Sponsorships

Newsletter guests treat sponsorship as the first and simplest income. Alex Garcia reports 65–70K a month from sponsors and says a 10,000-subscriber list can sell a slot for over $1,000. Saeed Ezzati landed a sponsor within a week or two of listing a newsletter for his free extension’s users, and Justin Welsh sells to companies whose customer matches his readers. Pat tells in three episodes how an early Klaviyo newsletter sponsorship funded Starter Story and pushed him to quit his job. The figure is inconsistent: $12,000 in one episode, $112,000 in another. To find sponsors, Garcia contacts advertisers already buying newsletter slots in the niche and makes inbound buying easy. YouTubers are more cautious. Sponsorships are a minority of Charlie Chang’s revenue (20–25%), Shervin holds off to protect watch time, and Thomas Frank says having every video sponsored drained his creativity. On the buyer’s side, Colin McIntosh says sponsoring podcasts and YouTubers he personally loves, with landing pages written in their voice, worked unusually well. Kevin Espiritu goes further: ‘why would I not just be the brand’ that sponsors his own content.

Key points

• Sponsorship is the first and easiest way to monetise a newsletter or small audience — 4 episodes. (Alex Garcia · Alex Garcia (Jul 2023) ▶ 06:41) (Saeed Ezzati · Saeed Ezzati (Aug 2024) ▶ 09:10) (Justin Welsh · Justin Welsh (Apr 2023) ▶ 01:26) +1 more
• One early sponsor can fund a media business (Starter Story’s Klaviyo deal) — 3 episodes. (presenter · 9 Things That Make Me $1.8M/Ye (Oct 2024) ▶ 11:50)
• For YouTubers, sponsorship is a minority stream beside affiliates and AdSense — 3 episodes. (Charlie Chang · Charlie Chang (Feb 2024) ▶ 01:58) (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:43) (Florin Pop · Florin Pop (Feb 2026) ▶ 02:02)
• Sponsors have a cost: lower views and lost creative freedom — 2 episodes. (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:38) (Thomas Frank · Thomas Frank (Apr 2024) ▶ 05:08)
• Find sponsors by targeting advertisers already buying in your niche and making inbound easy — 2 episodes. (Alex Garcia · Alex Garcia (Jul 2023) ▶ 09:47) (Saeed Ezzati · Saeed Ezzati (Aug 2024) ▶ 08:41)
• As a brand, sponsor creators you personally love and match the landing page to their voice — 2 episodes. (Colin McIntosh · Colin McIntosh (May 2024) ▶ 08:56) (David Bressler · David Bressler (Feb 2024) ▶ 09:09)
• Brand deals are spreading to new media such as Roblox games — 1 episode. (Ian · Cole & Ian (Apr 2025) ▶ 14:13) (unnamed guest · Cole & Ian (Apr 2025) ▶ 04:49)
• Creators can become the brand that sponsors their own content — 1 episode. (Kevin Espiritu · Kevin Espiritu (Mar 2024) ▶ 06:20)

Where guests disagree

Should a growing YouTuber take sponsorships? ⚠️

• Hold off or limit them: they cut watch time and creative freedom (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:43) (Thomas Frank · Thomas Frank (Apr 2024) ▶ 05:08)
• Take them as part of a diversified mix (Charlie Chang · Charlie Chang (Feb 2024) ▶ 01:55)

Frameworks

• YouTube revenue mix — His split of revenue across all channels. (Charlie Chang · Charlie Chang (Feb 2024) ▶ 01:58)
  • Affiliate marketing ~50-55%
  • Brand sponsorships ~20-25%
  • AdSense ~20-25%

