A sponsorship proposal is your chance to grab the attention a company or individual enough to convince them you are worth investing in. I have had 4 successful proposals previously – 3 for expeditions and 1 for an event. Based on my experience….what are my top tips?

Note that this post is part of a series on adventures, expeditions and money. Also check out:

• Top tips for securing financial sponsorship
• How to fund your adventure
• Outdoor and adventure grants for 2020
• 11 Ways you can make money as an explorer

#1 Look professional

No company is going to back someone who they don’t trust to look after their brand and name. So make your proposal look as professional as you can. I use Canva and find an existing template which saves a lot of time and energy when it comes to the overall design.

You can also use Canva to create a logo if you want your expedition to have a feeling of being a brand in itself.

#2 Include good quality photos

Images are really important for grabbing attention. They should be relevant to your expedition or ethos and should be top quality. If you don’t have good enough photos pay for stock ones.

#3 Keep the wording to a minimum

Overselling is definitely not good and in a sponsorship proposal less really is more. Include the basic information needed about what you are doing, who you are and what you are asking for. Avoid having pages and pages of wordy documents that are just going to be ignored.

You want it simple, catchy and spacious so it stands out.

#4 Sell yourself

Ensure there is a section about you/your team. Include a photo and a short biography of all your relevant achievements and successes. Remember to include your social media and website stats plus anything else that might appeal.

Sell yourself confidently!

#5 Be clear on what you can offer

This is probably the most important part of the pack as you will be letting the company know what they will be getting in return for supporting you. Don’t be tempted to list dozens of things to try and convince them it is worth their investment. The opposite is far more appealing. Choose a handful where you can really focus and add value to them in this partnership. Ideas could include:

• blog posts
• video content
• an expedition film to be entered to film festivals
• having you as a speaker at an event
• regular shares and tags on social media
• professional photos from the expedition with their branding
• wearing their logo throughout the expedition

Take a moment to think about the value you are offering and don’t undersell yourself. The value of a blog post is around £300 and a speaker at an event up to £3,000 so add this up when working out what you are going to offer them. Remember – quality over quantity.

#6 Proofread your sponsorship proposal twice

This is probably an obvious one….you only get one shot at asking for funding so really make sure you haven’t got any errors.

#7 Save small and short

PDF is the safest as it can be opened from all computer types. Keep the file size to a minimum – no one wants to be downloading huge documents and waiting for them to load. When you send out the pack you will also want to have a cover email. I like to keep this short, again recognising that people don’t have time to read loads. Summarise what you are doing and make a personal connection to the company and why you think you would be a great fit.

Sponsorship proposal

I know how much easier it is putting together a proposal following a template, so I’ve shared my previous sponsorship proposal templates to make your job that little bit easier. Use the comment box below if you have any questions. If you found this blog helpful, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel. I give all my advice out for free on my website. If you want to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee! *Any women reading this?* I founded a women’s adventure community called Love Her Wild. Check out our private Facebook page and see what adventures we have coming up.