sponsorbid works on a similar basis to the other crowdfunding organisations but with a couple of specific differences:

• sponsorbid is a startup itself and is only looking to develop a proof of concept in the short term. Therefore, rather than taking 5% or 7% or even 10% of the money you raise, we'll take nothing except a one-off set up fee to cover our costs.
  
  
• The potential sponsor gets to choose how much they think sponsoring an episode of your podcast is worth. They bid what they think is a fair price and, as long as it is at least equal to your minimum threshold, they will join an auction for episode sponsorship.

As a podcaster, you provide sponsorbid with some basic details (number of episodes, minimum sponsorbid level, etc) and we set up a project for you. During the period that your project is live, potential supporters and sponsors can submit sponsorbids via your project page on our web site.

At the end of the project period, you'll have a list of potential sponsors who have indicated their intention to support you. If you have more bids than episodes, the highest bidders will be successful and you can approach them to pay what they said they would.

sponsorbid is purely a platform for podcasters to find you. We want you to have an affordable opportunity to support a podcast by sponsoring one or more episodes at what you think is a fair price.

For each project, there will be a description of what the podcast is about, how many episodes will be produced, how long the project will be live on sponsorbid plus, of course, what the podcaster will do for you and your business. 

It might be an advertisement or sponsorship acknowledgement during the episode(s) you sponsor, it might be a promotional post on their social media channels, etc.

By submitting a sponsorbid on a podcast project, you are not committing to that sponsorship although ... put yourself in their shoes ... we'd be pretty disappointed if you didn't deliver at the end of their campaign. At the end of the campaign, the podcaster will let you know if you have been successful and, if so, will send you an invoice for the agreed amount.

Just a note ... we are simply providing a platform. We will not be able to become involved in any disputes or disagreements about the project you have sponsorbid on. That will be between you and the podcaster.

sponsorbid is a platform that works on an honesty system - we present your project on our platform and let you know when bids are received. 

When you establish your program, please remember that the most likely sponsors are small businesses. Make the sponsorship offer one that appeals to small businesses and can be delivered to your benefit and theirs.

At the end of your sponsorbid campaign, you will have assembled a list of potential sponsors, ranked by amount and by date received. It's up to you which sponsors you accept but in our minds, the highest bidders are the successful ones and if there are several equal bids as you fulfil your episode list, the ones who bid that amount earliest should be rewarded.

Note - if you don't get a full list of sponsors (e.g. 50 episodes but only 35 sponsorbids), please consider donating the remaining episodes to a non-for-profit or charity in your community. They'll appreciate your generosity and you'll still have a sponsors for each episode, albeit a few freebies.

Make sure that whatever you are offering to the sponsors is a fair and reasonable trade - maybe a live read of a sponsorship announcement during the sponsored episode, maybe a call out on your socials, maybe some sort of merchandise - that's entirely up to you. Just remember, the potential sponsors can choose how much they want to bid - if your offering doesn't represent value for money for them, they simply won't sponsorbid for your podcast.

Finally, as we have said a few times, we are simply providing a platform. If someone offers to sponsor you and then reneges on that offer, remember that as small business owners, your potential sponsors are always under financial pressure. Maybe a customer hasn't paid them. Maybe they have received an unexpected bill. 

Whatever it is, just move on to the next sponsor on your list or offer that episode to a charity. Please don't contact us here at sponsorbid - we won't be able to help you.