Originally published March 4, 2020. Most recently updated September 10, 2024.
If you’re looking to be a sponsored angler, this ultimate guide will help you get started. This guide includes expert advice from people who have spent years working as reps for several brands in the fishing industry. You may be reading this guide thinking that the only way to get sponsors is to have an outstanding track record in fishing tournaments. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, having an outstanding track record in tournaments means nothing to a company if the angler does not promote and sell the product well. Sure, winning lots of major tournaments puts your name on the map, but companies typically don’t go knocking on everyone’s door anymore when there are so many major tournaments with so many anglers. Plus, there are so many social media influencers out there. So, how do you set yourself apart from the rest of the crowd? Here are 3 major ways to get sponsors.
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Build relationships
Building relationships is listed at number one for a reason. It doesn’t matter if an angler fishes local tournaments on the weekends or if he is a seasoned veteran on the professional level, maintaining close relationships is the most important part in keeping or gaining sponsors. Relationships are not limited to first seeking the ones that are high up in the companies, however. They can be formed with local tackle store managers and sales representatives for the companies. These types of people have connections with big name brands in the fishing industry and can often have a big influence on what anglers a company might sponsor. Building relationships can simply start with supporting what they do. If you don’t know exactly what their job consists of, ask them. People usually love to tell other people about what they do for their everyday job, especially if it’s a cool job like working in the fishing industry! If you see a sales representative setting up or taking down product at an event, go over there and help that person. Hardly anyone does this, and a person can really set themselves apart from the crowd by simply being a helping hand at events. A lot of reps set up booths by themselves at fishing tournament weigh-ins, so this would be the perfect time to build that relationship. Also, support your local tackle shop by stopping in there every now and then. Even if you’re not buying any product, you can still just stop in there and talk to people! Just make sure you don’t have the mindset of just wanting free product or hot deals on product, but rather have the mindset of simply wanting to talk to people. When you do buy products at local tackle shops, however, it would be beneficial to make a post on social media about a product you had success on. Make sure to tag the store in your social media posts and mention that you can find that product at that specific store. You can also take it a step further by sending the store fishing reports highlighting products that they stock or sending them fish pictures or short stories they can use on their website or social media that can help them provide content to their customers.
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Focus on what you can do for the company, not what they can do for you.
When approaching a company, it is always better to contact the ones that you use and believe in their product. Don’t just go out and try to find more sponsors than the average professional angler. It is easier to form good relationships with less companies rather than trying to reach many companies for a product discount. When it comes to focusing on what you can do for them, DO NOT say things like, “I love your products and have used them for a long time, and I am fishing this tournament trail this year. I will promote your products on my social media and on my YouTube channel that I just started. I will also put your logo on my truck, boat, and jersey…”. This is the type of message that most sponsor applicants send, and you will not be setting yourself apart from the crowd sending a message like this. While these are all good ways to promote the company, this does not guarantee sales for a company. When determining who to sponsor, companies look for anglers who can make sales for them. This is why it is important to go after companies that you believe in their product, because it is easier to sell a product that you are passionate about and believe in. DO NOT promote competitor brands of the company you are attempting to get sponsored by. Also, do not talk badly about any company as you could easily burn a bridge there. If you want to go to the next level, make a short presentation or video showing specific ways of how you can impact the company’s sales (this is something that you could show to the sales representative that you’ve built a relationship with). Also, be specific about what you expect in return. Be humble and state that you would like to start with a discount on purchasing products and hopefully move to some free product in the future with good performance. Once you build a relationship with the sales representative, you can help him out by going to different tackle shops and taking pictures of any product that is low or letting him know if there is a key product from that brand that is missing in the store (you might even become best friends with the sales rep if you do this). There are many other ways that you can act as a “secret spy” for companies in tackle stores even when it comes to observing what competitor brands or products are selling in that store. There are also other opportunities such as helping a company at consumer shows, which could perhaps be one of the best ways to showcase your salesman skills.
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Build your social media
There is no doubt that social media is king in our business world today. While it is not the only thing that companies look at, it is in fact one of the main things. Social media and YouTube can be utilized by making content that is useful for other anglers. If you are not good on social media, however, you can still provide value by being willing to supply lots of pictures and content that companies can use on social media. Social media and YouTube drives sales as users can simply click on links that take them to the brand or product page. One of the most popular YouTube channels in the fishing industry is TacticalBassin. They do a great job putting links in the video description of everything they are using, and they even promote brands that they aren’t sponsored by! Learn to take good pictures, make short videos, write blogs, make graphics or social posts with the brand products and send them on a regular basis. When it comes to social media, it is important to post regularly and never become stagnant. Successful social media and YouTube users post at least 3 times per week on each platform they use. It takes a lot of time and effort, but you can boost your worth to a company by eventually getting paid by them. Just make sure to be willing to start at the bottom with a company and work your way up as you make more sales for them.
Conclusion
Utilizing these 3 core principles from this ultimate guide to sponsorship will not only help you gain sponsors, but it will also help you maintain the sponsors that you have. These are things that even professional anglers do to maintain their income rather than just cashing checks in tournaments. Use these three key principles regularly and you will see results!