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Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸♀️🦸♂️
Most solopreneurs think you need a warm intro to land partnerships.
That's not true.
Here's what actually works: A 5-step system to find content gaps and write cold emails that get quick "yes" responses.
⛳️ Why this works
Before you can scale through partnerships, you need a system to find the right audiences and pitch them value they can't ignore.
Without one? You send generic cold emails. "Hey, love your podcast, want to have me on?" Delete. No response. Weeks wasted chasing dead ends.
Manual partnership prospecting? Spray and pray. Message 50 people. Hope 1 responds. Wonder why nobody cares.
Here's the thing:
Partnership outreach is like fishing.
Most solopreneurs cast their line anywhere. Random lakes. Wrong bait. No strategy. They just think they suck at fishing.
But smart fishers know exactly where the underwater structures are. Where the water moves at 3PM. The grassy area where flies fall prey to the fish.
The Partnership Marketing Flywheel works the same way. It helps you find "fishing holes" (related but non-competitive industries), identify content gaps (what the audience needs but doesn't have), and pitch free value (impossible to say no to).
When you offer to fill a gap for free, audience owners don't just respond. They beg you to share what you know.
Strategy beats spray and pray every time. Bingo.
Let's see how Emma figured this out:
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Emma runs a branding agency for solopreneurs.
But here's her problem:
She needed qualified leads. Lots of them.
Cold DMs? Ignored. LinkedIn messages? No response. Generic pitches? Crickets.
Her outreach looked professional. But it wasn't working. Nobody replied. Nobody cared.
Then Emma found something. A framework from Bryan Harris, founder of Growth Tools. Something called the Partnership Marketing Flywheel.
Changed everything.
Emma decided to follow these steps:
Step 1: Find related but non-competitive industries using her problem causes Step 2: Search for audiences to borrow within those fishing holes Step 3: Find the person to connect with and research their story Step 4: Audit their business and verify the overlap makes sense Step 5: Send a pitch using the crack the door technique
Emma opened ChatGPT/Claude (her AI sidekick).
She needed to find "fishing holes." Industries that serve the same audience but focus on different problems.
But wait.
How do you even identify which industries overlap with yours?
She had no clue.
Throwing darts at random industries. "Maybe productivity coaches? Sales trainers?" Guessing. Hoping something fits.
Here's what she tried:
The problem mapping prompt
I solve the problem "{The Problem Your Solve}"
List 5 problems that cause this problem.
List 5 problems this problem causes.
Example:
Problem = "Bad Marriage"
Problem That Causes = "Chronic lying"
Problems Caused by Problem = "Divorce"
Precision is key; think outcomes with specific, concise, tangible consequences.
Double down on precision and ensure every outcome is tangible and specific.
Use 8 words or less for each response.
Emma pasted: "I solve the problem: Poor brand positioning for solopreneurs"
Her AI sidekick returned two lists.
Problems that CAUSE poor brand positioning:
Unclear target audience definition
No unique value proposition identified
Copying competitors without differentiation
Weak messaging across all platforms
No consistent visual identity system
Problems CAUSED BY poor brand positioning:
Low conversion rates on sales pages
Generic content that doesn't stand out
Difficulty charging premium prices
No client referrals or word-of-mouth
Constant comparison to cheaper competitors
Emma scanned the lists.
One jumped out: "No unique value proposition identified."
Turns out:
Copywriters. Messaging strategists. Offer creation coaches.
All related industries. All serve solopreneurs. None compete with branding directly.
Perfect fishing holes.
She had her list.
Step 2: Search for audiences to borrow
Emma needed to find actual fishing holes. Podcasts. Blogs. Twitter lists. LinkedIn groups.
She picked one industry from Step 1: Copywriting for solopreneurs.
But which specific audience should she target? And what could she offer them that they don't already have?
She needed a headline. Something at the intersection of branding and copywriting.
Here's what she did:
The irresistible headline prompt
I need your help writing 7 irresistible headlines.
And each headline must be valuable for an audience who has the following two problems:
1. {Problem You Solve}
2. {Problem Cause / Impact}
Each headline should help them address the intersection.
For example:
Problem 1: "Bad marriage"
Problem 2: "Early childhood trauma"
Intersecting Headline: "How to heal your marriage even if you've had trauma in your life."
An "Irresistible Headline" has these 5 fundamental pieces.
Beside each piece, I am going to give you some examples so you can learn:
- HOW MANY (a number): 6 tips, 7 reasons, 11 mistakes, etc.
- THE WHO (an audience): for project managers, for therapists, for founders, etc.
- THE WHAT (a noun): tips, reasons, mistakes, lessons, examples, templates, case studies, etc.
- THE WHY (a reason/outcome): to get promoted, to not lose your job, to buy your first house, etc.
- "TWIST THE KNIFE" (2-3 additional benefits/outcomes): to attract your first 5 high-ticket clients and move into your dream office.
Emma pasted:
Problem 1: "Poor brand positioning"
Problem 2: "Weak messaging across platforms"
Her AI sidekick generated 7 headlines.
Emma picked her favorite:
"7 branding mistakes copywriters make that kill conversions (and how to fix them in 48 hours)"
Perfect.
She Googled: "Copywriting podcasts for solopreneurs"
Found three:
The Copywriter Club Podcast
Copy That Pops (YouTube)
Copyhackers Twitter community
Could she go on The Copywriter Club and talk about branding mistakes that kill conversions?
Absolutely.
She had her targets.
Step 3: Find the person to connect with
Emma picked The Copywriter Club Podcast.
She needed to find the host. Connect with them. Research their story.
Here's the thing:
She couldn't just send a generic pitch.
She needed one personal detail. A story they shared. Something that resonated with her.
Emma spent 30 minutes reading everything the host posted in the last 2 weeks.
