2023 Guide To Email Sponsorships

As you prepare your email newsletter strategy for 2023, email sponsorship needs to be on the map.

Working with other brands can significantly improve both the monetization and content of your newsletters. Not sure where to start?

It may seem like a complicated process, but there’s no need to fret–beehiiv is here to talk you through the types of sponsorship that are worth considering and how to get those sponsors for your newsletter.

Keep reading to find out all there is to know about email sponsorship to make your 2023 email marketing strategy the best yet!

What is Email Sponsorship?

First things first–what is email sponsorship? Put plainly, email sponsorship involves receiving money or promotional items in return for access to a subscriber base. If your email has been sponsored, you’ll still create the content; however, it will be delivered on behalf of/in partnership with your sponsor.

Here’s an example. You have a website that publishes delicious recipes every day–your ideal sponsor may be a cooking utensil brand that would either pay you or provide you with free products, to produce an email with a shout-out to their brand.

Email sponsorship is a great way to work with like-minded companies that your subscribers will identify with, and improve the monetization of your emails along the way.

What are the 4 Types of Sponsorship?

There are a few types of sponsorship that are worth considering for your email marketing strategy. We’ve explained what these are below.

Financial Sponsorship

Financial sponsorship is the most common type of sponsorship and involves a company providing money in return for the promotion of their brand.

This could be as simple as a brand paying for a banner ad on a company’s website or requesting advert space in a similar brand’s email newsletter.

Both the sponsor and the advertiser benefit from this, as the sponsor will achieve exposure through promoting their brand to a new audience, while the advertiser will receive financial compensation for allowing access to their platform/subscribers. For more ways to get paid for writing a newsletter, check out the beehiiv blog.

In-Kind Sponsorship

In-kind sponsorship is similar to financial sponsorship, but instead of providing financial compensation, the sponsor would give products or services at no cost to the advertiser.

This could involve a catering company providing free food at an event, or hotel companies providing free rooms via ticketing websites for different concerts. Whatever the details, the sponsor provides something at no cost in return for access to new audiences.

The main idea behind In-Kind Sponsorship is that the advertiser would be able to offset costs by receiving free services for their customers, and the sponsor would benefit from the exposure of their products/services.

Media Sponsorship

Media sponsorship involves the promotion of another brand’s activity via media sources. This could include social media, television, or publication via a blog/website.

An example of this could be an agreement between two like-minded companies that they share each other's posts on Facebook/Instagram, or a television company agreeing to cover a big event like a football match or charity event.

The advantage here is that each company would benefit from the other’s audience, whether this is an online following or a media fan base.

Promotional Partners

The last type of sponsorship is Promotional Partners. This is similar to Media Sponsorship, as it generally involves promoting content across media platforms, including Social Media/websites; however, it is usually a long-term partnership between a company and an individual, such as a blogger or social media influencer.

Let’s set an example. A fashion blogger could partner with a clothing brand to provide their followers with information on the latest trends and clothing items. The blogger would likely be compensated for this financially or in free products, and the clothing brand would benefit by gaining access to the blogger’s online following.

This type of sponsorship is often associated with affiliate links, whereby the advertiser would receive a percentage of the sale if a customer were to purchase a product they were promoting.

How Do I Get Sponsors for My Newsletter?

There are a few different steps in getting sponsors for your newsletter. We’ve explained these below to help you on your way to successful email sponsorship!

Decide Which Type of Sponsorship is Best for Your Brand

Now that you understand what the different types of sponsorship mean, it’s time to choose which would work best for your company.

If you’re looking to improve the monetization of your newsletter, Financial Sponsorship may be for you. On the other hand, you may be looking to provide your audience with content they’re going to be interested in, in which case In-Kind Sponsorship may be more up your street.

Whichever you choose, spend some time considering which type of sponsorship would work best for your brand to ensure you make the most of email sponsorship.

Calculate Sponsorship Rates

Put together some sponsorship rates and stick to them. Ultimately, you know what your brand is worth, and if you have a large network of followers it’s important to value this correctly and charge the right amounts for the level of exposure sponsors will receive.

Rates could be determined as a flat fee or could vary depending on the level of exposure. Cost per mille (CPM) is a common way of charging for sponsorship, as this implies a cost depending on the number of impressions the advertising method achieves.

If you’re concerned about the size of your subscriber list and want to make this more attractive before approaching potential sponsors, check out our latest tips on building your email list!

Create a Sponsor Outreach List

Finally, you’ll want to compile a list of potential sponsors to reach out to. This is a step you’ll need to carefully consider, as it’s important to only work with companies that your audience is going to be interested in.

This is key. If you are sponsored by a brand that is completely unrelated to your own, your subscribers may see this as nothing but a monetization exercise and lose trust in the value of your content. For example, if your brand promotes healthy living and you start working with a fast-food brand, your audience may be turned off by this sponsorship and are likely to unsubscribe.

Do some research on your subscriber list and pick like-minded brands that your audience will be connected to.

How Can I Get Sponsorship by Email?

If you’re looking to send out an email encouraging companies to sponsor you, there are a few key points to remember.

The first step is to determine what you want from a potential sponsor. Whether that’s financial compensation, free products/services, or content for your next newsletter, you need to be transparent on your goals for sponsorship and communicate this.

It’s also important to outline why it would be beneficial for sponsors to work with you. What are they going to get out of this marketing opportunity, and why should they work with you over someone else?

Our last piece of advice is to keep things personal. If you can do some research and find the specific department in a company to email, this will hugely increase your chances of securing a sponsor. You could even call ahead and build a relationship with the sponsorship team and personally address your email to a specific individual. Show that you genuinely care and aren’t just sending a blanket email to hundreds of companies.

Wrap-Up - How beehiiv Can Help

We hope after reading this guide you’re raring to go with your email sponsorship strategy in 2023! Get started today by beginning a free trial with beehiiv. Our newsletter platform offers a range of benefits that will be perfect for reaching out to sponsors, including unlimited sending, A/B testing for subject lines, and Integrated Referral Programs.

Sign up to beehiiv today for free - we can’t wait to hear how you get on with your email newsletter partnerships!