It's August.

And I'm already talking about Christmas.

I know what you're thinking: "Justin, dude, it's 90 degrees outside. Can we not?"

But here's the thing—if you're waiting until October or November to pitch brands for the holidays, you're already too late.

The Budget Anxiety Window

Right now, at this very moment, brand executives are sitting in conference rooms (or on Zoom calls, let's be real) trying to figure out how to allocate their Q4 marketing budgets. We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars that need to be deployed in the next few months.

And they're stressed about it.

When I ran my agency, we'd get RFPs for campaigns 14 months in advance. Fourteen months. A restaurant chain once sent us a million-dollar RFP in January for a campaign that wasn't going to run until March of the following year.

This is how serious brands are about planning their holiday activations.

So while you're sitting here thinking "I'll reach out in a few months," brands are already building their creator rosters. They're already allocating budget. They're already planning which 30 creators they want to work with out of the 200 they'll need to contact.

The Math That Should Terrify You

Let me break down what actually happens when brands do holiday outreach. These are real numbers from when I ran my agency:

• 50% of creators never respond

• 25% take at least a week to respond

• 15% respond promptly but have schedule conflicts

• 5% respond promptly and are available but charge too much

• 5% respond promptly, are available, and are within budget

Out of 100 creators, only five actually move forward.

And brands know this. Which is why they start planning so early. They need time to play this numbers game.

Stop Thinking Like a Creator, Start Thinking Like a Consultant

Here's where most creators go wrong: they look in the mirror and see someone with followers. Someone who makes content. Someone who maybe gets decent engagement.

What they should see is a strategic partner who can help brands capture mind share during the most competitive shopping season of the year.

Want to know something wild? I constantly provide feedback to brands about their landing pages. The copy is terrible. The headline isn't clear. The call-to-action button is buried at the bottom. The features aren't compelling.

And you know what? Most brands have never had a creator tell them this.

You might be thinking: "But Justin, I'm not a copywriter. I'm not a UX expert."

Look—if you've ever sold anything directly to your audience, you already know more than most brands about conversion. If you've studied what makes people click on a YouTube thumbnail or watch the first 30 seconds of your video, you understand attention and retention better than their marketing team.

That knowledge is incredibly valuable. Use it.

The Relationship Recap Report That Changes Everything

Let's say you worked with a brand nine months ago and haven't talked to them since. You want to get a holiday deal but don't know how to re-engage them.

Here's what you do: create a relationship recap report.

Go back and find every piece of content you made with them. Grab all the stats. Copy every single comment from those posts. Dump them into ChatGPT or Claude and ask it to analyze the sentiment. What were the top five comments? What did people say about the brand specifically? Were there any concerns or objections?

Then package this all up and send it to them: "Hey, I loved working with you last year. I put together this report showing the impact of our partnership. I'd love to explore working together again for the holidays."

This is especially powerful if there's been turnover and your original contact isn't there anymore. The new person now sees exactly why you're a valuable partner—something they couldn't know otherwise.

Why Video Pitches Will 10x Your Response Rate

Everyone has access to ChatGPT now. Everyone can write a grammatically correct email. The inbox is more crowded than ever.

But a 60-second video pitch where you're actually talking to them? Where you're showing your personality and enthusiasm? Where you're demonstrating that you actually researched their brand?

That's a completely different game.

AI can help you write better emails. It can't make you better on camera. It can't replicate the confidence you build by approaching sponsors at trade shows. It can't simulate the quick thinking required for a live call with a brand contact.

Master those skills now. That's your moat.

The Multi-Touch Campaign Nobody Else Is Pitching

Instead of pitching one-off holiday posts, why not propose a campaign that builds momentum from September through January?

Back to school. Halloween. Black Friday. Christmas. New Year's resolutions.

Tell them you'll do monthly calls to analyze the data from each integration and use those insights to inform the next one. You'll track what questions people are asking, what concerns keep coming up, what messaging resonates.

You think any other creator is offering that level of strategic partnership?

I can promise you they're not.

The Landing Page Feedback They Desperately Need

Here's something I do constantly that brands literally never expect: I tell them how to fix their landing pages.

They'll send me a link and say "drive people here." And I'll look at it and think: this is terrible.

So I tell them. Get rid of the navigation bar. Put a video of me at the top. One clear call-to-action button. That's it. Nothing else they can click.

The brand is usually shocked. I might be the first person who's ever given them this feedback.

This is the unlock: helping brands understand that working with you isn't just about your audience numbers. It's about the strategic value you bring to the table.

What Joe and I Learned About Following Up

My co-host Joe (who's also my lead coach in Wizard's Guild) recently had something frustrating happen. Three different deals he'd been nurturing—good relationships, lots of back-and-forth—all went radio silent.

He kept providing value. Sent the media kit. Shared testimonials. Followed up with helpful articles.

Then suddenly: "We've decided to go in a different direction."

This happens. And it's incredibly annoying when brands don't have the courtesy to just tell you earlier.

But here's the thing: Joe didn't burn those bridges. He kept following up professionally. And one of those brands? A year later, they're moving forward with a new deal.

Because sometimes it's not about you. Sometimes their budget got cut. Sometimes priorities shifted. Sometimes the timing just wasn't right.

But if you stay top of mind with value, you're there when the timing IS right.

The Question You Should Be Asking Right Now

Calvin asked a great question during the live stream: "I review music gear and brands keep sending me stuff for free. How do I turn these into paid opportunities without compromising my ethics?"

Here's the approach: find out what their actual goal is.

Maybe they want to rank on YouTube for "best 5-string bass guitar." Maybe they want to drive sales of their new product. Maybe they just want awareness among your specific audience.

Once you know the goal, you can propose something valuable that deserves payment.

Like: "I'll create seven SEO-optimized videos that live on YOUR YouTube channel targeting the exact keywords where you're not showing up. I'll make the thumbnails. I'll do everything. This isn't a product review on my channel—this is content marketing for your brand."

Now you're not just a reviewer who gets free gear. You're a strategic partner who helps them accomplish specific business objectives.

What Nobody's Telling You About Pricing

The additional rights you negotiate—exclusivity, licensing, amplification—often end up being worth more than the content creation itself.

If a brand wants to use your content in their own ads for three months, that should cost them an incremental 25% of your base rate per month. If they want exclusivity in your category, add 10% per month.

This isn't some scheme I made up. This is standard in the industry. Brands are used to paying production companies to create assets they can use in long-term advertising campaigns.

The content is one thing. The rights to distribute that content everywhere? That's something else entirely.

Here's Your Action Plan

It's August. You have maybe two weeks before you need to start your holiday outreach.

First: make a list of brands you've worked with in the past year. Put together relationship recap reports for your top three.

Second: research 10 new brands you'd love to work with. Study what they did last holiday season. Come up with specific ideas for how you could help them do better this year.

Third: practice your video pitch. Get comfortable talking to a camera for 60 seconds about why a brand should work with you.

Fourth: reach out. Not in October. Not in September. Now.

Because while everyone else is waiting for "the right time," you're going to be the person who slides into that budget meeting at exactly the moment the brand is trying to figure out who to allocate money to.

Want to join the live calls where we answer sponsorship questions in real-time? Check out Wizard's Guild. Unlike managers or agents, we take 0% of your sponsorship revenue—you keep everything you earn.