Why I Joined Brand Deal Wizard As A Podcaster: The 4-Week Sponsorships Course

Wanting to secure more consistent, long-term brand deals and sponsorships, here’s why I joined Justin Moore’s sponsorship course, Brand Deal Wizard.

When I launched The Thought Card Podcast in 2018, I had no long-term monetization plan. Like most podcasters, I was too concerned with getting the hang of things — learning the tech, interviewing guests, creating show notes (grab my free podcast show notes checklist), and keeping consistent, to name a few. However, it wasn’t long after that I started to feel burnout and wished I was generating enough income to hire a podcast editor and cover other production costs.

I started monetizing my podcast with affiliate marketing and accepted one-off donations through Buy Me A Coffee, but I had bigger plans. I wanted to land paid brand deals, so podcast sponsorships became a long-term monetization goal. 

But (and this one is a biggie) I had no idea where to start, and the attempts I made fell flat.

Furthermore, I didn’t have 5,000 or 10,000 podcast downloads per episode, a requirement to join many podcast ads marketplaces.

Although I was on my own, I had a few things going for me:

1. My audience of financially savvy travelers were engaged. They binged my archives and tuned in every other week for new content.
2. I had a unique perspective on travel and personal finance. I spent the last three years building trust with my audience and peers in both industries by publishing new episodes regularly, attending conferences, writing books, etc. 
3. I had the creativity to bring something new to the table besides traditional 15, 30, or 60-second ads.
4. There were rumblings that other indie podcasters were making money through podcast sponsorships, even with a small audience.

In 2021, I worked with a podcast monetization coach, Debbie Arcangeles, to learn how to pitch and negotiate podcast sponsorships.

Simply put — I wanted to learn how to fish so I could fish on my own.

The investment paid off because I landed my first sponsor right after completing the program. Since then, I haven’t looked back. 

I’ve had the pleasure of working with incredible brands such as Expedia, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, and several tourism boards across the United States. Working with brands had become one of my largest income streams, and by Fall, I had quit my job to pursue creative entrepreneurship. In addition to hosting The Thought Card Podcast, I also write a biweekly newsletter curating funding opportunities for creatives called Grants For Creators. I’m also the founder of WOC Podcasters (Women of Color), a podcasting community connecting Women of Color audio creators to resources and opportunities.

Now it’s time to invest in myself again. I want to learn how to get consistent brand deals and confidently charge more. This time, I’ve enrolled in Justin Moore’s Brand Deal Wizard course, a live cohort-based 4-week program for creators looking to find and negotiate sponsorships.

But how did I know that Justin was the right mentor for me? Well, it started with his weekly newsletter, Creator Wizard.

This post may contain affiliate links, and I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

About Creator Wizard Newsletter

A few months ago, I was introduced to Justin Moore on Twitter (@justinmooretfam), and immediately I got hooked on his content.

Justin Moore is an energetic sponsorship coach with extensive experience working with brands. Along with his wife April, he has been a full-time creator for over 7 years and has personally made over $4M working with brands. He has also run an influencer marketing agency for over 5 years that has helped other creators earn an additional $3M.

Justin brings a very unique perspective because not only has he been a creator in the trenches doing sponsorships for years but by running an agency, he has insider knowledge behind how big brands choose which influencers to partner with and why they pass on others. 

I subscribed to Justin’s weekly newsletter, Creator Wizard, which shares brand partnership opportunities. Every Thursday, there’s a list of brands to pitch and their contact info — unlock this bonus by recommending the newsletter to your friends. Justin even suggests angles you can explore when reaching out. Did I mention this newsletter is available for free? Yeah, that part!

Creator Wizard keeps me informed and helps me find potential partners. So, when Justin mentioned in his newsletter that his 4-week live course was opening up, which he only teaches 3x per year, I signed up.

Here are (3) reasons why I enrolled in Brand Deal Wizard as a podcaster.

Why I Signed Up For Brand Deal Wizard With Justin Moore

1. Cohort-based Learning 

While asynchronous, self-paced courses are beneficial, I learn best in group settings where I can attend live classes, interact with other students, and ask questions in real-time.

Throughout this program, Justin will teach you his Sponsorship Wheel framework and give you a step-by-step system to get consistent brand deals. Classes generally last 1 hour plus 30 minutes for Q&A at the end.

Here’s the schedule:

Week 1: Proven pitch strategies

Week 2: Negotiation and pricing strategies

Week 3: Handling complex feedback

Week 4: Brand nurturing strategies and partnership extension tactics

Overall, this course is for you if you’re looking for an interactive learning environment, an engaged community, and feedback.

2. Secure Long-term Partnerships 

By consuming Justin’s free content (watching his YouTube videos and listening to some of his podcast interviews), I have stopped thinking that brand deals are an unpredictable revenue stream.

Brand deals can become predictable if you do a few things like pitch new brands regularly and pitch brands you’ve worked with in the past.

Knowing that I’ve potentially left thousands of dollars on the table (and will continue to do so without guidance) was enough for me to enroll in Brand Deal Wizard. I’m really looking forward to learning how to develop a post-campaign re-engagement strategy, roping in past clients with fresh ideas.

3. Staying Organized and Tracking Key Metrics

Justin also provides additional resources such as calculators, worksheets, customizable case study templates, and checklists to quickly implement what you’re learning. These resources will continue to come in handy long after the course is over.

Overall, I know there are things I can do to improve how I find, pitch, nurture, and negotiate brand deals and these tweaks have the potential to 2x or even 3x my revenue (sky is the limit baby!!!!).

I’m so excited to be part of cohort #6, and I look forward to learning how to consistently generate leads, fine-tune my pitching process, and create a sustainable business through brand deals and sponsorships. 

Who Brand Deal Wizard is for?

This course is for you if you are an influencer looking for a proven and straightforward strategy to pitch, negotiate, and build long-term campaigns with brands.

For those who are new to working with brands, this course will teach you the fundamentals and for those who are experienced, this course will help you achieve results faster and more predictably. While Justin’s principles help creators secure sponsorships on any social platform, he talks mainly about YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok since those tend to be where most consumer brands are partnering with influencers right now.

So what are you waiting for? Enroll in Brand Deal Wizard here. Have questions, email Justin (at) creatorwizard (dot) com.

Follow Justin Moore on Twitter: @justinmooretfam

Follow Creator Wizard on Twitter: @creatorwizard 

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