A faith-based media platform selling newsletter sponsorships used short, permission-based asks to outperform industry averages targeting media buyers and C-level executives.
A faith-based media platform with a daily newsletter reaching millions of subscribers needed to fill their sponsorship pipeline. Their audience skews heavily toward mothers and family decision-makers—a valuable but niche demographic that most advertisers don’t know how to reach.
The challenge was twofold: find brands whose products align with a values-driven audience, and reach the right decision-makers at those brands—media buyers, marketing directors, and founders—who control sponsorship budgets.
Traditional outbound approaches struggled because sponsorship sales require trust and alignment, not just volume. The platform needed a messaging strategy that communicated audience quality without coming across as a generic ad sales pitch.
| Seniority | C-Level, Directors, VPs |
| Department | Marketing, Executive, Operations |
| Company Size | SMBs to mid-market (1–500 employees) |
| Geography | United States (92% of positive replies) |
| Industries | Family services, media, internet, retail, health & wellness |
Two concurrent campaigns ran across the total addressable market: a broad sweep targeting media buyers and marketing leadership, and a focused campaign targeting newsletter and podcast sponsors specifically.
Both campaigns led with the platform’s audience quality—reach, engagement rates, and demographic alignment—rather than pricing or features. Exclusions were strict: no alcohol, gambling, or adult brands.
Multiple email variants tested different tones (formal vs. informal), lengths (ultra-short to long), and structures (problem-first vs. value-prop-first), with component-level performance tracking.
The shortest, simplest permission-based CTA generated 23 positive replies—outperforming the longer media-kit CTA by 2.5x. A casual “Mind if I send more info?” performed nearly as well at 20 replies.
Emails structured as Problem → Value Prop → CTA generated the most positive replies across all tones. Leading with the prospect’s challenge before presenting the sponsorship opportunity created natural relevance.
43 positive replies came from C-level executives—far more than any other seniority tier. Founders and CEOs at smaller companies make sponsorship decisions fast, and the pitch’s audience-quality focus resonated with them directly.
Among tagged positive replies, ultra-short emails generated the most engagement (14 replies across tones), though formal long-form emails also performed (7 replies)—suggesting detailed sponsorship pitches work for decision-makers who want substance.
| Seniority | Department | Company Size | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-Level | Executive | 1–10 employees | 43 |
| Mid-Level | Executive | 51–200 employees | 12 |
| Director | Marketing | 201–500 employees | 6 |
| Mid-Level | Marketing | 11–50 employees | 5 |
| Manager | Marketing | 51–200 employees | 2 |
Based on enriched contact data. Some replies had incomplete profile information.
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