How to get sponsored on YouTube: Tips for YouTube sponsorships

Are you a budding YouTuber and wondering how to get sponsored on YouTube? Maybe you’ve heard about big-name YouTubers landing sponsorship deals with lots of zeros on the end, or maybe you’re not making as much as you’d hoped from your ads. Fear not; even if you have a small channel, you can still make money from your content by securing sponsorship deals with brands.

This article will take you through the process of how to get sponsored on YouTube to start earning on your channel.

What to Do Before Applying for YouTube Sponsorships

There are no set rules from YouTube themselves as the sponsorship deal is made between sponsors and YouTube creators. However, there are ways you can help your chances of getting sponsored on YouTube.

Respect YouTube rules and guidelines

You will probably already be aware that any video content you upload to your YouTube channel must follow all of the rules and guidelines set out by YouTube.

Make sure you are not putting up any content that could be deemed inappropriate or abusive. YouTube takes this very seriously, and you could have your content taken down. 

Check the full list of YouTube community guidelines.

Know who you are.

It is crucial to getting paid sponsorship. Potential sponsors want to know who you are and if you share the same core values as they and their brand do. Creating a strong persona that will easily align with a particular brand will make it a simpler process when applying for the sponsorship.

You need to look at what you do, who your target audience is, your brand’s personality, and what your values are. Compatibility is key when aligning your brand persona to a sponsor.

What is your target audience?

Your target audience is the people that you want to aim your content at. It’s that simple. When you’re coming up with your content it’s probably something you consider. When you’re pitching to brands it’s essential. They’ll want to know the demographic of your audience so they know if your channel is the right one to partner with. This means they’ll want to know things like the age, gender, location and potentially interests of your viewers.

It’s incredibly important for a brand that their target audience lines up with yours.

Create quality content

Approaching a potential sponsor when your content isn’t up to scratch could see you turned down by that company and make it difficult to be taken seriously. Take a good look at your content and ask yourself if you create quality content that engages, entertains, and is relevant.

Usually for a partnership like this, you’d want to a portfolio of quality content that the sponsor can browse through to get an idea of who you are and if you may be suitable to work with. The good news is that, for YouTubers, this is exactly what your YouTube channel is anyway. So, you shouldn’t have to compile a whole separate portfolio. It might be worth tidying up your channel and updating your ‘About’ section though!

Grow your channel and know your stats

We all have to start somewhere. Even though you may have a small YouTube channel, there are still ways you can grow your channel and catch the interest of sponsors. Engage with your community, ask people to like, and, most importantly, subscribe to your channel.

If you have a healthy relationship with your followers, this shows potential sponsors that you have a voice and makes you more appealing. However, it’s important to remember that your audience size isn’t all they look for and that having more subscribers is only part of the picture.

Don’t be fooled into paying for subscribers; it won’t align with your feedback, and it is relatively easy for sponsors to spot inconsistencies. You need to focus more on the relationship you build with your followers rather than the sheer number.

Make sure you keep a record of your stats too. You’ll want to be able to provide potential sponsors with data to go alongside the content you’re sending over to brands. You’ll want to showcase your average views, watch time and other engagement metrics, so they know what to expect.

Add a business email to your channel

Create a business email so you can keep your messages from sponsorship deals and followers separate. Leave your business email in the ‘About’ section so potential sponsors know you are open to receiving offers.

Identify sponsors with an audience similar to yours

Reach out to sponsors with a similar audience to yours; they are more likely to want to work with you if your content appeals to their target audience. If you can prove to them that your audience is interested in their product, it’s only going to help. Some brands even prefer to work with smaller YouTubers that they feel have the perfect audience.

Types of Sponsorship for Small YouTubers

Affiliate Sponsorships

You’ve probably heard a lot of YouTubers mention this, usually as a disclaimer. Essentially, you place an affiliate link in your video, which tracks the number of people clicking on it. They will then be redirected to the affiliate page, where they will be encouraged to purchase a product. If they do, you receive a commission for that sale. Commission percentages usually range from 5 to 15%.

Product Sponsorships

Product sponsorship isn’t necessarily a financial one. In this instance brands will gift you products in return for publicity. This could be a one off review or an ongoing endorsement. For instance, it could be a one off haul of clothes for your next video or an ongoing supply of flour for your cooking channel.

