That YouTube sponsorship money isn't just a myth—it's real, and more accessible than most creators think.

Sponsorships transform your passion into a legitimate revenue stream, often by promoting products you'd recommend anyway. It's essentially getting paid to be yourself—which sounds suspiciously like a dream job.

The hard part? Actually landing those deals. Pitching to brands feels like asking someone to prom—awkward, nerve-wracking, and filled with potential rejection. And if your subscriber count isn't in the millions, you might wonder if you're even worth sponsoring.

Here's the good news: brands are actively hunting for creators of all sizes, not just mega-influencers. This guide gives you a straightforward, repeatable system to pitch and secure YouTube sponsorships—without the usual song and dance that makes most creators quit before they start.

Minimum Requirements for YouTube Sponsorships

To attract sponsors, your YouTube channel should at least meet the monetization requirements set by the platform. This includes having 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours, proving your channel's viability to potential sponsors.

While these metrics serve as a baseline, remember that engagement and content quality are equally crucial in securing sponsorships (how to grow your YouTube channel).

YouTube Sponsorship Rates: What Sponsors Pay

Securing a sponsorship for your YouTube channel is one of the most effective ways to make money on YouTube as a creator. Despite the growing popularity of short-form video platforms like TikTok, nearly half of marketers still allocate their influencer marketing budgets to YouTube, according to a study from Influencer Marketing Hub.

Statista (YouTube stats) reports that YouTube sponsorship rates vary depending on a creator’s subscriber count:

• 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers: Up to $850

• 10,000 to 50,000 subscribers: Up to $2,240

• 50,000 to 500,000 subscribers: Up to $5,859

• 500,000 to one million subscribers: $16,234

It makes sense that the bigger your channel is, the more money you can demand from brand sponsors (how much do YouTubers make). Take automotive-themed YouTube channel DonutMediaTV, for example, which has over 7.8 million subscribers and a reported influencer media value of around $5 million.

But don't count yourself out if you have a smaller channel. Brands prioritize audience engagement and trust, sometimes even over subscriber count. Companies are willing to invest in creators with loyal, engaged audiences—even those with fewer than a million subscribers.

Utilizing Sponsorship Platforms and Networks

Listing your channel on sponsorship platforms can significantly boost your visibility to brands looking for collaborators. Platforms like SponsoredShow and Upfluence connect creators with brands, increasing your chances of securing sponsorships.

These platforms often provide tools to manage collaborations, making it easier to negotiate and maintain partnerships.

Common YouTube Sponsorship Models

There are several types of sponsorships you can get to monetize your channel. These include:

• Product reviews. This sponsorship happens when a brand sends free products in exchange for a video review or mention. (Depending on the size of your YouTube channel, there may be extra compensation alongside the free product.)

• Affiliate partnerships. This sponsorship model gives you a percentage of the money viewers spend through your affiliate links. Commissions can range from 5% to 30% — a scalable way to supplement your income as a YouTube creator.

• Paid sponsorships. This sponsorship is viewed as the traditional influencer collaboration. Brands pay YouTube creators a fixed fee to talk about their products, services, or company. This can range from a single video to a multichannel campaign that spans several videos and sponsored posts.

You don't have to pick one of these sponsorship models. Doug Cunnington, creator of Niche Site Project, says: “As a seasoned YouTube content creator with a knack for internet marketing and SEO, securing sponsorships for my channel has been an integral part of my journey.

“I've delved into various sponsorships, including product reviews, affiliate marketing, and sponsored videos. The array of sponsorships helps diversify my income, and each type offers a unique dynamic to my audience.”

How to Get Sponsored on YouTube

1. Prepare your channel for sponsors

2. Create a media kit

3. Build a pitch list

4. Craft your sponsorship pitch

5. Try sponsorship networks

6. Agree on pricing

7. Wrap up the paperwork

1. Prepare Your Channel for Sponsors

The process of securing YouTube sponsorships begins long before reaching out to brands.

Brands have a checklist of things creators need to do before investing money into them. The more professional your YouTube channel looks, the more likely they are to trust you with their money.

The first (and most important) factor? High-quality content. Sponsors want to work with creators who have engaged audiences, especially if their goal for the campaign is sales or brand awareness. Set up a YouTube studio and post high-quality videos on a regular basis to develop a relationship with your audience — one a brand would pay to tap into.

