You’ve put in the work. You’ve created engaging content, built an audience, and established your niche. Now, you want to learn how to get sponsored on YouTube. But there's one problem: you don’t know where to start. You’re not alone; many influencers feel lost when finding sponsorships. YouTube sponsorship websites can help your channel land lucrative brand deals and get you on the path to financial success. This guide will explore how these platforms work, why you should use them, and which are best for beginner influencers.
Aha Creator’s sponsorship solution will help you reach your goals even faster. With Aha Creators, you can get matched with brands that fit your style and audience, allowing you to land lucrative sponsorships for your YouTube channel.
How to Get Sponsorships As A Small YouTuber
Before you even start looking for brands to pitch for sponsorships, you need to prepare your channel for sponsorships. Securing new sponsorship deals begins long before you find brands to pitch. Brands have a checklist of things creators need to do before investing money into them. The more professional your YouTube channel looks, the more likely they will trust you with their money. The first (and most important) factor? High-quality content.
Sponsors want to work with creators and engaged audiences, especially if their campaign goal is sales or brand awareness. Set up a YouTube studio and post high-quality videos regularly to develop a relationship with your audience—one a brand would pay to tap into. Other ways to prepare for future YouTube sponsorship opportunities include auditing your brand. A robust and consistent design can strengthen your image and reputation.
Ensure your YouTube banner, channel description, thumbnails, and video titles reflect your brand. Create a channel trailer. A channel trailer educates people visiting your channel for the first time. The purpose is to welcome new visitors, explain the topics you talk about, and tell subscribers how often they should expect a new video. Increase YouTube video views. Sponsorship rates increase as your subscriber and view count do. Build a larger, more engaged audience by optimizing your videos for the YouTube search algorithm, creating playlists of related videos, using hashtags, and promoting content on other social media channels.
Ali Abdaal is one YouTube creator who puts this into practice. People visiting his YouTube channel see a 1-minute video explaining who Ali is, his medical background, and the topics he discusses on his channel. Brands can quickly evaluate whether Ali’s YouTube channel fits their audience well.
Craft a Media Kit
A media kit is a one-page document that provides critical information about your YouTube channel to brands interested in sponsoring it. Tools like Canva and Visme have pre-made media kit templates if the design isn’t your forte. Your media kit details things a business owner would care about when sponsoring you. That includes A brief description of you and your YouTube channel Viewer demographics, including gender, age, and geographic split YouTube metrics, such as subscriber count, average views, and engagement rate. Previous brand deals with results, if you can share them Testimonials from previous corporate sponsors.
Build a List of Target Sponsors
No matter how well-prepared your YouTube channel is, unfortunately, not all sponsorship opportunities come to you. Doug says: “After I reviewed a certain software I genuinely liked, I reached out to the company about a potential sponsorship. In contrast, some brands approached me after noticing the engagement levels on my channel.” Take a proactive approach to secure a new sponsorship by preparing a pitch list—a spreadsheet of brands you plan to deal with. Holy Grail clients meet these three criteria: The same target market as your channel, budget to invest in creators, and creativity.
“I like to reach out to brands that I see are already advertising on social media or YouTube (meaning they do have a marketing budget).” —Sílvia Pinho, creator of Freelancing with Sílvia Once you’ve made your pitch, treat the spreadsheet like a mini customer relationship management tool. By including the fields below, you’ll have an easy way to track deals and follow up with potential sponsors: The potential sponsors’ name, target audience, Previous creator collaborations (if any), Contact information of its influencer or marketing manager, Date contacted, and Planned follow-up date.
Create Your Sponsorship Pitch
Pitching can feel scary, especially if you’re a new creator. But remember, you have value to give — and brands are often willing to spend money on creators who can produce high-quality content on their behalf. That said, there’s science behind pitching brands for sponsorship. Creators tend to go wrong by making it all about themselves. “What brands care about is their own marketing objectives,” says Justin Moore, sponsorship coach and creator of Creator Wizard. “How can you illustrate that sponsoring you is going to help them accomplish their marketing objectives?”
Justin Created The ROPE Method To Keep Sponsorship Pitches Succinct
R: Relevant to a campaign they’ve run in the past or are currently running.
O: Tie your pitch back to organic content I’ve already posted to illustrate audience affinity
P: Proof — show how I’ve helped another brand achieve results.
E: Easy to execute. Pull on a brand's pain points when working with creators to stir up an emotional reaction from your sponsorship proposal.
