Creating and using direct sponsorship proposals

In addition to your direct sponsorship storefront — where advertisers can book ad slots in your newsletter — you can also create custom proposals for specific advertisers you’d like to work with. This gives you maximum flexibility in your monetization strategy, allowing for both inbound and outbound sponsorship opportunities.

Unlike your storefront, which is public and open to any advertiser, proposals are personalized and sent directly to a chosen partner. Before you can send a proposal, you’ll first need to add the advertiser as a contact to your account.

Each proposal link leads to a professional, branded page that outlines the sponsorship details. Advertisers can easily review the proposal, upload creative assets, and pay directly through the page. Once confirmed, you’ll have everything you need to include the ad in your newsletter based on the agreed terms.

This article covers how to create a direct sponsorship proposal and how to manage proposals once they’ve been sent. If you haven’t set up your storefront yet, start with our guide on creating a direct sponsorship storefront.

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How to create a direct sponsorship proposal

1. From the left panel dashboard, go to Monetize > Ads.
   
   
2. Under Direct Sponsorships, click on Overview to open to your Direct Sponsorships dashboard.
   
   
3. In the top-right corner, click on New Proposal.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. The new proposal form will open, with form fields on the left and a live preview of your proposal on the right.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Use the Partner dropdown to select the advertiser you want to send the proposal to.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. If your desired partner isn’t listed, click on Create new partner to open a side panel where you can add their contact details.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Once selected, the advertiser’s contact information will auto-fill in the Contact section.
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Select the product(s) you want to include in the proposal. If needed, click Create new product to add one on the spot.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Tech Note: Each product can only be selected once per proposal. In the next step, you can assign multiple dates per product to create a custom package.
9. Click the calendar icon next to each product to choose your desired publication dates.
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Your beehiiv calendar will open, and you can select from any upcoming dates that you have available. Selected dates will appear on the right side of the calendar for easy review. Click the x icon to remove a date if needed
    
    When you’ve finished selecting your dates, click Confirm to save your selections.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Note: Once dates are included in a proposal, they’ll be marked as unavailable for other inbound or outbound proposals.
11. Enter a Title and a Price for the campaign.
    
    
    Reminder: The price you enter does not include beehiiv’s $10 service fee or Stripe processing fees. These will be deducted from your total earnings.
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. Review the live preview on the right to make sure all details are accurate.
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. If everything looks good, click Next.
    
    
    
    
    
    
14. With the Confirmation, you can add a personal message to the advertiser. This is a great place to include any final notes or custom terms.
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. Check the box to acknowledge that payment will be held in escrow once the advertiser accepts the proposal. Funds will be released to your wallet after the ad(s) are published.

Once you check the box, the Create Proposal button will become active — click it to complete and send your proposal.

16. You’ll receive a confirmation message and a shareable proposal link to send to your partner.
    
    
    

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How to manage partner proposals 

When an advertiser submits a proposal through your storefront, you’ll receive both an email and an in-app notification. From there, you can review the proposal and choose to accept it, decline it, or send back an updated version with revised terms.

1. To view incoming proposals, go to Monetize > Ads, then under Direct Sponsorships, click Overview to open to your Direct Sponsorships dashboard.
   
   In the Pending tab, you’ll see proposals marked as Request. Click on any request to open and review the proposal.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. The proposal will open to the Overview tab. On the left, you'll see campaign details and advertiser info, including their website and contact information.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. On the right, you’ll find the selected dates and any required assets the advertiser submitted for the campaign.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. In the Payment section on the right, is the payout breakdown, which includes your earnings after beehiiv’s service fee and Stripe processing fees.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Reminder: Stripe fees are set by Stripe and may vary. See our guide on types of Stripe accounts on beehiiv for more information
5. At the bottom of the proposal, you’ll see three response options:

• Decline
• Update proposal (to modify the terms before sending it back)
• Accept request
  
  
  
  
  
  

6. To suggest changes while keeping the opportunity open, click Update proposal. This will open the editable proposal view.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. You’ll now be able to adjust the proposal details. On the left, update the campaign title, price, and dates. The right side will show a real-time preview.
   
   
   Note: The original partner and product selected by the advertiser cannot be changed.
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Click the calendar icon to update the sponsorship date(s).
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. You can also update the campaign title and the pricing.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Reminder: The price entered does not include beehiiv’s $10 service fee or Stripe fees; these will be deducted from your total earnings.
10. Once your edits are made, click the Next button to continue.
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. You will be taken to the Confirmation section where you can add a message for the advertiser. This is a great place to clarify any updates, including any changes you wish to make to your partner’s original terms.
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. Check the box to acknowledge that payment will be held in escrow once the advertiser accepts the proposal. Funds will be released to your wallet after the ad(s) are published.

Once you check the box, the Update button will become active — click it to finalize your adjustments.

13. You’ll receive an updated proposal link to share with your partner. Click on the Copy link button to copy the link.