Use case

Partnerships and sponsorships

Event organisers, clubs, charities and creators: ask the businesses your audience already buys from to sponsor or partner with you, one honest email at a time.

Updated 1 October 2026 · By Otman Ounana · How we research

Short answer

Each email says one true thing you saw on the company's own site, who you are with one benefit, and offers a short 3-point outline of how a sponsorship could work. You approve the campaign before anything is sent.

Start with this use caseFree, no card. Nothing is sent until you approve it.

Who this is for

Ask companies to sponsor or partner with your event, club or channel, one honest email at a time.

Event organisers
Sports clubs and charities that run events
Creators, podcasters and newsletter writers

Who you would write to

You choose one group of buyers for each campaign. Groups that suit this use case:

Local businesses near your event
Companies that already sponsor similar events
Brands whose customers are your audience

Companies want to reach the people at events like yours but rarely hear about the chance in time. A short email that starts from something true about them is easier to answer than a pitch.

What a first email looks like

Every first email has the same three parts: something you saw on their site, who you are with one benefit, and an offer of a short 3-point outline. Here are 2 examples for this use case.

Ben from Riverside 10K, writing to Hollins Running Shop

The sentence on their site: “We hold gait analysis sessions every Saturday in the shop.”
Subject: Riverside 10K x Hollins Running Shop

Hi Claire,

I saw Hollins Running Shop holds gait analysis sessions every Saturday in the shop.

I'm Ben from Riverside 10K. We help local running shops meet the 1,500 runners who line up for our race each spring.

If useful, I can send a short 3-point outline for how Hollins could sponsor the race this year. Worth sending over?

If this isn't relevant, just tell me and I won't write again.

Best,
Ben

Nadia from The Small Kitchen Podcast, writing to Ashby Mill Flour

The sentence on their site: “Our flour is stone-ground at the mill and sold to over 40 bakeries.”
Subject: The Small Kitchen Podcast x Ashby Mill Flour

Hi Rob,

I saw your flour is stone-ground at the mill and sold to over 40 bakeries.

I'm Nadia from The Small Kitchen Podcast. Each week we talk to home bakers about one recipe, and listeners often ask where to buy good flour.

If useful, I can send a short 3-point outline for an Ashby Mill partnership on the bread episodes. Worth sending over?

If this isn't relevant, just tell me and I won't write again.

Best,
Nadia

These emails are fictional examples. The companies, people and sentences are made up, and each stands in for a line a real business would have on its own site.

Who does what

Five helpers do the work and you approve once.

Finds companies that buy what you sell. Here that means groups such as local businesses near your event and companies that already sponsor similar events.
Checks every address.
Reads their site, picks something true. Each email says one thing seen on their own site, and the product checks it is really there.
Writes a short, honest email. Three parts and under 110 words.
You approve once. Nothing goes out before you approve the campaign.
Sends from your Gmail, in their working hours. From your own Gmail, one email at a time.
Replies land in your inbox. Follow-ups stop on a reply, and anyone who opts out is never written to again.

How many emails a day

Plan for up to 100 a day from day one of your two-week free trial, then 50 a day, from your own Gmail. The trial covers one campaign, which means one buyer group. That is enough to learn what your offer does, and it is the pace a careful person would send at.

Up to 100 a day from day one of your two-week free trial, then 50 a day.
Emails go out from your own Gmail, in each reader's working hours.
Two short follow-ups go in the same thread, three and five working days after the first. Any reply stops them.
Sponsorship budgets are often set months ahead, so start writing well before the event.

What to expect

One campaign that used this method had about 1 in 10 people reply in its first week. That is one B2B software company, counting every human reply including no. It is not a promise for yours.

1 in 10: people who replied to the first emails of a B2B software company's campaign that used this method, first week of sending, September 2026 (2,726 emails; every human reply counted, including no). Your results will depend on your offer and your list.

The rules to know first

The rules for cold email differ by country and by who you write to. Before you send, read the guide for each place you will write to. This is general information, not legal advice.

Questions

When should I start writing?

Earlier than feels necessary. Sponsorship budgets are often set months ahead, so write well before your event rather than in the weeks around it.

Should I put my audience numbers in the first email?

Only a number you can stand behind, and only if it is true. The first email can mention one fact about your audience; the outline is the place for the detail.

What happens when a company says it is not the right person?

That is common. Replies like this are recognised, the follow-ups stop for that person, and you can write to the colleague they name from a short starter.

More use cases

Honest Intros is also used for:

Start with this use case

Sign in with Google, paste your website, and your campaign is set up for this use case. You can change every line before you approve it.