Still Relying on Rented Land for Sponsors?

Written by: Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE

Back in August 2025, I had the opportunity to speak at the Content Entrepreneur Expo (CEX) and engage with content marketing thought leaders like Mark Schaefer, Ann Handley, Jay Clouse, and others.

Although each had their own focus, two themes surfaced repeatedly:

1. Cultivate and engage your email list.

2. Do not build your strategy on rented land.

It made me think that the best content marketers understood something many sponsorship teams overlook. Visibility that depends on algorithms, event cycles, or launch moments is fragile. Owned infrastructure creates leverage.

If you're primarily engaging with potential sponsors on a platform you don't own or only reaching out when you have a proposal, renewal, or funding gap, you are building your sponsorship strategy on rented land.

Sponsorship momentum is not built at the moment of the ask. It is built long before through consistent, intentional communication directed specifically at:

• Current sponsors

• Former sponsors

• High-potential sponsor prospects

  
  

Not via a social media strategy. Not via general brand awareness.

An owned, structured, ongoing email strategy just for sponsors.

The Gap Most Organizations Don't See

Most organizations already send:

• Member newsletters

• Donor appeals

• Event promotions

• Public updates

  
  

But they don't maintain a structured sponsor-facing communication stream for:

• Current sponsors

• Lapsed sponsors

• Qualified sponsor prospects

  
  

Those contacts sit in a CRM or spreadsheet until someone decides it is time to reach out.

By then, context is cold. Familiarity has faded. Narrative continuity has broken.

The proposal may be strong. The mission may be compelling. But the internal effort required for a sponsor to justify partnership is higher than it needs to be.

Because the relationship was not steadily nurtured.

What an Owned Sponsor Email Strategy Looks Like

This doesn't require weekly campaigns but does require a disciplined approach.

At a minimum, sponsors and qualified prospects should hear from you quarterly.

A sponsor-focused email cadence can include:

Strategic Direction Updates: Where the organization is headed and why. Sponsors want to see trajectory, not just activity.

Meaningful Progress Signals: Milestones reached, partnerships formed, member growth, program evolution. Indicators of momentum, not vanity metrics.

Industry Insight: What you are seeing in your field that may intersect with their priorities. This positions your organization as a thought partner.

Alignment Themes: Clear articulation of how your work intersects with corporate priorities such as workforce development, community impact, innovation, or brand trust.

Member/Stakeholder Stories: Profile a member or share an impact story. This puts a face to their potential support.

Light Invitations to Engage: Opportunities to attend a briefing, receive insight, or stay connected. Not proposals. Not pricing. Just openings. The goal is not volume. The goal is continuity.

Why This Matters

While social visibility is rented and algorithms decide what is seen, email is owned, direct, and controllable.

When sponsors receive steady, thoughtful communication over time, recognition compounds. Trust accumulates. Your direction becomes easier to understand. Your evolution becomes easier to follow.

So when a sponsorship conversation begins, it does not feel abrupt. It feels logical.

You cannot manufacture familiarity the week a proposal is due.

You can either build owned infrastructure that keeps you present long before the ask

or wait and rely on rented attention. Owned ground wins.

P.S. If you are evaluating your current sponsor communication strategy and want an outside perspective, I’m always open to a strategic conversation. lori@thegrowthowl.com