How do you get sponsors for your newsletter?

What list size changes

We read 7,775 newsletters with a reported list size. 11% of those under 5,000 subscribers ran a paid sponsor ad in the 90 days to 7 October 2026, against 19% of those at 5,000 or more. Under 5,000 the share stays between 10% and 12% at every size we split, so it doesn't climb until 5,000. The subscribers guide has the method and the limits.

share of newsletters that ran a paid sponsor ad in the 90 days to 7 October 2026 · 7,775 newsletters with a reported list size

Price is what moves with size. A main slot lists at a median $150 under 5,000 subscribers and $310 at 5,000 to 19,999 (printed prices of 321 newsletters, read 29 September 2026). The rates page has every size and the middle half of each.

Do it yourself, in order

1. Set your price. Start from the printed prices at your size on the rates page, or run your numbers through the sponsorship calculator.
2. Put the offer on one page. Audience, placements, price and one result. The proposal template and the media kit generator fill it from real prices.
3. Find brands that already buy newsletter ads in your niche. Book a Sponsor has seen 5,919 brands sponsor 3,431 newsletters. The sponsor list, the who-sponsors pages and the niche lists below show who ran ads and when.
4. Email the person who buys the ads. Offer in the first two sentences, a price, one question. The pitch guide has a template and what 30,902 pitches got.
5. Follow up after two or three days. 76% of the yeses in that data arrived within a day and 91% within three days.
6. Answer a yes with the proposal and open dates. A yes starts a conversation. The booking is still yours to close.

Brands buying newsletter ads, by niche

Pick your niche to see which brands ran newsletter ads in the last 30 days, ranked by the newsletters they sponsored. Where a niche has no list of its own yet, the link goes to the largest who-sponsors page in it.

• Tech newsletters: 142 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Business newsletters: 137 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• AI newsletters: 135 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Local newsletters: 134 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Finance newsletters: 124 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Media newsletters: 118 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Culture newsletters: 92 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Sports newsletters: 86 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Marketing newsletters: 61 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Health newsletters: 46 brands bought ads in the last 30 days
• Crypto: who sponsors The Pomp Letter (14 brands in 90 days)
• Food: who sponsors Vittles (9 brands in 90 days)
• Education: who sponsors Edtech Insiders (7 brands in 90 days)

When to hand the pitching to a service

If you'd rather not write and send the emails yourself, Book a Sponsor does the sending. It lists the brands that sponsored newsletters like yours, finds who buys the ads, drafts the pitch and emails 50 new brands a day by default from its own mailboxes. You get the replies and close the deal. $20 in free credits (200 emails), then 10¢ per email sent, and the first run, the list of brands, is free. We make it, so weigh it against the four other routes above.

Sources

• Share of newsletters running a paid ad: Book a Sponsor's own reads of 12,308 newsletters that sent 5+ issues between 9 July 2026 and 7 October 2026, 7,775 with a reported list size (method and limits).
• Pitch counts and reply times: Book a Sponsor's own sending, 27 August 2026 to 6 October 2026, 30,902 pitches for 72 customer newsletters (sources and method).
• Main-slot prices: the printed prices of 321 newsletters that state a list size, read 29 September 2026 (rates page).
• Provider facts, each read on the provider's own pages 29 September 2026 and 6 October 2026: beehiiv Ad Network, Kit Newsletter Sponsorships, Paved, Passionfroot, Hecto, MediaPact, SponsorGap, Who Sponsors Stuff, SponsorLeads.