# The Sponsor Playbook: land your first (or next) brand deal in 7 days — and stop undercharging **Find the brands already paying creators like you, pitch them with templates that get replies, and quote a price you can defend line by line.** For creators with 1,000 to 200,000 followers on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, newsletters, X or LinkedIn. Last verified: October 2026. All rate numbers in this guide are estimates built from public ranges, with sources. Templates and information, not legal or financial advice. --- ## What's in this folder | File | What it does | Time to first result | |---|---|---| | `tools/sponsor-rate-calculator.html` | Your low / fair / premium rate, a breakdown of every factor, and a filled-in counteroffer email. Works offline, double-click to open. | 2 minutes | | `templates/sponsor-tracker.csv` | The tracking sheet: 31 columns from "where I found them" to "paid date". Import into Google Sheets, Excel, Notion or Airtable. | 1 minute | | `templates/pitch-emails.md` | 6 pitch emails + 6 DM versions | 5 minutes per pitch | | `templates/negotiation-scripts.md` | Word-for-word replies to 10 common pushbacks | Copy-paste | | `templates/media-kit.html` + `media-kit.md` | An editable one-page media kit. Click to edit, save as PDF. | 20 minutes | | `templates/rate-card.md` | Your price list, with packages and add-ons | 10 minutes | | `checklists/contract-and-payment-checklist.md` | 40+ checks before you sign, plus disclosure rules for the US, UK and EU | Before every deal | | `prompts/PROMPT.md` | 4 AI prompts: personalize a pitch, build a media kit, answer a lowball, red-flag a contract | 1 minute each | --- ## Start here: your 5-minute win You're going to find out what one sponsored post of yours is worth. Today. With a number you can explain to a brand. 1. **Get your real number (2 minutes).** Open your analytics. Write down the views of your **last 10 posts** on your main platform. Sort them. Take the middle one (the median). That's your number. Not your best post. Not your follower count. Brands check, and the median is what they'll see. - Newsletter? Use subscribers and your average unique open rate over the last 10 sends. 2. **Open `tools/sponsor-rate-calculator.html`** (double-click it). It opens in your browser and works offline. 3. **Enter platform, niche, and your median.** Leave the deal as "Integrated segment" (or the first option for your platform), no add-ons. 4. **Read three numbers:** Low (your walk-away floor), Fair (the market mid-point), and the green **Counteroffer you should send**. 5. **Write the Fair number somewhere you'll see it.** From today, any offer below Low gets a polite counter or a no. That's it. If a brand has already emailed you with an offer, type it into "Brand's offer" — the calculator tells you whether it's a lowball, and the email on the right is ready to send. Most small creators who do this discover one of two things: they've been quoting about half of what the numbers support, or their audience-based price is below what it costs them to produce the content. The calculator handles both. The rest of this guide shows you where to send that number. --- ## Chapter 1 — Why you're undercharging (and the formula that fixes it) Brands don't buy followers. They buy **attention from a specific buyer**, and they compare every creator to every other ad they could run. The common unit is **CPM: cost per 1,000 views** (or opens, or impressions). ``` Content fee = (median views ÷ 1,000) × CPM × deliverable factor Total fee = content fee + add-ons (usage rights, paid ads, exclusivity, rush) ``` That's the whole system. Every negotiation is an argument about one of those inputs. ### The CPM ranges (estimates, with sources) There is no official price list for creator sponsorships. These are public ranges published by agencies, creator tools and media sellers, rounded. Use them as a starting point, then replace them with your own deal history as soon as you have some. | Platform | Typical sponsor CPM (per 1,000) | Source | |---|---|---| | YouTube long-form integration (60–90s) | ~$20–$50 per 1,000 views; dedicated video ~2.5–3× an integration; Shorts ~0.3–0.5× | Social Video Plaza YouTube sponsorship