Most of us love to get more for our money, and the same goes for our business dollars. One way to do that is to engage in cooperative marketing, which refers to strategic partnerships your business might make with another, non-competing business or organization. The goal is to pool resources to market and advertise your businesses, and split the costs.

Another inexpensive way to market is through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is an internet-based marketing practice that’s generally more formal than cooperative marketing. In affiliate relationships, a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought to the business by the affiliate’s marketing efforts. Online merchants that sell products or services pay publishers (websites that promote the products or services of a merchant) for results, such as a visitor making a purchase or filling out a form.

For example, a website that focuses on wedding information will generally have affiliate relationships with a number of different merchants. That might include merchants who sell wedding invitations, catering services, bridal gowns or bachelorette party supplies. Generally, the website owner gets a commission every time a sale is made.

Affiliate marketing tends to take a lot of time at the beginning. For example, you have to understand keyword optimization to succeed. That’s what people use to find your site and, ultimately, become customers. A lot of sites on the internet offer software to help you find the right keywords for your product. Some of the sites are fee-based; others offer their software at no cost.

Autoresponders are often a critical component in affiliate marketing success. With an autoresponder, you can place forms on your site that visitors can fill out to request more information about your products or services. After they’ve subscribed, you can send them information proactively on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis.

Be Creative
Small businesses that offer related–yet different–services can refer customers to one another, says John Jantsch, a Kansas City, Mo.-based marketing coach and author of Duct Tape Marketing. Photographers, caterers and disc jockeys, for example, might team up and create a referral network.

The objective is to look for relationships that will yield the greatest benefit for both parties. Cooperative marketing can also involve sharing advertising space or air time with a compatible vendor, or linking with a charity or educational event as a sponsor, co-sponsor or corporate partner.

Think of unusual ideas. My Fertility Plan LLC used a contest to bring together like-minded businesses that were not direct competitors but wanted to target the same market. They hosted the First Annual International Infertility Haiku Competition and invited doctors, lawyers and other fertility professionals to become sponsors. They were not responsible for providing the prizes, but they benefited from the publicity.

Do Your Homework
“I’ve been in marketing over 30 years and find joint or co-op marketing tricky, but doable,” says Laurie Cohen, president of Deerfield Marketing Associates and the mastermind behind Celebrations4U.com, a series of internet shopping sites. “I recommend checking past advertisers, number of page responses and knowing your target audience before committing to this type of project. If you have your own mailing list, or even a group of friends, test the idea on them before spending money.”

Make Connections
Growing numbers of women who work from home are finding that making connections with similar business owners can be rewarding personally and professionally. Start by searching for online groups and communities of women who have their own businesses. You may find some great partnerships and be able to grow your business at the same time.