Are you an emerging Jiu Jitsu athlete looking for sponsorship? Tired of getting your DMs ignored. Well hopefully this post can help you out.
As an emerging jiu jitsu brand we get a ton of DM from BJJ athletes asking for sponsorship. That is why we decided to put this post together. Read below if you're trying to get sponsored!
1: Walk a mile in their shoes
The reality of running a Jiu Jitsu apparel brand is that you will face incredibly tight margins, they're often start ups and solo-preneurs and have pumped $10000's into building their BJJ brand. That said, make a lil effort when reaching out. Don't shoot over a DM saying 'sponsor me' from a private account with 4 posts (true story!). Understand the pain points of the brand and suggest ways you can help. This will go a long way.
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2: Size matters (kinda sshhhh)
While a larger social media following will help, size isn't everything! We have paid for content from jiu jitsu 'influencers' with huge followings and gotten $0 in sales back. On the flip side we have worked with some upcoming BJJ athletes to make killer content and generated a bunch of organic sales. Quality of engagement and quality content also matters even if your following is small.
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3: It takes two to tango!
In reality don't expect a brand to drop a few $100 on gear or comp fees in the hope that they may get some pics from a local tournament months later. Instead think about what you do on a daily/weekly that may be of benefit to a brand owner and help save them some time.
This could be in the form of creating social media content, writing a blog article or reposting our existing content. Even writing this caption took up time I could have spent working on generating sales or developing the business!
4: What do you do that is unique??
If you are a world jiu jitsu medalist and cleaning up on the comp circuit you probably aren't reading this! The reality of Jiu Jitsu is that there are 1000s of competitors in an increasingly competitive arena. So just because you compete every week and hope to one day be a world champion doesn't mean a brand will jump at the chance to work with you.
Instead think about what makes you or your jiu jitsu unique. Maybe you train at a really busy academy with some high level competitors so while you may not have the accolades you can help the brand get exposure to some larger platforms. For example we have had affiliates that are lower belts that manage to get into training rooms with some world class athletes we could never afford to work with, resulting in our gear getting onto their pages.
So in short, chances are you are messaging a small business operated by one or two people with limited resources. Think about what value you can add, look for ways you can be collaborative and think about what makes your jiu jitsu journey unique.
Big Osssss
Marc @ Nation