According to one study, 62% of brands want to sponsor creators because of audience engagement. Another 60% want to reach a new audience, and 42% prioritize generating additional revenue. Prove to a brand how you can help meet these needs with a pitch that addresses their concerns. Sponsorship packages are a smart way to increase revenue, especially if you’re a micro-influencer with a small subscriber count. A $250 sponsored video could quickly become a $1,000 deal if you use a LinkedIn promotion or video snippets for the brand to repost as YouTube Shorts.
Need help figuring out where to start? Here’s an example YouTube sponsorship pitch to work from: “Hi Beth, I’m Elise, the creator behind the Peak Freelance YouTube channel. We aim to help freelance writers scale their businesses (much like yours!). We’ve amassed 10,000 subscribers and have 50,000 hours of watch time across all our videos. I’m reaching out because we’ve had a rare space open for sponsorship and think BRAND would be the perfect fit. We’ve helped brands like NAME, NAME, and NAME create content repurposed on their social media channels.
One campaign we ran with BRAND also attracted 45,000 views and drove $10,000 in revenue for the company within just two weeks of the video going live. Our media kit contains detailed metrics about our channel, previous collaborations, and ways we could work together. If this is something you’d be interested in, I’d love to chat.”
Try Sponsor Networks or Influencer Agencies
Most often, brands with a prominent influencer budget will enlist the help of a specialized agency to source creators and manage campaigns. Reach out to these matchmaking agencies throughout your pitching process. If you can demonstrate results for one of their clients, there’s a strong likelihood of being hired for other clients on their roster. Popular sponsorship agencies include BrandConnect (owned by YouTube), Ubiquitous Neoreach Upfluence, and The Influencer Marketing Factory.
Agree on Pricing
Talking about money can sometimes feel… awkward. But as a professional YouTube creator, confidence is the secret to closing deals. “Negotiating sponsorship deals is a dance that requires a good understanding of your value proposition and a mutual win-win scenario,” Doug says. “For instance, when I negotiated my first sponsored video, I spent time analyzing my channel's reach and engagement level. It wasn't about underselling or overselling but communicating the real value that I could deliver for the brand.”
There are several models to choose from when pricing YouTube sponsorships:
Cost per mille (CPM)
A set fee for every 1,000 views your sponsored video gets.
Cost per action (CPA)
A set fee for every action, such as website sign-up or purchase
Commission rate
The percentage of each order placed through your affiliate links
Flat fee
A flat fee for the sponsorship, regardless of video performance.
“If brands say you can’t work with any of their competitors for 12 months, there’s an opportunity cost there you need to quantify and capture in the rates that you’re providing.” —Justin Moore, sponsorship coach. There might be some back-and-forth on rates before moving to the next step. Negotiation is good, but don’t sway too much on your rates. Brands might view you as a creator who’d do anything for money if you cut your fee by 50% after a single email exchange. Remember the value you provide and the audience you serve throughout the negotiation process. Don’t be afraid to move on if there’s too big of a difference between your rate and a brand’s budget.
Wrap Up the Paperwork
A contract is legally binding between your creator's business and a brand sponsor. While it might sound unnecessary, a contract protects your business as it details payment terms. Both parties should sign it and include Clear deliverables (e.g., one 30-second mention in a YouTube video), Timescales, Who owns the content, Payment terms, and Cancellation policy.
Established brands that have worked with YouTube creators might have a ready-made contract for you to sign. For smaller or local businesses, the onus may be on you. These templates from Indy and Creators Legal can speed up the process, but it’s always worth having a lawyer or contract attorney review any contracts you’re signing.
Benefits of Sponsors on YouTube
Authentic Promotion: How It Builds Trust
YouTube sponsors benefit from creators' authentic promotion because it helps to establish trust with their audiences. Creators have built a strong bond of trust with their audience, making their endorsements more credible and influential. For example, Emma Chamberlain has established a deeply personal connection with her audience, which makes her endorsements feel genuine and trustworthy. When she partnered with brands like Louis Vuitton, her authentic promotion style resonated with her fans, adding credibility to the brand.
Targeted Reach: How It Helps Brands Find Their Ideal Customers
YouTube sponsorships also allow brands to reach specific niches and demographics that align closely with their target market. For example, Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) is known for his tech-focused content, making him a prime choice for brands like Google, Samsung, and Tesla. These companies target a tech-savvy audience; his niche reach helps them directly engage this demographic.
