Most advice about getting sponsored is recycled guesswork. This guide is built on what we can actually measure: 1.1M+ verified sponsorship deals across 67K+ channels. Here is the process that matches how brands really buy.
The single biggest mistake creators make is pitching brands that have never sponsored a YouTube video. Cold-pitching a brand with no creator budget is a numbers game you lose by default. Brands that sponsored a creator last month have budget, a process, and a person whose job is to do more deals.
Across the 1.1M+ deals we track, the same pattern holds in every niche: active sponsors keep sponsoring. Build your target list exclusively from brands with recent, verifiable deals in your content category. You can browse them free by niche on our category pages or the YouTube sponsors list.
A brand that only sponsors 5M-subscriber channels will not answer a 20K-subscriber channel, no matter how good the pitch is. The reverse is also true: some brands specifically prefer smaller channels for their engaged audiences and lower rates.
Before pitching, check who a brand actually sponsors. If their roster includes channels within roughly 5x of your size in either direction, you are a realistic candidate. If you are under 100K subscribers, start with our free list of sponsors that work with small channels.
Brands qualify creators fast, and "what are your rates?" is usually the first reply you get. Creators who answer with a confident, defensible number close deals; creators who say "what's your budget?" signal inexperience.
Rates are driven by average views and niche, not subscriber count. Get a starting range with our free sponsorship rate calculator, then adjust for your audience quality and deliverables (integration vs. dedicated video).
The most active sponsors in our data this year, and the ones with a track record of working with channels under 100K subscribers:
There are two kinds of "get sponsored" websites. Marketplaces list your channel and wait for brands to come to you; they are easy to join, take a percentage of deals, and mostly serve brands hunting for the cheapest inventory. Research tools flip it: you see which brands are actively spending on creators like you, and you go to them.
The math favors research. Inbound marketplace deals are competitive and price-driven, while a targeted pitch to a proven sponsor competes with almost nobody, because most creators never do the research. That is the entire reason SponsorRadar exists: we track who sponsors whom across YouTube so you can pitch buyers, not lottery tickets.
There is no fixed minimum. In our tracked data, brands regularly sponsor channels under 10,000 subscribers when the audience is tightly matched to their product. What matters more than subscriber count is average views, niche fit, and audience trust.
Target brands with a proven track record of sponsoring small channels rather than the giant advertisers everyone pitches. Brands that sponsor many sub-100K channels have a working playbook for smaller creators and are far more likely to reply.
Sponsorship rates vary mostly with average views and niche. Finance and tech audiences command higher rates than entertainment. A common starting point is a rate per 1,000 expected views; use a rate calculator to get a range for your channel size and niche.
Marketplaces are passive: you list yourself and wait, and the platform takes a cut. Direct outreach to brands that already sponsor creators like you converts better because you are pitching proven buyers. Most working creators do both, with direct outreach driving the bigger deals.
The pitch that works is short and specific: who your audience is, proof they act on your recommendations, and a reason this exact brand fits. Reference the brand's recent creator deals; it shows you did the research and frames you as the next logical deal, not a cold ask.
Attach a one-page media kit with your channel stats, audience profile, and rates. Keep it current; a media kit with last year's numbers reads as inactive.
Sponsorships are bought by people, not brands: usually someone in influencer marketing, partnerships, or growth. Generic contact forms and support emails go nowhere. Find the person who runs creator deals and write to them directly.
Then follow up. Most creator deals close after a nudge, not the first email. Two polite follow-ups a few days apart is standard practice, not spam.