From Garage Builds to Brand Deals - How to Get Sponsored

So you want to get sponsored by a truck accessory or wheel company?

Sponsorship (noun)
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A long-term business relationship where a brand provides products, compensation, or other support in exchange for ongoing promotion, quality content, and measurable value from the creator.
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You’ve got a badass truck build, your buddies hype you up and your TikToks are going viral. You're thinking, “It’s time to get sponsored.”

Not so fast, cowboy. This ain’t a free parts handout.

If you want to roll with the big dogs, you’ve got to bring more to the table than wides, a cool wrap and some followers.

This article is about how to actually get a non-pyramid scheme brand (anyone legit) to take you seriously. With some ideas & strategy.

Going to shows, events / races and engaging in online communities definitely matters, and can build connections and opportunities, but this alone does not drive sponsorships.

With social media at everyone's fingertips and us all having the ability to reach 100s of thousands of people organically, online marketing is the primary focus for most brands these days. This is what this article is focused on.

Step 1: Set your expectations

Aim high, set low expectations. 

This may not be what you want to hear, but most sponsorships are not free parts. Most companies are only offering small discounts, and you may be surprised to hear that some of the people who you think are getting everything free, really aren't.

The good news for most reading this: Large influencers expect much more in return, and often don't put out enough. You can compete, by simply out-doing them in volume and effort.

 

Step 2: Build a Real Audience (not just your cousins and high-school buddies)

First off, your social media follower count can play a big role, but not just how many, it's who follows you.

We’re talking real relevant people who engage, comment, share, and give a crap about your build/content. You don’t need 100k followers, but if you’ve got a tight-knit, engaged community, you're at a great start.

Most brands have already tried giving away products to people with large followings. Most of the time, it doesn’t bring any return on investment.

If you have had a few viral videos, but the rest of your content is barely getting views and engagement, there is work and strategy involved.

Post consistently and reply to comments. Brands want reach and fans, not bots. 

 

Step 3: Your Content Has to Be FIRE 🔥

We can’t stress this enough: If your content looks like it was filmed on a potato, you’re not getting sponsored. Period.

Take time to shoot clean, high quality photos and videos. You don’t need a camera crew, but you do need to put in the effort. New iPhones are quite capable. With some practice, settings and good edits, you can achieve very decent results.

There’s lots of info online on how to get the highest possible quality out of your setup and posted on social media with minimal compression. Take the time to research and make tweaks in your editing program, phone and social media settings to get the best outcome possible.

Want us to send you a free hood stack? Cool. We’re gonna need a return on investment:

If you’re not famous, you are going to need to make quite a few solid reels / photos, and maybe a YouTube video out of it.

A brand can send you parts out of their pocket, but needs to see that you are trustworthy, reputable and doing the same for others.

A great start is to film content showing other parts on your build and showing brands what they can expect if they were to send you their product.

Step 4: Know What YOU Can Offer a Brand

We’re talking:

• Killer install videos that make others say “I need those parts.”
• High quality reels with the product visible.
• Clean shots for the brand's website or marketing decks.
• Reviews and feature breakdowns that help sell the product.

📸 Show us that you have more than a truck with parts - you’re a content machine.

Remember, it's your job to help the companies that sponsor you, make sales.

Step 5: After building a foundation, reach out the right way.

No brand opens their DMs to: “Hey bro, tryna get sponsored. LMK.”

This will tell the company all they need to know. Try this instead:

• Share your social links and stats (engagement, reach, profile visits, saves, shares, audience demographics, reposts, etc.)
• Show past content examples
• Tell the brand what you want AND what you’re offering

Pro Tip 👉: If your content shows your work like a portfolio, and you offer to send a brand a collection of HD photos and videos in a Dropbox of the product mounted and on a truck in return for said product, you are ahead of 99.9% of your competition. 

You posted one fire reel, cool. But what about next week?

If you want to work with a brand long-term, you have to be consistent. Brands aren’t looking for a gamble, they want a partner that delivers over time. 

🎯 Keep it short, sharp and professional. It really helps if you bring something to the table and tag the brand in content, before you even message.

Be a fan first, then a partner.

You want to get noticed? Start repping before the sponsorship.

Tag brands, share posts, and hype the gear you already run.

Remember, most companies already have connections and influencers in their contacts. After all, if the brand's product is cool or solves a problem, it’s very likely that messages come in weekly, if not daily, with sponsorship opportunities..

Stick out from the rest.

Opportunity to make $$$ - Commission through Shopify Collabs

If you’ve gotten this far, here is an opportunity that has been a hot topic for us here lately.

Shopify Collabs is a revolutionary system for creators to receive commission for each order placed using their discount code.

Creating an account is free, and puts you on the map for brands to come across your profile.

You can also reach out to brands, mentioning that you have a profile already setup, and you could be taken more seriously. If you secure trust and a brand decides to work with you, you will receive a discount code to advertise and a commission rate. No time wasted.

Unless you are famous, purchase the product you want to advertise. After all, your plans are to make way more in commission than the value of the product itself, right?

Simply placing the code in your bio won't be enough. It probably won't do much sitting in a caption either. 

You still have to put in the work, make the content, but the earning potential is unlimited.

Pick a product that you believe you can sell, and start selling it. Something that you believe in.

Shopify handles the transparency between you and the brand, tracking all orders placed using your code to your account in real time, with automatic payouts at your agreed commission rate.

Let’s get to work.

Think you’ve got what it takes?

Show us what you’re building.

We’re watching 👀