The Proffitt Podcast
Are you thinking about starting a podcast? Launching a YouTube channel? Repurposing your old blog content into something fresh? Hi, I'm Krystal - host of "The Proffitt Podcast." And I'm happy to say you've come to the right place!
Business owners and content creators dream of building a platform where they can connect deeply with their audience, and marketing feels easy. But I also know what it's like to feel confused and overwhelmed.
Join us weekly as we strip down those processes and remove all the overwhelm with new tips, simple strategies, and great conversations with creators like you. Tune in to hear how I help creators start, launch, and market their content confidently. The motto here is, "We all have to start somewhere."
The Proffitt Podcast
Unleashing Creator Potential through Genuine Partnerships
What if a single conversation could revolutionize your approach to sponsorships? Join me and Justin Moore, my sponsorship coach, as he shares a groundbreaking announcement—the launch of his Sponsorship Strategies Summit. This unforgettable episode was recorded at ConvertKit's breathtaking new podcast studio. (Stay tuned for the YouTube version of our convo!)
Together, we unpack the transformative power of sponsorships for creators and discuss Justin's visionary plan to connect creators and sponsors through a dedicated conference. Picture an "anti-conference" designed to empower creators and foster genuine connections.
We explore the concept of attendees walking away with completed media kits and personalized sponsor positioning while participating in a Shark Tank-style pitch session that could secure real sponsorships. We also reflect on the value of overcoming self-doubt and making bold asks, highlighting how intimate gatherings can be more impactful than large, impersonal conferences.
Drawing from our own experiences, we share insights into creating supportive environments for creators of all sizes. Our practical advice on leveraging local opportunities and building meaningful partnerships will help you unlock the full potential of your business's reach. Hear diverse client stories, like a helicopter pilot from "Deadliest Catch," that underscores the universal struggle of self-doubt among creators.
We also emphasize the importance of quality over quantity in sponsorships and the benefits of in-person interviews for fostering natural, well-rounded dialogue. Don't miss Justin's "Brand Deal Wizard" course, which offers invaluable tips for monetizing content. If you're near Boise, check out ConvertKit's new podcast studios. Subscribe and follow for more game-changing insights!
Click the "Send Krystal a Text Message" link above to send us your questions, comments, and feedback on the show! (Pssst...we'll do giveaways in upcoming episodes so make sure you leave your name & podcast title.)
Looking for a podcast community that supports you on your journey? Check out Podcasters Connect today.
Okay, so here's what happened. I went to Craft and Commerce, which you know like I've talked about it so many times how I was gonna go, or maybe you follow my Instagram journey or you read my newsletter, like all the things right. Like I had a freaking blast. But the podcast studios were something that were not on my agenda and I had so much fun. I recorded my own content there, but I also got to record a super fun episode with Justin Moore, who is my sponsorship coach. So we talked about sponsorships and what that looks like.
Speaker 1:You've heard him here on the podcast before and I thought how fun would it be to record something in this beautiful space. So I know you're listening to the audio only version, which is fantastic, but I also want you to go check out YouTube, because I want you to see it. It's so, so, pretty. So listen to the audio version and then maybe go get some of the clips on YouTube. But here's my conversation with Justin Moore. Let's get right to it. Welcome to the Profit Podcast, where we teach you how to start, launch and market your content with confidence. I'm your host, crystal Profit, and I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for hanging out with me today, because if you've been trying to figure out the world of content creation, this is the show that will help be your time-saving shortcut. So let's get right to it, shall we Incredible? There we go. We'll put the branding out there, all right?
Speaker 2:So I don't even know what we're going to talk about. I'm just going to take your lead.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of like excited about it, I don't care.
Speaker 2:Take your lead, okay.
Speaker 1:Welcome, justin. Well, thanks for having me, crystal. Yeah, I say welcome. Like I live here. This is not my podcast studio. This is the new kit. Right, like it was ConvertKit, now it's Kit's brand new podcast studio.
Speaker 2:It's dope.
Speaker 1:It's so like I didn't come in this one yesterday, so yesterday was like official unveiling all the things. This is the one that I didn't come to, but I think it was meant to be.
Speaker 2:I think so. We're just to share this space together. I think so Totally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tell me what's been going on, like what has been okay when we're recording this. This is about halfway through 2024. What's like the most shocking thing that's happening this year, or the most most fun thing, whatever comes to mind.
Speaker 2:Okay, the most shocking thing I think probably the most shocking thing is that somehow, for some reason, I decided I'm launching a conference.
