| name | platform-partnership |
| description | Designs platform partnership programs with integration benefits, co-marketing, and revenue sharing. Use when building strategic partnerships for marketplace or SaaS platforms. |
| allowed-tools | Read Write Glob |
| metadata | {"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"} |
Platform Partnership
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Design a partner program for a marketplace or platform
- Create integration partnerships with complementary tools
- Structure co-marketing agreements and revenue sharing models
- Build a partner onboarding and enablement program
DO NOT use this skill for affiliate programs, sponsorship deals, or vendor negotiations. This is for strategic platform partnerships with mutual business value.
Core Principle
A GREAT PARTNERSHIP MAKES BOTH PLATFORMS MORE VALUABLE TO THEIR USERS — IF THE PARTNERSHIP ONLY BENEFITS ONE SIDE, IT IS A VENDOR RELATIONSHIP, NOT A PARTNERSHIP.
Phase 1: Brief
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|
| Your platform | "What is your platform and who are your users?" | No default — must be provided |
| Partnership goal | "What do you want from partnerships? Distribution, features, credibility?" | Distribution and feature expansion |
| Ideal partners | "What type of company would be a great partner? Complementary tools, adjacent audiences?" | Complementary SaaS tools |
| Partnership model | "Integration, co-marketing, referral, or full strategic?" | Integration + co-marketing |
| Resources available | "What can you invest? Engineering time, marketing budget, dedicated person?" | Limited — solo founder |
GATE: Confirm the brief before designing the program.
Phase 2: Design the Program
Partnership Tiers
| Tier | Requirements | Benefits | Revenue Share |
|---|
| Technology Partner | Build and maintain an integration | Listed in partner directory, co-marketing, API support | Per-referral or flat fee |
| Referral Partner | Send qualified leads | Commission per conversion, partner badge | 10-20% of first-year revenue |
| Strategic Partner | Deep integration + co-marketing commitment | Joint webinars, case studies, featured placement | Custom |
Partner Identification Criteria
Score potential partners on:
- Audience overlap — Do their users match yours? (1-10)
- Complementary value — Does their product make yours better? (1-10)
- Size compatibility — Can you partner as equals? (1-10)
- Cultural fit — Similar values, responsive, collaborative? (1-10)
- Strategic alignment — Does this partnership serve your 12-month goals? (1-10)
Target partners scoring 35+ out of 50.
Partnership Value Map
For each partnership, document the mutual value:
## Partnership: [Your Platform] × [Partner Platform]
**Value to our users:** [What they gain from this integration]
**Value to their users:** [What they gain from this integration]
**Value to us:** [Distribution, revenue, feature, credibility]
**Value to them:** [Distribution, revenue, feature, credibility]
GATE: Confirm tiers and target partners before writing outreach.
Phase 3: Execute
Partner Outreach Template
Subject: Partnership idea: [Your Platform] × [Their Platform]
Hey [Name],
I run [Your Platform] — [one sentence description]. We share a lot of users with [Their Platform], and I think there is a natural integration opportunity.
**The idea:** [Describe the integration or partnership in 2-3 sentences]
**Why it works:**
- Your users get [benefit]
- Our users get [benefit]
- Both platforms grow through [mechanism]
I would love a 20-minute call to explore this. Would [day/time] work?
[Your name]
[Your platform]
Partnership Agreement Framework
Document these terms for every partnership:
- Scope: What each party will do
- Timeline: Key milestones and deadlines
- Resources: What each party contributes (engineering, marketing, content)
- Revenue: How revenue or leads are shared
- Metrics: How success is measured
- Duration: Initial term and renewal terms
- Exit: How either party can end the partnership
Co-Marketing Playbook
Joint marketing activities ranked by effort:
| Activity | Effort | Impact |
|---|
| Cross-link in partner directories | Low | Medium |
| Guest blog post exchange | Low | Medium |
| Joint social media promotion | Low | Low-Medium |
| Co-authored content or guide | Medium | High |
| Joint webinar or event | Medium | High |
| Bundled offer or promotion | Medium | High |
| Joint case study | Low-Medium | High |
Phase 4: Polish
1. Partner Onboarding Kit
Prepare for each new partner:
- Welcome email with key contacts and resources
- Integration documentation or API access
- Brand assets and co-marketing guidelines
- Partner dashboard for tracking referrals and metrics
- Quarterly review schedule
2. Partner Success Metrics
## Partnership Metrics
- **Referral volume:** Leads or users sent by each partner
- **Conversion rate:** % of partner referrals that become customers
- **Revenue attributed:** Revenue generated through the partnership
- **Integration adoption:** % of shared users who activate the integration
- **Co-marketing ROI:** Leads and conversions from joint campaigns
- **Partner satisfaction:** Quarterly check-in survey (NPS)
3. Quality Checklist
## Partnership Program Checklist
- [ ] Partnership tiers defined with clear benefits at each level
- [ ] Partner identification criteria documented with scoring model
- [ ] Value map created for each target partnership (mutual value)
- [ ] Outreach template personalized for each target partner
- [ ] Partnership agreement covers scope, timeline, revenue, and exit
- [ ] Co-marketing playbook lists activities by effort and impact
- [ ] Partner onboarding kit prepared
- [ ] Success metrics defined and tracking is set up
- [ ] Quarterly review cadence scheduled for active partnerships
- [ ] Partner directory or page exists on your website
Example
Partnership: Project management SaaS × Invoicing SaaS
Value map:
- Their users get: Automatic invoice generation from completed projects
- Our users get: Project cost tracking and budget visibility
- We get: Distribution to their 10,000 users, feature without building it
- They get: Distribution to our 5,000 users, sticky integration
Outreach excerpt:
"Our users constantly ask for invoicing features, and your users ask for project management. Instead of both of us building what the other already has, what if we connected them? A user finishes a project in our app and generates an invoice in yours with one click."
Anti-Patterns
- One-sided value — if only one platform benefits, the other will eventually disengage. Always map mutual value.
- No success metrics — "Let's partner and see what happens" leads to partnerships that fizzle. Define what success looks like upfront.
- Too many partners too fast — each partnership requires maintenance. Start with 2-3 high-value partnerships, not 20 shallow ones.
- Ignoring the partnership after launch — partnerships need quarterly reviews, updated co-marketing, and relationship maintenance.
- Verbal agreements — always document scope, terms, and exit clauses. Even a simple email confirmation is better than a handshake.
Recovery
- Partner is unresponsive: Set a 2-week follow-up cadence. After 3 attempts, move to the next target. Do not chase.
- Integration is not being used: Promote it to your user base with a dedicated announcement. Provide setup guides and in-app prompts.
- Partnership is not producing results: Review the metrics at the quarterly check-in. If mutual value is not materializing, scale back or sunset amicably.
- Partner becomes a competitor: This happens. Ensure your agreement has an exit clause. Transition gracefully and prioritize user experience during the wind-down.
