How To Get Sponsored On YouTube Even If Your Channel Is Small

[00:00] - If you wanna do brand deals

[00:01] or sponsorships as a

[00:03] and you don't know where to start,

[00:05] this video is going to help you a ton.

[00:06] And to make sure you get the

[00:09] I called in my buddy Justin Moore.

[00:11] He's gotten the content

[00:13] over $5 million in brand deals.

[00:16] So he has tons of experience,

[00:17] he knows what he's talking about,

[00:19] and he's here to share

[00:21] So get ready to take some notes

[00:22] because we're starting right now.

[00:23] So, Justin, do you think

[00:26] when it comes to brand deals

[00:27] in order to get the ball rolling,

[00:28] or should they wait for

[00:30] - Sure, Nick, it's a great question.

[00:32] So, you know, when I was launching

[00:33] my podcast, "Creator Debates,"

[00:35] I decided that I wanted to get a sponsor.

[00:38] I mean, I'm a sponsorship coach,

[00:39] so I should probably have a

[00:41] But I had no data to back up

[00:44] exactly how this podcast

[00:46] Remember, it was brand new, right?

[00:48] To be fair, I did have some

[00:50] I had a newsletter, I had another

[00:53] So I had a little bit of track record.

[00:55] But essentially what I did

[00:58] which is a, you know,

[00:58] an email marketing platform for creators.

[01:01] And I basically gave him a pitch.

[01:02] I said, "Look, I am launching this show

[01:05] that has your exact persona

[01:09] that you're trying to reach.

[01:10] Will you sponsor me?"

[01:11] This was basically the pitch.

[01:12] They said, "Let's give it a shot."

[01:14] The deal was essentially, you know,

[01:15] we'll kind of review it

[01:18] but they have continued to be the sponsor

[01:20] through all of Season 1, and

[01:22] And so it's as much

[01:26] that you know has a

[01:28] that they're trying to reach

[01:30] and knowing that that's,

[01:32] you know, that type of

[01:34] and letting them know what's

[01:37] A lot of times I think

[01:39] when they see another creator get a deal

[01:40] from their dream brand, and they're like,

[01:42] "How come the brand

[01:45] I'm the one who was the most

[01:47] I've been using it for three years."

[01:49] And all this stuff too.

[01:50] Brands don't have like a pulse check on,

[01:52] like, every creator out there.

[01:55] It actually takes you

[01:57] and reaching out and saying,

[01:58] "Hey, like, I'm a perfect fit

[02:00] to help, you know, promote your brand."

[02:02] And so I am a very, very big

[02:05] when you reach out to a brand.

[02:06] And this is really, you know,

[02:09] is just sitting on your hands

[02:10] waiting for brands to come to you.

[02:12] And, you know, I think this

[02:15] that brand deals are

[02:17] "Oh, you know, brand deals are

[02:20] but you can never really

[02:22] Well, that's because

[02:24] your inbound deal flow

[02:27] - So how many views do

[02:29] should be getting on average

[02:30] before they start seeking brand deals?

[02:32] - So let me tell you a story

[02:36] So back when I ran an

[02:39] we were approached by

[02:42] And they were kind of a budget carrier.

[02:44] And they knew that their product resonated

[02:47] with folks in the fire community,

[02:49] you know, financial independence,

[02:50] retirement early, and so on.

[02:51] But they were really

[02:53] that could authentically

[02:55] And so they approached my

[02:58] They said, "Hey, can, can you help us?"

[02:59] And so we said, "Absolutely."

[03:00] And so we went out there and

[03:03] And so we looked across all

[03:05] and we found Mike.

[03:06] At the time, he had less

[03:11] I mean, he was probably getting

[03:12] a couple hundred views on average.

[03:14] They moved forward with him,

[03:17] And you're probably thinking,

[03:18] "Wait a minute, he had

[03:20] only a couple hundred views

[03:23] Well, it's because Mike didn't

[03:26] He talked about budgeting

[03:31] budgeting for active duty military.

[03:33] And so the brand was thrilled.

[03:35] Again, they paid him a bunch of money,

[03:36] and you wanna know why?

