> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://lickity.click/blog/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Get YouTube Sponsors (and Get Them to Renew) - URL: https://lickity.click/blog/how-to-get-youtube-sponsors/ - Published: 2026-10-26T02:50:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T02:50:07.000Z - Description: How to get YouTube sponsors from a creator who does it: what brands look for, a pitch template, value-based pricing, and why knowing your numbers helps you renew. - Author: Dave Swift - Tags: YouTube sponsorships, Guides If you want YouTube sponsors, stop staring at your subscriber count and start with fit. The best sponsors are companies whose products you already use and already talk about. When your audience has the problem their product solves, and you've already been recommending it, the deal almost makes itself. I make videos about software, SaaS, and AI tools, and sponsorships are a real part of how I earn a living. Here's how I'd approach it if I were starting over. ## How my first sponsor happened My first sponsored video was "How to create a WordPress website with Elementor Cloud," published June 27, 2022\. I didn't pitch Elementor. They reached out to me. I had already been a paying Elementor customer for five-plus renewals. I wasn't learning the product for a paycheck. I already used it, and I said in the video that I was ecstatic when they reached out. That was true. At the time, my channel had about 18,000 subscribers, three years in. My next sponsor was Cloudways, with my first sponsored video for them in September 2022\. Same story. I'd been recommending Cloudways since about 2018, long before I had a YouTube channel. What I wish I'd known earlier: those deals didn't come from a big number. They came from years of honestly talking about products I already paid for. ## What sponsors actually look for When a brand looks at your channel, they're asking one question: "If we pay this person, will it work?" Everything below is a way of answering that. **Audience fit.** This matters more than anything else. A project management app wants viewers who run teams or businesses. A camera brand wants people who film. If your viewers already have the problem the product solves, you're a good fit, even with a modest channel. **Engagement.** Comments, watch time, and views per video (compared to your subscriber count) tell a sponsor whether people actually show up. A channel with 200,000 subscribers and 3,000 views per video is a harder sell than it sounds. **A history with the product.** If you've already made videos about their tool, or you've been sending them traffic through an affiliate link, that's proof you can talk about it and that your viewers care. **Professionalism.** Do you reply to emails, hit deadlines, and take script feedback without getting weird about it? Being easy to work with is a selling point. **Past sponsored content.** If you've done sponsor segments before, a sponsor wants to see them. If you haven't, your regular videos about tools you use are your samples. ## When are you ready for sponsors? There's no magic subscriber number. What you need is a consistent upload history, a clear topic, and an audience a specific kind of company would want to reach. A decent gut check: if you can finish the sentence "My viewers are mostly people who \_\_\_\_\_," and a company would pay to reach those people, you're ready to start pitching. If you're not there yet, start with affiliate links and honest videos about tools you already use. That's how my sponsorships started, even if I didn't know it at the time. ## Build a simple media kit A media kit is a one- or two-page document (or a web page) that answers a sponsor's questions before they ask. Here's what I'd put in it: - **Who you are and what your channel covers.** Two or three sentences. - **Who watches.** Pull country, age range, and device data from YouTube Studio. Describe your viewers in plain words too ("small business owners and freelancers looking for software"). - **Channel numbers.** Subscribers, average views per video over the last 90 days, and average view duration. Use recent numbers, not your best-ever month. - **Link performance.** Average clicks on links in your videos, if you track them. More on that below. - **What you offer.** Integrated sponsor segments (roughly 60 to 90 seconds inside a regular video) and dedicated videos (a whole video about the sponsor's product). - **Past sponsors and how to reach you.** Two or three sponsored videos if you have them, and an email you actually check. Leave prices out of the public version. You want the conversation first, because every deal is a little different. ## How to find sponsors ### Products you already use Start here. You already know the product, you can talk about it honestly, and your viewers have probably seen it in your videos already. That's exactly how Elementor and Cloudways happened for me. Make a list of every tool that shows up in your work. Then find out who handles partnerships at each company. ### Affiliate and partner programs A lot of my paid relationships started as something smaller. Affiliate programs let you promote a product and earn a commission. Here's what I've seen happen over and over: a company notices the results you're driving on your own, and then they want specific content made. That's when an affiliate relationship turns into a paid one. I think those are