7 Killer Indirect Marketing Strategies For Success

#1: Sponsor Relevant Events

Let's start with a classic indirect marketing staple - sponsoring relevant industry events. We're talking conferences, conventions, trade shows, seminars - the prime venues where your prospective customers tend to congregate en masse.

"Doesn't every brand there have a salesy pitch trying to shove their latest offers down attendees' throats?" While that hard sell approach is certainly common, it's also a turn-off for most people who came to network and learn - not just be treated like walking dollar signs.

​This is why setting up an informative, welcoming sponsor booth and overall event presence focused on relationship building is so key. Rather than overly pushy promotional materials, offer helpful informational resources. Get creative with an eye-catching yet professional booth design. Provide free useful takeaways like industry reports, how-to guides, and branded giveaways.

Mingle in social settings and casual conversations giving attending prospects a memorable peek into your brand's personality beyond the sales propaganda. Use thought leadership speaking opportunities or panel discussions to showcase expertise while avoiding even the appearance of a sales pitch disguised as "content".

The key is coming across as an authority there to assist, not just make the next sales quota at all costs. Collect business cards and contact info not to cold call the day after, but to nurture relationships over time through valuable email updates.

Keep this educational, value-first approach going, and watch as you organically expand awareness with qualified leads who already know, like, and trust you well before they convert down the road. And you didn't have to utter a single overt sales pitch to make it happen.

It's all about using relevant events as key forums for indirectly nurturing relationships, not chasing short-sighted hard sells.

#2: Partner With Complementary Brands

Now this next indirect marketing strategy turns "1 + 1 = 3" into reality – strategic partnerships. By joining forces with complementary brands, you can dramatically boost your reach and credibility while showcasing your unique value proposition.

The key word here is "complementary". You want to look for potential partners working in related spaces or serving similar target audiences, yet have differentiated offerings from your own. Partnerships allow each brand to play to its unique strengths and assets while tapping into entirely new markets through each other's audiences.

For example, an HR software company could partner with a corporate leadership training firm. Or a meal delivery service partnering with a nutrition tracking app. The combinations are endless when you think creatively about brands aligned with your customers' ecosystem.

Successful partnerships leverage a mix of co-promotion across each other's platforms like guest blog posts, social media shoutouts, co-created content campaigns, contests, or giveaways.

The types of collaborations are endless – video interviews, webinars, bundled offers, shared discounts, custom APIs or integrations, etc. By aligning incentives, providing reciprocal value and formalizing expectations upfront - strategic partnerships done right send reach and revenue through the roof for both parties!

Most importantly, they open up entirely new audiences that already know and trust your partner to warmly welcome your solutions into the mix as well. Partnerships indirectly get your brand in front of qualified prospects without aggressive self-promotion. And the compounding effects over time are utterly exponential compared to going it alone.

#3: Provide Free Trials Or Freemium Access

Now this next indirect marketing strategy flips the traditional sales model on its head. Rather than pushing prospects to pay first THEN see if they like your offering, you let them experience real tangible value upfront – no credit card required.

I’m talking about free trials and freemium access. This tactic works by giving potential customers a preview of paid features or service offerings in a limited capacity, for free and for a set period of time.

The goal here is positioning your product/service as an incredible value proposition that prospects just can’t bear to lose access to once the initial free period expires. You want them totally hooked after seeing first hand how much easier the premium functionality makes their lives.

For example, a project management tool could offer a 14-day free trial of their software with full access to features like customized workflows, team messaging and advanced reporting. A freelancer website might allow users to create a free profile but need to upgrade to send unlimited proposals.

The possibilities are vast, but the incentives need to align for users to eagerly upgrade to paid plans once they’ve gotten accustomed to freemium perks. Restrict key features, allow temporary full access, limit usage amounts, anything to get them invested then hungry for more. Just make sure genuine value shines through from the start.

While not every user will convert after a trial, the influx of leads and pre-qualified interest is catnip for smart digital marketers. Now you’ve got direct access to qualified prospects primed for targeted sales nurturing and lifecycle messaging.

This tactic works indirectly by putting your best features front and center rather than keeping them locked up hoping people take a blind “buy first” leap. Let your product sell itself first via free trials and freemium access. Then watch as conversion rates skyrocket thanks to indirect marketing done right!

#4: Launch An Educational Webinar Series

Webinars are absolute powerhouses when it comes to lead generation and establishing thought leadership. But they can also indirectly nurture prospects over time rather than requiring an immediate hard sell. See, people have come to expect over-promotional webinars that sound educational upfront only to turn into desperate sales pitches.

That’s why taking a genuinely informative approach across a webinar series focused on delivering real value first and conversion later is so key. You want to position your brand as a trusted authority rather than just hype up products.

Start by promoting a multi-part educational webinar series on topics highly relevant to your niche using emails, social media, paid ads and strategic partnerships. Intriguing titles and abstracts will grab attention without giving away the farm.

Registration forms should collect important lead contact info and engagement data for later nurturing. In the actual webinars themselves, stick to beneficial education that happens to feature your expertise rather than feel self-serving.