Speaker 1:Oh, you heard it here first. People Like have you announced this? I mean it's softly, I've softly announced it. I'm testing the waters.
Speaker 2:A little bit, a little bit of beta testing right now. Um yeah, it's called the Sponsorship Strategies Summit.
Speaker 1:Beautiful.
Speaker 2:Thank you and, honestly, okay, here's the real reason is that I go to a lot of events I've gone to a lot of kind of creator-focused events for many years and there's always like a few talks about sponsorships on, like the revenue track or whatever something like this, and I always go to every single one of those Cause like to me like that's what makes this whole work that you keep the lights on.
Speaker 2:Like you know, we like from a from a strategy perspective, like almost all of the panels and sessions are always about revenue or like growth, like audience growth and strategies and all this stuff too, and I get it, it's fine. But like sponsorships in particular are like the number one revenue stream for a bunch of creators and businesses and entrepreneurs. And I was like why is there no conference just about this? And I was like you know what I'm going to make it. I have. I just have to be that guy and I'm just going to. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want to lose money, but that's my main priority is not losing money, but I'm just gonna. I'm just going to do it.
Speaker 1:Well, I feel like you have such a unique perspective because you have this incredible relationship with your audience, who are all creators, but you have you, you know all of the sponsors like. You know all of these people. So what a beautiful way to say, hey, y'all that are playing in this playground, like, and you over here, like, why don't we just bring it all together and all get in the sandbox, get our hands dirty and figure out what these relationships can look like in a better way, a different way, a newer way, like, and I, I love this. I think it's so fun.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that, I mean. So there's some pretty unique things that I think we're going to do about this event. It's going to be kind of like an anti-conference, I think. Oh, I dream brand, for example, you leave with your uh media kit completely done. You know where you, that we have works workstations where you sit with me or someone on my team and we help you kind of go through your positioning. Uh, when you're going out and reaching out to sponsors, um, we're going to have a uh shark tank style pitch event with brands who will be the judges and the winner will actually get a sponsorship from that brand. Um, I'm just I love.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna go, like it's gonna be so dope and so I we're thinking, you know, 100, 150 attendees for the first one probably. Um, and I really want to find a space that's kind of like an old distillery or like something, where it's like kind of a cool vibe and get it catered and like I just, I don't know, I think it would just be so, where it's like kind of a cool vibe and get it catered and like I just I don't know, I think it would just be so fun. It's the event that I've always wanted to like go to, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, I know that earlier this year, you know you went to podcast movement evolutions. I didn't get a chance to go this year and I haven't been to a bigger podcast conference since 2021, when I went to the one in Nashville and that was like 3,000 people, I think, registered I don't know how many officially attended in person, but y'all, it's a lot, it's a lot of people and it was so much. And I mean you can imagine, justin, what do you think a bunch of podcasters want to do at a podcast conference? Y'all, I was hoarse. I was so hoarse after talking to everyone because everyone you walk up to, we love to talk Everyone was talking about wanting to talk and all these things. So, coming here to Craft and Commerce, which is where we are, you know, when we're recording this, it's such an intimate feel to it. And I've talked to sponsors, I've talked to people that this is their first time coming here and they're like, oh, this conference is different. It's so different than going to one where they're like, hi, nice to meet you, let's talk about the weather. Also, here's my sales pitch. That's how. It's just so quick to do that and I know that you will have something where people feel free to ask the questions and maybe they feel stupid asking their friends that may have more success than them.
Speaker 1:And it really wasn't until I found you. I mean in my sandbox, my group of friends nobody's even thought about sponsorships because they have it in their head. I'm not a big enough creator. I don't have the millions of followers. I don't have, you know, x, y and Z conversions, whatever the metrics that they're holding themselves to. And it wasn't until I heard you last year at Craft and Commerce like to bring this full circle, that I feel like you gave me the confidence to go after these things that do still feel big and scary. But now I'm like, oh no, I got this Like Justin's given me like here's the layout of Crystal, do this, don't do this Like. And your energy like okay, this is, this is the pitch. I was probably going to wait till later.
Speaker 1:I took Justin's program Brando wizard. So if you're like, how do I learn to have, you know, a wizard in my back pocket here here? Justin is here, but it was in hearing you speak from stage. This is doable, this is doable. And having someone who you have the heart to help creators of all shapes and sizes. Like I finally heard that message for the first time that I hadn't heard from other other ones. So I just want to say thank you. Like this is my chance to just be a brag fest on you, but yeah.
