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...

Written by: Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE Most sponsorship conversations feel like they hinge on what happens in the room or on the Zoom. The presentation. The discussion. The follow-up. But the real decision rarely happens there. What determines whether a sponsorship moves forward happens after the meeting, when the sponsor has to make sense of the conversation internally. Before a sponsor can say yes externally, they have to answer one critical question internally: Can I justify this decision...

Written by Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE As we're nearing the end of January, I'm seeing a heightened urgency around securing sponsorship commitments. Budgets are tight. Goals feel pressing. Leaders are eager to get conversations moving. And yet, when organizations finally get in front of potential sponsors, something subtle often shifts. What starts as intention begins to feel like pursuit. Conversations that were meant to open doors start to feel like a chase. This isn't because organizations...