Once people find out I own a business, I can sometimes see the wheels turning. Maybe she could contribute to our cause in her company’s name or sponsor an upcoming event. It’s why I’ve adopted a multi-level strategy to determine my answer.
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— Ann Gynn
The Hotline
Is That Sponsorship Request Good for My Business?
🟩 ATTRACT → 🟧 CONVERT → ⬜ RETAIN → ⬛ AMPLIFY
As my business has grown, I find I get more requests for me to sponsor or donate for events and charities. I’m not sure what to do. I know it can be a good marketing tool, but I can’t say yes to all of them. How do I respond when I get the next request?
I suggest you don’t wait for the next request to come up with a plan — that’s what I learned from my own experience.
Recently, I received a sponsorship request for a junior women’s golf tournament coming to the Cleveland area. It’s a national event. They sent a letter with a handwritten note, explaining the value of the tournament and asking me to sponsor.
That same week, my business got another letter asking for a donation to a health-related charity.
What did I do? Something that I recommend all entrepreneurs do: Treat donation requests separately from sponsorship opportunities. One is a charitable strategy. The other is a marketing strategy. Then, evaluate each on its merits.
Donations are charitable giving
If you sell tangible products, you’re more likely to get asked to donate products. Either way, establish a policy you can point to when responding to a donation request. For example, opt to review requests once a month and publish a donation-request form on your site. Even better, explain how you decide to donate and note any maximums. One business in my industry specifies the number of donations and stops once it hits that limit. Another in my neighborhood explained its criteria in deciding whether to donate.
Or, as a solo entrepreneur, you can simply tell people the business doesn't donate — that happens through you personally.
Sponsorships should be marketing
Sponsorships are different from charitable donations. They need to serve your business. Ask these questions to assess if the sponsorship is really an opportunity for your business or a charitable ask in disguise:
What will this sponsorship help your business accomplish? Will it increase awareness for your business? Give you access to a target audience? Strengthen your relationship with a client?
What can this opportunity realistically do? A logo on a banner or program won’t generate a flood of leads. It will generate some visibility. A table at an event that draws 500 people in your target audience gives you a chance to engage with people who could turn into customers. A table at an event that draws 1,000 people from the general public won’t.
What benefits does the sponsorship include? Social mentions? Tickets? Speaking opportunity? Inclusion in email? Access to attendees? You can calculate the value of each as it relates to your business. For example, a ticket may cost $250, but using it to ask a prospect to join you could be worth more.
What will you do around the sponsorship? You can leverage the sponsorship beyond the surface-level benefits. Are you willing to create an engaging table where prospects will be open to talking with you and learning about your business? Will you show up at the event? Will you talk about the sponsorship on your social media channels? Can it lead to new content or social shares?
How will you know if the sponsorship worked? Assess the potential qualitative and quantitative metrics that fit the sponsorship parameters and your business goals. After the program, evaluate how your participation helped your business, so you know what to consider — and what not to consider — the next time.
I’ve found treating sponsorships and charitable giving as separate strategies helps make decision-making easier for me. I declined to donate on behalf of my business to the health charity, but did contribute as an individual. I said no to the junior women’s golf tournament sponsorship, but later that month I said yes to the local women’s entrepreneur event.
Got a question you’d like me to answer in a future edition of The Hotline? Call or text Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.
This week: Draft one or two paragraphs for your website explaining your donation and sponsorship strategies. Then, the next ask has somewhere to land besides your gut.
What I Did With AI This Week
I’ve been relegated to using a client’s AI tool, and it isn’t very good. It’s so bad, I go back to doing it myself because I’m quicker and more accurate.
But it got me thinking about how much more time I spend working on a project because I want to see what AI thinks (and often go down the rabbit hole). So I'm trying something new: tracking my client time as “with AI” and “no AI.” Then, I’ll see whether AI saves time or adds to it. And if it’s the latter, I can reassess whether AI's help is worth it.
Have any AI tricks of your own? Hit reply, call, or text the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.
Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads
Blu Dot used Roku Ads Manager to drive incredible results for its furniture sales event. Its strategy hinged on custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.
“Roku has been a top performer,” said Blu Dot’s Claire Folkestad. “We have seen…CPMs lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”
The Marketing Minute
Thanks, but no thanks
Unsubscribe from three email subscriptions you no longer want. Then, study their language and process to see if you should update yours.
The Shortlist
🤝 Get together: More than one-third of bloggers who report strong results collaborate with influencers on the blog. Just 7% of all bloggers do it. Andy Crestodina’s annual blogger survey offers that and more eye-opening results.
🔖 Tag talk: When you get tagged on Instagram, you can add it to your main profile grid. That’s social proof worth using.
🗣️ People-to-people: I gathered expert tips on how to build real audience relationships for a Content Marketing Institute article. One tip that’s easy to know but harder to do: Actively listen.
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Got a question you’d like me to answer in The Hotline? Email me or DM me on LinkedIn. Even better: Text or leave a message on the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.