Before approaching a sponsor, document what the publication can actually deliver. Name the placement, where it appears, how long it runs, what creative is accepted, and how the commercial relationship will be disclosed. Keep audience evidence separate from optimistic projections.
A new publication can prepare useful inventory before it has a large audience. It should describe itself accurately and sell only a delivery promise it can fulfill. Do not invent subscriber counts, readership, past sponsors, or expected leads to make a first media kit look established.
The worksheet below describes a fictional startup publication preparing its first sponsorship offer. It is a planning example, not a live StackM placement, approved rate card, or evidence of an existing sponsor relationship.
Define the unit being sold
Choose a specific unit: a labeled placement beside a relevant guide, a sponsored newsletter section, or a clearly identified sponsored article. These units involve different production work and audience experiences. Avoid calling all of them “a backlink package.”
For the fictional publication, the first proposed unit is a labeled sidebar placement on one relevant collection page for a fixed period. The sponsor provides a short description, approved image, and destination URL. The publisher reviews claims and fit before accepting the creative.
If the publication has no newsletter delivery system, newsletter inventory is not yet sellable. If a placement depends on a page that has not launched publicly, make that dependency visible in the proposal. An inventory document should expose unfinished operations rather than conceal them.
Complete the placement worksheet
Use the following fields for each unit. Keep proposed price and unresolved terms visibly separate from approved inventory.
| Field | Decision to record |
|---|---|
| Placement | Exact page or distribution surface and position |
| Duration | Start, end, and any scheduling conditions |
| Creative | Length, dimensions, destination, and review requirements |
| Disclosure | Visible commercial label and link treatment |
| Price and terms | Proposed amount, approval owner, cancellation questions |
| Reporting | What can actually be measured and delivered |
| Failure handling | Missed placement, outage, correction, and make-good process |
For a new site with no audience history, the reporting row might promise placement dates and a delivery screenshot after the campaign, with traffic reporting only if a functioning measurement system exists. Do not promise impressions because a template media kit includes an impressions column.
Preserve editorial independence and disclosure
The FTC's native-advertising guidance, checked September 9, 2026, explains that advertising should be identifiable as advertising, with necessary disclosures clear and prominent. Use a straightforward label placed where readers encounter the commercial unit. A remote policy page alone does not explain a particular paid placement.
Google's outbound-link guidance identifies rel="sponsored" for advertisements and paid placements, with nofollow also acceptable. The visible disclosure and the link attribute do different jobs; implement both as appropriate.
Define what a sponsor can review. It may approve its own description and verify factual references, but payment should not silently buy a favorable editorial ranking or control unrelated coverage. If a list contains paid placements, explain the selection and commercial treatment in that list.
Write an audience statement you can support
If the publication is newly launched, say which audience and topic it serves, how the content is distributed, and what has been published. Separate existing evidence from the growth plan. A well-defined reader task can be a useful selling point without a fabricated reach number.
When measured audience data becomes available, include its period, source, and definition. Visitors, sessions, subscribers, delivered emails, and clicks are different quantities. Do not combine them into a single “community size” that double-counts the same people.
Keep any projected result visibly hypothetical. A sponsor should be able to distinguish a delivery commitment from a possible outcome. Neither a placement screenshot nor a click count establishes sales caused by the sponsorship.
Plan the first campaign's operations
Before accepting payment, verify scheduling, creative review, the approved destination, publication access, measurement if promised, and the owner of reporting. Keep the signed scope or equivalent approved order record tied to the exact placement.
Decide how to handle a broken sponsor link, inaccurate creative claim, missed start date, or site outage. These cases are easier to resolve when the parties agreed on the process before the campaign began. Do not invent a refund or make-good promise after the problem occurs.
Use the earned-versus-paid distinction to keep the offer understandable. The first inventory should be modest in what it promises and precise in what it delivers. That is a stronger foundation for repeat business than a media kit built from unsupported scale claims.
For the next implementation step, use Write an ownership disclosure for a media network.
For the next implementation step, use Expire a paid placement without breaking the article.