guide; Descript ("$30–$70, $50 a good point to push for") | | YouTube, by channel size | ~$50–$100 at 5k–15k views; $30–$50 at 15k–50k; ~$25 at 50k–250k; $10–$15 at 250k–750k | Adopter Media (a sponsorship agency) | | Instagram Reels | ~$15–$35 per 1,000 views | iqfluence.io, influencerfee.com CPM explainers (2026) | | TikTok | ~$15–$40 integrated, ~$25–$60 dedicated | Same as above | | Newsletter | ~$20–$100+ per 1,000 opens; median ~$32 per 1,000 subscribers; SaaS/AI ~$92, finance ~$85, marketing ~$48, lifestyle ~$22 per 1,000 subscribers | Dupple (sells newsletter ads) | | LinkedIn | ~$10–$20 general, $20–$40 marketing/HR, $40–$60 finance, $60–$120 tech/AI/SaaS; most sponsored B2B posts $200–$2,000 | Favikon B2B pricing guide 2026; ContentGrip 2026 | | X | No reliable public benchmark found. Treat any number as a guess and use your own deal history. | — | Three things these numbers tell you: 1. **Small audiences get a higher CPM, not a lower one.** A focused 10k-view channel is often priced at a higher rate per view than a 500k-view channel. Brands pay for fit and trust. Don't apologize for your size; price it. 2. **Niche moves the price more than size.** Finance, B2B software and AI audiences can be worth several times more per view than entertainment or gaming. On YouTube ads, finance CPMs are commonly reported around $15–$45 vs. gaming around $3–$6 (vidIQ, OutlierKit niche data). Sponsors follow similar logic. 3. **Everything beyond "post it on my channel" is extra.** Usage rights, paid ads, exclusivity and rush delivery are separate products. Many creators give them away because nobody told them they had a price. ### The add-ons most creators give away for free | Add-on | What it means | Public ranges (estimates) | |---|---|---| | **Usage rights** | The brand reposts your content on its own channels | ~15% of your fee per 30 days (Justin Moore / Creator Wizard via Lumanu) | | **Whitelisting / paid ads** | The brand runs ads through your handle (Meta Partnership Ads, TikTok Spark Ads) or with your content | +20–50% for 30 days; a 90-day exclusive whitelist can run 2–3× the post fee (TopGrowth Marketing, Elev8or). In one Lumanu/Collectively survey, 51% of influencers said they charge extra for it. | | **Exclusivity** | You turn down competitors for a period | ~+10% (Creator Wizard) up to +25–50% for broad or long lock-outs | | **Rush** | Live in days, not weeks | No published benchmark; the calculator uses +15% (7 days) and +35% (72 hours) as a working convention | ### Your floor: never work below cost Under ~10k views, the CPM math can produce a number like $90. If a sponsored video takes you 5 hours to script, film, edit and revise, $90 is $18/hour. The calculator has a **production floor** (hours × your hourly rate). If your audience-based price falls below it, the floor wins. Then you grow the deal with bundles and add-ons, not by working for less. ### The counteroffer rule The calculator's counteroffer sits **halfway between fair and premium**. Brands almost always counter. If they meet you in the middle, you land at or above fair. If you open at fair and they meet you in the middle, you land below it. **Worked example.** A YouTube creator in consumer tech with 12,000 median views (the calculator's first sample): - Fair CPM: $30 base × 1.3 niche = $39. Small-channel factor ×1.5 → ~$58 effective CPM. - Content fee: 12 × $58 ≈ $700 (fair). Low ≈ $470. Premium ≈ $1,050. - Brand offered $500. Counteroffer: **$875**. - If they add 30 days of whitelisting: +30% → fair ~$925. That's an extra ~$225 for a clause most creators sign without reading. --- ## Chapter 2 — The 10-minute sponsor finder The best sponsor is a brand that **already pays creators like you**. They have a budget, a process, and a person whose job is to say yes. You're not convincing them that creator marketing works. You're convincing them you're the next good creator. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Open `templates/sponsor-tracker.csv` in Google Sheets. Every brand you find goes in a row with a **proof link** (the sponsored post). Goal: 15 brands in 10 minutes. 