Found it.
The host mentioned struggling with positioning their own copywriting services early in their career. "I was a generalist for 3 years. Made okay money. But never broke through until I niched down."
Emma made a note.
That's her connection bridge.
Step 4: Audit the business and verify overlap
Emma dug deeper.
She needed to verify the audience actually needs what she offers.
She scrolled through past podcast episodes.
SEO. Email sequences. Landing pages. Sales copy.
Lots of copy topics.
But branding? Zero episodes.
Content gap identified.
The Copywriter Club audience: Copywriters who struggle with positioning and messaging.
Emma's expertise: Branding and positioning for solopreneurs.
Perfect overlap.
Verified.
Step 5: Send a pitch using the crack the door technique
Here's what happened:
Emma had everything.
Related industry: Copywriting Audience: The Copywriter Club Person: Podcast host Content gap: No branding episodes Personal connection: Host's positioning struggle story
Now she needed to write the email.
But how do you pitch a cold partner without sounding desperate or generic?
Here's what she tried:
The crack the door email prompt
I want you to write a "Crack The Door" cold email.
A "Crack The Door" cold email has 8 parts.
1. Line connection bridge to acknowledge a person or something they did, their business, or their story
2. Precisely describe the impact it's had on you personally (in your business or life).
3. Line your value proposition to demonstrate value and credibility (aligned with the result you can help them generate).
4. Describe a tailored solution for the recipient that you went ahead and created for free.
5. Offer tangible social proof or results of the free service/product.
6. Soft offer, low barrier, high value carrot.
7. A link to where they can learn more about you
8. An easy invitation to connect. A low pressure question to gauge interest.
For example:
"Hey Bryan,
Been following your blog for several months now. I absolutely love it!
I read the article a few weeks ago about increasing your open rates by split-testing the subject line.
Dude, that CRUSHED it for us!
Check our analytics after implementing your advice…
{image}
Anyhow…
I run a PPC company. We create Facebook and Google AdWords campaigns for companies selling digital products (like you).
Last weekend I was poking around your site and noticed you aren't running any ads right now.
Based on my research, you could spend around $1,000 per month in ads and sell $5,000 of your course (and that scales up well too, so if you wanted to double or triple your ad spend you could double or triple your profit).
I went ahead and diagrammed out what your sales funnel could look like for this and mocked up several ads for you as well.
This should give you a decent idea of what this would LOOK like if you were to install it.
(I've attached all of that to this email.)
Also, here is a quick overview of everything {link}.
Would love to help you get started with this (for free) on a low budget to test it and see how it works.
Holler if you'd like to discuss.
Smart Salesman
PS: No pressure either way. Looking forward to this week's post!"
Here's a template:
Hi {First Name},
{Connection Bridge}
{Your Value Proposition & Credibility}
{Describe a tailored solution for the recipient}
{Social Proof / tangible results}
{Soft Offer}
{Link to Learn More}
{Easy Invitation}
{Closing}
{Your First Name}
{PS}
*******
I am reaching out to {Contact Name}, he/she/they {What they do}.
I have a {Your Product/Service) for {Audience / Problem You Solve}.
I want to {Your Partnership Goal e.g. go on the podcast} and talk about {Your Topic}.
Emma filled in the template:
Contact Name: Podcast host
What they do: Run copywriting podcast for solopreneurs
Her service: Branding positioning strategy
Partnership goal: Guest on podcast
Topic: "7 branding mistakes copywriters make that kill conversions"
Her AI sidekick generated the email.
Subject: Loved your positioning story (and found a gap)
Body:
"Hi [Name],
I've been listening to The Copywriter Club for the past few months. Love it.
Your story about being a generalist for 3 years really hit home. I went through the exact same thing with my branding agency. Took me 2 years to figure out positioning actually matters more than design.
I run a branding agency specifically for solopreneurs (copywriters, coaches, consultants). We help them clarify positioning so their messaging actually converts.
I was listening to your recent episodes and noticed you haven't covered branding mistakes yet. So I went ahead and created a full outline for an episode: "7 Branding Mistakes Copywriters Make That Kill Conversions (And How To Fix Them In 48 Hours)."
I've used this framework with 40+ copywriters. Average result: 32% bump in consultation bookings within 60 days of fixing their brand positioning.
I attached the outline to this email so you can see what it looks like.
Here's my site if you want to learn more: [link]
Would love to chat about coming on the show to share this. No pressure either way.
Looking forward to your next episode, Emma
PS: Even if this isn't a fit, hope the outline helps!"
Done.
Email ready. Connection made. Value offered for free.
Impossible to say no.
🏆 Emma's results after 4 weeks
Before:
Sent 50 generic partnership pitches over 3 months
Got 2 responses (both "not interested")
Zero podcast appearances booked
Spent 6 hours per week on cold outreach
After:
Sent 12 targeted pitches using the system
Got 8 responses (67% response rate)
Booked 5 podcast appearances
Generated 40 qualified leads from first 2 appearances
Her process now:
Run problem mapping prompt (3 minutes)
Run irresistible headline prompt (5 minutes)
Research person and verify gap (20 minutes)
Run crack the door email prompt (5 minutes)
Send pitch (1 minute)
Total time: 35 minutes per pitch. Not 6 hours per week guessing.
Her AI sidekick handles problem mapping and email writing in under 10 minutes combined. Bingo.
🧩 Your turn
Copy the 3 prompts above into your AI sidekick.
For the problem mapping prompt: Paste the problem you solve.
For the irresistible headline prompt: Paste your problem and the related industry problem.
For the crack the door email prompt: Fill in the template with your contact details.
Generation time: 15 minutes total. Time to send: 1 minute.
That's it, my fellow outliers!
Yours 'turning your expertise into income 10x faster' Vijay peduru 🦸♂️