[03:37] It's because they turned around

[03:38] and they used that content

[03:42] and they ran a bunch of ads to

[03:47] So it's not always just

[03:50] that you're getting on your videos,

[03:52] because there's all these other ways

[03:53] in which brands can receive value

[03:56] from the content that you create,

[03:57] not the least of, which

[03:59] Embedding it on their

[04:01] reposting it on their social channels,

[04:03] running paid advertising

[04:05] - So from your experience,

[04:06] what should content creators prepare

[04:09] when they are wanting

[04:10] - So this is an easy one. Nothing.

[04:12] You don't have to prepare

[04:15] It's because it's not about you.

[04:18] It's about how you can

[04:21] their business objectives.

[04:22] And so this is a really

[04:24] which is that when a lot

[04:27] to a brand and propose a collaboration,

[04:29] oftentimes it takes the form of this,

[04:31] "Hi, my name is Justin.

[04:32] I have 45,000 YouTube subscribers.

[04:35] I, you know, get this many

[04:37] This is my audience demographics."

[04:38] Blah blah blah blah blah right?

[04:40] They just made the brand

[04:42] or delete their email, right?

[04:44] Because that's what

[04:46] when they reach out and try

[04:48] And so the mindset shift here

[04:51] what is going on in the brand's world.

[04:53] Because remember, brands do

[04:57] to just dole out, divvy

[05:00] that reach out and pitch them.

[05:01] You know what they do have money for?

[05:03] They have budget set aside

[05:07] So maybe it's a new product

[05:10] or maybe they're launching in a, you know,

[05:11] and they were in the UK

[05:12] and they're coming to the

[05:14] And so they have money allocated for that.

[05:16] And so your job is to try

[05:22] and make an assumption

[05:24] and important to them in

[05:27] And when you reach out and you say,

[05:28] "Hey, it seems like

[05:30] You're trying to move the

[05:33] I can help you do that by sponsoring me."

[05:36] So at the end of the day,

[05:37] it's actually a positioning exercise.

[05:39] So it's not about you.

[05:40] It's not about a dog and

[05:42] to convince the brand

[05:44] Now there's an element of that,

[05:46] it's helping them understand that,

[05:48] hey, if you part with this money,

[05:49] this budget that you've allocated,

[05:51] I'm gonna help you get

[05:53] And so I think

[05:54] it's a really, really

[05:56] - So one question that I get a lot

[05:57] from content creators is pricing.

[05:59] A lot of people don't know where to start

[06:01] when it comes to pricing

[06:03] What do you recommend

[06:05] Do you have a formula of some kind?

[06:07] Or how do you work that out?

[06:08] - Okay, so there are two main

[06:12] that you need to consider,

[06:13] so let's talk about the first one,

[06:14] which is understanding the

[06:18] Literally, what would be a win for them?

[06:20] And the framework that I

[06:24] So when you reach out to a brand

[06:26] or they're reaching

[06:27] "Hey, what would success

[06:30] They're gonna say one of three things.

[06:31] Number one, they're gonna say,

[06:32] "This is an awareness campaign.

[06:33] We are just trying to spread the word."

[06:35] Secondly, it's going to be a

[06:39] Where they're going to take

[06:41] and use it in all these

[06:43] Embed it on their website,

[06:44] use it for paid advertising, et cetera.

[06:46] And then the final goal type

[06:49] And this is where they're trying to drive

[06:51] some sort of very specific outcome, right,

[06:53] measurable outcome, right?

[06:54] Sales, you know, app downloads,

[06:56] trial signups for a software

[06:59] And the reason it's so critical

[07:01] that you need to ascertain

[07:04] is that your pricing should

[07:07] The simple explanation is,

[07:08] imagine if the brand is

[07:11] Well, they have what's

[07:15] cost per acquisition metric

[07:18] So if they say, "Okay,

[07:20] He gets 1000 views on average per video.

[07:22] Of the 1000 people, maybe 10%

[07:25] So that's 100 people, right?

[07:26] Of the 100 people that are

[07:28] maybe 50 are gonna sign

[07:30] Of the 50, maybe 20 are gonna

[07:33] And each paying customer stays

[07:37] for, let's say, 10 months.

