How to Find Newsletters to Sponsor in Your Niche

Substack says recommendations from other writers drive 50% of all new subscriptions and 25% of new paid subscriptions on its platform¹. Readers find newsletters through other newsletters, and you can follow the same trail to the ones your buyer reads. The hard part isn't whether a newsletter for your buyer exists. It's finding it, and finding the person who sells the ads.

This guide shows how to find newsletters to sponsor in your niche. You'll start from your customer, use five ways to find newsletters, read sponsor history in past issues, spot the ones that sell ads, build a shortlist of 20 and get each writer's email.

Facts and prices checked November 11, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.

Key takeaways

• Substack says recommendations drive 50% of its new subscriptions, so a writer's recommended list is a fast way to find similar newsletters¹.
• beehiiv's ad network only places ads in newsletters sent through beehiiv, and Substack's sponsorship team matches brands to writers by hand, so no single network covers every newsletter.
• The five main ways to find newsletters are platform search and recommendations, ad networks, competitor sponsor history, ad marketplaces and a contact database.
• Signs a newsletter already sells ads include a sponsor or advertise page, labeled sponsored sections, a classifieds block and repeat advertisers in past issues.
• A practical shortlist is about 20 newsletters, mixing close fits, adjacent topics and a few larger lists, with a contact email for each writer.

Start from your customer, not the newsletter

The most common mistake is starting with famous newsletters. Big names are easy to find, but they're often expensive and broad. Start with the person you sell to instead.

Write a one-line buyer

Fill in this sentence. "We sell [product] to [job title or type of person] who care about [topic]." For example, "We sell payroll software to owners of restaurants with 5 to 50 staff." Or "We sell trail running shoes to people who race on weekends."

Turn the buyer into topics

Now list what that person reads about.

• Their work. Restaurant management, hospitality news, small business finance.
• Their tools. Point-of-sale systems, scheduling, accounting.
• Their life. Food, local news in their city, hobbies.

Each topic is a search you'll run later. Five to ten topics is plenty.

How one real advertiser did it

PostHog, the product analytics company, documents its newsletter buying in a public handbook. It looked for newsletters about software development and engineering. It also said it cared more about click-through rate than list size or reach, and asked partners for their average click-through rate². Its past partners include well-known developer newsletters and a group of smaller ones².

That's the model. Pick the audience first, then find every newsletter that reaches it, big and small.

Where newsletters live

Newsletters sit on many platforms and with many owners. Knowing where they live tells you where to search. Selling to one city or neighborhood? See local newsletter advertising for small businesses.

• Substack. More than 50,000 moneymaking publications and more than 35 million active subscriptions, paid and unpaid, as of March 2025³.
• beehiiv. 65,000+ newsletters, which sent 28 billion emails in 2025⁴.
• Media companies. Publishers run whole families of newsletters. TLDR alone has 14 editions, from TLDR Tech with 1.6 million subscribers to TLDR Crypto with 290,000⁵.
• Independent sites. Many writers run newsletters from their own site and email tool, with a sponsor page on the site.

Why no single network covers them all

Each ad network only sells the newsletters on it. beehiiv's ad network places ads only in newsletters sent through beehiiv, not third-party email tools⁶. Substack's sponsorship program uses private Creator Kits that only brands its team has connected can see, and the team does all the matching by hand⁷. Creator Kits are open to Substack bestsellers and publications with at least 100 paid subscribers⁷.

So if you only buy through one network, you only see one slice. Most niche newsletters, the ones with your exact buyer, you'll have to find and email yourself.

Five ways to find newsletters to sponsor

Use more than one method. Each one finds newsletters the others miss.

1. Platform search and recommendations

Search Substack and other platforms by topic. Then use recommendations. Substack lets writers share a list of other publications they recommend to their readers¹. A writer's recommendations are a ready-made list of similar newsletters.

2. Ad networks

Networks are quick, but you don't get to know the writers. beehiiv's network bills per 1,000 unique opens or per verified click, and the publisher chooses which offers to run⁶.

3. Competitor sponsor history

Sign up for newsletters in your space and watch who advertises. If a rival sponsors the same newsletter for months, it's probably working for them.

4. Ad marketplaces

Marketplaces list newsletters that signed up to sell ads, often with prices. One newsletter ad marketplace says verified newsletters sync their email platform so list size and engagement come from the sending system⁸. You only see members, though.

5. A contact database

A contact database lists newsletters across platforms with a way to reach the writer. You filter by topic and country, then email the writers directly.

