When it comes to Podcast sponsorship outreach, you likely will think you need a few weeks lead time. But you probably need a month or more. So today’s tip: Start way before you think you need to.
Most brands/sponsors aren’t ready to drop money as soon as you email them, or even within the same week. And bigger brands might have a NET-30 or NET-60 payment schedule for invoices, meaning that money won’t even come in for a while.
So don’t start when you see you need sponsors for upcoming episodes. You should have a sort of sales funnel for regular outreach — I’ve had brands decline, then come back in 6-12 months.

Oh and a bonus tip: most organizations are setting budgets at the end of the year. I reach out to all previous and potential sponsors in early October to lock up sponsorship for the upcoming year. Put that one on your calendar.