Income from Adsense and digital products may pay a bill or two. But most creators take their dreams full-time with the help of paid sponsorships.

Thankfully, brands are finally seeing the value in creator services and they’re paying accordingly. As a creator, ignoring sponsored opportunities now means ignoring major revenue. But spending hours searching for brand partners, negotiating rates, and cutting deals aren’t the things you dreamed of doing as a full-time creator.

Eager to help creators earn what they’re worth without sacrificing time spent doing what they love, ConvertKit’s Armando Roggio developed the Sponsorship Network. ConvertKit’s Sponsorship Network acts as an agent for large and emerging creators, connecting brands with the best creator fit and negotiating on a creator’s behalf.

In this episode, Creator Jay Clouse, Armando, and Miguel discuss why today’s content creators are uniquely valuable to brands, how the Sponsorship Network adds value to brands and creators, and why sponsorships are the key to unlocking a life you love.

Key Takeaways

[00:47] - Today’s listener shoutout: Jay Clouse’s podcast, Creative Elements, just launched a video show.
[01:49] - Have you heard?
- [02:02] - Elon Musk is backing out of his deal to buy Twitter and Twitter is not pleased, especially as Musk defames the company on his way out.
- [03:54] - An old video from Paul Saffo has resurfaced in which he claims the creator economy’s primary value is high engagement.
[09:06] - Today’s main topic: Making a living with sponsorships.
- [10:36] - ConvertKit’s new Sponsorship Network initiative is a way for ConvertKit to act as an agent for creators and sell sponsorships to brands on their behalf.
- [12:34] - ConvertKit’s Sponsorship Network not only adds value to creators but also speeds up the process for brands who typically have to go through an extensive search process to find the right creative partner.
- [15:34] - Creators should spend time doing what they do best. Having someone handle the backend of sponsorship administration and negotiation allows creators to focus on providing value to brands.
- [19:23] - To qualify for the ConvertKit Sponsorship Network, you have to have 10,000 or more subscribers, send an editorial newsletter at least weekly, and have an audience that’s solidly engaged.
- [22:16] - Once you’ve generated a large following, it makes economic sense to offload sales and sponsorship negotiations.
- [22:47] - Emerging creators are still valuable to brands because mid-size creators still have highly engaged audiences.
- [25:18] - Especially given the new iOS update, open rates are less compelling than ever. Focus on the quality of your list over the quantity by removing unengaged subscribers.
- [30:11] - The influencer market in the United States is worth about $16 billion.
- [33:15] - Even if it’s not through ConvertKit, and even if you don't have 10,000 subscribers yet, pursue sponsorships however you can.
[36:52] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[13:05] - “If you think about these companies, they could choose to buy ads on the Meta platform or on Google, and frankly they do. But they know that the creators have a special relationship with their audiences that is not replicated on Facebook or anywhere. And by advertising with the creator, the brands believe, and I think this is true, that a little bit of trust is passed from the creator to the audience regarding that brand.” ~ @armandoroggio

[17:36] - “A lot of us got here because our ‘customer’ is our audience and we want to serve them and do right by them. The more time you spend focusing on sponsor negotiation and administration, you start to get confused as to who you’re serving. And it can get the flywheel in the wrong direction. So it’s helpful to work with somebody to make all that streamlined to make sure everybody’s winning and allow us to have as much time as possible to foster the audience and continue to develop that relationship.” ~ @jayclouse

[34:05] - “As a creator, don’t leave sponsorship money on the table. There’s an opportunity here. The content that you create has value. And working with sponsors that have products you love who are also willing to help you make a living and continue to create is something you should pursue.” ~ @armandoroggio

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