You know what I’ve noticed after being involved in more than 130 collaborations over the past few years? The people who get invited back aren’t necessarily those with the biggest email lists. They’re not always the most successful, the most experienced, or even the most well-known. They are the people who make you think, “Oh my God, yes, I would absolutely work with them again.”

And there’s a reason for that. Because getting invited to collaborate is one thing, but becoming the person people think of when the next opportunity comes along, that is something else entirely. And today, I want to talk about how you become that person.

Are you a female business owner frustrated with battling the algorithm and looking for growth strategies that don’t involve awkwardly pointing or dancing online or throwing cash at paid ads? Welcome to the Email Growth Show. I’m your host, Kylie Kelly, visibility and email marketing strategist. I grew my email list from zero to almost 10,000 subscribers in less than two years, and the same is possible for you, too.

Are you ready to build your email list and start making more money in your online business? Let’s head into today’s episode.

Hey, hey, and welcome back to the Email Growth Show. Okay, I’m really excited about today’s conversation because if you’ve been around here for a while, you’ll know that I’m a huge believer in collaborations. Freebie swaps, bundles, summits, podcast guesting, guest teaching. Honestly, I love all of it. I have been doing this since I started my business back in 2022, and over the years I’ve been involved in more than 130 collaborations.

Some I’ve hosted, some I’ve contributed to. Some have been amazing for growing my email list. Others haven’t necessarily brought in huge numbers of subscribers, but they’ve introduced me to people who’ve become really important in my business. And something that I’ve realised along the way is that we spend so much time talking about how to find collaboration opportunities. Where do you find podcasts to pitch? How do you get invited to speak at summits? How do you find bundles to contribute to? How do you get in front of other people’s audiences? And don’t get me wrong, they are all very important questions. Finding opportunities is a big part of growing your audience through collaborations.

But there is another part that I don’t think we talk about nearly enough. What happens after someone says yes to collaborating with you? Because here’s the thing, a collaboration isn’t just an opportunity to get in front of somebody else’s audience, it’s an opportunity to build a relationship with the person who already has the audience. And sometimes that relationship is worth far more than the subscribers that you might gain after one collaboration, right?

I have seen this happen in my own business time and time and time again. Someone I meet through a bundle might become a podcast guest. Someone I interview introduces me to another business owner. Someone that I collaborate with once becomes someone that I work with repeatedly. And sometimes they just become a really good f*cking business friend, and that is worth its weight in gold, too.

And as you all know, I’m naturally quite introverted, and I don’t particularly love networking for the sake of networking, right? So creating friends like this through these relationship-based collaborations is actually one of my favourite parts of this whole thing. Again, not a fan of small talk with strangers here. Would pretty much prefer to do anything else. But give me a genuine reason to connect with someone around something that we’re both excited about? Yes, I f*cking love that.

So today, I want to share five things that I’ve learned about becoming someone people genuinely want to collaborate with. And the best part is that you don’t need a massive audience, a six-figure business, or a fancy title to do any of them. You just need to be intentional about how you show up.

So number one, I want you to make it ridiculously easy for people to say yes to you. Okay, so this is a big one. If you are reaching out to someone about a potential collaboration, please do not make them do all the work.

And I say that with so much love because I have received messages that’ll say something like, “Hey, Kylie, I’d love to collaborate sometime.” And look, I appreciate that they’ve reached out, but what does that actually mean? Do you want to come on my podcast? Do you want to do a freebie swap? Are you inviting me to speak at something? Are you asking me to promote something? Now I have to go back, ask questions, come up with ideas, and figure out whether it’s even a good fit. And if I’m in the middle of a busy week, which you all know I probably am, as I’m sure you all are, that message is probably gonna sit in my inbox until I have the brain space to deal with it, which, let’s be honest, might be never.

Now, compare that to somebody that says, “Hey, Kylie, I love how you teach audience growth through collaborations. I have an audience of business owners who are looking for simpler ways to grow their email lists, and I think they’d really connect with your approach. Would you be interested in doing a freebie swap next month? I’ve got a resource on X, Y, and Z I think would be a great fit for your subscribers.” Can you see the difference? They’ve thought about my audience. They’ve suggested something specific. They’ve explained why it makes sense, and they’ve made it incredibly easy for me to decide whether I’m interested.

Now, that doesn’t mean that I’m automatically going to say yes. The timing might not work. The audience might not be aligned, right? I might already have just too much on. But even if I say no, I’m going to remember that person as somebody who is thoughtful and professional, and that I might want to do something with later. And again, something that I really want you to hear: you do not need a big audience to make a thoughtful invitation. You don’t need to have been in business for 10 years or have some fancy media kit. You just need a little bit of research and to approach the opportunity thinking about both sides. What would make this valuable for them? What would make it valuable for their audience? What can you bring to the table? Because when you approach collaborations thinking about what you can give rather than just what you can get, it completely changes the conversation.