Speaker 2:That's so kind of you and I'm so happy to hear that you made that kind of evolution in your own journey, in your own brain, about your worth and your value. Because, to be honest, crystal, when I started doing this I very much did not anticipate that that would be such a block for a lot of people, because I very much came. I'm an engineer by my background and so I come at it with like here's the framework and here's the checklist and here's the strategies and all that stuff too, and I thought that would be enough. You know when I was talking to people, but you know when I started getting feedback of people being like.
Speaker 2:I just I can't hit send on this email. I can't I. What if they don't respond? Or what if they say no, or what if they say yes?
Speaker 2:and they ask for a meeting right? Whoa, that's terrifying Right, and um, and so it's been. It's terrifying right, and so it's been humbling for me to really empathize, I think, with all different types of people, regardless of where you're at in your journey. Because, let's be real, One thing I think also we've learned here, as we've heard from some amazing speakers and a lot of people who are way beyond me in my journey too, is that everyone's going through it. Everyone has doubts about, like, their own abilities and whether they belong in this room and whether they're, uh, you know, even worthy of of giving advice and like all this stuff too. So it's like it was comforting in that way, because I think it's just like we're all going through it, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean I'll tie it back to like present day.
Speaker 1:You know, there was a talk where the main takeaway was to make the ask, like make the ask like whatever that looks like in your business or whatever that looks like in your journey, and it brought me back to you, actually, of thinking of man. I didn't really have the confidence to make the ask of like hey, I know that you know this person really well, like could you give me an introduction? Or I know that you know someone that's related to this industry, like could you give me some insights on what are the main things that people are trying to accomplish here, so I can understand that audience, so that I can speak to them? And so I think that you know what you've just done so well in your whole journey is you make it comfortable for people to make that ask and say, just, can you just help me? You know, and I see it in you know I follow your YouTube. I'm always like hanging out with Justin in the comments, like he's hopping. Your live streams are incredible by the way.
Speaker 1:So I think, like hopping in the comments and being like, yeah, it's like just just stop what you're doing, stop your Googling and all the things, like just go listen to what Justin has to say, because you just have a heart to serve, and I really feel that.
Speaker 2:And actually let's talk about cause I know you have a commitment to how many creators that you want to help with deals. So talk a little bit about that. Yeah, so I have a mission to help creators, big and small, land a million sponsorships by 2032. So, cock is sick. And I mean we have eight years, eight years from now, Um, and you know, I think, interestingly, when I started this, I very much was thinking like, oh, influencers, that's the woodwork, like people who have conferences, people who have courses, people who you know have newsletters or communities, or all of the athletes, Crystal athletes, like people like I've had race car drivers, you know all sorts of really interesting people reach out to say like hey, you know, I'm not like an influencer dancing on TikTok, but I monetize my business through sponsorships.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Can you help me? Yeah, and for a long time I was like no, I was like. I was like I was like stiff arming people like no, no, stay away, You're not my ideal customer persona. No, you can't, I can't help you.
Speaker 2:And one day I was working with my copywriter, Perna. We were working on a sales page for one of my courses and we were on Zoom and she was just like why are you doing that, Justin? Why are you excluding people like that? And she said one thing which changed it for me, which was you are depriving people of a tremendous change and transformation in their life, in their business, by refusing to serve them. And I was like, oh, I just like felt that deep in my core and I decided to pivot the business. I decided to rather pivot, make it more inclusive, I guess, is like decide you know what I can help these people, I can serve these people. And so that was really, I think, when there that was an inflection point in the business for sure, when I was not so prescriptive about saying like, oh, this is only for these types of people, Um, and haven't looked back.
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh, like, and you were talking about, and you know, being part of the brand deal wizard community, I have seen all the different people that kind of come through the doors and share their stories, y'all. There was someone and I'm going to forget your name so I do apologize right now but he is a helicopter pilot for the deadliest catch and I'm like wait, what Like? What are you talking about? So when Jess is like yeah, I serve like a wide breadth of all these different types of people, I love the uniqueness of the people that I find, because I feel like it's the universal struggle of people saying, yeah, but they want to do this, but I don't have the experience, I don't have the connections, I don't have the millions of followers or the downloads or the views or whatever. So if someone's listening to this, watching right now, and they're finding themselves saying I'm just not enough to do this, like, what advice would you give to them?