High Engagement: How Sponsored YouTube Content Drives Interactivity
Another benefit of YouTube sponsorships is that sponsored content often generates high levels of engagement. Viewers are more likely to interact with content they trust and enjoy. Lilly Singh (aka Superwoman) has collaborated with brands like Olay and Beats by Dre. Her audience is highly interactive, often commenting, sharing, and liking her videos, which provides high engagement levels that amplify the brand message.
Creative Freedom: How It Allows for Natural Integration of Brands
YouTube sponsorships also give creators the creative freedom to showcase the product naturally and engagingly, avoiding the hard-sell tactics typical of traditional advertising. David Dobrik often integrates sponsors like SeatGeek in a natural and fun way, showcasing how the brand fits into his lifestyle and content without feeling overly promotional. His relaxed approach to ads allows him to maintain authenticity while delivering the brand’s message.
Aha Creator: Your New Best Friend for Getting Sponsored on YouTube
Aha Creator streamlines brand partnerships for YouTube creators and businesses alike. For content creators, we handle the heavy lifting of brand deal negotiations, ensuring you get fair value for your influence. Our matching system helps pair creators with relevant brands, maximizing the potential for successful collaborations. Sign up for our waitlist today, and we'll work to connect you with partnership opportunities that align with your content and values.
10 Best YouTube Sponsorship Websites for Getting Brand Deals
1. Aha Creator: Streamlined Brand Partnerships for YouTube Creators
Aha Creator, a part of Aha Creator, simplifies brand collaborations for YouTube creators and businesses. For content creators, we handle the heavy lifting of brand deal negotiations, ensuring you get fair value for your influence. Our matching system helps pair creators with relevant brands, maximizing the potential for successful collaborations. Sign up for our waitlist today, and we'll work to connect you with partnership opportunities that align with your content and values.
2. Famebit: The OG of YouTube Sponsorship Platforms
Famebit is the most well-known of the top websites in the YouTube community. It’s pretty simple to operate. You create an account for free at www.famebit.com, which connects your YouTube channel to your Famebit account. You can then view different products from brands worldwide and choose those that fit in with your account. Famebit also provides a chance to connect with other YouTubers to organize collaborations. However, you do need to have 5,000 subscribers to be able to create an account, although you can still make one.
3. YouTube BrandConnect: The Best Way to Find Sponsorships on YouTube
YouTube has a sponsorship program called YouTube BrandConnect. This is one of the best platforms for brand deals. Because it offers branded content campaigns on your YouTube studio. But you have to be eligible to use this money-making feature from YouTube. Let’s see how you can `be eligible and intend from the YouTube BrandConnect.
Requirements Age
At least 18+.
Countries
USA, UK, and Canada. Early stages in Brazil, India, and Indonesia.
YouTube Partner Program
Must be a member of the YouTube Partner Program.
Fresh YouTube Record
Free from active Community Guideline strikes on your channel. Remember that you will need an invitation from YouTube to get this feature. YouTube BrandConnect is currently in beta version.
4. Semaphore: Find Brand Sponsorships and Brand Integrations
Semaphore specializes in brand integrations, matching brands with digital entrepreneurs. The company has many brand partners, including Disney, Audible, and Nintendo. Submit a talent inquiry here to see if your channel matches Semaphore's services.
5. Grapevine: The Alternative to Famebit
Grapevine has been called “the alternative to Famebit” because it works similarly. You set up an account for free at www.grapevinelogic.com and connect your YouTube or Instagram account. You are given a personalized list of products that may fit with your channel. You also have the opportunity to collaborate with other YouTubers through Grapevine. When you reach 10,000 subscribers, you can use Grapevine. However, you can still create an account to be ready for when you reach your goal.
6. Izea: Free Sponsorships for Creators in Any Niche
Izea is a free sponsorship platform, especially for the fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and food industries. However, they encourage you to join all types of content creators for listing services. As a content creator, you have two options: find and pitch brands or sell your service. Conversely, brands can easily find and hire you to promote their products or services, one of the best YouTube monetization methods. Also, they can purchase your services to scale influencer marketing efforts.
7. Makrwatch: Reliable Income Through Brand Sponsorships
Makrwatch helps creators earn a reliable income through brand sponsorships. According to the website, Makrwatch connects “hundreds of YouTube creators with brands looking to sponsor content.” And that’s every single month. You can also review sponsorship offers and track your earnings with a free Makrwatch account.
