For years, the advice to creators has been the same: build an audience, then find ways to get them to pay you directly. This lead folks to Patreon, KoFi, Ghost so they could offer subscriptions, memberships, tips. It works, but it has a ceiling. On my podcast, my co-host and I offered Patreon memberships and got it up to $300 per month. We were happy to have their support, but we quickly learned that a single brand deal could net us 2x what we were earning from Patreon.

Businesses can have significant marketing budgets, and reaching customers is getting harder than ever. This puts creators in an advantageous position. You’ve built up an audience, and earned their trust. By partnering with the right corporate sponsors, you’ll have a dependable revenue channel.

In the age of AI, businesses need distribution

My friend Lars Lofgren has been a top marketer for decades. He recently described the challenge that many companies are facing:

“You either have to be the influencer or you’re gonna pay the influencer. That’s where marketing is going because AI’s eaten up all the other channels: traditional ads are expensive, SEO isn’t as effective, branded content isn’t landing like it used to. So you’re going have to pay someone that spent the last five years building an audience around them.”

That person is you. You’ve spent years building your following on Instagram, or publishing videos to YouTube, or writing a weekly newsletter. There are companies that need you to reach potential customers with their message.

The problem isn’t demand — it’s friction

Businesses already want to sponsor indie creators. What stops them is the process: finding the right creator, negotiating a price, waiting on a media kit, sending an invoice, and hoping the spot actually runs. Every step is manual, and every step is a chance to lose the deal.

“Booking a creator sponsorship should feel like buying an ad — pick it, pay, done.”

What self-serve unlocks

When a creator packages their channels into clear, priced spots, three things change:

  • Buyers move faster. No back-and-forth means more deals actually close.
  • Creators get paid up front. Pre-payment removes the awkward invoice chase.
  • Everyone sees results. Tracked links turn a sponsorship into a measurable channel.

That’s the bet behind Spots: make sponsorships self-serve, and the whole market gets bigger.