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Two weeks ago, I was at the Briscoe Museum events center in San Antonio, not sure what I’d gotten myself into.

I’d signed up for Justin Moore 🧲's Sponsor Games after reading his book Sponsor Magnet, and I walked into a room filled with people who, just like me, were interested in getting brand deals. But that’s kind of where the similarity ended. Over the course of four days, we got to know each other and worked together - and competitively - across a bunch of challenges, as we learned the Sponsor Magnet system.

There were people who had 100k+ YouTube subscribers, people who already relied on brand deals for a major part of their income, and then there was me. Hello, I have 4k subscribers, and the brand deals I’ve done I can count on one hand.

Now, I wasn’t the only one with a small audience, but it was strange being the only web designer. Usually, at conferences, you can’t swing a stick without hitting one of us. But I had so many interesting conversations - from talking with creators who build koi points to others who review kitchen appliances, and everything in between. Diversity in content, but also diversity across people, which was really great. (Shout out to my over 50 folks!)

And Sponsor Games was so much more than I expected. It wasn’t just learning the system from the book. It was actually learning how to implement it with live feedback to help you understand what you could do better.

And just as importantly, we learned from brands themselves. Reps from Lulu Press, Inc., Kit, Paperform, and Shure, brands that sponsored the games, were there and shared invaluable advice on pitching and working with brands.

I was also part of an incredible team, thanks to Darrell Vesterfelt, Elizabeth Henson, Rychelle Wilks, and Corey Wilks.

So, how did I win?

First, I listened. If you know me, you know I’m certainly not the first person to volunteer to get on stage. So, I learned from other attendees as they worked with Justin and got live feedback. I paid attention when the brands spoke about what was important to them. (Spoiler: it’s NOT a huge audience. Whew.) And I took notes as we walked through each phase of the sponsorship process. Because that’s how I learn.

Next, I played hard. We had timed quizzes on two days, and apparently, all those days I spent playing You Don’t Know Jack paid off. I answered fast. And because I paid attention, I answered mostly right. (There were some tricky ones! And one that still haunts me. shakes fist at sky)

That put me in the top 8, where each of us pitched our dream brand Shark Tank style, and Justin role-played a brand rep. (This is when I had to put my watch and phone in Do Not Disturb mode because I was pretty sure I’d be getting heart rate alerts.)

And after an hour of waiting outside while the first 6 finalists pitched, it was my turn. And I did pitch. But you know what I MOSTLY did? Listened. I listened to what Justin was throwing at me (a LOT, very FAST, with CURVEBALLS), but I took a breath, paid attention, and shared some ideas on how I could help with those challenges - making sure I hit the principles we learned over the course of the Games. And more than anything else, I kept in mind I wasn’t just pitching a brand, I was having a conversation with another person. (Who, from the sound of it, was having a pretty frantic day. KPIs!!!!!!) So, I listened. Repeated back what I understood, shared some ideas on how to achieve the brand’s goals, AND I remembered to breathe (not a single heart rate alert!).

Did I nail everything? Nope, I forgot to share details about my audience. And thanks to the judges’ feedback, that’s not something I’ll forget again.

But I did enough to win, and I’m so grateful. I got to cross off a major bucket list item (there’s a pic of me holding a giant check!). I got a $5k cash prize. And most importantly, along with some other prizes, I got a spot in Justin’s mastermind for the next year to continue learning and honing my skills.

So, if you are thinking that you might want to work with brands, even if you have a tiny audience, start where I did: Grab a copy of Sponsor Magnet. Sign up for the next $10k Brand Deal Challenge. Then take a chance and sign up for the 2027 Sponsor Games. And, just like me, you might surprise yourself.