How To Land Cash & In-Kind Sponsorships To Offset Your Event Costs
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Sponsorships aren't just for big conferences with thousands or even hundreds of attendees.
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In this solo episode, Ellen answers subscriber-submitted questions about all things event sponsorships, from local and national sponsorship deals to in-kind partnerships.
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No matter the size of your event, you can use these insider insights to land sponsorships and host more profitable events.
Stop Looking For One Sponsor To Cover Everything
One of the biggest sponsorship mistakes event hosts make?
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Trying to find a single sponsor to underwrite a huge expense.
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Instead, Ellen shares why breaking your event into smaller sponsorship opportunities often creates far more partnership potential.
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Think beyond simply "food sponsor" or "venue sponsor."
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Split big ticket items like "food" into multiple segments: apps vs. dessert, for example.
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What happens when you start thinking in terms of snack sponsors, breakfast sponsors, gift bag sponsors, heck, even a wi-fi sponsor?
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Suddenly, everything becomes a sponsorship opportunity.
The Sponsorship Opportunity Most Hosts Overlook
Everyone wants cash sponsors.
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The problem? Most event hosts are only looking at one side of the profit equation.
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In this episode, Ellen explains why a $5,000 expense removed from your budget can sometimes be more valuable than a $5,000 sponsorship checkโand shares several real examples from her own sold-out 200-person event.
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Including:
- A venue partnership
- A catering partnership
- A floral installation sponsor
- A VIP gift experience sponsor
- Several creative value exchanges that didn't involve cash
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The key takeaway: prioritize in-kind sponsorships just as much as cash sponsorships.
Why Generic Sponsorship Packages Kill Deals
Silver.
Gold.
Platinum.
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Most sponsorship decks start here.
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Instead of leading with pre-built packages, Ellen always gets clear on how a brand measures sponsorship success first. Then she reverse engineers the deliverables that would best produce that outcome and offers 1-2 bespoke package options.
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Because some sponsors care most about credibility-building.
Others value speaking/stage time more than an activation.
Some may expect to see immediate conversion (leads or sales).
Others want maximum visibility on-site or content assets post-event.
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And until you know which outcome sponsors prioritize most, it's nearly impossible to build the right sponsorship proposal.
What To Say When A Brand Says Your Event Is Too Small
One subscriber asked a question many event hosts secretly worry about:
"What if a sponsor only cares about how many people are in the room?"
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โIn the full episode available to our premium subscribers, Ellen shares her approach to handling this objectionโand why the solution isn't necessarily finding a bigger room or selling more tickets.
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Instead, she walks through several ways to expand the value of an event to a potential sponsor without increasing attendance.
How To Find Sponsors That Actually Make Sense
The best sponsors aren't always the biggest brands.
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They're the brands that are actually relevant to your attendees.
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โIn the full episode, Ellen breaks down the simple exercise she uses to identify aligned sponsorship prospects before ever reaching out.
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She also shares:
- A real example from another event she led sponsorship sales for recently
- How audience surveys reveal hidden sponsor opportunities
- The audience data points brands care most about
- Why social listening is one of the most underrated sponsorship skills
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One statistic can close more deals than an entire sponsorship deck โ and she talks about how to leverage the right ones when pitching a brand.
The Secret To Sponsoring Smaller Events
Many people assume sponsorships only work at large conferences.
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Not true.
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In fact, intimate events can sometimes create stronger sponsorship opportunities.
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The catch?
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The sponsorship deliverables need to look different.
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A sponsor logo on a backdrop may work for a 100 person conference.
It probably won't move the needle at a 10-person dinner.
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Ellen closes the episode by explaining how she thinks about sponsorships for masterminds, curated dinners, workshops, and small-group experiencesโand why relational access often becomes more valuable than visibility.
๐ง In the full episode on our subscriber-only premium feed, Ellen breaks down:
- How to identify every potential sponsorship opportunity hidden inside your event budget
- Real examples of in-kind partnerships from Bloom Together
- Creative ways to structure value exchanges with venues and local businesses
- The exact positioning shift that helps sponsors say yes to smaller events
- How to overcome the "not enough attendees" objection
- Why she avoids traditional sponsorship tiers and doesn't always recommend a pitch deck
- Audience survey questions that uncover sponsorship gold
- How to structure sponsorships for intimate dinners, workshops, and curated experiences
- Additional examples and behind-the-scenes stories from events she's hosted and sold sponsorships for over the years
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Listen to a free preview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify below:
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Or unlock the full episode now โ click here to subscribe for only $17โ
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๐ To get YOUR questions answered live about ALL types of sponsorships & brand deals (beyond just events), join Ellenโs pop-up sponsorships group chat by June 22.
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She'll answer unlimited questions based on her experience generating more than $700,000 in sponsorship revenue over the past five years.
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