[07:39] And our software costs $10 a month.

[07:41] So that's $100 is the lifetime

[07:44] So $100 times those 10 paying

[07:47] That's the max we're gonna pay Justin

[07:49] because this is a

[07:51] And by the way, they don't

[07:53] That's the break even.

[07:54] They wanna make a profit,

[07:55] which is why they're doing

[07:57] So it should be more

[07:59] And so this is why sometimes

[08:02] sales, that's our primary metric

[08:03] and they're trying to lowball you,

[08:05] it's because they're beholden

[08:06] to this napkin math that

[08:09] Contrast that with an awareness campaign

[08:11] where they're just trying

[08:13] What are the metrics there?

[08:14] Views, likes, engagement,

[08:17] It's squishier, right?

[08:18] And so that contact's boss

[08:21] and being like, "How many

[08:23] You know, a promotion with Justin."

[08:24] They're not thinking that.

[08:25] And so your ability to negotiate

[08:27] in an awareness campaign goal

[08:31] So this is ARC, okay?

[08:32] And then the other

[08:35] is what I call the DUE rule.

[08:37] That's D-U-E, okay?

[08:39] And this is about

[08:41] D stands for deliverables.

[08:43] What does the brand actually

[08:46] Sometimes they'll reach out and be like,

[08:47] "Oh, you know, we just wanna collaborate."

[08:49] And you're like, "It'll

[08:51] This type of thing.

[08:52] No, like is it two posts?

[08:53] Is it three posts, right?

[08:54] If it is an integrated video,

[08:57] You need to know these things

[08:58] 'cause those are differing

[09:00] You in the DUE rule

[09:03] Again, does this brand

[09:05] Do they wanna run paid

[09:07] If so, for how long?

[09:08] That's something that you

[09:10] And then the E in the DUE

[09:13] So is this brand saying,

[09:14] "Hey, you cannot work with our competitors

[09:16] for a certain duration"?

[09:17] Well, that represents a

[09:21] So if you're exclusive

[09:24] you know, day on month five,

[09:27] and wants to pay you a bunch

[09:29] because you signed a deal

[09:31] saying that you wouldn't.

[09:32] And so, again, these are all factors

[09:34] that you need to consider

[09:36] - So what if we do all of that,

[09:38] but the person that we're talking to

[09:39] says that they don't

[09:41] or it's too expensive?

[09:42] How do we navigate that?

[09:43] - Okay, so first of all,

[09:45] if a brand comes back to you

[09:47] or they just don't have

[09:48] well that's because you didn't

[09:52] that fit within their zone

[09:54] And so prior to providing them pricing

[09:56] or packages or anything like that,

[09:58] you need to say something

[09:59] When you get on a call

[10:01] and when you're kind

[10:03] and you ask them what

[10:04] all this type of thing,

[10:06] you say this, almost verbatim, you say,

[10:08] "Look, this was very useful.

[10:10] I'm gonna go back and

[10:12] And usually what I like

[10:15] is put together a couple

[10:17] to give you an understanding

[10:18] of what a collaboration could look like.

[10:20] Do you have a sense of what

[10:23] from a budget feasibility perspective?"

[10:25] And then you shut up,

[10:27] you lean into the silence.

[10:29] Okay, and what does this accomplish?

[10:30] Well, now they're gonna say

[10:34] or 10, 15, 20K, or 50, 75, 100K, right?

[10:38] You don't know, right?

[10:39] And so it accomplishes a couple things.

[10:40] One, it gives you a super

[10:44] of, like, what is even the ballpark?

[10:45] What's their appetite

[10:47] 'Cause I bet you're gonna

[10:48] on a 50K proposal than you do

[10:50] on the 1, 2, 3K proposal, right?

[10:51] But it also accomplishes another thing,

[10:53] which is that, remember, when

[10:56] they're almost never just talking to you.

[10:58] They're probably talking

[11:00] And so what they're trying to do

[11:01] is kind of Tetris their

[11:04] So let's say they have 100K

[11:05] and they're talking with 10 people.

[11:07] Everyone comes in at different rates.

