I was late to a brand trip dinner. Never again.

Leaking our Private Sponsor Planning Call

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

The Brand Stopped Responding. Now What?

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

How 1,300 LinkedIn Followers Landed Them Google

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

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]