Guides to finding and sponsoring YouTube creators
Everything we know about working with YouTube creators, written for a small team doing it themselves: where to find creators, how to judge them, what to say, what to pay and how to tell if it worked. No invented benchmarks; where a number matters, we show you how to work it out.
Finding creators
Where to look, and how to tell a good fit from a big number.
Finding YouTubers to sponsor
From a description of your customer to a shortlist: the searches to run, how to read the results, and what to note for each channel.
Vetting a YouTube creator
Nine checks to run on a creator's channel before you pay, and a table of red flags with what each might mean.
YouTube engagement rate
The formula, why to divide by views rather than subscribers, why the median of recent videos matters, and a worked example.
Micro-creators on YouTube
What people mean by micro, why small channels can suit niche products, the trade-offs, and how to work with small creators fairly.
Finding a YouTuber's email
The six places creators publish a business email, in the order worth checking, and what to do when there isn't one.
Reaching out
The first message, the follow-up, and the brief that comes after a yes.
Outreach email templates
Six messages to copy and adapt, from a paid integration to a reply to a rate card, and the mistakes that get outreach ignored.
Following up with a YouTuber
One or two follow-ups, spaced out, each with something new in it. Three short templates, when to stop, and how to take a no.
Writing a sponsorship brief
What a creator needs to know before filming, what to leave to them, and a fill-in brief you can copy.
Deals, money and rules
What to offer, what to pay, how to tell if it worked, and what has to be disclosed.
How much to pay YouTubers
Three ways to work out a fair fee: CPM on median views, working back from what a customer is worth, and flat fee against affiliate.
YouTube sponsorship formats
Eight ways to sponsor a YouTuber, compared on what you get, the work for the creator, and when each one suits.
Product seeding on YouTube
When sending free product to YouTubers works, how to ask first, what to say about disclosure, and how to track what happened.
Measuring YouTube sponsorships
Tracked links, unique codes, surveys and the creator's own numbers, set up before the video goes live, plus the cost-per-acquisition sum.
Sponsorship disclosure rules
What YouTube, the FTC, the ASA and the CMA ask for, who is responsible, and what a clear disclosure looks like in a video.
Free tools
Calculators that run in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Engagement rate calculator
Enter views, likes and comments for a few recent videos to get each video's engagement rate, the median, and median views as a share of subscribers.
Sponsorship cost calculator
Turn a CPM into a fee, turn a creator's quote into an effective CPM, and work out the most a sponsorship can cost before it loses money.