All five methods end at the same place. You need a list of newsletters and an email for each writer, and building that by hand is slow.

Reading sponsor history in past issues

Past issues tell you more than any media kit. Most Substack and beehiiv newsletters keep a public web archive, so you can read months of issues in a few minutes.

What to look for

• Is there an ad at all? If a newsletter has never run a sponsor, it may still say yes, but expect to set the terms together.
• Who advertises? Brands like yours are a good sign. Your direct competitor may mean you'll need a different week.
• Repeat sponsors. A brand that comes back month after month is getting results.
• Where the ad sits. Top, middle or a classifieds block at the bottom. Our guide to newsletter ad formats explains each slot.
• How it's labeled. The FTC says labels like Ad, Advertisement and Sponsored Advertising Content are clear⁹. A newsletter that labels ads well is easier to work with.

Check the writing, not just the ads

Read two or three full issues. Would your buyer read this? Does the writer have a real point of view? A sponsor slot in a newsletter people skim is worth less than one in a newsletter people read to the end.

Note the pace

Check the dates on the last few issues. A newsletter that sends every week is easy to plan around. One that hasn't sent in months may not be selling ads right now.

Spotting newsletters that already sell ads

A newsletter that already sells ads is faster to book. The writer knows the price, has a process and can send dates. Here are the signs.

• A sponsor or advertise page. OpenLampTech, a developer newsletter on Substack, publishes a sponsorship page with three placements and prices, and asks sponsors to email to book¹⁰. Ann Friedman Weekly sells classifieds through a page where you pick a date and pay¹¹.
• A media kit. Some writers link a PDF or page with subscribers, opens and rates.
• Labeled sponsor sections. Words like Sponsored, Presented by or Ad above a block of copy.
• A classifieds block. Short ads grouped together near the bottom.
• Network ads. beehiiv network ads include a primary ad with the advertiser's logo and up to two secondary ads per post⁶.
• Sponsored essays. Nieman Lab cites Hinge's sponsored essay in Emily Sundberg's Feed Me newsletter, which ran before Substack had a program¹².

Don't skip the ones that don't sell yet

Some of the best newsletters for your buyer have never sold an ad. A clear, polite offer can be the first one they take. Expect to answer more questions and agree on format and price together.

Building a 20-newsletter shortlist

A good first campaign starts with about 20 newsletters. That's enough to get a handful of yeses, and few enough to research each one properly.

Go wide, then cut

Start with a long list, perhaps 100 to 200 newsletters across your topics. Then cut to 20 using the checks above. If five of the 20 say yes and agree a price, that's a solid first test.

Mix the list

• About 8 close fits. Written for exactly your buyer.
• About 8 adjacent topics. Your buyer reads them, but they aren't about your category.
• About 4 larger lists. Broader newsletters where your buyer is part of the audience.

What to record for each

Leave opens, clicks and price blank until the writer replies. Our guide to vetting a newsletter's open rate shows what to ask and what to trust.

Don't forget local and other languages

If you sell in one city or country, local newsletters can be a strong fit. beehiiv says neighborhood and regional newsletters often see open rates well above 50%, and points to Catskill Crew, a regional newsletter with 41,000+ subscribers⁴. Filter by country and language to find them.

Getting the writer's email

Check the sponsor page first, since writers who sell ads usually say how to book, like OpenLampTech, which asks sponsors to email it¹⁰, then the About page or a reply to an issue.

Doing that for 20 sites is slow, and our newsletter directory for advertisers guide compares the faster options.

Sending the first outreach

Your first email has one job, to get the rate card and open dates. Keep it short and specific.

Subject line, Sponsoring [newsletter name] in [month]

Hi [First name], I read [newsletter name] and your readers look a lot like our customers, [one-line buyer]. We'd like to sponsor an issue or two. Could you send your sponsor options, prices, recent open and click rates on sponsor links and your next open dates?

Thanks, [Your name], [Title], [Company, postal address]

Not a fit? Reply no and I won't email again.

Follow the rules

Treat a sponsorship email as commercial email and follow these rules. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide says to use honest header information and subject lines, include a valid postal address and honor opt-out requests promptly. It also says the law makes no exception for business-to-business email¹³.

Ask for clicks, not just opens

PostHog asked partners for their average click-through rate². Ask every writer for the same, plus a recent sponsor result if they'll share it.

Follow up once

If there's no reply in about a week, send one short nudge. Then move on. For more templates, see our newsletter sponsorship email template. The same approach works for podcasts and YouTube, see how to find podcasts to sponsor and how to find YouTubers to sponsor.