Tactics

• Outbound sponsor sourcing — List advertisers already sponsoring newsletters in your niche and reach out to them, since they already spend on newsletters. (Alex Garcia · Alex Garcia (Jul 2023) ▶ 09:47)
• Start a newsletter for your user base and sell sponsorships — Three or four months in he wrote a newsletter for users and listed it on sponsorship marketplaces; a sponsor came within a week or two. (Saeed Ezzati · Saeed Ezzati (Aug 2024) ▶ 09:10)
• Monetise a newsletter with sponsorships — Sell sponsorships to companies whose ideal customer matches the readership. (Justin Welsh · Justin Welsh (Apr 2023) ▶ 01:26)
• Sponsor podcasts and YouTube channels you personally love — Their audiences resemble you; build a dedicated landing page in that channel’s voice with inside jokes. (Colin McIntosh · Colin McIntosh (May 2024) ▶ 08:56)
• Learn monetisation from case studies of businesses a few steps ahead — Instead of VC stories, read how similar small businesses make money; he found most made money through sponsorships. (presenter · How I Built A $1M Business Fro (Jan 2024) ▶ 05:26)

Stories & examples

• Klaviyo as the first sponsor: Klaviyo was Starter Story’s very first sponsor; its CEO sent a $12,000 cheque to sponsor the newsletter, which Pat says is a big reason Starter Story exists. Lesson: Early sponsorship can fund a media business. (presenter · 9 Things That Make Me $1.8M/Ye (Oct 2024) ▶ 11:50)
• The sponsorship that triggered quitting: A CEO emailed praise, then offered a sponsorship worth more money than he had ever seen; it hit his account while he was at Starbucks, and after months of indecision he resigned. Lesson: Early validation can be the signal to go all in. (presenter · How I Built A $1M Business Fro (Jan 2024) ▶ 06:10)
• First Starter Story milestones: Two months in he went viral on Reddit and found his distribution channel; four months in he made his first dollar from a newsletter sponsor; eight months in he landed a $112,000 sponsorship deal. Lesson: A validated audience channel can lead to sponsorship revenue within months. (presenter · The day I hit reset on my life (Oct 2024) ▶ 07:27)
• ESPN Excel esports ad: The host of an Excel competition broadcast on ESPN asked to run an ad for a week; it drove a ton of clicks. Google ads made a few dollars but weren’t worth the hassle. (David Bressler · David Bressler (Feb 2024) ▶ 09:09)

Numbers

• Monthly revenue from ad sponsors: 65000-70000 currency unstated (k a month) (self-reported, approx., currency unstated) (Alex Garcia · Alex Garcia (Jul 2023) ▶ 01:19)
• Ad spot price for a 10,000-subscriber newsletter: 1000 USD (over) (self-reported, approx.) (Alex Garcia · Alex Garcia (Jul 2023) ▶ 09:56)
• Klaviyo’s first sponsorship cheque: 12000 USD (host’s framing) (presenter · 9 Things That Make Me $1.8M/Ye (Oct 2024) ▶ 11:50)
• First big sponsorship deal, eight months in: 112000 USD (host’s framing) (presenter · The day I hit reset on my life (Oct 2024) ▶ 07:55)
• Newsletter sponsorship payment (caption gives $112,000, $122,000 and $12,000): 112,000 / 122,000 / 12,000 (inconsistent caption) dollars (host’s framing, approx.) (presenter · How I Built A $1M Business Fro (Jan 2024) ▶ 06:32)
• First newsletter sponsor payment: a few hundred dollars (self-reported, approx.) (Saeed Ezzati · Saeed Ezzati (Aug 2024) ▶ 09:17)

Caveats & warnings

• Putting a sponsorship in a video might drop views. (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:38)
• Newsletter sponsorship payment (caption gives $112,000, $122,000 and $12,000): 112,000 / 122,000 / 12,000 (inconsistent caption) dollars (host’s framing, approx.) (presenter · How I Built A $1M Business Fro (Jan 2024) ▶ 06:32)

How much to trust this

• Evidence: 14 episodes, 13 independent speakers (repeat guests counted once; Pat and Gus counted as one voice).