Other ways to prepare for future YouTube sponsorships include:

• Audit your personal brand. A strong, consistent design can strengthen your image and reputation. Make sure your YouTube banner, channel description, thumbnails, and video titles reflect your brand.

• Create a channel trailer. A channel trailer educates people visiting your channel for the first time. The purpose is to welcome new visitors, explain the topics you talk about, and tell subscribers how often they should expect a new video.

• Increase YouTube video views. Sponsorship rates increase as your subscriber and view count do. Build a larger, more engaged audience by optimizing your videos for the YouTube search algorithm, creating playlists of related videos, using hashtags, and promoting content on other social media channels.

Ali Abdaal is one YouTube creator who puts this into practice. People visiting his YouTube channel see a 1-minute video explaining who Ali is, his medical background, and the topics he discusses on his channel. Brands can easily evaluate whether Ali's YouTube channel is a good fit for their audience.

2. Create a Media Kit

A media kit is a one-page document that highlights key details about your YouTube channel for potential sponsors. Tools like Canva and Visme offer pre-made media kit templates, making it easy to create a professional-looking document.

In your media kit, detail things a business owner would care about when sponsoring you. That includes:

• A brief description about you and your YouTube channel

• Viewer demographics, including a gender, age, and geographic split

• YouTube metrics, such as subscriber count, average views, and engagement rate

• Previous brand deals with results, if you're able to share them

• Testimonials from previous corporate sponsors

3. Build a Pitch List

No matter how well-prepared your YouTube channel is, sponsorship opportunities won’t always come to you.

Doug says: “After reviewing a software I genuinely liked, I reached out to the company about a potential sponsorship. Conversely, some brands approached me after noticing my channel’s strong engagement levels.”

Take a proactive approach to securing a new sponsorship by preparing a pitch list—a spreadsheet of brands you plan to make a deal with.

Holy Grail clients meet three key criteria: they share your target market, have a budget for influencer marketing, and value creative collaborations. While brands that don’t check all three boxes shouldn’t be ruled out entirely, this checklist serves as a helpful guideline.

• “I personally like to reach out to brands that I see are already advertising on social media or YouTube (meaning they do have a marketing budget).” —Sílvia Pinho, creator of Freelancing with Sílvia

Once you've made your pitch, treat the spreadsheet like a mini customer relationship management tool. By including the fields below, you'll have an easy way to track deals and follow up with potential sponsors:

• The potential sponsors' name

• Its target audience

• Previous creator collaborations (if any)

• Contact information of its influencer or marketing manager

• Date contacted

• Planned follow-up date

4. Craft Your Sponsorship Pitch

Pitching can feel scary, especially if you're a new creator. But remember you have value to give — and brands are often willing to spend money on creators who can produce high-quality content on their behalf.

That said, there’s a strategy behind pitching brands for sponsorships. Many creators make the mistake of focusing too much on themselves rather than the brand’s goals.

“What brands care about is their own marketing objectives,” says Justin Moore, sponsorship coach and creator of Creator Wizard. “How can you illustrate that sponsoring you is going to help them accomplish their marketing objectives?”

Justin created the ROPE method to keep sponsorship pitches succinct:

• R: Relevant to a campaign they've run in the past or are currently running

• O: Tie your pitch back to organic content you've already posted to illustrate audience affinity

• P: Proof — show how you've helped another brand achieve results

• E: Easy to execute

Pull on the pain points a brand would have when working with creators to stir up an emotional reaction from your sponsorship proposal.

According to a study from Search Engine Land, 62% of brands seek sponsorships with creators due to high audience engagement. Another 60% aim to reach new audiences, while 42% prioritize revenue generation. Your pitch should clearly demonstrate how you can help a brand achieve these goals.

Sponsorship packages can significantly increase your earnings, especially for micro-influencers with smaller subscriber counts (how much to charge for YouTube sponsorship). A $250 sponsored video could turn into a $1,000 deal by offering additional promotion, such as LinkedIn posts or YouTube Shorts clips for the brand to repurpose.