8. TapInfluence: Sponsorships for Food, Fashion, Beauty, and Lifestyle Creators
TapInfluence is for creators who make food, fashion, beauty, or lifestyle content. You’ll partner with brands in those specific niches, making it easier to find authentic sponsorships.
9. Spacestation: Boost Your Sponsorship Opportunities
Spacestation has a cosmic aesthetic, but it’s not a cheesy gimmick. The company genuinely wants to lift creators to new heights via paid sponsorships. Take a look at the featured collaborations on this page. Spacestation has helped creators like Peter McKinnon and Julie Nolke partner with brands like Polar and Skillshare. When ready, scroll down further to submit an inquiry to Spacestation.
10. Scrunch: Find Sponsorships and Track Metrics
Though Scrunch is not a direct sponsorship site, it can be an excellent tool for YouTube creators. It helps to find relevant products and brands that are ready to sponsor. Besides building connections between brands and influencers, it can track your channel metrics so that you can measure the value of sponsorships according to performance.
6 Practical Tips to Attract Sponsors and Brand Deals
1. Use Aha Creator to Get Sponsored on YouTube
Aha Creator is an effective way to streamline brand partnerships for YouTube creators and businesses. For content creators, we handle the heavy lifting of brand deal negotiations and ensure you get fair value for your influence. Our matching system helps pair creators with relevant brands, maximizing the potential for successful collaborations. Sign up for our waitlist today, and we’ll work to connect you with partnership opportunities that align with your content and values.
2. Research Potential Sponsors Step-by-Step
Next, identify potential sponsors that align with your brand and target audience. This step is crucial in ensuring that any partnership you forge will mutually benefit and resonate with your existing customer base.
To begin, create a list of brands that share similar values, target demographics, or operate in a complementary industry. Consider the following when researching:
Brand Alignment
Look for companies whose mission and values match your own. This alignment ensures a more natural and authentic partnership that resonates with your audience and the sponsor. Consider researching the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives and public statements to gauge how well their values align with yours.
Target Audience Overlap
Identify brands that cater to a similar audience or one you’re trying to reach. This overlap increases the likelihood of a mutually beneficial partnership, as both parties can leverage each other’s audience. Analyze demographic data, social media followers, and customer profiles to determine the extent of audience overlap.
Industry Relevance
Focus on businesses that operate in related or complementary sectors. This relevance can lead to more synergistic partnerships and cross-promotional opportunities. Consider how your products or services complement each other and how you could create joint marketing campaigns or bundled offerings.
To conduct your research, you can use various tools, such as:
Industry publications and news sites
Social media platforms
Business Directories
Competitor sponsorship activities
Trade shows and industry events
Tools like Google Alerts, social media monitoring platforms, and industry-specific databases can be invaluable in this process. They can help you stay updated on potential sponsors’ activities and identify new opportunities as they arise.
3. Join Influencer Marketing Platforms
Joining influencer marketing platforms can connect you with brands looking for YouTube creators to sponsor. I like Intellifluence a lot. It’s a great influencer marketing marketplace for bloggers and social media influencers. Stay active on Intellifluence and apply for new collaboration opportunities.
4. Let Brands Know You’re Open to Collaborations
Create a website and write a good ‘work with me‘ page, or design a media kit for your business to let brands and potential clients know you’re available for collaborations and why they should collaborate.
5. Create Quality Content and Stay Active Everywhere
It is impossible to predict where an opportunity will arise. Once, I got to work with a brand that saw me on Twitter. Collaboration opportunities also come my way from Medium and Inuidea.com.
So, stay active on your blog, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and as many platforms as possible to receive more brand deals.
You can make videos, blog posts, microcontent, podcasts, social media graphics, etc.
Ensure you’re consistently creating engaging content that provides value to your audience.
6. Reach Out to Brands for Potential Collaboration
You can send cold emails to your favorite brands and potential clients, or, as you grow your audience, expect cold emails from brands and collaborators.
Sign Up for Our Waitlist to Get Connected with Your Dream Brand Partnership Deal
Aha Creator streamlines brand partnerships for YouTube creators and businesses alike. For content creators, we handle the heavy lifting of brand deal negotiations, ensuring you get fair value for your influence. Our matching system helps pair creators with relevant brands, maximizing the potential for successful collaborations. Sign up for our waitlist today, and we'll work to connect you with partnership opportunities that align with your content and values.