50 by the end of the week. ### Step 0 (1 minute): list your "neighbors" Write down 10 creators in your niche who are **1–5× your size** (not 100×; big creators get big-brand deals you can't get yet). Use the search bar on your platform, the "related channels" on YouTube, or the people your audience also follows. Social Blade (free) shows their size if you need it. These 10 creators are your sponsor map. Whoever paid them is likely to pay you. ### Step 1 (3 minutes): mine their sponsors **YouTube** — open each neighbor's last 10–20 videos and scan the description and the first minutes. Then search YouTube and Google directly: ``` "sponsored by" [your niche] "use code" [your niche] "thanks to [sponsor]" [your niche] "link in description" "[niche keyword]" discount ``` Google indexes YouTube descriptions, so these also work: ``` site:youtube.com "sponsored by" "[niche keyword]" site:youtube.com "use code" "[niche keyword]" site:youtube.com "this video is sponsored by" [niche keyword] ``` Tip: YouTube flags sponsored videos with an "includes paid promotion" label at the start of the video. When you see it, check the description for the brand. **Instagram and TikTok** - Open each neighbor's profile and look for the **"Paid partnership with [brand]"** label under their name on posts and Reels. - On Instagram, search your niche keyword and scan Reels for the "Paid partnership" label. - On TikTok, search `#ad [niche keyword]` and `[niche keyword] sponsored`, and look for the "Paid partnership" label on videos. - Google: ``` site:instagram.com "#ad" "[niche keyword]" site:instagram.com "paid partnership" "[niche keyword]" site:tiktok.com "#ad" "[niche keyword]" ``` **X** ``` "#ad" [niche keyword] min_faves:20 "sponsored by" [niche keyword] "partnered with" [niche keyword] ``` **LinkedIn** — search posts for `"in partnership with" [niche]`, `#sponsored [niche]`, `"thanks to [brand] for sponsoring"`. B2B brands that sponsor LinkedIn creators often sponsor newsletters and podcasts too. **Newsletters** — open the last 5 issues of 10 newsletters in your niche. The sponsor is almost always at the top ("Presented by", "Sponsored by", "Together with"). Google: ``` site:beehiiv.com "sponsored by" "[niche keyword]" site:substack.com "sponsored by" "[niche keyword]" "together with" "[niche keyword]" newsletter ``` ### Step 2 (3 minutes): use the free ad databases These show you which brands are **spending money on ads right now** — and who they're targeting. - **Meta Ad Library** — `facebook.com/ads/library`. Choose your country and "All ads", type a niche keyword (e.g. "meal prep", "budget app", "AI writing"). You'll see every active Facebook/Instagram ad containing it. Ads that look like creator content and show "[creator] with [brand]" are Partnership Ads: that brand pays creators. Meta also added a **branded content search** to the Ad Library for posts with the "Paid partnership" label; at launch its date range was limited, so results may vary. - **TikTok Creative Center** — `ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter`. Free. Go to Inspiration → **Top Ads**, filter by your region and industry, and look for ads shot by creators. Logging in unlocks more of the database. - **What to write down:** brand name, the type of person in the ad, the words the ad uses. That's your "their buyer" line for the pitch. Rule of thumb: a brand that runs creator-style ads on Meta or TikTok has both a budget and a reason to buy usage rights and whitelisting from you. Price those add-ons. ### Step 3 (2 minutes): check the creator marketplaces and sponsor directories - **Newsletter marketplaces:** Paved (claims 3,000+ newsletters), beehiiv's Ad Network (beehiiv acquired Swapstack), Passionfroot (a storefront where brands book your slots; free plan takes a fee per invoice). Listing yourself costs nothing on most of them and brands come to you. - **Sponsor directories:** SponsorGap (brands post open sponsorships; you can track which brands sponsor which newsletters) and Who Sponsors Stuff (tracks sponsors across 250+ newsletters, with a paid Pro tier for contacts). - **Platform marketplaces:** TikTok One (formerly TikTok Creator Marketplace), Instagram's creator marketplace, and YouTube's brand-partnership program (BrandConnect, reported renamed to Creator Partnerships in 2026). Eligibility