Getting Your First Video Sponsorship

In this article, we’ll share with you the importance of making and securing that first sponsorship opportunity and making it a win, win, win!

Rising through the ranks from no-name content creator to someone who can be considered an influencer takes hard work and a singular focus. Sponsored videos are often seen as proof that you have found success as a creator.

Put in the work

The path leading to any worthwhile sponsorship opportunity always starts with you and the work you put in uploading to Youtube, socializing and sharing on Facebook, curating images on Instagram or streaming on Twitch.

AdSense isn’t the only way to make money on YouTube. In fact, sponsored content is a considerably less fickle income stream — and it doesn’t always require a massive subscriber base. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have millions of followers or subscribers. In some cases, “micro influencers” who garner a smaller viewership can be more sought after since they are often more engaged with their audience.

By discovering what an audience wants and doing it consistently you become a commodity. This consistency and audience loyalty are what will attract a brand to work with you in helping them promote their product. But once you’re at a point where you can wield your influence and generate further revenue, how do you actually find that perfect sponsorship opportunity?

Famebit is one of a few different marketplaces where creators and brands can connect.

Sponsor pairing services

You may want to start by searching a sponsorship with parameters already in place. Such opportunities can be found via services like Famebit, Rep and inzpire.me. These sites allow you to search their list of brands that want to work with influencers to create sponsored videos. In most cases, an outline of the deal and its terms is already drawn out, so not much negotiation is needed. However, at this level of sponsorship, competition for these sponsorship opportunities could be fairly high.

Know your channel’s worth

If you want to search out a sponsorship that better fits your niche and has more room for negotiation, do yourself a service visit these two websites before you dive in: Socialblade.com and Socialbluebook.com.

At Socialblade.com you can see what top YouTubers and other content creators are generating in revenue and the numbers they are putting out. Through Socialbluebook.com you can plug in your own actual numbers — viewers, subscribers, or videos etc. — to see the type of revenue you could be generating.

The information gathered from both sites can give you a better outlook on the market. You can also use this information in a potential sponsorship negotiation to let brands know the value you can bring to their campaign.

Social Bluebook helps creators estimate the value that their channel offers brands, making it easier to confidently negotiate with sponsors.

Get the details

Furthermore, make sure to get the specifics to what the brand wants. For example, how much input will the brand have on what you create? What will the finished video look like? What are the estimated views it should meet? And most importantly, what are they paying you? All of these specifics and more should be determined before an agreement is met.

Mistakes to avoid

To further help you in the negotiation process here is a list of six mistakes first-time sponsorship seekers make. These are according to Roberto Blake, a creative professional and entrepreneur who has experience successfully navigating sponsorship deals.

1. Not fully letting your viewers know what content is being sponsored: You need to tell the audience about the brand and product for the sponsorship to be effective. Plus, the law requires that you disclose when a video is sponsored.
2. Selecting a sponsored product that doesn’t fit the channel’s audience: This is bad for your channel since it may appear as a mere money grab opportunity for the content creator. This could lead to backlash from an otherwise loyal audience.
3. Not fully engaging with the brand by not promoting the sponsored content via a creator’s other social platforms: Once a sponsored video is complete, make it more valuable to your sponsor by showcasing it on other platforms where your audience is active.
4. Not following up with the brand and missing out on further opportunities to be sponsored: This shows lack of enthusiasm and an unwillingness to support the sponsors you’ve chosen to work with.
5. Not delivering said content on time: By all means, don’t let this happen, but if it does notify the brand ASAP so if they have other content in play, they can make needed adjustments.
6. Not being able to field questions from viewership about the sponsored product: Redirecting the question to the brand or getting someone of knowledge to reach out to the viewer and enhance that engagement opportunity easily combats this.

By now, it should be clear that negotiating specific terms for your sponsorship is key. With these tips, you can avoid the most common sponsorship mistakes and headaches and, in the end, create a video that everybody is happy with. Hopefully, you feel a bit more prepared to approach your own sponsorship opportunity and turn it into a win for the brand, a win for you, and a win for your viewers.

Get YouTuber.