I run a weekly newsletter for East African founders and freelancers, around 4,200 subscribers. A few people have asked about sponsor slots. I've only done one — a friend paid $150 for a mention and it brought one signup, maybe. I have no media kit and no reliable open rate because I switched ESPs. What do I charge for a first real sponsor? I don't want to leave money on the table, but I also don't want to quote something silly and lose the ask.
Sponsor pricing when I have zero proof?
What a useful answer should help achieve
A realistic first sponsorship rate and what to show a buyer in place of case studies.
Already tried
Asked two publisher friends; got CPM formulas that don't fit a regional list.
Constraints and unknowns
No verified open or click data and no real sponsor outcome to point to.
Independent Publisher · self-paced course · Growing Team · This snapshot stays with the question when the author updates their profile.No replies yet
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