depends on country, age and follower thresholds and changes often — check inside each app. Sign up anyway: it's a free inbound channel. ### Step 4 (1 minute): score each brand In the tracker, give each brand a **fit score from 1 to 5**: - +1 They sponsored at least one creator in your niche in the last 90 days - +1 They sponsored a creator your size or smaller - +1 You use or would honestly use the product - +1 Their buyer matches your audience (country, age, role) - +1 They're running ads right now (Meta Ad Library / TikTok Top Ads) Pitch 4s and 5s first. Skip 1s. ### Finding the right person (not the info@ inbox) 1. **LinkedIn:** search `[brand] influencer`, `[brand] creator partnerships`, `[brand] partnerships manager`, `[brand] affiliate`. At small companies: head of growth, head of marketing, or the founder. 2. **Their website:** look for `/creators`, `/ambassadors`, `/affiliates`, `/partners`, `/press`. Google: `"[brand]" "creator program" OR "ambassador program" OR "affiliate program"`. 3. **Email finders:** Hunter's free plan includes 50 credits a month (as of 2026). Most companies use a pattern like first@company.com; Hunter shows you which. 4. **Ask the creator they sponsored.** A short, friendly DM to a creator 1–2× your size: "Loved your [brand] video — would you mind sharing who you worked with there? Happy to return the favor." Many will help. 5. **Agency involved?** If the sponsored post tags an agency, pitch the agency. They run campaigns for multiple brands. ### The tracking sheet `templates/sponsor-tracker.csv` has these columns, grouped: - **Discovery:** Brand, Website, Category, Where I found them, Proof they pay creators (link), Creator they sponsored, That creator's size, Their target buyer, My bridge, Fit score - **Contact:** Contact name, Role, Email, Contact source, Channel (email/DM/form) - **Outreach:** Pitch template used, Date pitched, Follow-up 1 date, Follow-up 2 date, Status - **Deal:** Their offer, My counter, Agreed rate, Deliverable, Usage rights, Exclusivity, Payment terms - **Money:** Invoice sent, Paid date - **Next:** Next touch date, Notes Suggested statuses: `To research → Qualified → Pitched → Follow-up 1 → Follow-up 2 → Replied → Negotiating → Signed → Published → Invoiced → Paid → Re-engage (date)`. Two rows of example data are included so you see how to fill it. Delete them. --- ## Chapter 3 — The pitch Full templates: `templates/pitch-emails.md`. Here's the logic behind them, so you can write your own. ### The 3-line test Every pitch must answer three questions in the first three lines, or it gets archived: 1. **Who do you reach?** Not "my audience". "Solo developers shipping their first SaaS, 60% US." 2. **How many, really?** "14,200 median views over my last 10 videos." 3. **Why us?** "I've used your product for 8 months, and my audience asks what tool I use for X every week." Then one concrete idea and one yes/no question. Under 150 words. ### The six emails (pick the one that matches the situation) | Situation | Template | The move | |---|---|---| | They've never heard of you | **Email 1 — Cold** | Lead with their buyer, show the overlap, offer one idea | | You've interacted, used their product publicly, or met | **Email 2 — Warm** | Proof you already moved their numbers for free | | No reply after 3–4 business days | **Email 3 — Follow-up #1** | Add something new: a fresh number, a concept, an open slot | | No reply after another 7 days | **Email 4 — Follow-up #2 (breakup)** | Make "no" or "later" easy to say | | They sponsored you before | **Email 5 — Re-engage** | Results recap + two options (repeat or package) | | They sponsored someone like you | **Email 6 — "I noticed you sponsored X"** | Same play, similar audience, different angle | DM versions of all six are in the same file. Use DMs to get the right email address, not to close a deal. The person reading brand DMs is usually a social media manager, not the person with the budget. ### Send volume that works - **10 personalized pitches beat 100 copy-pasted ones.** Spend 3 minutes per brand on the "their buyer / proof / bridge" lines in the tracker. - **Expect most pitches to get no reply.