and VPs of Sales
• Sponsors mentioned on the show are usually SaaS tools used by sales teams

The Email:

Subject: Pipeline forecasting experiment for your listeners?

Hi David,

Loved your recent episode on forecasting mistakes—especially your story about how reps inflate numbers at the end of the quarter. We see this exact behavior across our customer base.

[Authentic connection: References specific episode insight]

We built a sales analytics platform that automatically flags pipeline risk. One of our biggest learnings: deals with no next meeting scheduled are 70% less likely to close.

[Brief product description with compelling data point]

I think there’s a cool collaboration here. What if we designed a “pipeline risk experiment” for your listeners, where they could benchmark their own forecast accuracy against aggregated industry data? Could make for a valuable episode and give your audience something actionable.

[Partnership positioning: Collaborative content, not just a plug]

We’ve run similar experiments with other communities and always share results + promotion.

Would you be open to chatting? I can send examples of past collabs.

Best,

Sam

Why This Would Work:

• Personal reference to a specific podcast episode
• Shared insight that ties into host’s content
• Collaborative experiment = value for audience
• Light mention of past proof (social proof)
• Low-friction next step

Example 3: Strategic Advisor

The Email:

Subject: Quick question about scaling SaaS go-to-market

Hi Jessica,

I’ve followed your journey at HubSpot—your ability to scale mid-market SaaS while keeping the product approachable is something we’re trying to learn from.

We’re building a workflow automation platform and running into challenges on mid-market adoption: specifically, how to expand seats within an account without slowing down implementation speed.

Would love to get your perspective, and if it resonates, explore whether you’d be open to an advisory role. We’re backed by [investors] and growing 35% MoM, so we’re at the stage where experienced input could really accelerate us.

Worth a quick call? Happy to share traction details and our deck.

Best,

Jordan

Why This Would Work:

• Anchored in her specific experience (HubSpot scaling story)
• Frames the question around a real, timely problem
• Signals credibility (traction + investors) without overselling
• Frames advisory role as a natural extension of expertise

What Happens After Someone Says "Yes"?

The Partnership Conversation Framework

Someone replied positively to your outreach. Now what?

Most founders freeze here because they don't know how to transition from interest to actual partnership. Here's your step-by-step framework:

The Discovery Call (20-30 minutes)

Your Goal: Understand their needs and explore mutual fit

Conversation Structure:

Opening (5 minutes):"Thanks for taking the time to chat. I'm excited to explore how we might work together. Before I dive into what we're building, I'd love to understand more about your goals with [their business/content/audience]."

Discovery Questions (10-15 minutes):

• "What's working well with your current [content/partnerships/growth] strategy?"
• "What challenges are you facing that partnerships might help solve?"
• "What does success look like for you this quarter/year?"
• "What types of partnerships have worked best for you in the past?"
• "What makes you say no to partnership opportunities?"

Your Presentation (5-10 minutes):

• Brief overview of your product/company
• Specific collaboration ideas based on what you learned
• Initial thoughts on partnership structure
• Examples of similar partnerships you've done

Next Steps:"Based on our conversation, I think [specific collaboration idea] could be really interesting. Should I put together a more detailed proposal for you to review?"