YouTube Sponsorship for Brands and How to Sponsor YouTubers

Brands put a paid sponsor in 65,759 YouTube videos in the first half of 2025, about 54% more than a year before¹. Those videos drew 19.1 billion views¹. The growth didn't come from a handful of mega stars. Gospel Stats says it came from YouTube's middle class, the channels that average 100,000 to 500,000 views a video².

That's good news if you run a brand. Mid-size channels are the ones you can email, price and book yourself. This guide shows how a YouTube sponsorship works, what it costs, and the 7 steps to sponsor YouTubers directly, from the first shortlist to the renewal, without paying an agency to do it for you.

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

Key takeaways

• Sponsored YouTube videos rose about 54% to 65,759 in the first half of 2025, with 19.1 billion views (Gospel Stats).
• 43.1% of detected YouTube sponsorship deals ran on channels with 50,000 to 250,000 subscribers, and only 20.2% on channels over 1 million (SponsorRadar).
• YouTube integrations price at about $10 to $50 per 1,000 expected views, and a dedicated video costs about 2 to 4 times an integration (1of10).
• Ground News was the most active YouTube sponsor in the first half of 2025, with 1,863 integrations and 664 million views.
• Buying direct avoids middleman fees such as a 25% markup per deal or a 10% marketplace order fee.

What a YouTube sponsorship is

A YouTube sponsorship is a paid deal where a creator promotes your product inside their own content. You pay the creator, or their manager, a fee. They make the ad in their own voice, for their own audience. That's the whole appeal. Viewers trust the person, so the message lands better than a skippable ad.

Most deals use one of four formats. Price guides measure the others against the standard integration, so it helps to know them by name.

Integration

An integration is a 60 to 90 second segment inside a normal video³. The video keeps its own topic, and the creator talks about your product for a minute, usually in the middle. It's the default format and the base price in most rate guides³.

Dedicated video

A dedicated video is built around your product, like a review, a tutorial or a comparison. It costs about 2 to 4 times a 60 to 90 second integration³.

Shout-out

A shout-out is a short mention of about 30 seconds, often near the start. It runs about 0.5 to 0.7 times an integration³.

Sponsored Short

A sponsored Short is a vertical short-form video. It prices at about 0.25 to 0.5 times an integration³ and is often sold as an add-on to a long-form deal.

Whatever the format, YouTube asks creators to tick the paid promotion box in YouTube Studio for any sponsored content, which adds a label to the video⁴. We cover the rest of the disclosure rules below.

Why brands sponsor mid-size YouTube channels

Ad money is moving to creators fast. The IAB puts US creator ad spend at $29.5 billion in 2024 and $37 billion in 2025, growing about 4 times faster than total media⁵. 48% of ad buyers now call creators a must-buy⁵.

Most of the deals land on channels you've probably never heard of. SponsorRadar tracked 129,386 YouTube channels and found a sponsor on 38,059 of them⁶. In the 12 months to January 2026, 43.1% of the deals it detected ran on channels with 50,000 to 250,000 subscribers. Another 34.9% ran on channels with 250,000 to 1 million. Channels over 1 million got just 20.2%⁶. SponsorRadar notes its coverage is thinnest under 50,000 subscribers, so small channels are undercounted there⁶.

New buyers keep arriving too. 36,120 brands ran their first detected YouTube sponsorship in those 12 months⁶. That's about 100 new sponsors a day.

The Ground News story

The clearest example is Ground News, a news aggregation app. In the first half of 2025 it was the most active sponsor on YouTube, with 1,863 integrations, up 202% from a year before¹. Its sponsored videos drew 664 million views¹. Squarespace, BetterHelp and DraftKings followed it by integration count¹.

Do the math on that. 1,863 integrations in six months is about 10 new sponsored videos every day. No single creator makes that many videos. Ground News got there by booking a steady stream of standard integrations across a very wide set of channels, not by buying one big moment.

You don't need that budget to copy the shape. The lesson is that YouTube sponsorship rewards breadth. Test many fitting channels with standard integrations, keep the ones that pay back, and renew them.

How much a YouTube sponsorship costs

YouTube creators price on average views, not subscribers. A channel with 500,000 subscribers that gets 20,000 views a video is priced like a 20,000-view channel. The most common unit is CPM, the price per 1,000 views.