And please don’t let the possibility of somebody saying no stop you from reaching out. A no does not automatically mean that you’ve done anything wrong. I always used to remember that a no just means not right now, or not yet. Sometimes it is just not the right time. But a thoughtful, specific invitation, that is something you can absolutely go and do today, and know that in the future, that is gonna pay off big time.

Okay, so number two. We’ve been thoughtful, we’ve been intentional, we’re making really great pitches, right? Really great reach-outs. Number two, I want you to do what the f*ck you said you were going to do. Now, this sounds obvious, I know, and yet, oh, where do I get started here? And yet, if you have ever hosted a bundle or a summit, you know exactly what I’m talking about. When you agree to participate in a collaboration, there are usually things you’re committing to. Maybe you need to submit your speaker information by a certain date. Maybe you need to provide a free resource. Maybe you’ve agreed to send an email to your audience. Maybe there’s a specific promotional window.

And look, I get it. We are all busy. Life happens, kids get sick, things come up. I’m a mum of two boys, so believe me, I understand that even the best laid plans can go completely out the window. But there is a huge f*cking difference between someone who communicates when things change and someone who just disappears or doesn’t follow through. If you agreed to promote an event, I want you to promote it. If you have agreed to submit something by a certain date, do your best to meet the deadline. And if you can’t, please just tell the person. Seriously, a simple message saying, “Hey, I’m really sorry, Kylie. I’ve just had something come up and I’m running behind. Is it okay if I get this to you by Friday?” That is so much better than silence.

Because as a host, when you are coordinating multiple contributors, speakers, deadlines, links, promotional materials, and everything else that goes into an event, the last thing that you want to do is spend your time chasing people. It is like herding cats, and I can tell you from my experience, the contributors who communicate, follow through, and make the whole experience easy, I remember them. They’re the ones you remember. When you’re planning the next event and thinking about who you’d love to invite, those names come to mind really quickly. Not necessarily because they brought the biggest audience, but because working with them was genuinely a good experience.

And I think that’s such an important distinction. You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to get everything right every single time, but you do want to be someone people can rely on. Being easy to work with is a business advantage, and I think we underestimate just how valuable that is, or even how easy it is to stand out just by doing what you said you were going to do. Please take that on board.

Now, number three. I want you to actually care about the other person’s success, right? This is such an important one to me because collaboration should never be a one-way street. And I think sometimes, especially when we’re really focused on growing our email lists, which I hope you all are, it is easy to look at every opportunity through the lens of: how many subscribers am I gonna get? How many leads? How many clicks? How many sales? And listen, I f*cking love data. You guys know I love tracking results. I absolutely think you should know which collaborations are working for your business.

But I also want you to remember that there’s another human being on the other side of that opportunity, someone who’s probably spent weeks or months putting something together, someone who’s coordinating contributors, writing emails, setting up pages, testing links, answering questions, stepping outside their comfort zone, and doing all the things that happen behind the scenes. And when you’re a contributor, it means so much when you genuinely support that person, not just because you’ve agreed to send an email, but because you actually want their event to be successful.

Maybe you share the event because you genuinely think your audience will benefit. Maybe you leave a lovely comment when they announce it. Maybe you celebrate with them when they hit a milestone. Maybe you send a message afterwards saying how much you enjoyed being a part of it. It does not need to be hard. It does not need to be complicated. And I’m not suggesting you need to send flowers or write a five-paragraph thank you letter, right? Although, if anybody wants to send me flowers, I mean, I won’t complain. But seriously, it’s about remembering that there are people behind these opportunities.

And I think this is where my philosophy around audience growth and email marketing really comes together, because I don’t want you treating your subscribers like numbers, and I don’t want you treating your collaboration partners like numbers either. Yes, we’re running a business. Yes, we wanna grow. Yes, we wanna make money. But relationships are what makes so much of that growth possible, and the people who genuinely care about the success of others, they’re the people I find myself wanting to work with again and again and again. Not because they’re trying to get something out of me, but because it feels good to work with someone who’s genuinely invested in making the collaboration a success for everyone involved.

And often, those people do go above and beyond, right? They help you promote it more than they have to. They send little personal emails saying how much they’re enjoying it or how they’re having fun, or they’ll pass on little notes that their audience have said about the event. They go the extra mile because they actually care, and we can feel that as hosts. So again, number three, actually care about the other person’s success.

Now, number four. Look, I’m guilty of this one as well because, again, busy life, like we’ve already talked about, but I don’t want you to disappear when the collaboration ends. This is the biggest missed opportunity that I see, and I know I’ve done this in the past too. Often what happens is someone participates in a bundle, they submit their resource, they promote the event, they get some subscribers, and then that’s it. They’re off looking for the next opportunity. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but I think they’re missing something really valuable, because you’ve just had a reason to connect with another business owner. You’ve had a shared experience. You’ve probably learned something about how they work, who they serve, what they’re building. Why would you treat that relationship like it’s finished just because the promotional window is closed?