the best sponsorships you can get. The product already fits your channel. It's usually something you like talking about, because your earlier videos on it did well. And because it fits, you'll get better results for the sponsor, which makes the whole relationship easy. AppSumo has been a long-running partner of mine, and that kind of ongoing relationship is what you're aiming for. ### Competitors of brands sponsoring similar channels Watch channels in your niche and write down who sponsors them. Then look at those companies' competitors, who probably have a budget for the same audience. Only pitch the ones you'd actually use. ### Sponsorship marketplaces and agencies Platforms and talent agencies connect brands with creators. They can bring you deals you'd never find yourself, but they take a cut, and some deals come with tight scripts. Worth trying; I wouldn't depend on them. ### Make inbound easy My first sponsor came to me. That only works if a brand can figure out how to reach you. Put a business email in your YouTube channel's About section. Add a simple sponsor page to your website that links to your media kit. It sounds obvious, and plenty of channels still don't do it. ## How to pitch a sponsor Keep the pitch short. The person reading it gets a lot of these. Your job is to show fit, show proof, and make it easy to say "let's talk." A few rules I'd follow: - Send it to a real person (partnerships, influencer marketing, or growth roles are good bets). - Lead with why your audience fits their product. - Mention how long you've used it. That's often your strongest line. - Include one or two numbers that matter. - Link your media kit instead of pasting everything into the email. - Ask for a call or a reply, not a signed deal. Here's a template you can adapt: ``` Subject: [Your channel] x [Brand]: sponsorship idea Hi [First name], I'm [your name], and I run [channel name], a YouTube channel about [topic] for [who your viewers are]. I've been using [product] for [how long / what for], and I think it's a strong fit for my audience because [one specific reason]. A few quick numbers: - [X] average views per video (last 90 days) - [X] average clicks on links in my videos - Viewers are mostly [country / role / interest] I'd like to feature [product] in a 60–90 second integrated segment in an upcoming video about [video topic]. My media kit is here: [link] Would you be open to a quick call next week? Thanks, [Your name] [Channel link] ``` If you don't hear back, follow up once after about a week. Then move on. A non-reply isn't personal; budgets and timing change constantly. ## How to price a YouTube sponsorship This is the question everyone asks. I'm not going to give you a market rate, because I don't price that way. Some creators use CPM-style pricing. CPM means "cost per thousand views." You take the views a video usually gets and multiply by a rate per thousand. It's easy to explain, and plenty of people use it. I don't. I always price on the value I provide, not an industry metric. Here's why. When I promote an expensive product, the sponsor isn't buying a few days of views. They're getting an asset that lives on the internet and works for them 24/7, 365 days a year, for years. People find that video in search long after it goes live. A per-thousand-views rate doesn't account for any of that. So when you're figuring out how much to charge for a YouTube sponsorship, ask a different question: what is this video worth to this company? Think about what their product costs, what a new customer is worth to them, and how long the video will keep sending people their way. A few things should also change the price: - **Dedicated videos vs. integrated segments.** A whole video about the product is more work and more exposure than a segment. - **Usage rights:** the sponsor wants to reuse your segment in their own ads or on their site. - **Whitelisting:** the sponsor runs paid ads through your channel or account. - **Exclusivity:** you agree not to work with their competitors for a period of time. - **Extra placements:** a pinned comment, a community post, or a mention in your newsletter. If a sponsor pushes back, change what's included (fewer placements, no usage rights) instead of just dropping the price. ## What I won't agree to I never make sponsored videos that I'd consider reviews. That's where I draw the line. A sponsor can pay me to show their product, explain what it does, and walk through how I use it. I'll tell my viewers the truth about it. But I won't tell anyone a product is the best because somebody paid me to say so. Decide where your line is before the first offer shows up. It's a lot easier to say no to a bad term when you already know your answer. ## Contracts, disclosure, and getting paid ### Use a contract every time Even a short, friendly deal should have a YouTube sponsorship contract. It should cover: - What you're delivering (segment length, number of videos, placements like links or pinned comments) - The publish date or window - Whether the sponsor reviews the script or video first, and how many rounds of changes are included - Payment amount, schedule, and due dates - Usage rights, whitelisting, and exclusivity (if any) - What happens if the video is delayed or the deal is canceled Read the language about what you have to say about the product, too. If a contract asks you to call it "the best" or present the video as a review, that's the place to