1of10 puts integrations at about $10 to $50 per 1,000 expected views³. Its worked example is a channel averaging 25,000 views, which supports about $500 to $1,250 for a 60-second integration³. ADOPTER, a sponsorship agency, publishes these bands⁷.

ADOPTER also says the minimum investment is almost always $1,000, even on the smallest channels⁷. Small channels charge a higher CPM because the fixed work of making a good ad doesn't shrink with the audience.

Here's a quick example. A channel that averages 60,000 views at a $25 CPM costs 60 times $25, or $1,500 for one integration.

The base fee is only part of it. 1of10 lists paid usage rights at 30% to 100% on top of the base fee, and 30 days of category exclusivity at 20% to 30% more³. Niche matters a lot too. Finance and investing channels run $35 to $50 or more per 1,000 views, while entertainment and vlogs run $8 to $15³.

For every band and niche, see our full guide to YouTube sponsorship rates.

The 7-step direct sponsorship workflow

Buying direct means you do the work an agency would do. It's less work than it sounds, and it's the same 7 steps every time.

1. Set the goal and the budget. Pick one outcome, like sign-ups or sales, and a cost per customer you can live with. Decide how many channels you'll test.
2. Build a shortlist. Find 15 to 30 channels whose recent videos match your buyer's interests. Note each one's views on recent uploads.
3. Get the business email. Find the address the creator uses for brand deals.
4. Send the offer and ask for rates. Say why this channel fits, what you want to book and when. Ask for their rate or media kit.
5. Negotiate and sign. Agree on the price, the format, the dates, the usage rights and the exclusivity window in writing.
6. Brief and approve. Send talking points, not a script. Review the draft fast.
7. Track and renew. Give each creator a unique link and code. Measure at 30 days. Book the winners again.

The next sections walk through the parts that trip buyers up. The slow part for most brands isn't the deal. It's steps 2 and 3, finding the right channels and the right inbox.

How to find YouTube channels that fit

Start with your buyer, not with a creator's fame. Ask what your customer watches on a Tuesday night. Then look for channels that cover that topic week after week.

Check these five things before a channel makes your shortlist.

• Topic fit. Look at the last few months of uploads. Most of them should cover the topic your buyer cares about, not just one lucky video.
• Recent views. Use the median views of the last 10 videos, not the average and not the one viral hit³. That's the number you'll pay for.
• Consistency. Weekly uploads beat one big video a quarter.
• Comments. Read them. A comment section full of generic one-word replies is a warning sign.
• Country and language. If you only ship to the US, a channel whose audience is mostly elsewhere wastes your money.

Watch for fake reach. In Influencer Marketing Hub's 2026 survey, fake or bot followers made up 56.5% of the fraud and quality issues brands reported⁸. Median views on recent videos are harder to fake than a subscriber count.

This is the step most teams find hardest. About a third of brands told the IAB that finding the right creators is their biggest hurdle⁵. And 66.33% of brands in the Influencer Marketing Hub survey run influencer marketing fully in-house⁸, so that search usually lands on one busy marketer.

Media List is built for this part. You can filter 189,000+ YouTube channels by minimum subscribers, category, country and language, unlock each channel's contact email from your plan's allowance, and save the ones that fit to a list. Our guide on how to find YouTubers to sponsor goes deeper on search methods.

Get the business email and send the first offer

Most creators who take sponsors list a business email. On YouTube it often sits behind a View email address button on the channel page, and you reveal it one channel at a time. Some channels put it in the video description or link to a manager instead. Our guide to finding a YouTuber's business email covers every route.

Cold email works when it's short and specific. In a study of 12 million outreach emails, 8.5% got a reply, one follow-up lifted replies by 65.8%, and personalized emails got 32.7% more replies⁹. That study covered general outreach, not only creator deals, but the lesson carries over. Be specific and follow up once.

What a good first email says

• Who you are and what you sell, in one sentence.
• Why this channel. Name a recent video and why your buyer watches it.
• What you want. One 60 to 90 second integration in a named month, for example.
• Your ask. Their rate or media kit, recent median views and the audience's top countries.

Here's a sample you can adapt.

Hi Sam, I run partnerships at Acme Budget. Your video on paying off a car loan is exactly what our users ask about. We'd like to sponsor a 60-second integration in a video that goes live in March. Could you send your rate for that, your median views on the last 10 videos and your top audience countries? Thanks, Jay
[Company, postal address]
Not a fit? Reply no and I won't email again.

