newsletter-sponsorship-finder

# Newsletter Sponsorship Finder

Find and rank newsletters for sponsorship opportunities targeting a specific ICP. Uses web search, newsletter directories, and competitor intelligence to build a prioritized list of sponsorship targets.

## Quick Start

```
Find newsletter sponsorship opportunities for [client]. Target audience: [description]. Industry keywords: [keywords].
```

Or with optional filters:

```
Find newsletter sponsorship opportunities for [client].
Target audience: CTOs and DevOps engineers at startups.
Industry keywords: cloud, AWS, DevOps, infrastructure, FinOps.
Budget: $500-2000/placement.
Geographic focus: US.
```

## Inputs

- **Target audience description** (required) — e.g., "CTOs and DevOps engineers at startups"
- **Industry keywords** (required) — e.g., "cloud, AWS, DevOps, infrastructure, FinOps"
- **Budget range** (optional) — for filtering newsletters by sponsorship cost
- **Geographic focus** (optional) — e.g., "US", "Europe", "Global"
- **Output path** (optional) — where to save results, defaults to `clients/<client>/leads/newsletter-sponsorships-YYYY-MM-DD.md`

## Cost

Free — all discovery is WebSearch-based. No API keys required.

## Dependencies

```
pip3 install requests
```

Optional helper script for Substack directory search:

```bash
python3 skills/newsletter-sponsorship-finder/scripts/search_newsletters.py --keywords "cloud,AWS,DevOps" --output json
```

## Process

### Phase 1: Define Target

Accept from user:
- Target audience description (e.g., "CTOs and DevOps engineers at startups")
- Industry keywords (e.g., "cloud, AWS, DevOps, infrastructure, FinOps")
- Budget range (optional, for filtering)
- Geographic focus (optional)

### Phase 2: Discovery (run searches in parallel)

#### A) Direct newsletter search (WebSearch)

Run these searches:
- `"[industry] newsletter"`
- `"[industry] weekly newsletter developer"`
- `"best newsletters for [target audience]"`
- `"[industry] newsletter sponsorship"`
- `"advertise in [industry] newsletter"`

#### B) Newsletter directory search

Search Swapstack/Paved/SparkLoop for relevant newsletters:
- `"site:swapstack.co [industry]"`
- `"site:paved.com [industry]"`
- WebFetch on directory result pages to find listings in the target niche

#### C) Industry-specific discovery

- Search for `"[industry] blog"` and `"[industry] content creator"` to find people who likely also have newsletters
- Search for `"[industry] newsletter" site:linkedin.com` posts
- Search for Substack newsletters: `"site:substack.com [industry keywords]"`
- Optionally run the helper script: `python3 skills/newsletter-sponsorship-finder/scripts/search_newsletters.py --keywords "[keywords]" --output json`

#### D) Competitor sponsorship research

- Search `"[competitor name] sponsor newsletter"` or `"[competitor name] advertise"`
- Check competitor websites for "As seen in" or press pages
- This reveals which newsletters competitors already sponsor (proven audience match)

### Phase 3: Enrich Each Newsletter

For each discovered newsletter, use WebFetch to visit the newsletter page and try to find:

1. **Name** — Newsletter name
2. **Author/Organization** — Who runs it
3. **URL** — Signup page or archive
4. **Estimated audience** — subscriber count (often mentioned on sponsorship pages or About pages)
5. **Topic focus** — What it covers
6. **Frequency** — Daily, weekly, monthly
7. **Sponsorship info** — Rates, format (dedicated send, banner, classified), contact
8. **Audience quality** — Is the audience primarily decision-makers or junior folks?
9. **Social proof** — Notable sponsors, testimonials

### Phase 4: Score & Rank

Score each newsletter (0-10):
- Audience overlap with target ICP (+3 max)
- Audience size (+2 for 10K+, +1 for 5K+)
- Sponsorship availability confirmed (+2)
- Reasonable pricing for budget (+1)
- High engagement signals — open rates mentioned, active community (+1)
- Competitors sponsor it — proven audience match (+1)

### Phase 5: Output

Save results to the specified output path as markdown:

```markdown
# Newsletter Sponsorship Opportunities
**Target audience:** [description]
**Industry:** [keywords]
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD

## Tier 1: Must-Sponsor (Score 8+)
| Newsletter | Author | Est. Audience | Frequency | Sponsorship Rate | Contact | Score |
|-----------|--------|--------------|-----------|-----------------|---------|-------|

## Tier 2: Strong Fit (Score 5-7)
| Newsletter | Author | Est. Audience | Frequency | Sponsorship Rate | Contact | Score |
|-----------|--------|--------------|-----------|-----------------|---------|-------|

## Tier 3: Worth Exploring (Score 3-4)
| Newsletter | Author | Est. Audience | Frequency | Sponsorship Rate | Contact | Score |
|-----------|--------|--------------|-----------|-----------------|---------|-------|

## Competitor Sponsorship Intel
| Competitor | Newsletters They Sponsor | Notes |
|-----------|------------------------|-------|

## Next Steps
1. Reach out to Tier 1 newsletters for rate cards
2. Request media kits from Tier 2 newsletters
3. Set calendar reminder to refresh this list quarterly
4. Monitor competitor sponsorships monthly
```

## Tips

- Run once per client to establish a sponsorship pipeline
- Refresh quarterly as new newsletters launch frequently
- Check competitor sponsorships monthly — if a competitor starts sponsoring a newsletter, it validates the audience
- Combine with `agentmail` to automate initial outreach to newsletter operators
- Use `company-contact-finder` when a newsletter's sponsorship contact is not publicly listed
- Newsletters with 5K-50K subscribers often offer the best ROI for B2B sponsorships — large enough audience, small enough for personal touch