Sponsor Magnet: Attract, Price, & Execute Dream Partnerships

Learn how to use a book to build your brand: https://www.creatorwizard.com/lulu
Thanks to Lulu for sponsoring this episode!

Ever wonder what goes into planning a live event where attendees walk away with actual brand deals? In this behind-the-scenes team call, Justin sits down with his event producer Sarah and coaching program director Bianca to plan Sponsor Games 2027 — and get real about what worked, what didn't, and what needs to change.

Whether to chase niche industry sponsors or stick with broad creator-economy brands

Why the brand deal giveaway needs to be baked into the programming instead of bolted on

How to fix the "chicken or egg" problem of surveying attendees before ticket sales roll in

The behind-the-scenes story of landing a surprise Hard Rock Cafe sponsorship

Whether Sponsor Games might be leaving San Antonio for a new city in 2027

Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com

Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com

00:00 Behind the Scenes: Planning Sponsor Games 2027
01:16 Meet the Team & Last Year's Wins
01:54 Should We Bring In Niche Industry Sponsors?
04:29 Why Newer-to-Influencer Brands Are Easier to Land
06:55 The Logistics Nightmare of Giving Away Brand Deals
08:32 Fixing Our Attendee Survey Strategy
09:22 Was the Brand Deal Giveaway Actually Worth It?
12:58 The Fix: Bake It Into the Programming
14:29 Revisiting Our Northstar Goal
16:09 How Do We Actually Pull This Off?
19:54 Rethinking the Sponsor Agreement Structure
21:13 Why We Need Sponsor Testimonials
23:01 Are We Inserting Ourselves Too Much?
26:11 Building Multi-Year Sponsor Relationships
28:36 Niche vs. Broad: Choosing the Right Sponsors
30:17 Surveying Past Attendees for Better Pitches
32:00 Finding Adjacent Brands Creators Actually Use
34:20 The Hard Rock Cafe Deal Story
35:45 Are We Moving to a New City?
36:50 Positioning the Sponsorship Pitch for 2027
38:48 Lulu's Return as Title Sponsor
40:36 Staying True to What Actually Works

For collaborations or partnerships, shoot us a note: inquiries@creatorwizard.com

Ever send a pitch, follow up once, and then just... stare at your inbox wondering if you blew it? In this episode, Justin breaks down five specific follow-up approaches you can use when a brand goes quiet after your pitch — so you can stop second-guessing yourself and start getting responses.

Why "just circling back" is killing your follow-ups (and what to say instead)

The channel-switching trick that gets replies in minutes, not weeks

How to use the ROPE method to make your follow-up impossible to ignore

The "lunch and learn" pitch that positions you as a resource, not a beggar

When it's actually time to let a lead go (and how to do it without burning the bridge)

Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com

Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com

00:00 Why Your Follow-Ups Aren't Working
00:28 Approach #1: Stop Just "Circling Back"
02:01 Approach #2: Change the Channel
03:16 Approach #3: Get Specific with the ROPE Method
06:26 Approach #4: Offer Something Unexpected
10:47 Approach #5: Knowing When to Let It Go

For collaborations or partnerships, shoot us a note: inquiries@creatorwizard.com

Two travel creators landed Google through LinkedIn — with fewer than 1,300 followers.

Juliana and Martine are a husband-and-wife travel creator duo who turned every brand campaign they complete into a public portfolio piece. In this episode, they break down exactly how they use LinkedIn to get on the radar of marketers at major brands — and why follower count has nothing to do with it.

Why posting about your creator business on LinkedIn feels cringe at first — and how to push through it

The "post-campaign summary" content strategy that gets brands to repost your work for you

How to think about LinkedIn as a portfolio, not a social platform

Why they pitch outbound every single week even as inbound starts rolling in

What joining a sponsorship coaching system did for their confidence and deal quality

Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com

Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com

00:00 Why Travel Creators Should Be on LinkedIn
01:56 Pushing Through the "Cringe" of Posting
03:18 How to Approach Your First LinkedIn Post
04:49 Juggling LinkedIn With Your Normal Content
06:10 What Content Performs Best on LinkedIn
08:30 Working With Non-Travel Brands Like Adobe
11:37 Thinking About Every Campaign as a Portfolio Piece
12:36 Balancing Inbound vs. Outbound Pitching
14:04 Why Follower Count Doesn't Matter on LinkedIn
15:00 The Cold Connection Request Strategy
15:22 How Sponsorship Coaching Changed Their Business
17:27 Building a System vs. Waiting for Deals
20:27 Advice for Creators Just Getting Started on LinkedIn

For collaborations or partnerships, shoot us a note: inquiries@creatorwizard.com

You have a 700,000-person newsletter and almost zero sponsorship revenue. That's exactly what's happening at footballguys.com — and it's one of the biggest opportunities I've ever seen.

Why reactive sponsorship strategies keep you stuck working with the wrong brands

How to build a dream brand list that actually serves your audience

The psychographic survey trick that turns a pitch into a no-brainer for advertisers

Why CPM pricing is killing your leverage — and what to do instead

How sponsorships can become your most predictable revenue stream

Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com

Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com

00:00 Leaving Money on the Table at Footballguys.com
01:16 Why They Only Took "Easy" Sponsors
02:52 Editorial Standards and Saying No to Bad Fits
04:02 The Problem with Reactive Sponsorship Strategy
05:24 Building a Dream Brand List Around Your Audience
06:12 Psychographic Surveys and Audience Segmentation
08:18 Reversing the Survey to Engineer Your Pitch
09:44 Overcoming Internal Resistance to Change
11:29 Why Sponsorships Can Be Your Most Predictable Revenue
13:08 AI as a Strategy Tool for Sponsor Outreach
14:08 Sponsorships as Audience Service (Not Just Revenue)
15:34 Every Revenue Stream Has Its Version of Hard

For collaborations or partnerships, shoot us a note: inquiries@creatorwizard.com (mailto:inquiries@creatorwizard.com)

Learn how to use a book to build your brand: https://www.creatorwizard.com/lulu

Thanks to Lulu for sponsoring this episode!

Brands like Nestlé, Unilever, and General Motors are spending millions on creator partnerships right now - but most creators have no idea how those decisions actually get made. Today, I’m talking with Gabe Gordon, CEO of Reach Agency, about…

Who really controls the short list of creators that get picked for campaigns

Why "here's my rate card, where's the brief" is the wrong way to approach agencies

How brands are using creator content far beyond a single sponsored post

The uncomfortable truth about AI slop - and influencer slop

Why LinkedIn might be the most underrated tool for landing brand deals

What actually earns you a long-term brand partnership (hint: it's not your follower count)

Follow our guest: Gabe Gordon - gabe@reach.agency | reachagency.com

Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com

Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com