JV marketing is one of the most powerful types of free marketing on the web. Its success, however, hinges on one thing: your ability to find and land JV partners. A lot of people never get into JV marketing simply because they don’t know how to find the right people to partner with them.

Did you know that there are a lot of people with big lists out there who are looking for products just like yours? People with large lists know that if they’re not promoting products, they’re wasting their list. However, finding trustworthy partners with good products can be a big challenge.

You can help bridge that gap. Be proactive in finding partners to promote your product. Here are five ways to do this.

==> Method #1: Watch Your Friends’ Lists

Friends of friends is one of the best ways to do JV partnerships. You could just ask your friends who they know that might partner with you, but you probably don’t want to ask over and over again.

Instead, what you can do is sign up to the email lists of all your friends. Watch for JV deals they do with other people. If you think working with you would be a win-win as well, ask your friend to put you in contact with them.

==> Method #2: Browse Your ClickBank Category

ClickBank is one of the largest databases of people who promote information products. Go to your section in ClickBank and look for other marketers who have email lists.

You can sort by Gravity or Popularity to find big lists. Alternatively, if you want to work with successful people who aren’t quite huge yet, you can use tools like CBEngine.com to find “trending” (growing) sites that aren’t already too big.

==> Method #3: Newsletter, Ezine, Solo Ad and Ad Swap Databases

There are many sites on the internet that are dedicated to putting all the mailing lists and ezines and other advertising or partnership opportunities in one place.

Note: Generally you want to use the smaller ones, as the really big lists include lists from Readers Digest or lists of students nationwide, with tens of millions of names. These kinds of lists don’t do JVs.

==> Method #4: Meet Them in Person

Go to conferences, trade shows, seminars and other in person events to meet people in your industry.

Collect business cards and follow up in under 48 hours. Make sure to come from a “what I can do for you” mindset rather than a “what can you do for me” mindset.

==> Method #5: Related Internet Forums

Browse internet forums in your niche or market. Look for authors, website owners or people with lists. Start posting on the forum and start to develop a relationship with influential people on that forum. Then, message them about potential partnerships.

Any one of these methods alone can land you a steady stream of JV partners.