This guide stops before the pitch itself. Work through the checklist first so the facts, fit, and possible placement are ready when you decide to contact a brand.
Write down who your readers are
Describe your publication in one plain sentence, then note the topics readers come for, the people it serves, and any geography or professional context you can support. Use what you know from your own publication and reader feedback; label assumptions instead of presenting them as measured facts.
Leave with: A short audience profile you can reuse while checking sponsor fit.
Make a fit list before making a contact list
Write down a few product categories that naturally belong beside your editorial promise. For each possible brand, note why a reader might care, whether you can speak honestly about the product, and any category or claim you would avoid. This is a screening exercise, not an endorsement.
Leave with: A small list of plausible categories and a reason for each fit.
Save a dated, comparable evidence snapshot
Pull a recent period from your email platform and record its dates. Gather the audience or delivery count you can verify, clicks or other available engagement, and any useful growth context. Add the measurement source and keep estimates separate from observed results. Open rates need context: Apple Mail Privacy Protection can preload tracking pixels and inflate reported opens, so do not use opens alone as proof of attention. Mailchimp
Leave with: A one-page snapshot with dates, definitions, and caveats beside every number.
Mock up one realistic placement
Choose a representative issue and mark where a sponsorship could appear. Draft a clearly labeled sample block with a plausible length and format, then check that it fits the newsletter’s voice and reading flow. Keep the example separate from a real endorsement and do not imply that a sponsor has approved it.
Leave with: A sample placement that shows the format without pretending a campaign exists.
Decide how a sponsor could measure a click
If the destination supports it, agree on a tracked link before publication. Use a consistent campaign tag such as utm_source=newsletter, utm_medium=email, and a campaign name both sides can recognize; test the destination and save the final URL. Google Analytics documents these parameters for identifying campaign traffic. A tracked click is one signal, not a guarantee of sales or reader intent. Google Analytics Help
Leave with: A tested destination URL and a shared note about what it can measure.
Prepare the reader-trust details
Before a deal is agreed, identify how paid or otherwise material brand relationships will be disclosed beside the endorsement. Decide what product claims you can personally support and which need evidence or should be left out. FTC staff guidance says disclosures should be easy to notice and understand and placed with the endorsement; use the guidance for the format and channel you publish on. Federal Trade Commission
Leave with: A draft disclosure approach and a clear line around claims you will not make.
Ready to write?
Take your notes into the conversation.
Once your preparation notes are in place, use Sendlark’s separate creator guide for the sponsor-pitch conversation itself.
Open the sponsor-pitch guideReference notes
These public references support the measurement and disclosure notes above. The other checklist items are practical preparation prompts, not claims attributed to a research report.
- FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are AskingFederal Trade Commission
FTC staff answers on truthful endorsements, material relationships, and making disclosures easy to notice and understand.
- Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) FAQsMailchimp
Explains how Apple Mail Privacy Protection can distort open metrics and how to use other engagement measures.
- URL builders: Collect campaign data with custom URLsGoogle Analytics Help
Describes campaign URL parameters that identify the source, medium, and campaign for referral traffic.