Micro-Sponsorship
How can GoDaddy be sure that the money they spend on sponsorships creates a return on investment? I've been struggling with this question for a while because I find the idea of sponsorship fascinating. Let's take Diggnation, a popular technology podcast, as an example. GoDaddy has been a sponsor for years and must be seeing an increase in domain sales due to their presence on Diggnation, otherwise they would have pulled the sponsorship long ago. The target audience of Diggnation does seem relevant: Males who love technology + the web and probably have one or two domains. But how does GoDaddy measure returns?
Coupon codes, yes. Does this work though? They are quickly posted on sites like fatwallet.com or retailmenot.com and even people who don't watch the show end up using the code. Whenever people come across the word "coupon" during checkout I bet that 80% google the word coupon and the name of the site they are shopping on. This makes content producers like Diggnation happy but it must make it impossible for sponsors to take those metrics seriously.
A concept I've been toying with lately is Micro Sponsorship. When companies sponsor small niche events with small amounts they can target much more effectively and are getting better deals because they don't have to deal with inflated coupon returns. They could create custom coupon codes for a small number of people at the events. If a big health food store sponsors the annual party of a local health food club with $200 for the buffet they don't just turn the 60 passionate members into potential customers but also show that they care. It's difficult for a transaction like this to take place. I know how hard it is to get through to the right people in companies to pitch a sponsorship request. If there was just a service that made it easy.....
A couple of weeks ago I started my newest project sponsrme.com. It's an email newsletter that connects the two parties. I have companies signed up to one list and sponsorship seekers on the other. What I do is filter requests and send out one email to the sponsor list per week with the most recent requests. Right now I'm focusing on small to medium size events and niche podcasts.
What do you think? Could you imagine using something like this to find niche sponsorship opportunities if I make it easy enough? Would love some feedback in the comments!
