How to find podcast sponsors
The fastest way to find podcast sponsors is to start with companies that already sponsor shows like yours, find the person at each one who buys sponsorships, and send them a short pitch. Below is how we would do it by hand, and which parts SponsorHawk does for you.
1. List the shows your listeners also hear
Write down ten to twenty podcasts in your category with a similar audience. Size matters less than topic: a company selling payroll software wants payroll buyers, whatever the download count. Go through recent episodes and show notes and note every sponsor read you hear. A company that paid for a slot on a comparable show has budget for podcast sponsorship and has already said yes to the format.
2. Keep the sponsors with budget right now
Some names on that list will be stale. We give more weight to a company that raised money recently, one that is running ads, or one that just hired someone into a partnerships or marketing role. Those are the same four signals a SponsorHawk campaign reads per company; how each is measured is in how SponsorHawk decides a company has sponsorship budget.
3. Find the person who buys
A pitch sent to a general inbox rarely reaches the budget. Look for titles like head of partnerships, brand partnerships manager, demand generation or media buyer, then find a working email address for that person.
4. Send a short pitch
Four parts are enough: the show and who listens, why this company fits (name the comparable show it sponsors), one concrete ask such as a single episode or a short run, and an offer to send your media kit and rate card. Follow up once if there is no answer.
Where SponsorHawk fits
You give SponsorHawk the podcast name. It works out the topic, audience and category, finds companies that sponsor comparable shows, finds the people to pitch and writes the emails. Pitches go out from SponsorHawk's own pre-warmed inboxes, never from your mailbox or domain. You see the sponsor list and can preview the pitch before anything sends. When a sponsor replies, SponsorHawk can answer from your media kit; once they ask about price or a call, the thread is handed to you.
Building the sponsor list is free. Sending costs about $0.10 per email, and adding a card grants $10 in credits, which covers the first 100 emails. See pricing.
Other tools for podcast sponsors
Sponsorable is a podcast sponsor database with a free plan and paid plans at $39 and $99 a month; you write and send the emails yourself (SponsorHawk vs Sponsorable). The full list is in best tools to find sponsors.