push back. I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. If a deal is large or the contract has terms you don't understand, have a lawyer look at it. ### Disclose it clearly In the US, the FTC expects creators to clearly disclose paid sponsorships. The FTC's [Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/disclosures-101-social-media-influencers?ref=lickity.click) is short and worth reading. Say out loud that the video is sponsored, near the start of the segment, in plain words. YouTube also has a checkbox for this. When you upload, mark the video as including paid promotion. Here's [YouTube's help page on paid product placements](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/154235?ref=lickity.click). Do both: the spoken disclosure and the checkbox. ### Invoice and get paid Send an invoice for every deal. A common setup is a deposit up front and the final payment after the video goes live, which protects both sides if a deal falls apart. Put your payment terms in the contract and on the invoice. ## Deliver well, then know your numbers Landing your first sponsor is hard. Getting them to come back is where the money is. Most of that comes from fit: if the product suits your channel and you actually like it, the video tends to do well, and the sponsor wants more. The other part is knowing what you're worth when it's time to talk about the next deal. ### Make the segment good A good sponsor segment follows a simple pattern: a natural transition from the main video, a spoken disclosure, a short on-screen demo of the product doing something real, and a clear call to action with a link you've tested yourself. Roughly 60 to 90 seconds. If you wouldn't want to watch it, fix it. ### Track your own links Every link I share runs through my own branded short domain, daveswift.link. I never post a raw affiliate link. Viewers get a clean link they can trust, and I get my own click count. ![Sponsor campaign page showing clicks, video views and click-through rate](https://lickity.click/blog/content/images/2026/10/lickityclick-campaign.webp) One sponsor campaign in LickityClick: clicks, video views, and click-through rate in one place. Demo account with simulated data. I built [LickityClick](https://lickity.click/features?ref=lickity.click) for this. You can group each sponsor's links into a campaign, get a shareable report page, and, with YouTube connected, see views next to clicks in one place. ### Most sponsors won't ask for your numbers Sponsors usually don't ask for link results. They have their own tracking. That doesn't mean you should skip tracking. If you know your own numbers and follow up with them, it takes the ball out of their court when you want to raise your rates. You can clearly say what value you provide and how much they save by working with you, instead of hoping they bring it up. ### Know your link click-through rate When people say "YouTube CTR," they usually mean thumbnail click-through rate in YouTube Studio. For sponsors, the number that matters is different: **link click-through rate**, which is clicks on their link divided by views on the video. ![Shareable sponsor report with video views, total clicks and click-through rate](https://lickity.click/blog/content/images/2026/10/lickityclick-report.webp) A shareable sponsor report page. Demo account with simulated data. So if a video gets 20,000 views and the sponsor's link gets 400 clicks, your link CTR is 2%. A marketer can compare that against their other ad spend, and it tells you which segments worked. And because YouTube videos keep getting views for months, check your numbers again later, not just the first week. That long tail is exactly the value I'm pricing on. ## FAQ ### How many subscribers do I need to get YouTube sponsors? There's no set number. My first sponsor, Elementor, came at about 18,000 subscribers, three years in. But fit mattered more than the number. I'd already renewed Elementor five-plus times before they reached out. A small channel with a focused audience and a real history with a product can land sponsors before a large general channel does. ### How much should I charge for a YouTube sponsorship? Some creators use CPM pricing based on their typical views. I price on value: what the video is worth to the sponsor, knowing it can keep sending them customers for years. Charge more for dedicated videos, usage rights, whitelisting, or exclusivity. ### Do I need an agent to get sponsors? No. Plenty of creators find and pitch sponsors themselves. An agent is worth considering once inbound requests become more than you can manage. ### What if a sponsor asks for click data? Most won't, because they have their own tracking. Have branded, tracked links anyway. That way you can answer if they do ask, and you can bring your own numbers when it's time to renegotiate. ## Your next step Before your next sponsor email, set up a branded short link for every product you mention in your videos, especially the ones that aren't paying you yet. Those are your future sponsors. When one of them reaches out, you'll already know what you've sent them. If you want to do it the way I do, [try LickityClick free for 14 days](https://app.lickity.click/signup?utm%5Fsource=blog&utm%5Fmedium=youtube-sponsors) (no card needed). It's $7 a month or $70 a year after that, with your own custom domain included. Details are on the [pricing page](https://lickity.click/pricing?ref=lickity.click).