Wait 5 to 7 days, then send one short follow-up.

Negotiate the price and the contract

The first number a creator sends is an opening ask, not a final price. Know your ceiling before you reply. A simple way is to set a CPM you'll accept. Take the creator's median views on recent videos, divide the quote by that number and multiply by 1,000. Then compare it with the $10 to $50 integration band³ and your niche.

Here's an example. A $3,000 quote on a channel with 60,000 median views is a $50 CPM. That's top of the band, so it only makes sense in a high-value niche like finance, where channels run $35 to $50 or more³. In a vlog niche at $8 to $15³, you'd counter or walk away.

Where the real savings are

• Exclusivity. Ask only for the window you need. 1of10 prices 30 days at 20% to 30% extra and 90 days at 50% or more³.
• Usage rights. Paid usage, where you run the creator's video as your own ad, adds 30% to 100%³. Limit it to the platforms and months you'll actually use.
• Packages. Creators often take 10% to 20% off per video for a multi-video package³.

What the contract should say

Put it all in writing. List the format and length, the publish date, the placement in the video, the link and pinned comment, the review rounds, the usage rights, the exclusivity window, the disclosure duty and the payment terms. 1of10 calls net 30 from the publish date standard and suggests one or two rounds of revisions³. It also warns against tying payment to view thresholds³.

See how to negotiate a YouTube sponsorship for the full checklist.

Brief the creator and get disclosure right

The best briefs are short. Send talking points, not a script, and let the creator say it in their own voice. Their audience knows how they talk, and a read that sounds like them lands better. Give feedback on the draft fast, and keep notes to a short checklist so they stay clear.

A good brief covers these points.

• One goal and one call to action.
• Three talking points in plain words.
• Claims the creator must not make, which matters a lot in finance and health.
• The link, the code and where each goes.
• The deadline for the draft and the publish date.

Disclosure is not optional

In the US, the FTC says the disclosure belongs in the video itself, not just in the description¹⁰. It should be hard to miss, and it helps to say it out loud and show it on screen, since some people watch without sound¹⁰. Plain words like ad or sponsored work¹⁰.

On YouTube, the creator should also tick the paid promotion box, which adds a label to the video⁴. The FTC is clear that a platform's label alone isn't enough¹⁰. Put the disclosure duty in your contract and check it in the draft.

Track results with codes, links and surveys

Give every creator their own tracking, like a unique UTM link, a unique coupon code and, if you can, a separate landing page. That's what lets you compare creators side by side. In one published fintech case, the agency reports about $27 per funded account¹¹.

Tracked clicks never tell the whole story. People see the ad, then search your brand later. Three habits help.

• Use a code and a link. Codes catch people who type your URL. Links catch the clickers.
• Ask at checkout. A how did you hear about us question catches buyers your links miss.
• Measure at a fixed window. 30 days is common. Put it in the contract so a bonus, if any, is clear³.

Then renew the winners fast, even when the best one has the smallest audience. Expect a returning creator to ask for more. 1of10 tells creators to quote 10% to 20% above the prior rate when the first video performed³.

Direct vs agency vs marketplace vs YouTube Creator Partnerships

There are four ways to buy. They differ on fees, on who picks the creators and on how many channels you can reach.

YouTube's own tool is worth knowing. Creator Partnerships, the new name for BrandConnect, gives advertisers access to more than 3 million creators in the YouTube Partner Program, with Gemini-based matching coming in the following months¹⁷. At launch, sending inquiries to many creators at once was still marked as coming soon¹⁷. It went live in the US, India, Indonesia, the UK, Brazil, Australia and Canada¹⁵. YouTube Help now lists creators in 24 countries and regions¹⁶.

Middleman fees add up. On a $10,000 creator budget, a 25% markup is $2,500 and a 10% fee is $1,000. Going direct keeps that money in media. The tradeoff is time, which is why the find-and-email steps matter so much. We compare the options in depth in agency vs marketplace vs direct.

Find and email the right YouTubers today

You now have the whole workflow. The step that eats the most time is the start. Finding channels that fit, and getting each one's business email, takes hours per campaign when you do it one channel page at a time.

Media List does that part for you.

• Find channels. Search 189,000+ YouTube channels by topic and set a minimum subscriber count. Filter by country and language. Paid plans add AI search.
• See the contact email. Each result shows who to contact. Emails unlock from your plan's allowance, no bot checks.
• Save a list. Keep your shortlist in one place for each campaign. Our guide to building a targeted list shows the method.
• Send the outreach. On Professional, email the whole list from built-in campaigns and ask each creator for their rate.

