Every platform rewards your content differently - if at all - and many of the biggest are prone to fiddling with the dials (e.g. YouTube's various 'adpocalypses'). The uncertainty means that few professional creators rely on their platforms' native monetisation alone, and feel the need to supplement it with a Patreon, merchandise, or sponsored content.

We're here to talk about the latter. As long as you're honest and transparent with your audience, brand deals and sponsorships can be important for creators of any size, it's just that the bigger ones can charge more. Most importantly, the money can keep you going in a material sense, but such partnerships can also mean product access, social proof and legitimacy, better-performing content if the brand is willing to give you a boost, and overall growth.

So for those of you in our content creators community who've managed to secure a brand deal or sponsorship (congrats!), please help out the up-and-comers by sharing how it came your way. How can creators make themselves more appealing to brands, and how can they reach out? What should they know about dealing with them? How can they retain their own voice and editorial independence while working with them? What other hazards are there?

Task: Share how you landed your first brand deal or sponsorship

Format: Written or video

How to submit a written entry:

1. Hit the 'submit to this bounty' button just below this description - do not use the reply button unless you just want to comment on the thread, as replies will not be counted as entries!

2. Add a written response and feel free to include images.

How to submit a video entry:

1. Create your video and post it to your connected TikTok, YouTube or Instagram account.

2. In your post description, please tag us! We're @JustAbout__ on YouTube, @justaboutcommunity on Instagram, and @justaboutcommunity on TikTok. We'd also love it if you included #JustAbout.

3. Hit the 'submit to this bounty' button just below this description - do not use the reply button unless you just want to comment on the thread, as replies will not be counted as entries!

4. Share a link to your post in the box that appears, then expand it so we can view the video on Just About.

Once the deadline closes, we’ll pick 10 submissions, award $4 to each of the winners, and may share them as curated content.

Disclaimer: Geographical and age restrictions apply. Please see our Terms of Use for more information on how bounties are created and rewarded on Just About. One reward available per member.

1. Take care not to breach copyright. Check our copyright policy before submitting.

2. Remember to link your social accounts before submitting multimedia assets!

3. Considering using AI to help? Think twice and first see our approach to AI content on Just About.