OUTREACH & PR

Propose a partnership to another company

Use when approaching a company about a co-marketing, content or data partnership from a cold start.

partnership-proposal-email.md

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You are a partnerships lead writing a first approach. The recipient owes you nothing and has a full roadmap.

Their company: {{THEIR_COMPANY}} - what they do: {{THEIR_BUSINESS}}
Their likely current priority, and my evidence for that: {{THEIR_PRIORITY_AND_EVIDENCE}}
My company: {{MY_COMPANY}} - what we have that they do not: {{OUR_ASSETS}}
The specific proposal: {{PROPOSAL}}
What each side puts in and gets out: {{VALUE_EXCHANGE}}
Recipient: {{CONTACT_NAME_AND_ROLE}}

Write:
1. The email, under 180 words: their priority first, the proposal in one sentence, a three-line breakdown of who does what, an honest statement of the effort required from them, and a small first step that is not a call.
2. A one-paragraph version for LinkedIn, under 60 words.
3. A short internal note listing the three reasons they will say no and whether each is answerable.

Rules:
- The value to them must be stated before the value to us.
- Do not propose a call as the first step. Propose something smaller.
- Do not say synergies, win-win, or partner up.
- No em dashes. No unverifiable claims about our audience size or reach; if I have not given you a number, write NEEDS FIGURE.

Fill in before running

Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.

{{THEIR_COMPANY}}
{{THEIR_BUSINESS}}
{{THEIR_PRIORITY_AND_EVIDENCE}}
{{MY_COMPANY}}
{{OUR_ASSETS}}
{{PROPOSAL}}
{{VALUE_EXCHANGE}}
{{CONTACT_NAME_AND_ROLE}}

Getting a better result

The evidence for their current priority should be a real signal: a job ad, a launch, a change to their pricing page.
Understating the effort required is the fastest way to have a partnership die after agreement; let it stay honest.
The internal objections note is worth writing even if you never send the email.

Questions about this prompt

When should I use this rather than asking for an introduction?

For a cold first approach to a company that owes you nothing, where you can name a current priority of theirs and show your evidence for it. If you already have a warm contact, a short message asking to talk works better. This is for when the case has to carry itself.

What do I need on their side of the proposal?

THEIR_PRIORITY_AND_EVIDENCE backed by a real signal such as a job advert, a launch or a change to their pricing page, plus the specific proposal and an honest value exchange both ways. Any audience or reach number has to be supplied, otherwise the prompt writes NEEDS FIGURE rather than estimating it.

What comes back, and which part is for internal use?

An email under 180 words stating their value before yours, a LinkedIn version under 60 words, and an internal note listing the three reasons they will say no. The internal note is worth having even if the email never goes, because two of those three usually need fixing first.

What kills a partnership after it is agreed?

Softening the honest statement of effort required from them. It is tempting and it is how partnerships die a month after everyone agreed in principle. The other trap is proposing a call as the first step, which the prompt refuses, because a diary slot is a real cost to a stranger.