Unsure where to start? Here's an example YouTube sponsorship pitch to work from:

“Hi Beth,

I'm Elise, the creator behind the Peak Freelance YouTube channel. Our goal is to help freelance writers scale their businesses (much like yours!). We've amassed 10,000 subscribers and have 50,000 hours of watch time across all of our videos.

I'm reaching out because we've had a rare space open for sponsorship and think BRAND would be the perfect fit.

We've helped brands like NAME, NAME, and NAME create content they've repurposed on their own social media channels. One campaign we ran with BRAND also attracted 45,000 views and drove $10,000 in revenue for the company within just two weeks of the video going live.

Our media kit is attached which contains detailed metrics about our channel, previous collaborations, and ways we could work together.

If this is something you'd be interested in, I'd love to chat.”

5. Join Sponsor Networks or Influencer Agencies

Many brands with large influencer marketing budgets work with specialized agencies to source creators and manage sponsorship campaigns.

Reach out to these matchmaking agencies throughout your pitching process. If you can demonstrate results for one of their clients, there's a strong likelihood of being hired for other clients on their roster.

Popular sponsorship agencies include:

• BrandConnect (owned by YouTube)

• Ubiquitous

• Neoreach

• Upfluence

• The Influencer Marketing Factory

6. Negotiate Sponsorship Rates

Talking about money can sometimes feel… awkward. But as a professional YouTube creator, confidence is the secret to closing deals.

“Negotiating sponsorship deals is a dance that requires a good understanding of your value proposition and a mutual win-win scenario,” Doug says.

Doug says: “When I negotiated my first sponsored video, I took time to analyze my channel’s reach and engagement. It wasn’t about underselling or overselling—it was about effectively communicating the real value I could provide to the brand.”

There are several models to choose from when pricing YouTube sponsorships:

• Cost per mille (CPM): A set fee for every 1,000 views your sponsored video gets

• Cost per action (CPA): A set fee for every action, such as website sign-up or purchase

• Commission rate: The percentage of each order placed through your affiliate links

• Flat fee: A flat fee for the sponsorship, regardless of video performance
  
  

• “If brands say you can't work with any of their competitors for 12 months, there's an opportunity cost there you need to quantify and capture in the rates that you're providing.” —Justin Moore, sponsorship coach

There might be some back-and-forth on rates before moving to the next step. Negotiation is good, but don't sway too much on your rates.

Brands might look at you as a creator who'd do anything for money if you cut your fee by 50% after a single email exchange. Remember the value you provide and the audience you're serving throughout the negotiation process. Don't be afraid to move on if there's too big of a difference between your rate and a brand's budget.

7. Finalize Sponsorship Agreements

A legally binding contract protects both you and the sponsoring brand by outlining payment terms, deliverables, and expectations. It should be signed by both parties and include:

• Clear deliverables (e.g. one 30-second mention in a YouTube video)

• Timescales

• Who owns the content

• Payment terms

• Cancellation policy

Larger, established brands often provide ready-made contracts, whereas smaller or local businesses may require you to draft one yourself.

For smaller or local businesses, the onus may be on you. These templates from Indy and Creators Legal can speed up the process, but it's always worth having a lawyer or contract attorney on-hand to review any contracts you're signing.

Scaling Your YouTube Sponsorships

Sponsorships are a superb way to monetize your YouTube channel. Whether it's an affiliate deal or channel-wide sponsorship, use these techniques to initiate a successful collaboration and charge what you're worth.

As your channel begins to grow, there's a good chance that more sponsorships will come to you, rather than fishing for them. Doug summarizes: “While sponsorships can boost your income, remember to only work with brands that align with your channel's ethos and your audience's interests.

“After all, your audience's trust is your greatest asset, and compromising that for a quick buck can have long-term repercussions.”

FAQs

What are the minimum requirements for getting sponsored on YouTube?

While there's no strict minimum, having at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours is recommended as it aligns with YouTube's monetization policy. This baseline helps demonstrate your channel's potential to sponsors.

How can I increase my chances of getting sponsored on YouTube?

Increase your chances by ensuring high-quality, engaging content and meeting YouTube's monetization requirements. Additionally, list your channel on platforms like SponsoredShow to connect with potential sponsors and showcase your channel's value through a detailed media kit.