Sponsorships are a great way to make some extra money from your YouTube channel, but getting them as a small channel can be extremely difficult. In this article, my goal is to help you get as many sponsorships as possible even if you have a channel with less than 1,000 subscribers. Now, I do want to mention the bigger your channel is the better chance you have of getting a sponsorship. That is why as a small channel, you have to get inventive and work hard when it comes to getting sponsorships on your YouTube channel!
How To Get A YouTube Sponsorships For Small Channels
Step 1) Figure Out The Companies You Want Sponsorships From
Before you can start getting sponsorships as a small YouTube channel, you need to identify what companies you want to work with. Since there isn't really a marketplace like Famebit for YouTubers with less than 1,000 subscribers, you'll need to reach out to companies directly, we'll cover this in the next step. So, how do you find companies to work with? Well, there are a few ways. First, I would recommend looking at the products you use. For example, you probably use a headset or headphones for editing your videos if not also for gaming and listening to music. Because you use these products daily, you could reach out to some headphone companies asking to review their product and give them a pitch. I would always recommend reaching out to 5 different companies who make a product you are interested in. The more people you get in front of the better chance you have of succeeding.
Another way to find companies to work with is by looking at the community you are in on YouTube. If you are in the gaming niche for example, it might make sense to reach out to some indie game companies or some gaming chair companies. These companies will be more likely to work with you because you are in the same community as them and will be able to target the audience that they want to target. The last and final way is to find affiliate products that you could promote on your channel. Affiliate products allow you to make some money every time someone clicks your link and buys the product you have the affiliate link for. Affiliate products can help you get sponsorships as if you can sell a company's product, they are more than likely going to be willing to give you that product for free.
Note: You need to focus on smaller, newer companies when trying to get sponsorships as a small channel. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely large companies that are already working with YouTubers will be willing to work with small creators. Small companies work with small creators. Large companies work with large creators.
Step 2) Reach Out To Those Companies
Now that you've identified the companies that you want to contact, it's time to reach out to them to see if they are interested in working with you. In order to do this, you will need to contact the company. Whether it be via their general contact email or even a contact form on their site, you need some way to reach out and say hello. This may seem a little scary, but it really isn't. The WORST thing a company can do is say ‘not right now', and if that happens, you can just move right along to the next one. No worries.
So, you have a way to contact the companies you want to work with, but what do you say? Well, I could give you a template that you could use over and over again, but I'm not. The reason for this is that template emails will get you absolutely nowhere. The emails you send out need to be personal, they need to explain the video you are going to create, and overall, they need to make the person reading the email on the other side feel like you are a real person contacting them. Template emails do not give off this feeling. In every email you send, be sure to go over the video you will create, how it will help the company get their product out there, and what kind of content quality they can expect from you. You've got to be producing high-quality content in order to get sponsorships.
After your email is crafted and ready to be sent, be sure to proofread it. Use a program like Grammarly to make sure it's as grammatically correct as possible. You need to look not only fun but professional. You will be representing these companies in a video format after all.
Note: I would suggest only asking for free products as a small channel. Once you have a proven track record of successful sponsored videos, you can begin asking for a cash supplement in addition to a free product.
Step 3) Keep Following Up
Ten emails. That is how many emails you need to send to a company if they don't reply to you before calling it quits on them. I know this may sound extreme, but not following up is where most people miss opportunities. Now, make sure every email you send is different with a different subject line and a different email body. These emails over time will help show the company that you are consistent, and it will force them to reply even if it is a simple ‘No'. Keep track of these companies and emails in a spreadsheet, and once you've got a reply from a company, make note of it in order to prevent yourself from following up after you've got a line of contact open with them.
Step 4) Create Awesome Sponsored Content
After you get replies from companies and start getting in some products, it's time to create incredible content. This is important as the more sponsored videos you have to show companies in the future, the more likely they are going to be willing to work with you. Because of this, it is EXTREMELY important that you put a lot of effort into every piece of sponsored content you create. This way the next time you are contacting sponsors, you can show them the incredible video you produced for another company. This may make them want a similar, high-quality, entertaining video.
Step 5) Continue Growing Your Channel
Well, you now know how to get a YouTube sponsorship for small channels, but as I'm sure you figured out, it is not easy. The bigger a channel is the more likely you will be to get sponsorships. Not only will more companies reach out to you, but you can begin to use sponsorship marketplaces which allow you to find companies who are actively looking for YouTube creators to work with. This makes the process a lot easier. With that being said, if you have any questions about getting a sponsorship for your small channel, post them in the comments below. We are more than happy to help!
