🧙‍♂️ 3 easy ways to find sponsors before 2023

Hey there,

You’ve still got about a week to secure one last sponsorship before the end of 2022.

But if that feels like too much of a rush for your schedule, there’s something else you can do instead:

Decide which brands you wanna target to partner with in Q1 2023!

Budgets typically run from January to December, which means that many brands are planning how to allocate their shiny new 2023 dollars RIGHT NOW!

So, Dear Creator, NOW is the time to put your foot on the gas and get your name in the minds of these brands…

Because when they’re choosing collaborators for their Q1 campaigns, you wanna be at the top of their list 🙋‍♀️

But who should you partner up with?

The way I see it, the New Year is a perfect opportunity to stop spinning your wheels chasing deals with brands that you know in your gut aren’t a good fit for you (or deals that are paying peanuts)!

And honestly?

Pursuing crappy deals is gonna slowly chip away at your reputation if it’s not authentic to you, your content and your audience.

So here are three places I recommend you look for sponsors in 2023…

Most of us overlook the products we already love & use because we assume those brands are too big to sponsor us.

And while that might be true for some mega-conglomerate brands...

It's actually NOT true for most normal-sized ones.

Because if you're talking from experience about a brand you love, it's probably gonna lead to good results.

Better yet, if you’ve already been organically talking about a brand on your platforms, it’s gonna mean:

1. The brand will be more eager to negotiate with you because they know you genuinely use their products (and they don't have to spend time educating you)
2. Your audience will be more likely to support you because they know the partnership is authentic.

Now, when you read # 1 above, did you think, "Why would the brand pay me if they see me already talking about them for free?"

See, this is a huge myth.

Brands often pay for something called "social listening" software to find people who are already talking about them online.

Why?

Because they know THAT’S the type of person who could authentically double down on promoting them if they got paid to do so.

That’s why I suggest completing a “Brands in your House" audit.

Literally, walk around your place, look through all the software on your computer...

And really think about the stuff you use regularly.

I guarantee your next sponsorship is right under your nose.
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But what if you’re still stuck and not sure which products & services your audience needs/wants?

There’s a simple way to find out.

Look at which brands your audience is already talking about in your comment sections...or when they reply to your emails...or when they DM you.

You could even ASK your audience directly!

By doing this, you’ll get a clear picture of the brands that’ll serve your audience.

Not to mention it’ll make your job 10x easier when you go to pitch that brand!

Now you can say…

"My audience is already primed for your product! Attached are several screenshots of them discussing the launch of [their brand's product] just this week…”

That brand now knows your audience is exactly the consumer segment they wanna reach!

So it’s gonna be a no-brainer for them to cough up that cash.

One of the most underrated ways of choosing your next sponsor is by doing a little sleuthing to see which brands are already sponsoring other creators in your niche.

The problem is that when you see a fellow creator getting a deal with your dream brand, you might feel a little salty, right? Why didn't that brand reach out to you?

And since that other creator got the deal first, there’s probably no point in trying to pitch the brand now, right?

Nononononono.

Rather than viewing other creators as your competition, I implore you to take the opposite approach:

Start engaging with them!

Reply to their posts… congratulate them on their wins… and establish a genuine rapport.

Not only does this make the experience of being a creator more positive and collaborative…

But a few months later, when you see them doing another awesome partnership with a brand you love, you can DM them to ask for an intro to that brand!

It’s all about having an abundance mindset and realizing that a win for them is also a win for you!

✌️

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Free Time Podcast I got a chance to chat with my friend & best-selling author, Jenny Blake, all about about how to negotiate sponsorships that are mutually beneficial to both you and the brand... Give it a listen!