** That's normal for cold outreach and says nothing about your worth. The follow-ups often produce more replies than the first email. - **Send Tuesday to Thursday, morning in the brand's time zone.** Mondays are full inboxes; Fridays get pushed to Monday. (This is a working habit, not a law.) ### What to do when they reply "send your rates" Don't paste a price into the email body. Send: 1. Your **media kit** (one page: who you reach, numbers with dates, proof). 2. Your **rate card** with "starting at" prices. 3. One line: "For your goals I'd suggest [package] — happy to tailor it once I see the brief." Then wait for their brief before quoting a final number. The brief tells you which add-ons to price. --- ## Chapter 4 — Media kit and rate card ### Media kit (`templates/media-kit.html`) Double-click it. Click any text and type over it. Click the square to add your photo. Hit **Save as PDF** and print to PDF. It fits on one A4/Letter page. Your edits are saved in your browser automatically. A light version is the default because it prints cleanly; a dark version is one click away. What goes on it, in order: 1. **One-line positioning:** "I help [audience] [result] through [format]." 2. **Four numbers with a date:** median views, followers/subscribers, newsletter subs + open rate, engagement rate. Medians, last 10 posts. 3. **Who watches:** top countries, age, and three bullets on who they are and what they buy. 4. **Why they listen:** three proofs (comments per video, replies, a real outcome). 5. **Partners and results:** only brands that actually paid you. No paid partners yet? Rename it "Tools I've featured". 6. **Ways to work together:** packages with "starting at" prices. 7. **Contact:** email, reply time, booking window. The plain-text version (`templates/media-kit.md`) works for Notion, Google Docs or Canva. ### Rate card (`templates/rate-card.md`) Fill the "starting at" column with the calculator's **fair** number for each deliverable. Add three packages (launch, quarter, always-on). Keep add-ons as percentages. Update every 60–90 days or when your median views move by ~20%. Don't publish your rate card on your website unless you want every brand to start at your lowest price. --- ## Chapter 5 — Negotiation Full scripts: `templates/negotiation-scripts.md`. Ten pushbacks, word for word: 1. "We don't have budget for this." 2. "We only do gifting." 3. "Can you do it for exposure?" 4. "Your rate is too high." 5. "Other creators your size charge less." 6. "Commission / affiliate only." 7. "We need usage rights in perpetuity." 8. "We need 6 months of exclusivity." 9. "Can you post it this week?" 10. "We need unlimited revisions." The three principles behind all ten: - **Trade, don't discount.** When the price goes down, the scope goes down with it. Fewer deliverables, shorter usage, no exclusivity, longer turnaround. Same scope for less money teaches the brand your first number was fake. - **Turn price into CPM.** "That's about $58 per 1,000 views, in the normal range for tech creators" moves the conversation from "is this expensive?" to "is this a normal rate?" - **Know your walk-away number before you reply.** That's the calculator's Low. Below it, you offer a smaller deliverable or a polite no. --- ## Chapter 6 — Contract, payment and disclosure Full checklist: `checklists/contract-and-payment-checklist.md` (not legal advice). ### The five lines that prevent most problems 1. **Deliverables in detail:** format, length, platform, publish window, how long it stays live. 2. **Revision rounds:** one or two included, plus a feedback deadline ("approved if no feedback within 3 business days"). 3. **Usage rights:** organic vs paid, which channels, how many months. No "perpetuity, all media" at your base rate. 4. **Payment:** 50% on signing + 50% on publish, or net-15/net-30 from publish. Invoice on publish. A late fee clause. 