- Brands pay for access to real people, not follower counts — small, engaged communities are a strong pitch.
- Build an 8-slide deck that leads with your audience, then offer three packages so brands pick a size, not a yes or no.
- Follow up at least twice; most sponsorship deals close after the second message, not the first.
It's tempting to think sponsorship is only for communities with thousands of members. It isn't. Brands don't pay for follower counts, they pay for access to real people who'll actually try their product. A tight-knit group of 200 people who show up every week is often a better pitch than 20,000 passive followers.
Know your numbers before you pitch anyone
Before you write a single message, get three things straight:
- Audience: age range, city, gender split, what they spend money on.
- Reach: list size, typical event attendance, social and WhatsApp reach.
- Proof: photos from recent events, your repeat-attendance rate, a couple of member quotes.
Most organisers have never written any of this down. Doing it once makes every future pitch faster.
Build an 8-slide deck
Keep it short. A long deck signals uncertainty; a tight one signals you know exactly what you're offering.
| Slide | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | Community name, one-line description, your best photo |
| 2 | Who comes: age, city, interests, spend |
| 3 | Numbers: members, attendance, reach, repeat rate |
| 4 | What you do: event formats and frequency |
| 5 | Past partners and results (or a founding-partner offer) |
| 6 | Packages and prices |
| 7 | What the brand gets: mentions, sampling, content, data |
| 8 | Contact and next step |
Price in packages, not one number
Give brands a size to choose, not a yes-or-no decision. Three tiers work well:
| Package | Includes | Example price |
|---|---|---|
| Supporter | Logo on event page, one post, sampling at one event | $300/event |
| Partner | Above, plus a branded activation, member discount code | $750/month |
| Headline | Above, plus naming rights for a series, email feature | $2,000/month |
Free product is a reasonable way to land your first partner. It's not a reasonable way to land your second — by then you should be charging.
Once you have a couple of partners, a platform like Tribe IRL can list your community in its sponsorship marketplace, so brands looking for communities like yours can find you directly.
Who to approach first
Skip the big national brands to start. The easiest yeses are:
- Brands launching or expanding in your city
- Local businesses near your regular venues
- Brands your members already buy from — ask them directly what they use
Outreach that actually gets replies
Message the marketing or partnerships lead directly, not a general inbox. A short first message works better than a long one:
Most deals close after the second follow-up, not the first message. Follow up two or three times before assuming no.
Module 3 of Community Leaders Club includes a ready-to-use sponsor deck template, a rate card and 20 outreach scripts.
See membership optionsFrequently asked questions
There's no strict minimum. What matters more than size is engagement: attendance rate, repeat visits, and how well you know your audience. Communities under 500 members regularly land sponsors.
Value each deliverable separately (people reached, content created, exclusivity) and add them up, rather than picking one number. A simple starting range for a small community is $300–$750 per event or month.
It's a reasonable way to land your very first partner as proof of concept. After that, move to a paid rate — repeated in-kind deals train brands to expect free access.