Follow up webinars by further establishing authority and familiarity with valuable email nurturing campaigns, exclusive content offers, and invitations to upcoming live sessions.

Over time, you’ll see indirect webinar marketing pays off tremendously. Prospects convert to delighted customers almost automatically once they’ve received so much value up front without pressure. Webinar series done right turn curious visitors into loyal brand advocates down the road thanks to an indirect focus on value first, conversions second.

#5: Film Mini Product Use Case Videos

Speaking of delivering genuine value – this next strategy spotlights your product’s real world benefits through bite sized customer videos versus hyped up over-produced infomercial fluff.

The idea here is showing organic behind-the-scenes peeks of your product naturally integrating into customers’ existing workflows. Keep videos short, sweet and ultra-specific focusing on one use case at a time.

Maybe a phone translation app helps a travel blogger interview local merchants overseas. Or project management software helps a furniture maker collaborate with interior designer clients.

The keys are keeping it authentic and relatable. Actual customers are infinitely more trustworthy than paid actors pretending to use your product convincingly enough. Have them demonstrate helpful features solving real problems rather than canned scripts touting the same generic perks repeated ad nauseam across every channel.

A bit of planning ensures you cover diverse customer types and usage scenarios, but fights any temptation to overly polish or idealize how the product performs. You want raw, genuine reactions highlighting ease of use and those delightfully smooth “aha!” moments when value clicks emotionally for viewers.

Once compiled, promote authentic customer videos organically through social channels and embed them in targeted email nurturing campaigns by usage personas. Spread them far and wide then simply let the visual content quality speak for itself – no hard selling necessary when you showcase NDA-free proof like this regularly.

#6: Launch a Podcast

Podcasting has exploded in popularity thanks to its uniquely personal and convenient format, which makes it a fantastic indirect marketing channel. By having genuine conversations centered on delivering value, podcasts foster intimate connections vital for establishing trust and authority over time.

Take my Magnetic Marketing Podcast with Russell Brunson, for example. Through the podcasts I’ve published – be it pre-recorded interviews or live ones – thousands of business owners worldwide get to learn directly from us. And the loyal listeners that we’ve fostered through it go on to become loyal customers of our products.

The key is starting a niche and focusing on topics your ideal customers care about most. Maybe a sports nutritionist could host athletes discussing training breakthroughs. Or a homeschooling supply company explores parenting challenges through candid parent interviews.

Resist any temptation to overly highlight products or offers in early episodes. Keep the conversational tone real and focused on whatever specialist knowledge you bring to the table. Let guests tell stories, share actionable tips, or unveil inspiring insights related to the core topic.

Setting up the right equipment and distribution is important, but don’t get bogged down chasing podcasting perfection. Launch with what you have, then improve production values over time as audiences grow. Promote new episodes organically on social media, email lists, and via strategic partnerships with complementary shows.

Once you’ve built a loyal following who tune in for value-packed weekly episodes, you can experiment with quick mentions of relevant offers yet keep things mostly educational. Podcasting works by slowly cultivating intimate trust and goodwill, not acting pushy prematurely.

Deliver so much value upfront, sponsorships, affiliate offers, and other monetization feel like natural win-wins later down the road once thought leadership is established. For the relationship-building power of podcasting done right, take the indirect nurturing approach.

#7: Build an Email Course Library 

Email marketing remains one of the highest-returning digital channels when done right. This next approach takes an educational spin by essentially launching your own online academy - just delivered directly to subscribers' inboxes!

The idea here is to create a library of comprehensive email courses around topics your ideal customers want to master. For example, a craft supply retailer could share doll-making techniques. A garden center may reveal seasonal planting guides.

The key difference from isolated emails is courses are multi-part series sent on a scheduled cadence usually between 5 to 10 installments. Each new edition builds on the last, guiding readers along an enriching self-paced journey with your expert guidance.

Offer the first email course unit for free in exchange for contact information to remove any friction. Promote the series launch on your website, social channels, and offline spaces to drive registrations.

Once prospects complete the initial course, they’ll be hungry for more specialized knowledge from your expanding catalog. This allows you to nurture leads based on their engagement with specific topics and escalating complexity.

Over time you’ll notice certain titles generate more purchases for affiliated products. Adjust your email marketing and retail strategies accordingly to fuel even more indirect sales. For example, the most popular craft course could inspire a pattern book spin-off or technique webinar to capture residual demand.

Think of email courses as valuable infotainment and self-education fans eagerly await, not just promotional messages tossed into an overflowing inbox.

As we've explored today, indirect marketing strategies centered on providing value build crucial trust and authority with potential customers well before you ever ask for the sale. Unlike aggressive hard-selling, this gradual approach nurtures relationships by positioning your brand as a helpful resource versus just another transactional company.

From sponsoring events to strategic partnerships, free trials to educational podcasts - the indirect tactics covered today foster loyalty and goodwill over time. Prospects convert almost automatically once they've received so much assistance and enrichment upfront with no pressure.

While direct marketing drives immediate sales, indirect relationship-building sustains long-term growth. Savvy marketers utilize both approaches to support objectives across the customer lifecycle. Just remember, substance over hype, and education over promotion.

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