What if instead you sent a quick message afterwards like, “Thanks so much for having me. I really loved being a part of this”? It’s not f*cking rocket science, right? That is it. Or maybe a few weeks later, you see them sharing something exciting, and you send them a message to congratulate them. Maybe six months down the track, you have an idea of something you could do together. Maybe you come across an opportunity that would be perfect for them, so you send it their way, not because you expect something in return, just because you thought of them.

And I know some of you listening are probably thinking, “Kylie, I do not have time to maintain relationships with every person I’ve ever collaborated with.” And I say this with love, but neither do I. One time I thought I could, and I created a very sexy Google spreadsheet with all the names and all the information and everything. I think I looked at that thing twice. I get it. And I’m not suggesting that you need a spreadsheet like that reminding you to message 120 people every Tuesday, right? No, no, no, no. We are not gonna make this another enormous task on your to-do list. I’m talking about being a little more intentional. That is it.

So when you meet someone that you genuinely connect with, don’t automatically let that relationship disappear. You never know where it might lead. Someone that you meet through a bundle could become a guest on your podcast, right? They could introduce you to somebody else. They could invite you to speak at their event. You might end up working together on something completely different. Or like I said at the start, they could just become a really good business friend. And also, sometimes none of those things happen. Sometimes you just have a lovely connection with another person running a business. It’s all valuable.

One of the things that I’ve loved about doing collaborations for the past few years is that so many of my business relationships have just grown naturally from doing something together. It hasn’t felt like traditional networking, right? It’s felt like building something alongside somebody else, and that’s such a different experience. That’s such a beautiful experience. So here’s what I want you to remember after listening to this. The collaboration might have an end date, yes. The relationship doesn’t have to. And if you’re constantly moving from one opportunity to the next without ever nurturing those relationships, you’re missing out on the most valuable part. I can almost guarantee that your business isn’t as successful, or isn’t where you want it to be or where it could be, if you just slowed yourself down and looked at the relationships a little bit more intentionally than just the opportunities.

Now, as we wrap this up, number five is be someone who brings ideas. This is something I think separates people who are simply participating from people who are really building a network. The people that I love collaborating with don’t always wait to be invited. They notice opportunities. They have ideas. They make introductions. They think about the ways people could work together. And I don’t mean they’re constantly pitching themselves. Actually, it is often the opposite. Sometimes it’s as simple as, “Oh my gosh, I saw this event and I thought of you.”

Or my friend Sophia does this so well. She’ll send an email, and she’ll CC in myself and somebody else and be like, “Oh my gosh, have you guys met? I really think I need to introduce you. So, da, da, da. Kylie does this. She does that. I’ll leave you to it.” She just is the most incredible introducer. Or, “I know you’re working on this project or this launch, and I’ve got an idea that might help.” There’s no big agenda. There’s no complicated networking strategy. They’re just paying attention.

And I think that’s so powerful, because that’s how we build relationships in business. You become someone who contributes to the opportunities around you, not just somebody that asks to be included in them. Again, I want to be really clear: you do not need to be the person with the biggest network to do this. You might only know five other business owners. That is fine. If you see an opportunity that’s perfect for one of them, send it their way. If you know two people who could create something brilliant together, introduce them. If you have an idea for a collaboration that could genuinely benefit both audiences, suggest it. Sometimes those ideas won’t go anywhere. That’s okay. This isn’t about keeping score. It’s not about doing someone else a favour so they owe you one later. It’s literally about being genuinely interested in the people that you’re connecting with.

And the funny thing is, when you approach business this way, opportunities tend to become a lot more natural. Instead of constantly having to go out and find the next thing, you start becoming someone people think of too, because you’re involved, you’re thoughtful, you’re generous with your ideas, and you’re someone people enjoy working with.

Now, I do want to add one little caveat here. Being generous doesn’t mean saying yes to everything. Did you get that? Being generous doesn’t mean saying yes to everything. Please do not hear this episode and decide you need to accept every invitation that lands in your inbox, because not all visibility is created equal. You’ve heard me say that before. You still wanna think about whether the audience is aligned, whether the opportunity makes sense for your business, whether you actually have the capacity to show up well. I would much rather see you do a handful of really aligned collaborations and build some brilliant relationships than exhaust yourself trying to be everywhere. Keep in mind that saying yes to everything can actually make it harder to do a really good job of anything. And that brings us right back to what we’ve been talking about: be intentional, follow through, make it easy, care about the people you’re working with, and look for ways to contribute. That is how you become somebody that people remember.

