--- name: sales-sponsorgap description: "SponsorGap platform help — newsletter sponsorship intelligence with 38K+ brand database, GPT-powered sponsor matching, verified decision-maker contacts, competitor monitoring, spend trends, and API. Use when you can't find brands that sponsor newsletters in your niche, need verified email contacts for sponsor decision-makers, want to monitor which brands are sponsoring competitor newsletters, unsure how to price your newsletter sponsorships, need sponsor spend trend data to time your outreach, or want to build a sponsor prospecting pipeline with outreach tracking. Do NOT use for general newsletter monetization strategy (use /sales-newsletter) or newsletter sponsorship marketplace transactions (use /sales-paved)." argument-hint: "[describe your newsletter sponsor search or outreach question]" license: MIT version: 1.0.0 tags: [sales, newsletter, sponsorship, platform] --- # SponsorGap Platform Help ## Step 1 — Gather context If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge. 1. **What are you trying to do?** - A) Find brands that sponsor newsletters in my niche - B) Get contact info for sponsor decision-makers - C) Monitor competitor sponsorship activity - D) Price my newsletter sponsorships - E) Track sponsor outreach pipeline - F) Use the SponsorGap API to automate sponsor research 2. **What's your newsletter niche?** (e.g., fintech, marketing, health, crypto) 3. **Current subscriber count and open rate?** (affects sponsor targeting) Skip-ahead rule: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, skip to Step 2. ## Step 2 — Route or answer directly | If the question is about... | Route to... | |---|---| | Newsletter monetization strategy (subscriptions, ads, pricing models) | `/sales-newsletter [question]` | | Sponsorship marketplace / programmatic ad network | `/sales-paved [question]` | | Finding newsletters to sponsor (brand side) | `/sales-reletter [question]` | | Growing your subscriber list | `/sales-audience-growth [question]` | | Email deliverability | `/sales-deliverability [question]` | If the question is SponsorGap-specific, continue to Step 3. ## Step 3 — SponsorGap platform reference **Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for the full platform reference — capabilities, pricing, data model, integration recipes, code examples. Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference. ## Step 4 — Actionable guidance Focus on the user's specific situation: - **Small list (<5K subs)**: Use SponsorGap's free search (5 hand-picked sponsors, no card) to research which brands sponsor similar-sized newsletters. Focus on niche-specific sponsors where your audience alignment matters more than list size. - **Mid-size (5K-25K subs)**: Use the **Growth tier ($89/mo, formerly "Pro")** for verified contacts and competitor monitoring. Build a target list of 20-30 brands, then cold email decision-makers using the verified contacts. Growth also includes limited API access and up to 5 seats. - **Larger (25K+ subs)**: The **Enterprise tier ($199/mo)** adds Full API access, AI-powered recommendations, and unlimited seats to systematize sponsor prospecting. Combine with Paved marketplace for inbound deals. For done-for-you prospecting, Managed Services ($999 / $2,999/mo) builds a custom Airtable CRM and runs outreach. - **Timing outreach**: Use spend trend data to contact brands when their sponsorship spending is increasing, not declining. If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in `references/learnings.md`, append it there. ## Gotchas > *Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.* 1. **Verified contacts require a paid plan (the $89 Growth tier, formerly "Pro")** — the Starter ($39) plan only browses ~1,000 sponsors with basic contact info, not full verified decision-maker emails/LinkedIn. The free tier gives just 5 hand-picked sponsors. (Tiers were renamed Starter / Growth / Enterprise; prices unchanged $39 / $89 / $199.) 2. **API access is now tiered, not Enterprise-only** — "Limited API access" starts on **Growth ($89/mo)**; "Full API access" is on **Enterprise ($199/mo)**. There is no public API documentation; request docs/credentials from support after subscribing. (Re-verified 2026-06-13 — older copy said API was $199-only.) 3. **No Zapier/Make integration** — you can't connect SponsorGap to your CRM or outreach tool via iPaaS. Use CSV export (paid tiers) or the API (Growth+) to move data. For done-for-you outreach with a custom CRM built in Airtable, SponsorGap offers Managed Services ($999 / $2,999/mo). 4. **Contact data accuracy varies** — verified contacts are best-effort. Always cross-reference with LinkedIn before outreach. Decision-makers change roles. 5. **Spend trends ≠ budget availability** — a brand increasing sponsorship spend may already be fully booked. Use trends to identify momentum, then verify availability directly. ## Related skills - `/sales-newsletter` — Newsletter monetization strategy (paid subscriptions, sponsorships, ad sales, pricing) - `/sales-sponsorleads` — SponsorLeads sponsor lead lists (4,318+ companies, decision-maker contacts, Airtable database) - `/sales-paved` — Paved newsletter sponsorship marketplace, Ad Network, Booker, Radar - `/sales-reletter` — Reletter newsletter search engine (7M+ publications, subscriber data, creator contacts, API) - `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do` ## Examples ### Example 1: Finding sponsors for a niche newsletter **User says**: "I run a fintech newsletter with 8,000 subscribers. How do I find sponsors on SponsorGap?" **Skill does**: Walks through niche filtering, explains Pro tier verified contacts, suggests building a 20-brand target list using competitor monitoring to see who sponsors similar fintech newsletters **Result**: User has a targeted sponsor prospecting workflow ### Example 2: Automating sponsor research via API **User says**: "How do I use SponsorGap's API to pull sponsor data into my CRM?" **Skill does**: References API docs (Business tier required), shows how to query brands by niche, extract contact data, and push to CRM via CSV or API integration **Result**: User understands API access requirements and data flow ### Example 3: Competitor sponsorship monitoring **User says**: "I want to know who's sponsoring my competitor's newsletter" **Skill does**: Explains competitor monitoring feature (Pro+), real-time alerts, how to use ad copy library to see actual sponsor placements, and how to time outreach based on competitor sponsor churn **Result**: User sets up competitor monitoring and has an outreach strategy ## Troubleshooting ### Can't find sponsors in my niche **Symptom**: Searching SponsorGap returns few or irrelevant brands **Cause**: Niche is too narrow, or brands in your space use different category labels **Solution**: Broaden your search terms. Search by adjacent niches (e.g., "SaaS" instead of "developer tools"). Check competitor newsletters to see who sponsors them, then search those brand names directly. ### Verified contacts are outdated **Symptom**: Emails bounce or LinkedIn profiles show the person left the company **Cause**: Contact data has a shelf life — people change roles **Solution**: Cross-reference SponsorGap contacts with current LinkedIn profiles before outreach. Use the funding radar to focus on companies with recent funding (more likely to have active marketing teams). ### Not sure what to charge sponsors **Symptom**: Brands are interested but you don't know your rate **Cause**: No pricing benchmark for your niche and list size **Solution**: Use SponsorGap's rate calculator and sponsor trend data to benchmark CPM rates in your niche. Start with $25-$50 CPM for general audiences, $50-$100+ for B2B/finance. Check what competitors charge by looking at their media kits.