Speaker 2:If you have influence over any body of people, regardless of what the format is, whether it's a book, whether you're an author, maybe you have influence over your small community in your local area where you live. Yeah, maybe you do have social media, regardless of what that is. If people trust you and they come to you for advice, or when you say something, people listen. That is valuable. That would be valuable to the right type of brand partner, and what I like to say is that a lot of people get very fixated on trying to work with the large national brands, the conglomerates. I want to work with Target or Starbucks or Nike or whatever, and there's such a tremendous opportunity to serve brands and companies in your local community who need help with. You know marketing challenges getting more foot traffic into their brick and mortar location for their five coffee shops around your County, or something like that. It's a different challenge, of course, where you know your pitch isn't going to be hey, come to them and be like let me talk about you on my Tik TOK to my 500 followers. That's not going to move the needle for them. However, if you say hey, I think there's a better way to a more compelling way to tell your brand story here in the following ways.
Speaker 2:I did kind of an audit of what your current strategy is. I could actually help create some content for you, for your website, for your social media, maybe for your local Facebook ad strategy. And hey, go by the way, go look at my podcast or go look at my Instagram, because it's my portfolio, and so I love giving people this liberating idea, because maybe one time a brand or a company said to you you have to have 10,000 followers or 10,000 listens on average on your podcast or whatever, and you thought I guess that's what every brand thinks and that limits a lot of people, and so I hope that this unlocked something for anyone watching or listening that, like, no one can tell you anything. You have to go out there and feel, find the fortitude, find the confidence to know that you actually there's some people out there who you might be able to serve.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and what I found shocking through this whole process is when someone comes to me, it's a brand and they have a concrete idea from previous creators that they've worked with.
Speaker 1:And they're like, okay, what's it going to cost me? And they don't see it. They see it's so transactional and it's not a partnership. The way that you teach people, you know, because because that's the thing, y'all if there's people that are willing to invest one time in a creator and you blow their socks off and you rock their world, they may work with you again.
Speaker 1:Like that's the beautiful thing, instead of like how many, you know, can I get like a hundred different sponsors? And all this. Like what if you got five quality sponsors that all of a sudden it's like, oh, this is how much I was making in my full-time job now. So I mean, I just think about like that part in and of itself and not trying to chase the numbers of like reaching out to 50 different companies and crossing my fingers and toes and hoping that someone says, yes, it's like wait, why don't we take a pause, do some research and actually see what their goals are, align them with your own and then really go deep with someone and I just think that that's it's. It's so different than anything else I had heard previously. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I have a bit more context on this, because I ran an influencer marketing agency for about seven years that what we often found when we were trying to recruit creators for a brand that had hired us to run a campaign for them, we often found ourselves gravitating not to the creators who had millions of followers or hundreds of thousands of followers it was often the people who had a more modest audience size but because we had such an amazing experience working with them last time, they were super professional, they were super communicative, they hit every deadline. When we received the assets, we had virtually no edits and even if we did have an edit, they were super accommodating. Oh yeah, I'll do a new voiceover, no big deal. It was actually those creators that we gravitated to, putting in every recommendation that we had to our clients, cause we were like we know we've done work with this person before. They're amazing. You should definitely pick them.
Speaker 2:We can put our fingers on the scale to some degree like that, and I think it's a really important thing to remember that it's not just about your reach. I mean, you mentioned, you know, my wife and I have been on the internet for 15 years and if you looked at our like influence, quote unquote now, compared to you know the heyday of, like, our YouTube career or whatever, we're literally at the lowest influence we've ever been. And yet we continue to get regular, lucrative partnership opportunities because of these relationships that we built, because they know the product that they're purchasing when they hire us. And it's not just about the reach. And, let's face it, organic distribution is virtually gone on social media now.
Speaker 2:So every brand knows that if they're going to do an influencer marketing campaign, they have to supplement it with paid media. So they know that, okay, we're gonna pay the influencer this much and then, in addition to the 500 K that we're spending on the you know 20 influencers we're hiring, there's an additional 500 K that we're going to be boosting all of the content with, and so they get it. They know that this is the game on social media. So, yes, of course, like having a baseline level of you know, reach, you know and following and stuff helps, like having a baseline level of you know, reach, you know and following and stuff helps. But if you can illustrate to them that, hey, this asset that I can create for you is going to be very compelling, especially if you boost it with paid media um, they may just go for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean again every time we chat. I feel like you just blow my mind again, but we cannot finish this conversation without telling us we need to update on. You're doing something new, you're doing something novel and you're writing a book.