Now, I wanna connect this back to audience growth for a second, because you might be listening thinking, “Okay, Kylie, this is all lovely, but how does being a good partner actually grow my email list?” And that’s a fair question, because I talk a lot about borrowed audiences, getting in front of people who don’t know you yet, leveraging each other’s audiences, using collaborations as a way to create discovery. All of that is true, but here is what I have learned. One collaboration can create more than one opportunity.

Let’s say you contribute to a bundle. You get 50 new subscribers. Brilliant. That’s a win. But what if the host loved working with you and invited you to speak at their next event, and then another contributor heard your session and invited you onto their podcast, and then someone listening to that podcast joined your email list and then eventually bought from you? Can you see how that original collaboration has now created multiple opportunities? Not because you went out and pitched five more people, but because you showed up well for the first one.

And that’s where this gets really interesting, because we often talk about audience growth as though every collaboration is a separate activity. You do a bundle, you get some subscribers. You do a podcast interview, you get some subscribers. You do a freebie swap, you get some subscribers. And yes, that’s one way to approach it, but what if those opportunities actually started to build on top of each other? What if the relationships that you are building made the next opportunity even easier to find? What if people started recommending you? What if you became somebody hosts thought of when they were planning their next event? That’s when collaboration starts to feel less like constantly hunting for visibility and more like building momentum. And I f*cking love that, because that’s the kind of business I want, one where the things I’m doing today make things easier six months from now, where the relationships that I’m building actually compound, where I’m not constantly starting from zero.

And it’s exactly why I think collaboration is much more than just a list-building strategy. It’s a relationship-building strategy that can then support your business for years.

And if you’re listening to all of this thinking, “Okay, Kylie, I get it. I wanna be a brilliant collaboration partner, but I still need to find some people to collaborate with.” Yes, I hear you. And that’s actually a big part of why I created Find CoLab. Because as much as I love collaborations, I know how frustrating it can be trying to find the right opportunities. You search all the Facebook groups, you’re scrolling through posts, you see something interesting, and you save it for later, only to realise you missed the deadline. Or you know you wanna start collaborating, but you have absolutely no idea where to look. So I wanted to make it easier.

Find CoLab is a place where you can discover real collaboration opportunities, from bundles and summits to podcast guest spots, freebie swaps, guest teaching, and more. You can also keep track of the collaborations you’ve said yes to, so you’re not trying to remember every submission deadline and promotional commitment in your head, because I want you spending less time searching for opportunities and more time actually making the most of them. Now, I made it so you can get started completely free. Just head to findcolab.com. That’s one word, Find, F-I-N-D, C-O, L-A-B, dot com. I’ll pop the link in the show notes as well.

Whether you check it out or not, I really want you to take what we’ve talked about today and think about the relationships that you’re already building in your business. Because I think there’s a good chance that you’ve got more opportunities around you than you even realise.

Okay. So before I go, I wanna leave you with a little challenge. It’s a really simple one. I want you to think about one person that you’ve collaborated with in the past. Maybe you were a guest on their podcast. Maybe you contributed to their bundle. Maybe you did a freebie swap together, or you met through an event. Someone that you genuinely enjoyed working with, but maybe haven’t spoken to in a while, and I just want you to send them a message. Don’t pitch them for something. Don’t ask a favour. Just reconnect. Tell them that you loved collaborating with them. Ask them how they’re doing. Maybe mention something you’ve seen them working on. That’s it.

Because I think sometimes we make growing our business so much harder than it needs to be, right? We’re constantly searching for that next strategy, the next platform, the next opportunity, the next person that might help us grow. And sometimes the most valuable thing that we can do is nurture a relationship that’s already started, that’s already there.

So I really want you to remember this. You do not need to be the biggest name in your industry to become someone people love working with. You don’t need the biggest email list. You don’t need the most impressive business. You don’t need to be everywhere. You just need to be someone who shows up, follows through, brings value, and genuinely cares about the people that you’re working with. Because getting invited to collaborate is f*cking wonderful, but being someone people want to invite back, that’s where the magic really starts to happen.

And again, if you’re ready to find your next collaboration opportunity, come and join me and about 180 others, as I’m recording this, inside Find CoLab. Head to findcolab.com, create your free account, and have a look at what’s available. You just never know who your next collaboration might introduce you to.

Okay, my love. I love you so much. Thank you so much for being here. I will see you again next week. We have a guest episode next week with the incredible Tracy Beavers. I cannot wait to share it with you. Have a lovely week, and I will see you then. All right. Bye for now.

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the Email Growth Show. I hope you found valuable insights into the next steps you can take to grow your email list and boost your business without relying on social media or paid ads. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show and share it with others. Your feedback helps me reach more female entrepreneurs just like you, who are ready to say goodbye to social media and leverage email marketing to grow their business and make a bigger impact. Thank you so much for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.