Media List doesn't sell rates or view data. You still pick channels by watching them and asking for numbers. It just gets you to the right inbox fast. Running podcasts too? Media List covers 1.2 million podcasts with contact emails as well.

Basic at $99 a month covers search, saved lists and exports. Built-in email campaigns come with Professional at $399 a month. Start a 3-day trial for $0 today and cancel anytime. See all plans on the pricing page.

Questions, answered

How much does it cost to sponsor a YouTuber?

Most integrations price at about $10 to $50 per 1,000 expected views³. A channel averaging 25,000 views supports about $500 to $1,250 for a 60-second integration³. Agencies say the minimum is almost always $1,000, even on small channels⁷.

How do I sponsor a YouTube channel?

Pick a goal and budget, build a shortlist of channels your buyer watches, and find each channel's business email. Send a short offer that asks for their rate, agree terms in writing, brief the creator and track results with a unique link and code.

What is a YouTube integration?

An integration is a paid 60 to 90 second segment inside a creator's normal video³. The video keeps its own topic. It is the most common sponsorship format and the base price in most rate guides.

Do I need an agency to sponsor YouTubers?

No. Many brands buy direct. 66.33% of brands in a 2026 survey run influencer marketing fully in-house⁸. Agencies and marketplaces save time but add fees, like a 25% markup or a 10% order fee¹²¹³.

Which YouTube channels get the most sponsorships?

Mid-size ones. SponsorRadar found 43.1% of detected deals ran on channels with 50,000 to 250,000 subscribers and 34.9% on 250,000 to 1 million⁶. Channels over 1 million got 20.2%⁶.

Do sponsored YouTube videos have to be disclosed?

Yes. The FTC says the disclosure must be in the video itself, not just the description, and should be hard to miss¹⁰. Creators should also tick YouTube's paid promotion box, which adds a label⁴.

How do I measure a YouTube sponsorship?

Give each creator a unique link, a unique code and, if you can, a matching landing page. Add a how did you hear about us question at checkout. Compare creators at a fixed window such as 30 days.

Related guides

• YouTube Sponsorship Rates by Views, Subscribers and Niche
• How to Find YouTube Influencers to Sponsor Your Product
• How to Find a YouTuber's Business Email for a Sponsorship
• How Much Does It Cost to Sponsor a YouTube Video
• Sponsorship Email Template for Reaching YouTubers

Sources

1. Net Influencer, YouTube sponsorships surge 54 percent as brands shift marketing dollars to influencers (Oct 23, 2025), checked 2026-11-11
2. Tubefilter, Gospel Stats YouTube Sponsorship Landscape Report (Oct 22, 2025), checked 2026-11-11
3. 1of10, YouTube sponsorships and 2026 rates by channel size (Aug 24, 2026), checked 2026-11-11
4. YouTube Help, Add paid product placements, sponsorships and endorsements, checked 2026-11-11
5. IAB, Creator economy ad spend to reach $37 billion in 2025 (Nov 20, 2025), checked 2026-11-11
6. SponsorRadar, State of YouTube sponsorships (12 months to Jan 2026), checked 2026-11-11
7. ADOPTER Media, YouTube sponsorship rates (updated Jul 13, 2026), checked 2026-11-11
8. Influencer Marketing Hub, Influencer marketing benchmark report 2026, checked 2026-11-11
9. Backlinko and Pitchbox, Email outreach study of 12 million emails (updated Apr 2019), checked 2026-11-11
10. FTC, Disclosures 101 for social media influencers, checked 2026-11-11
11. Creators Agency, Finance YouTube creator campaign case study, checked 2026-11-11
12. ThoughtLeaders, Pricing, checked 2026-11-11
13. Collabstr, Pricing, checked 2026-11-11
14. Passionfroot, Creator pricing, checked 2026-11-11
15. PPC Land, YouTube Creator Partnerships replaces BrandConnect in 7 markets (Mar 2026), checked 2026-11-11
16. YouTube Help, Get started with YouTube Creator Partnerships (eligibility and countries), checked 2026-11-11
17. YouTube Official Blog, Discover a new era of brand and creator partnerships on YouTube (Mar 23, 2026), checked 2026-11-11