---
aliases: ["Quarterly Sponsor Outreach"]
Is A: Procedure
Belongs to: "[[responsibility-sponsorships]]"
Cadence: Quarterly
Owner: "[[person-luca-rossi]]"
---
# Quarterly Sponsor Outreach

Sponsorship revenue does not grow passively — it requires systematic pipeline development. This quarterly outreach procedure ensures the business maintains a healthy flow of potential sponsors by identifying, researching, and contacting at least 20 qualified prospects each quarter. Managed through Airtable for pipeline tracking, this process keeps [[measure-sponsorship-mrr]] growing and reduces the risk of revenue gaps when existing sponsors churn. [[person-matteo-cellini]] plays a key role in executing and following up on outreach.

## Steps

- [ ] Review the current sponsor pipeline in Airtable: how many prospects are in each stage (identified, contacted, in conversation, proposal sent, closed)?
- [ ] Analyze which sponsor categories and company sizes have converted best historically — use this to focus outreach efforts
- [ ] Research and build a target list of 25-30 potential sponsors using industry directories, competitor analysis, and newsletter audience demographics
- [ ] Qualify each prospect: does their product/service align with the audience? Do they have an active content marketing or sponsorship budget?
- [ ] Narrow the list to the top 20+ prospects and assign each to a tier (high-priority, standard) based on fit and estimated deal size
- [ ] Draft personalized outreach emails for high-priority prospects — reference specific audience overlap, recent content, and what makes this placement unique
- [ ] Brief [[person-matteo-cellini]] on the outreach plan and delegate standard-tier outreach for him to personalize and send
- [ ] Send all outreach emails and log them in Airtable with dates, status, and follow-up reminders
- [ ] Review the quarter's [[measure-close-rate]] and adjust the outreach volume target if the conversion rate has changed
- [ ] Set the revenue target for next quarter based on pipeline health and share it with the team

## Notes

- Personalization is non-negotiable for high-priority prospects. Generic outreach gets ignored. Reference the prospect's product, a recent campaign of theirs, or a specific data point about audience fit.
- The 20+ outreach target assumes a 15-20% response rate and a 25-30% close rate on responses. If your actual rates differ, adjust the volume accordingly — the math must work backwards from the revenue goal.
- Do not neglect warm leads. Past sponsors who did not renew, prospects who said "not now" 6 months ago, and inbound inquiries that went cold are often easier to convert than cold outreach.
- Use [[procedure-monthly-subscriber-metrics]] data in outreach materials — sponsors want to see audience growth, engagement rates, and demographic alignment.
- Coordinate outreach timing with the content calendar. If a major pillar article or high-profile podcast guest is coming up, use it as a hook in outreach emails to demonstrate content quality and momentum.