Paid Sponsorships

This is a difficult one to get your hands on if you’re a small channel, but it works by you advertising the product at the beginning and end of your video. Rather than getting revenue for each purchase made, you are paid for the ‘advert’.

Sometimes you’ll find a combination of two or three of these. For example, you could get sent a product for free, paid to mention it in the video and then you add an affiliate link to your description as well.

How to Get Sponsors for Your YouTube Channel

Attend exhibitions and trade shows

When you are searching for YouTube sponsorships, a good way to network is to take part in trade shows and exhibitions. These events will help you with tips and tricks as well as ensure you can meet with brand managers. They are a great opportunity to be seen and may lead to brand deals.

Contact brands directly

This is something that many influencers will do. Once you have identified brands that you feel would be a good fit for your brand and audience, you can email them directly.

Make sure your email stands out though, because there will be so many other people also taking this route. Your email should have a professional tone and it should mention some of the metrics about your channel as well as how you feel their brand would fit with yours. Complimenting their brand/products goes a long way too! If there’s a product of theirs you’ve always loved and used, tell them about it – they want creators who genuinely love what they do.

Clearly link out to your social media channels in your pitch email, as these will act as your portfolio. You can link to key pieces that you’re particularly proud of or have performed well too. And, go in armed with easy to read statistics on why your channel is the one they should be working with.

Sign up to YouTube sponsorship websites

There are a number of platforms that help you get in front of sponsors without you having to cold-email them.

Famebit

Instagrammers and YouTubers use this site as it is an easy way to link with sponsors. The sign-up process is simple, and once completed, you can then surf their site for adverts from brands. You find one that you think would fit your brand and bid for the projects.

Grapevine

This site is specifically for YouTubers. Grapevine facilitates deals between the company and YouTube content creator, and have reportedly paid more than 3.9 million to YouTube creators. They market themselves as being a website for medium and small channels. Grapevine deals with paid sponsorships and reviews in exchange for product packages.

Content BLVD

Content BLVD is exclusively for YouTubers and only deals in reviews in exchange for product packages. If you regularly use physical products in a niche market, this is a great site for you. Since their launch in 2015, they have gained 40 million views.

Channel Pages

This is a great way to connect with other creators, and they put up new collaboration opportunities every week. They have a collection of ad agencies, large brands, and small businesses all looking to set up sponsorship deals.

Additional Ways to Make Money on YouTube

We’ve got a complete guide on how to make money on YouTube, but a few quick alternatives to brand sponsorships include:

Monetizing your videos with Google Adsense

Google Adsense is what you use when you run ads on your content. These adverts will run at the beginning, the middle or end of your content and you’ll earn money based on the number of people who watch, or click on, the videos. This is one of the biggest forms of income for a YouTube creator, and mostly likely the first place you’ll earn revenue from your channel.

Setting up a Google Adsense account will allow a large network of online advertisers and YouTube sponsors to bid for your advertising space. You can customize the ads by rejecting those you don’t feel fit your brand and choosing where the ads appear on your YouTube channel.

Just make sure with this one that you follow YouTube’s copyright rules, otherwise your video could be demonetised and you’ll lose all your ad revenue! 

Create and sell digital products

You design and create a digital product and open an online store. There are almost no start-up costs, and you simply link your audience to your online store and sit back. It is that simple.

FAQs

How many subscribers do you need to get YouTube sponsorship for small channels?

You need around 1000 subscribers and 4000 views a month to qualify as a small channel, but some brands with a more niche audience may still want to work with you if you have a properly engaged follower base that matches their core demographic.

How much can you earn from YouTube sponsorships?

It ranges massively, with established creators earning thousands per sponsorship, but a starting point would be around $20 for 1000 visits.

Which well-known brands offer sponsorship deals to small YouTubers?

Even as a small channel, you can still get big names such as ASOS and Sephora, or on the tech side, brands like Huawei, as well as many others. Amazon have an affiliate program that’s very popular for smaller YouTubers and you may be able to get sponsorship opportunities. 

Superpower your sponsored videos with licensed music

There are many ways you can secure YouTube sponsorships, and it can become a great way of earning extra money and building your brand. If you really want your #SponCon to stand out though, you need to make sure it’s good.

This is where Lickd comes in. We offer an unrivalled collection of music for YouTube. Not only will you find over 1 million mainstream hits that you can finally now legally use in your videos for the very first time, but also a library of the highest-quality stock music.