It’s never too early to find sponsors to advertise
on your band’s publications in exchange for large sums of money to cover expenses. Bands that think like a business and fund themselves by finding
sponsorship dollars can get a lot more done than bands without this type of
financial support. 

With enough, in the way of sponsorship dollars, a band can fund not only
a Pay-to-Play booking, but also can cover other needs including band equipment, the cost of a website, band
photos, as well as marketing and
advertising costs.

Before you attempt to find sponsors the band, or band
manager, should develop a sponsorship proposal letter. This letter will explain everything
about your band’s goals, the project for which you seek sponsorship, and the benefits
the sponsor will receive by paying for advertising. 

This document will make
snagging a sponsor easier in that it relays information the potential sponsor
will want to see and it leaves you free of having to memorize this information.

The following are elements I suggest you have cover in the sponsorship proposal letter.

Prepare the Story

To start with, sit down with your band mates and formulate
the band’s story. If you already have a bio you can use it as a base to start
from. This single paragraph is a basic where we came from and where we
plan to go story, it is not a life biography so keep it short, sweet, and
effective. 

You can also use this to help construct an elevator pitch that you will use to pitch to potential sponsors when you meet them.

When crafting a story use these points to help you
brainstorm a script:

• What genre the band is—how the band
  differs from other bands in the same genre near you and on the major charts
• The band’s strength—what sets you
  apart from the rest of the bands around you, the compliments paid to
  the band, the things that make the band assured and confident
• What the band would like to do most—what the band’s long-term goals 
• The band’s motivatiors— a CD Release, getting signed, starting a regional tour

Here is an example elevator pitch:

The RockStahhhs is a dynamic
four-piece hard rock band with members from Berkley and CSU. In just 6 months
since we have sold 500 copies of our first album and have been hailed as
“the next Rolling Stones” by LA Weekly. We’re on a mission to play
all of the West Hollywood clubs over the next few months and gain exposure to
over 10,000 fans while we capture the attention of major label execs. We want
to find sponsors who could use exposure to our fans and build a symbiotic
relationship.

Make a Mission Statement

Just like any business, a band with a mission statement can
experience more success when they have documented their goals. 

A
mission statement is formal document explaining your values and future plans,
and while most mission statements by corporations are long and extensive, your
band’s mission statement for the use of the sponsorship doesn’t be much more
than a couple of paragraphs.  

Follow the Tuts+ guide on How
to Write a Vision and Mission Statement to help the band or the band
manager craft a engaging mission statement.

Determine Audience Demographics

Sponsors want to know what type of people their ad, or sponsorship, is going
in front of in order to determine if your audience would be interested in their product. 

Expect to be asked to provide some information about your fan base. Some
basic demographics include average age range, sex, income level,
and average amount of expendable income.

Some of these questions might be hard to give an exact
answer to such as income levels since your fan base is going to be a niche
group. One idea to help you gather details about your fan base is to send out surveys to subscribers of your email marketing list. Ask your fans
to fill out a simple form with demographical questions in exchange for a nifty
prize.

You can find some assistance with gathering demographics
from these resources:

• Small Business Association
• American
  Fact Finder
• City-Data
• The Local Library

Set Sponsorship Levels

By creating different levels of sponsorship you can make it
easy for businesses of different sizes and incomes to afford ads. This practice
is recommended because it also encourages repeat sponsors to move up in ad
sizes over time. 

Here’s a very basic template any band can use as a guide:

Top Level Sponsor—$250

• 3’x3′ Logo on Vinyl Banner
• Headlining 1″x1″ Logo & Text on
  Print & Web Flyers
• Featured on Band Website Front Page, 468x90px Banner 6 months
• 3 Mentions At Live Show
• 3 Social Media Mentions

2nd Level Sponsor—$150

• 1’x1″ Logo on Vinyl Banner
• 5″x.5″ Logo and Text on Print & Web Flyers
• Featured on Band Website Front Page, 468x90px Banner 4 months
• 2 Mentions At Live Show
• 2 Social Media Mentions

3rd Level Sponsor—$75

• 1’x1″ Logo on Vinyl Banner
• 5″x.5″ Logo and Text on Print & Web Flyers
• 2 Mention At Live Show
• 1 Social Media Mention

4th Level Sponsor—$25

• 1’x1″ Logo on Vinyl Banner
• 5″x.5″ Logo and Text on Print & Web Flyers
• 1 Mention At Live Show
• 1 Social Media Mention

Sponsorship Proposal Letter

Once you have drafted all of the information, you can combine it all into a final Sponsorship Proposal Letter. 

To review you will
include in this document:

• The Band’s Story
• The Band’s Mission Statement
• Audience Demographics
• The Project Being Funded
• Sponsorship Packages Details

Writing a Sponsorship Contract

Once you land a sponsor, the band will need to present the
sponsor with a contract that spells out what is expected from them as well as
what the sponsor can expect from your band. 

This contract will also hold the
sponsor responsible for making a timely payment and submitting the necessary
artwork and/or text for their ad by your required deadline. 

Other items this
contract should address include:

• Sponsorship Level Chosen
• Project to be Sponsored
• Fee(s) Owed
• Payment Terms
• Waiver of Legal Use of Intellectual Property
  (i.e. sponsor’s logo)
• Any Miscellaneous Requirements

There are multiple resources to help your band or your band manager write a contract, including some pre-written template contracts for sponsorship that you can download from the internet and customize for your band. 

To find them, type sponsorship contract template in Google to find multiple options. With the complexity and importance of this contract it is my recommendation that you consult with a lawyer to review your contract to be sure what you hand to the sponsor is indeed a legally binding and valid contract.