From Mountain Dew to G-Fuel | Landing Sponsors for Your Stream
Gaming is a world filled with all sorts of ambitious individuals. From young bucks looking to flex their entrepreneurial spirit to older gamers looking to, well, make a buck, the gaming world is a great way to not only have fun but also make some extra moolah on the side.
If you’re thinking of monetizing your stream, here are several tips to help you land quality sponsors.
Start with the Right Intentions
Before you begin hunting for the best sponsorship deals, it’s important to align your intentions. Remember, unless you’re an exception to the rule, you didn’t get into gaming — and streaming, in particular — purely out of a desire to make money.
Chances are you’re a born and bred gamer and streamer. You’re good at what you do. And you must maintain that aspect of your gaming as you try to monetize your efforts.
In other words, make sure that you don’t let your new money-making focus get in the way of your channel’s content. Create content that you’re interested in. Make sure it lines up with your passions. Stay focused on engaging with your audience not earning the almighty dollar. If you can do that, you’ll be able to grow, even as you start to make money.
Make Sure You’re Ready to Monetize
It’s also important to take a minute and consider if you’re ready to monetize your channel. You don’t need a huge following to make some money, but you do need to have a few things in order.
Let’s start with audience size. For instance, if you want to be a Twitch affiliate, you need to meet certain thresholds, like 500 total minutes broadcast within the last 30 days as well as at least 50 followers and an average of three viewers or more at the same time. Consider how you want to make money and then make sure your stream is up to the task.
Also, take some time to clean up your online presence. Review things like your info section, images, and other aspects of your profile. Are you being concise and clear with your wording? Do things look sloppy? Are you using quality graphics that you have the right to use?
You don’t want potential sponsors showing up on your stream and being turned off by the aesthetics. Make sure to set the stage, beforehand.
Build Your Personal Brand
Once your stream is good to go, it’s time to consider your personal brand. You want to establish a strong presence outside of your stream if you want to attract more financial offers.
You can do this in lots of ways. Cultivate a social media following. Offer to write for gaming sites. Make guest appearances on other streams.
You can even look for splashier items, like video game writing. From game guides and sales copy to reviews, media scripts, walk-throughs, and more, there are a lot of ways to get involved on the development side of things. This can be a great way to beef up your resume with work on real-world projects.
Develop Your Network
Along with your personal brand, you want to develop a solid network. This should focus on both inbound and outbound considerations.
For instance, an outbound consideration might be joining an influencer group or a Facebook Group with lots of potential for sponsorship leads. This can help you begin to rub shoulders with the right kind of people.
As far as inbound marketing is concerned, you want to do things like clean up your LinkedIn summary to make it clear that you’re looking for sponsors. You should also take the time to engage and interact with those in your network.
Research Brands to Work With
Next up, consider what kind of brands you want to work with. This could be a company that you admire within the gaming industry. It could also be something else that resonates with your audience, such as an energy drink label or food delivery service.
As you consider brands, don’t be desperate. Instead, ask the right questions, like:
- Is the brand’s product actually a good idea for most people?
- Are they a trustworthy operation?
- Are you willing to use and endorse their products over time?
Make sure you identify brands that you would actually want to work with. Once you’ve done that, look for connection points, such as a contact form for affiliates or reaching out to an employee on LinkedIn.
Don’t Forget the Details
As you begin to reach out, you want to have a few final details in place. For instance, have a solid media kit ready to go as well as your own contract that lists your terms and conditions for working with sponsors just in case a sponsor doesn’t have one.
You don’t have to stick to your contracts and media kit specs if you find that a potential sponsor wants to bargain. However, it’s good to have these things ready to go just in case.
Monetizing Your Stream the Right Way
From setting the stage to finding sponsors to navigating the negotiations, there are plenty of considerations when it comes to landing sponsors for your stream.
If you can go about the process thoughtfully, though, you can turn your gaming into more than just a fun hobby. It can become a bonafide stream of income that enables your lifestyle and allows you to spend that much more time at the controls.
