31 ways to make brands hate your guts

I Convinced a 700K Newsletter to Stop Ignoring Ads

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 [https://sponsormagnet.com] Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com [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 [inquiries@creatorwizard.com])

I Grilled an Ad Agency CEO on How They Pick Creators

Learn how to use a book to build your brand: https://www.creatorwizard.com/lulu [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 [https://sponsormagnet.com] Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com [https://wizardsguild.com]

Why brands aren't responding to you

Brand deals feeling slower and more unpredictable lately? You're not imagining it… and there are 5 specific reasons it's happening (plus what to actually do about each one). * Why AI slop pitches are killing your cold outreach (and the video pitch fix) * How niche creators are weathering this market while generalists get hit hardest * The macro forces (tariffs, budget freezes, layoffs) tanking brand marketing spend * Why your rates might need a reality check (and smarter deal structures to try instead) * The warmest leads you're completely ignoring: how to re-pitch past sponsors Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com [https://sponsormagnet.com] Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com [https://wizardsguild.com] 00:00 Why Brand Deals Are Slowing Down 01:16 AI Slop Pitches Are Flooding Marketer Inboxes 03:52 Niche Creators Are Winning Right Now 06:27 The Macro Landscape: Tariffs, Layoffs & Frozen Budgets 10:38 Your Rates Might Be the Problem 15:01 Your Best Leads Are Already in Your Inbox 20:18 Mindset: Default to Action, Not Victimhood For collaborations or partnerships, shoot us a note: inquiries@creatorwizard.com

31 ways to make brands hate your guts

31 ways to make a brand absolutely hate your guts…and how to avoid every single one of them. Including: * Why ignoring a brand's goals during negotiation kills your chances at repeat deals * The production and revision mistakes that make your contact look terrible to their boss * Post-campaign reporting errors that cost your contact their promotion * Why ghosting after the deal is the fastest way to end a long-term brand relationship Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com [https://sponsormagnet.com] Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com [https://wizardsguild.com] For collaborations or partnerships, shoot us a note: inquiries@creatorwizard.com

I Used Claude to Pitch Sponsors (Easy Prompt)

Most creators walk past potential sponsors at conferences and do nothing. Or they walk up and say "hey I have a podcast, you should sponsor me." Both are wrong. In this video, I'm walking the floor at Google Cloud Next and showing you exactly how I use AI to generate walk-up briefs for sponsor booths in real time — so you always know what to say before you open your mouth. * How to turn a photo of a sponsor's booth into a full research brief in under 3 minutes * The exact conversation openers that signal you've done your homework * Why competitive wedges are the most underrated thing to bring up at a booth * How pre-event research protects your reputation (the Cloudflare example) * The upgrade: doing all of this before you even walk in the door This works whether you're at a massive tech conference or a niche industry event with 200 people. If sponsors are there, this is how you approach them. Grab my book, Sponsor Magnet, to learn how to transform your influence into income: https://sponsormagnet.com [https://sponsormagnet.com] Want one-on-one sponsorship coaching? Join Wizard's Guild: https://wizardsguild.com [https://wizardsguild.com] 00:00 Walking the Floor at Google Cloud Next 00:36 The AI Research Setup in Claude 01:16 Infosys: Building a Walk-Up Brief in Real Time 02:57 Snowflake: Using Competitive Wedges 04:28 Cloudflare: When Research Protects Your Reputation 05:47 The Upgrade: Prep Before You Arrive For collaborations or partnerships, shoot us a note: inquiries@creatorwizard.com