5. **Kill fee:** if they cancel after you've started. There's no legal standard; 25–50% is a commonly cited range, rising as work progresses. Why it matters: in payment-platform surveys (Lumanu/Collectively, Tipalti), more than half of creators report being paid late, and net-60 to net-90 terms are a common complaint. ### Disclosure in one paragraph If a brand paid you, gave you something for free, or you earn a commission, **say so clearly, up front, in the post itself, every time**. In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides (updated 2023) require disclosure that is "clear and conspicuous" — hard to miss — and the FTC says platform tools alone may not be enough; in video, say it and show it on screen. In the UK, the ASA and CMA recommend "Ad" or "#ad" up front; "gifted" or "affiliate" alone isn't enough. In the EU, the European Commission treats influencers who advertise as "traders" under consumer law and suggests labels like "advertising"; some countries (e.g. France, Italy) add their own rules. Then also switch on the platform's paid partnership tool. Details and sources in the checklist. --- ## Chapter 7 — The 7-day plan: from zero to sent pitches About 60–90 minutes a day. By day 7 you'll have a price, a media kit, a qualified list of 30–50 brands, and 15–20 personalized pitches out the door. ### Day 1 — Know your number (45 min) - [ ] Pull median views of your last 10 posts on each platform (or newsletter subs + open rate). - [ ] Pull audience data: top 3 countries, age split, and anything that describes who they are. - [ ] Run the calculator for every deliverable you'd offer. Write down Low / Fair / Premium for each. - [ ] Set your production floor honestly: how many hours does one sponsored piece take you? ### Day 2 — Build the sponsor map (60 min) - [ ] List 10 neighbor creators, 1–5× your size. - [ ] Do the 10-minute sponsor finder twice (Steps 1–3 above). - [ ] Import `sponsor-tracker.csv` into Google Sheets. Log every brand with a proof link. - [ ] Target: 30 brands. ### Day 3 — Qualify and find people (60 min) - [ ] Score every brand 1–5. Keep the 4s and 5s (aim for 15–20). - [ ] For each, fill "Their target buyer" (Meta Ad Library / TikTok Top Ads) and "My bridge". - [ ] Find a named contact for each: LinkedIn, website, Hunter. - [ ] Sign up to 2–3 marketplaces (Passionfroot, beehiiv Ad Network, TikTok One, Instagram's creator marketplace — whichever fit your platform). ### Day 4 — Media kit and rate card (60 min) - [ ] Fill `media-kit.html` with your real numbers. Save as PDF. - [ ] Fill `rate-card.md` with your fair prices and three packages. - [ ] Ask one friend in your niche: "Would you sponsor me based on this page?" Fix what confuses them. ### Day 5 — First 10 pitches (90 min) - [ ] Write 10 pitches to your top-scored brands, using Email 1, 2 or 6. - [ ] Use `prompts/PROMPT.md` (Prompt 1) to draft, then rewrite in your voice. Check every number. - [ ] Send. Log date, template, and follow-up date (+3–4 business days) in the tracker. ### Day 6 — Next 10 pitches + DMs (60 min) - [ ] Send 5–10 more emails. - [ ] DM 5 brands where you couldn't find an email, asking for the right contact. - [ ] DM 2–3 neighbor creators to ask who they worked with (and offer to return the favor). - [ ] Re-engage any past sponsor with Email 5. ### Day 7 — Follow up and prepare (45 min) - [ ] Send Follow-up #1 to anyone pitched on Day 5 or earlier who hasn't replied (if 3+ business days have passed; otherwise schedule it). - [ ] Re-read `negotiation-scripts.md`. Save the three you're most likely to need as email drafts. - [ ] Re-read the contract checklist. Save the payment-reminder email as a draft. - [ ] Put a weekly 30-minute "sponsor hour" in your calendar: 5 new brands, 5 new pitches, all follow-ups. **Scoreboard after 7 days:** 30–50 brands logged · 15–20 pitches sent · 1 media kit · 1 rate card · your floor, fair and counteroffer for every deliverable. --- ## Going further **Build a "proof loop."** After every sponsored post, send the brand a 3-line recap on day 7 (views, clicks or code uses if you have them, best comments). Save every recap. In 3 deals you have a results section for your media kit; in 5 you have leverage. **Turn one-offs into retainers.** The re-engage email offers a 3-month package. Repeat exposure is usually when audiences act, and recurring income is what makes sponsorship a business instead of a lottery. **Price per-platform bundles.** A YouTube integration + a Short cut from it + a newsletter mention is three placements from one shoot. Price it at ~10–20% below the sum, still well above one piece. **Ask for affiliate on top.