Time for an ecology lesson!

Did you know that in nature symbiotic relationships are a key measure of ecosystem health?

These Relationships Can Be Divided Into 4 Categories:

1# Mutualism

These types of relationships have mutual benefits for both parties - like clownfish and anemones (a la Finding Nemo) where the anemones protect the fish and in return, the fish keep the anemones clear from parasites (so glad this is a written email for how many times anemones showed up in that sentence).

In your offer ecosystem, we can look at two different layers of relationships - offer <-> offer and offer <-> you

Mutual relationships are non-negotiable when it comes to your offer ecosystem. These are your core anchor offers.

Between offers, there is a mutual flow where your offers complement each other and naturally lead your people to continue on their journey with you.

And between your anchor offers and you, these offers light you the eff up. You could talk about them all day, you’re excited to deliver them and/or welcome people in. Whether it’s impact, income, insights, or an influx of people into your world - you’re getting something out of these offers. These are your bread and butter.

#2 Commensalism

This is where one party benefits and honestly the other one doesn’t even notice - like a bird making a nest in the tree, the bird gets nice and cozy and the tree keeps doing its thing.

In your offer ecosystem, these types of offers just chill, supporting the flow through the ecosystem. They don’t draw a lot of your attention - like an ebook, or an upsell template.

#3 Competition

Sadly, this happens all too frequently both in nature and in our offers- where there is a struggle for the same limited resources in an ecosystem.

This type of relationship tends to emerge in our offer ecosystems when we just add offers haphazardly, jumping on trends or being overly responsive to what our audience is asking for without pausing to look at the intentional journey through the ecosystem.

This can lead to buyer confusion and analysis paralysis, not to mention you being so spread thin that all your offers just end up falling flat (sad trombone noise).

#4 Parasitism

Last but not least is the most toxic of symbiotic relationships - where one thing thrives at the direct expense of another organism (side-eyeing all the mosquitoes killing our summer deck vibes).

I would say this is one of the leading issues I see when my clients come to me - burnt out, exhausted, resentful of their audience, and overall hating their business model.

Parasitic offers suck the life out of you. Usually, it’s because the offer structure doesn’t align with your priorities or how you want to live your life or you’ve fallen into an undercharging and wayyyy overdelivering trap because you care so deeply about your people’s experience.

It’s time to bring equilibrium into your offer ecosystem.
It’s time to evolve.

In Masterpiece, we dive into how we can support healthy symbiotic relationships between your offers, and between your offers and YOU - because I said it once, and I’ll say it again: you are the most important part of your offer ecosystem.

Click here for more info on Masterpiece, and to join the experience.