[11:08] And so what you do by providing them

[11:10] several different packages is, now,

[11:12] when they're going and trying

[11:14] they're gonna pick and pull

[11:15] from here and here and here and be like,

[11:16] "Okay, oh yeah, so glad Justin

[11:19] or that package one 'cause we

[11:21] He is coming in a little higher

[11:23] but we really do wanna work with them,

[11:24] so let's go with package two

[11:25] or package one, or whatever," right?

[11:26] And so that's one of the

[11:29] and say, "Oh, you're too expensive,"

[11:30] or they don't have the budget

[11:31] is because you just spit back one number.

[11:33] You say, "Oh, it's gonna

[11:35] or, "Oh, it's gonna be 500 bucks," right?

[11:36] And so now there's no wiggle room, right,

[11:38] for them to try to fit

[11:40] And the other thing too

[11:41] is that you should not

[11:44] and concede nothing.

[11:46] Oftentimes when they say that, you say,

[11:47] "Oh, okay, it's too expensive?

[11:49] Well, instead of 1500, I can do a 750."

[11:51] For the same deliverables,

[11:53] you literally have just came

[11:55] and now you have completely eroded

[11:57] your future pricing power.

[11:59] Don't do that, okay?

[12:00] And lastly, you should be

[12:03] Accept that not every deal

[12:08] And that is just part of the game.

[12:10] - When it comes to brand deals,

[12:11] what are some ways that

[12:13] of content creators?

[12:14] So people that are just getting into this

[12:16] they know things to look out for

[12:18] or just things that they should avoid.

[12:20] - Okay, so, you know, honestly,

[12:22] some brands try to gaslight creators

[12:24] by comparing them to other creators.

[12:27] You know, for example, I came to a brand

[12:30] proposing a very large, very

[12:33] And they said, "Well, you know,

[12:34] all the other creators that we work with

[12:37] have been fine doing it

[12:40] Well, you would you be

[12:41] They asked me, and I basically simply,

[12:44] like very simply laid out for them

[12:46] why what I am proposing is so different.

[12:48] Number one, it's control.

[12:50] I said, "Hey, do you have control

[12:51] over what your affiliates are posting?

[12:53] I don't think you do."

[12:54] Number two, rights, right, usage rights.

[12:58] Do you have the ability

[13:01] that your affiliates are creating?

[13:03] I don't think you do.

[13:03] That's something that I specialize in.

[13:05] Number three is unique

[13:08] What I was talking about is,

[13:09] "Hey, I would love to do some webinars

[13:11] with your brand, right, where..."

[13:13] Like, look, brands are so desperate

[13:15] to talk about anything other

[13:18] 'Cause that's what they're

[13:20] "Oh, a new feature,"

[13:22] It's like putting their

[13:24] So imagine if they're able to say,

[13:25] "Hey, we're doing this

[13:28] the Creator Wizard.

[13:29] He's gonna talk about X, Y, Z.

[13:30] You gotta show up, right?"

[13:31] And it positions their brand

[13:33] as an advocate for the community, right?

[13:35] And so here I am being able

[13:38] of their marketing team, right?

[13:39] And so these are very unique

[13:42] And so you just have to be confident

[13:44] in what your value proposition is

[13:47] so that you don't let brands gaslight you.

[13:49] - Is there a way for content creators

[13:51] to get more out of a brand

[13:54] the brands that they're working with?

[13:55] - So the easiest way to upsell

[13:57] is honestly to tie the packages

[14:00] that you're providing in your proposal

[14:01] to the brand's goals, a meaning.

[14:03] So let's say you have a

[14:05] and they list out all these

[14:08] They have, yeah, awareness is a goal

[14:09] and conversions is a goal.

[14:11] And yeah, we'd love to get

[14:12] and all these things, right?

[14:13] And so in your proposal, page

[14:17] Here's your goals. List it out.

[14:19] One, two, three, four.

[14:20] And then your packages,

[14:23] you say, "Okay, package one."

[14:24] With package one, you are gonna

[14:28] You said awareness is important

[14:30] like that's gonna be, you

[14:33] in this package is gonna help you do that.

