Sponsorships - 5 Tips to Consider When Soliciting Sponsors

1. Understand Arkansas Lemon Laws budget. What this means is make sure you have one! This should not be an arbitrary number that is pulled out of IRS attorney air but the actual costs it will take to execute your plan. To do this you will need to conduct thorough research. Remember to consider all costs required to implement a successful project.

2. After you've conducted your research and developed your budget remember sponsors can also contribute to your costs without giving cash. Sponsors often give "in kind" which can be very valuable. Remember to assign a dollar amount to the "in kind" services or product that is given. For example, one of our sponsors covered all of our printing costs which saved us a great deal of money.

3. Consider what you can offer your sponsor besides traditional advertising which they could pay for directly. For instance, if you have a large newsletter subscriber list, you could mention your sponsor in your newsletter, giving an added benefit to them. (never sell or give your list to anyone without the permission of your subscriber)

4. Think of the sponsor needs, not yours in order to create a win-win situation. Will sponsoring your event enhance their visibility, increase sales, define or redefine their image, etc.

5. Follow up! Give thorough reports of the event. Be honest. If something didn't go as planned or if you weren't able to deliver on something, tell the sponsor. Hopefully you are building a long term relationship and if you're honest when things go bad, they will certainly appreciate you when it's good.

Jacqueline Lisenby "Independent Entertainment Coach" is the owner of Statusj, http://www.statusj.com a lifestyle/entertainment marketing and media company. Statusj also serves as a resource for independent entertainment properties in the fields of music, theatre, tv and film; and businesses wishing to align with such.