How to Do a Brand Collaboration

13 July 2026·2 min read

Quick answer: A good brand collaboration pairs you with a non-competing business who shares your audience, and creates something genuinely useful for both sets of clients — not just a co-branded social post. Below is the pitch email template, three real examples, and the mistakes that make a collaboration feel like a favour instead of a partnership. ✨

Your ideal client is already following someone else — a collaboration is how you get introduced to their audience without spending on ads. Here's how to set one up properly. 💖

What most collaborations get wrong

Picking a competitor by accident — a "collaboration" with someone chasing the exact same clients rarely benefits either side equally.
No clear shared goal — "let's do something together" without a defined outcome tends to fizzle before it starts.
All promotion, no substance — a joint Instagram post with no real content behind it reads as an ad, not a partnership.
One-sided effort — if one business does all the planning and content while the other just reposts, resentment builds fast.
No follow-through — a single collab post with no ongoing relationship wastes the connection you just made.

The collaboration pitch email

Keep the first outreach short, specific and easy to say yes to:

[Genuine, specific compliment about their business]. I think our audiences overlap well — [why]. I'd love to explore [specific idea: joint guide, shared event, cross-promotion] if you're open to it. Happy to jump on a quick call to talk through what could work for both of us.

What this looks like by industry

Same approach, matched to genuinely complementary businesses. 📈

Physiotherapy clinic + local gym: A joint guide on safe return-to-training after injury, shared to both audiences, with each business genuinely referring clients to the other where relevant.

Accounting firm + bookkeeper: A shared webinar on getting business finances "audit-ready," with each business presenting the part of the process they specialise in.

Real estate agent + conveyancer: A joint "first home buyer" checklist covering both the buying process and the legal settlement process, shared across both businesses' email lists.

💡 Pick partners, not competitors. The best collaborations come from businesses solving a different part of the same client's problem — not a rival chasing the identical enquiry. Ask "would our audiences genuinely thank each other for this?" before reaching out.

Making it repeatable

The best collaborations aren't one-offs — once the first one works, agree on a light, ongoing rhythm, like a quarterly joint piece of content or a standing referral arrangement between the two businesses.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the right business to collaborate with?

Look for businesses serving the same client at a different stage or for a different need — not a direct competitor for the same enquiry.

Does a collaboration need to involve money?

No — most work well as a value-for-value exchange, where both businesses contribute content, audience or expertise rather than a fee changing hands.

What if the collaboration doesn't get much response?

Treat the first one as a test. A quieter result often points to audience overlap being smaller than expected, which is useful information for choosing future partners.

How do I know if I should vet a collaboration request I receive?

Check the audience overlap and the other business's reputation before saying yes — a mismatched collaboration can do more harm than good. 🌴

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Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

Work with me ✦