[14:35] Then moving on to package two,

[14:36] well, you're gonna accomplish goal,

[14:38] you're gonna accomplish

[14:40] and in addition to that,

[14:41] I'm gonna help you accomplish goal two,

[14:42] which is the repurposing thing.

[14:43] I'm gonna give you the rights

[14:46] and yada, yada, yada, right?

[14:47] And so what you start to see

[14:48] is that the higher you

[14:51] the only way for them to

[14:54] is to go for package five

[14:57] And so this is a really,

[14:59] that you have to consider

[15:00] when you're putting

[15:02] because otherwise, like

[15:04] that a lot of creators do

[15:04] is they just make it linear, right?

[15:06] "Package one is one YouTube video,

[15:08] package two is two YouTube videos,

[15:09] package three is, you know,

[15:11] And maybe they're getting

[15:12] some sort of like price concession,

[15:14] right, when they go higher.

[15:16] Like, "If you go for package three,

[15:17] I'll give you a 10%

[15:18] It's just like pointless.

[15:19] There's no reason for them to...

[15:21] They'll just be like,

[15:22] and like if we wanna do it

[15:24] There's no incentive for

[15:26] But once you tie it to the

[15:28] - When you're working

[15:30] to get them brand deals and sponsorships

[15:31] through your courses

[15:34] or your one-on-one

[15:36] what's the number one thing

[15:38] you hear the most from content creators?

[15:40] - Yeah, I mean, you know,

[15:42] about working with so many

[15:44] is this tremendous breadth of

[15:49] you know, glean insights from.

[15:50] You know, so it's different

[15:52] it's different platforms,

[15:53] different types of creators, and so on.

[15:55] And honestly, the number

[15:57] is that every deal they

[16:00] Which is 100% true.

[16:01] I mean, if you are

[16:02] as kind of one-size-fits-all, right,

[16:04] sending brands your media kit

[16:06] with your standardized pricing,

[16:08] yeah, you may make some money,

[16:10] but you are leaving

[16:12] Imagine if when you come to a brand,

[16:15] right, you have a conversation,

[16:16] you ask them about their success metrics,

[16:18] their objectives, right, what

[16:20] you help them understand

[16:23] in the outcome of this partnership, right?

[16:26] Even if you might be two or

[16:29] than other creators

[16:31] they're probably gonna

[16:33] because it just seems like the campaign

[16:35] is gonna go better, right?

[16:37] I know firsthand, because again,

[16:39] I ran an influencer agency for many years,

[16:41] and we chose to go, like

[16:44] that we worked with before

[16:47] because we just knew it

[16:49] They were super professional,

[16:50] they were super communicative, right?

[16:52] And like that is a very, very prized asset

[16:56] when it comes to campaigns

[16:57] that especially have very

[17:00] So man, so critical.

[17:01] - From your experience, if

[17:05] that you would give to content creators

[17:06] who are interested in working with brands

[17:08] or getting sponsorships for their channel,

[17:09] what would that be?

[17:10] - Honestly, don't be a victim.

[17:12] Sure, there are some companies out there

[17:15] who purposefully prey on creators

[17:19] but the majority of brands in

[17:23] But they may just not

[17:27] when it comes to compensation

[17:30] And it is part of your job as

[17:34] And you have to realize

[17:35] that there is, like, gonna be situations

[17:37] where you have a bunch of

[17:40] it's gonna seem super promising,

[17:42] and then nothing comes from it, right?

[17:43] But that is business, that is life, right?

[17:46] And so once you shift from a

[17:50] and waiting for brands

[17:53] and you shift to one of being active

[17:55] and taking control of the conversation,

[17:57] everything is going to change.

[17:58] If anyone is looking to make

[18:01] I would highly recommend signing up

[18:03] for my free weekly newsletter

[18:07] where I send you paid

[18:10] as well as like, you

[18:12] to help you create a

[18:15] - Make sure you signed

[18:17] It is packed with value.

[18:18] You are going to love it.

[18:19] Now, if this is your first time

[18:21] you can check out his

[18:23] and I'm gonna put a playlist right here

[18:25] of other ways that you can

[18:27] Go ahead and click into

[18:29] Thank you so much for watching.

[18:30] I'll see you next time.