The Man Making YouTubers Millions: How to Get a Sponsor on Youtube with Justin Moore
If you’re a YouTuber, influencer, or content creator trying to make money from brand deals, Justin Moore is the name you need to know.
As a sponsorship coach, he’s helping thousands of creators negotiate high-paying brand partnerships, and his methods have resulted in his students landing over $5 million in deals over the last few years.
In a recent episode of the “Creator Science” Podcast with Jay Clouse, Justin shared his proven strategies for securing consistent sponsorships, even for creators who might think they’re too small to attract brand attention.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- The importance of pitching yourself even when brands approach you.
- Justin’s “Sponsorship Wheel” and how it serves as a roadmap to brand success.
- How to negotiate without leaving money on the table.
- Why audience size doesn’t matter as much as you think, and what you should focus on instead.
Let’s dive in!
The Sponsorship Wheel: An Overview
Justin Moore’s Sponsorship Wheel is an eight-step process that ensures creators can land consistent, high-paying sponsorship deals.
At its core, it’s a sales pipeline, much like the systems used in corporate sales and marketing.
Justin, having experience in both the corporate world and running his own influencer agency, adapted this process to work for creators.
The Sponsorship Wheel consists of eight steps:
- Pitch:
This is the first step, where you either approach a brand or respond to a brand reaching out to you. Even if a brand approaches you, you still need to “sell” yourself, as they are likely talking to many creators at once. - Negotiate:
This is the stage where you work to get the best possible terms, ensuring that you don’t leave any money on the table. - Contract:
Once terms are set, contracts come into play. Here, you either create or review the contract (or hire a pro) to ensure everything is accurately represented. - Concept:
Even if a brand doesn’t explicitly ask for it, submit creative concepts to ensure both parties are aligned on the project expectations. - Produce:
Create the content that meets or exceeds the brand’s expectations in terms of quality, timeliness, and performance. - Feedback Round:
Be open to revisions and edits requested by the brand. This step reinforces the relationship rather than souring it. - Publish:
Ensure that you post the content accurately and on time without micromanagement, and follow up with data and wins. - Analysis:
This final step involves assessing the success of the partnership, tying up loose ends, and pitching the brand for future collaborations.
“A lot of people think their job is done once they hit publish, but there’s more to it than that. You have to tie everything up neatly and pitch for the next deal.” — Justin Moore
The Importance of Pitching and Negotiating
Even if brands reach out to you, the deal isn’t sealed until you successfully pitch yourself.
You’re likely one of many creators they’re considering.
Justin emphasizes the importance of pitching yourself as the best person for the job, even when you have inbound offers.
When it comes to negotiation, Justin advises creators to avoid relying on rate cards.
He says, “Delete your rate card immediately!” Why? Because every brand deal is unique, and a fixed price can limit your potential earnings.
Instead, the key is learning how to negotiate in a way that aligns with the brand’s goals and ensures you’re being paid what you’re worth.
The Common Creator Pitfall: Rushing to Publish
Publishing content might seem like the simplest part of a brand deal, but Justin points out that many creators fail at this step.
They don’t publish on time or they don’t follow up with the brand after publishing.
He emphasizes that doing so can make the brand manager look good to their bosses, and ensures you remain in their good graces for future collaborations.
The RIGHT Way to Pitch Brands
Justin introduced a pitching strategy called the ROPE method, which ensures that your pitch is both compelling and effective. Here’s how it works:
- R – Relevant:
Your pitch needs to be relevant to a current or past campaign the brand has run. - O – Organic:
Your pitch should tie back to organic content you’ve already created on your platform that relates to the brand. - P – Proof:
Show proof that you’ve helped other brands achieve results, giving them confidence in your abilities. - E – Easy to Execute:
Make it easy for the brand to say “yes” by proposing a specific plan of action, complete with deliverables and timelines.
“Your pitch should not be about you; it should be about them. Brands care more about what you can do for them than your follower count.” — Justin Moore
Example Pitch Using the ROPE Method:
Imagine you’re pitching a fitness brand during the New Year season:
- Relevant: You highlight a campaign they ran last year about New Year’s fitness goals.
- Organic: You show that your audience is interested in fitness and personal health, based on past content.
- Proof: Share case studies from previous brand partnerships showing your ability to drive engagement.
- Easy to Execute: You outline a plan for two YouTube integrations and offer to give them usage rights to the content for their paid ads.
Audience Size Doesn’t Matter as Much as You Think
Many creators think they need a massive following to land brand deals, but Justin debunks this myth.
“Brands don’t always care about vanity metrics like follower count. They care about results. You don’t need 100,000 followers to be valuable to a brand.” — Justin Moore
Justin introduces the concept of the Sponsorship Continuum, which helps creators understand how to adjust their approach depending on where they are in their journey:
- Small Audience (Nano/Micro):
Instead of pitching direct integrations, pitch content creation for the brand’s own platforms. Offer to help with their social media strategy or to create content they can use for their website or advertising. - Medium Audience:
At this stage, you can offer a combination of content creation for their platforms and native integrations on your own. - Large Audience:
With a larger following, you can focus on exclusive native content for your platforms, while charging premium rates.
This approach ensures that you’re still valuable to brands no matter your size.
While some brands might insist on working with creators who have large followings, many are open to working with smaller creators if you show them the value you can provide.
How to Find the Right Person to Pitch
Knowing who to pitch is just as important as what you say. Justin advises creators to use LinkedIn to research the marketing teams of companies.
If you’re targeting smaller brands, the Director of Marketing is often your best bet. For larger companies, look for titles like “Influencer Marketing Manager” or “Partnerships Manager.”
Larger companies often delegate their influencer strategy to agencies, so if you’re targeting big brands, you may need to work through an agency.
This can make the process more complex, but it’s necessary if you want to land deals with major corporations.
Final Thoughts: Persistence Pays Off
Landing brand deals takes time and effort, and many creators give up too soon. Justin shares a story of a creator named Thomas, who struggled to land paid brand deals in the scuba industry, where brands were used to only offering free products.
Thomas spent months educating brands on the value of paying creators for their work, and eventually, he broke through, landing a lucrative deal that paid more than his mortgage.
The key takeaway? Don’t give up. Keep pitching, negotiating, and proving your worth to brands, even if it takes time.
Key Takeaways:
- Use the Sponsorship Wheel to guide your process from pitch to post-analysis.
- The ROPE method ensures your pitch is relevant, organic, proven, and easy to execute.
- Audience size doesn’t matter as much as your ability to show value to brands.
- Persistence pays off—don’t be discouraged by early rejections.
If you’re serious about landing brand deals, it’s time to get strategic with your approach.
Delete the rate card, start pitching yourself, and don’t be afraid to educate brands on why you’re the best partner for their next campaign.
(Source : The “Creator Science” Podcast with Jay Clouse featuring Justin Moore)