Mistakes that slow the search

• Only looking at famous newsletters. Big lists are broad. The best fit is often a smaller newsletter about exactly your buyer's job or hobby.
• Using one network only. beehiiv's network only covers beehiiv-sent newsletters⁶, and Substack's program is matched by hand⁷. Neither is the whole market.
• Judging by list size. PostHog said it cared more about click-through rate than reach². A small list that clicks can beat a big one that doesn't.
• Skipping past issues. Ten minutes in the archive tells you who advertises, how ads look and how often the newsletter sends.
• Sending a vague first email. "Do you do sponsorships?" gets slow replies. Ask for the rate card, opens, clicks and dates in one go.
• Not tracking replies. Keep the shortlist in one place so you know who answered, what they charge and when they're open.

For the full buying process from brief to renewal, read our newsletter advertising guide.

Find newsletters your buyers read today

The search is the slow step in buying newsletter ads. Media List turns it into one search.

• Search newsletters. Media List has 28,000+ newsletters you can email. Filter by category, country and language to find the ones that cover your buyer.
• See who to contact. Each newsletter shows the writer or business contact. Emails unlock from your plan's allowance, no bot checks.
• Save your shortlist. Keep your 20 newsletters in a named list, and come back to it for the next campaign.
• Send the outreach. On Professional, send your rate request to every writer from built-in email campaigns, from your own mailbox, with names filled in.

Media List doesn't sell newsletter ads or show subscriber counts, opens or prices. It gets you to the writer, so you can ask for real numbers. Browse the newsletters in Media List to see how it looks.

Basic at $99 a month covers search, saved lists and exports. Built-in email campaigns come with Professional at $399 a month. Start with a 3-day trial, $0 today, and cancel anytime. Checkout happens right here on the page, or see every plan on the pricing page.

Questions, answered

How do I find newsletters to advertise in?

Start from your buyer and list the topics they read. Then search platforms like Substack and beehiiv, follow writers' recommendations, watch where competitors advertise and use a contact database to get each writer's email.

How do I find newsletters that accept ads?

Look for a sponsor or advertise page, labeled sponsored sections, a classifieds block and repeat advertisers in past issues. Writers like OpenLampTech publish their placements and prices on a sponsor page¹⁰.

Is there a search engine for newsletters?

Each platform has its own search, but none covers every newsletter. A contact database lets you search newsletters from many platforms by topic, country and language in one place.

How many newsletters are there?

There's no single count. Substack reported 50,000+ moneymaking publications in March 2025 and beehiiv reports 65,000+ newsletters, plus many more on other platforms³⁴.

Can I sponsor a Substack newsletter directly?

Yes. Many Substack writers list a business email or sponsor page. Substack also runs its own sponsorship program, where its team matches brands with writers by hand⁷.

How many newsletters should I contact for a first campaign?

About 20 is a practical shortlist. It's enough to get a handful of yeses, and small enough to check each newsletter's past issues properly.

Related guides

• Newsletter Advertising Guide for Brands Buying Direct in 2026
• Newsletter Advertising Rates and CPM Benchmarks for 2026
• How Much Does It Cost to Advertise in a Newsletter
• Newsletter Directory and Contact List for Advertisers
• B2B Newsletter Advertising for SaaS and Business Brands

Sources

1. TechCrunch, Substack now lets writers curate a network of recommended publications (Feb 22, 2024), checked 2026-11-11
2. PostHog Handbook, Newsletter ads, checked 2026-11-11
3. Tubefilter, Substack passes five million paid subscriptions (Mar 12, 2025), checked 2026-11-11
4. beehiiv, The state of newsletters 2026, checked 2026-11-11
5. TLDR, Advertise with TLDR, checked 2026-11-11
6. beehiiv, Ad Network for publishers, checked 2026-11-11
7. PPC Land, Substack adds three formats that let brands pay to open paywalled posts (Oct 2026), checked 2026-11-11
8. PPC Land, Newsletter ad marketplace finds HR newsletter ad rates run 15 times higher than lifestyle lists (2026), checked 2026-11-11
9. FTC, Native advertising guide for businesses (Dec 2015), checked 2026-11-11
10. OpenLampTech, Newsletter sponsorship, checked 2026-11-11
11. Ann Friedman, Classifieds in The Ann Friedman Weekly, checked 2026-11-11
12. Nieman Lab, Substack is launching a sponsorship program (Jun 16, 2026), checked 2026-11-11
13. FTC, CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business, checked 2026-11-11