Speaker 2:I'm writing a book crystal, I'm writing a book and I want to hear all the deeds okay um, it's called sponsor magnet how to attract, price and execute your dream sponsorships so you don't leave thousands on the table. Pretty good, hook right. Yes, um and uh, I very excited. I'm almost done with the manuscript I've got. I think I'll be done in a couple of weeks, okay, although, interestingly, can I? This is like inside baseball. Can I tell you something? Yes, interesting.
Speaker 2:So one thing I found if you watch any of my content or anything, I'm like very unserious. If you follow me on Twitter, I like post memes, I'm kind of a it's. I'm unserious, right, and and what I found is that through the process of writing, I felt as though my, my personality kind of got leeched from the pages and I was reading back and I was just like this doesn't sound like me, like it's, it's kind of textbooky. And so I am in the moment, right now, and I think I've found someone um, I'm hiring a comedy writer, an editor who has a comedy background, um, to do the first pass on the edit. I have another editor who I'm going to work with, uh, with the self publisher that I'm working with, um, but I don't know what's going to happen, but just this feels like a good idea because I just I want it to feel fun. I want the experience of reading this book to be, cause I know what's going to happen.
Speaker 2:I know that one thing that's happened here when I've been at the conference is that I'm really good, like when someone comes to me and is like I want to make more money on sponsorships, I can help you, like it's no brainer, here's all the million resources.
Speaker 2:But what is actually getting me more excited lately is the people who say sponsorships are not for me. Like I have courses, I have coaching, I have digital products. Like why would I like give airtime or add inventory to a brand? Like that makes I could make more money selling my own stuff. And I can have a five minute conversation with someone and they say, you know, maybe I've been thinking about this wrong, yes, and I'm going to give this another thought, and that just fires me up. Oh, man, that fires me up, and so that's that's what I want to have happen with the book, because I know that there's going to be people who pick it up, who are skeptical, who are like sponsorships I don't know. And my goal is, by the end they they finished that final page and they're like you know what this, this, maybe this is for me, that's the goal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh my gosh, I'm so excited, I cannot wait. Is there like? I mean, we can't pre-order yet?
Speaker 2:You can pre-order, you can pre-order. You can pre-order at sponsormagnetcom. Let's go.
Speaker 1:I didn't know if he was prepared with the link or not, so I didn't want to put him on the spot and be like I don't know, I have it, I have it, I have it.
Speaker 2:Overly prepared 50 pre-orders already. We're going, we've made some pre-orders and I've got some really stuff, fun, some really fun stuff planned for the launch. If you know me, I'm going to be. I'll just I'll just tell you this is just like a hidden secret I'm going to shoot a music video for the launch of the book, so so that's all I'm going to share, but it's going to be pretty dope yeah.
Speaker 1:We need like, I mean, we're not in Justin's studio. If we were in Justin's studio, we would have the sound effects.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't have the roadcaster right now.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, justin, this is so fun. Thank you for this conversation.
Speaker 2:Thank you, this was such a blast.
Speaker 1:It's always fun hanging out in person. It was really cool to have the setup that we did for this conversation, but really just to be face to face with someone very different right. I do virtual interviews. I don't typically do a lot of in-person things, but I love the dynamics. It was so much fun and the whole time I'm like, ooh, how do I make this setup happen in Houston where people can come visit me and we do stuff like this more often? Because, oh my gosh, it was a freaking blasty blast. And I encourage you like this is. This is my challenge for you If you've never done an in-person interview, try to make it happen this year, because it was so much fun.
Speaker 1:The dynamic of us talking together felt so much more natural and well rounded conversation was just had because we were sharing the space and it was just really powerful. So I mean I've already talked about Brando wizard a million times go check it out. This is Justin's course, his program and what taught me all about sponsorships and how you can monetize your content. So go check it out. There's going to be a link in the show notes, so make sure you go and if you're interested, you want to learn more about making money, like learn from the master who taught me all the things, but that's all I have for you today.
Speaker 1:So, if you are in or around Boise, go check out ConvertKit or Kit's brand new podcast studios. They are so awesome. And try to schedule, like, make that in-person interview happen, even if it's just with your best friend, your mom, your partner, like whatever. Make it happen this year, it will be totally worth your while. But, as always, remember, subscribe to the podcast. Make it happen this year, it will be totally worth your while, but, as always, remember, subscribe to the podcast, follow it wherever you're listening and, as always, keep it up. We all have to start somewhere.