** A flat fee plus a tracked commission aligns you with the brand and pays you when content keeps converting months later. **Track your own CPM.** After 5 deals, divide each fee by (views ÷ 1,000). That's your real market rate. Put it in the calculator's "Your own CPM" field and stop relying on benchmarks. **Raise prices on a schedule.** Every 60–90 days, re-run the calculator with your new median. My rule of thumb: if almost every brand you quote says yes without pushing back, you're too cheap. **Get paid faster.** Ask for 50% upfront on every first deal. Brands with healthy creator programs say yes more often than you'd expect; the ones that refuse tell you something. --- ## Limits (read this) - **Every rate here is an estimate.** Public benchmarks come from agencies, tools and ad sellers, each with their own bias and audience. Real deals vary a lot by country, audience quality, season (Q4 budgets are usually bigger), and how much a brand wants *you*. The calculator gives you a defensible starting point, not a guarantee. - **The X preset is a guess.** I couldn't find a reliable public benchmark for sponsored X posts. Use your own numbers. - **Some multipliers are my conventions,** not published standards: the rush fee, the story-set factor, the niche factors, and how usage rights taper over 12 months. They're labeled in the calculator. - **This won't make a brand say yes.** Fit, timing and budget cycles matter. Most cold pitches get no reply — that's the math of outreach, not a verdict on you. - **Search operators and tools change.** Meta, TikTok and YouTube update their libraries and labels regularly. If a filter is gone, the principle (find proof they already pay creators) still works. - **Not legal, tax or financial advice.** Disclosure rules and contract law differ by country. For big contracts, get a lawyer. - **Benchmarks are in USD.** If you work in EUR or GBP, treat them as a rough guide, not a conversion. --- ## Want this done automatically? Doing the sponsor finder by hand works. It also takes an hour a week, every week, and the best brands are the ones that started sponsoring creators *this* week. I'm building **Sponsor Radar**: every Monday, a list of brands that just sponsored creators in your niche, with the proof link, the right contact, and a pitch already written with your numbers. About $29/month. **Reply YES to the DM** (or join the waitlist) and you'll get early access first. And follow **@danshipped** for the next drop. I build tools like this every week. --- ## Sources (checked October 2026) **Rates and pricing** - Social Video Plaza — "YouTube brand sponsorships in 2025" (integration CPM ~$20–$50, dedicated 2.5–3×, Shorts 0.3–0.5×) - Adopter Media — "YouTube sponsorship rates" (CPM by views per video) - Descript — "How much should you charge for a YouTube sponsorship" - iqfluence.io — "CPM in influencer marketing — 2026 benchmarks"; influencerfee.com — "CPM/CPC influencer marketing explained" - Dupple — "Newsletter CPM explained" and "CPM benchmarks for B2B newsletters in 2026" (note: Dupple sells newsletter ads) - Favikon — "The complete B2B influencer pricing guide 2026"; ContentGrip — "LinkedIn influencer pricing in 2026" - vidIQ and OutlierKit — YouTube CPM/RPM by niche (2025–2026) - Lumanu — "How influencers charge for whitelisting and usage rights" (Lumanu/Collectively survey; Creator Wizard percentages) - TopGrowth Marketing, Elev8or — whitelisting and exclusivity pricing **Finding sponsors** - Meta Ad Library (facebook.com/ads/library) and its branded content search — Lindsey Gamble, MediaPost, Search Engine Land - TikTok Creative Center (ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter) — TikTok help center "About Creative Center" - Paved, beehiiv Ad Network/Swapstack, Passionfroot — Dupple "Best newsletter advertising platforms 2026", eMarketer - SponsorGap, Who Sponsors Stuff — company pages and directory listings - Hunter free plan — Hunter pricing summaries (2026) - TikTok One, Instagram creator marketplace, YouTube BrandConnect/Creator Partnerships — TikTok help center, Metricool, HireInfluence **Contracts, payments, disclosure** — see `checklists/contract-and-payment-checklist.md`. Made by **Dan Shipped** — @danshipped