How to Turn an Old Workshop Into a Sponsored Free Week
A sponsored unlock is when a brand pays you to make one of your paid workshops free to everyone for a set amount of time, usually about a week. People register to watch it, the sponsor gets credit for opening it up and when the week is over the workshop goes back behind the paywall.
This is post three in my series on what Substack's new sponsorship formats mean for small newsletters. Substack's version, the unlock, has a brand pay to make one paid post free to read. If you sell workshops or have replays sitting in your course platform, this is how that idea works for you.
Why this one is worth doing.
Most of us have recordings that made money once and haven't earned anything since. Maybe it was a live workshop you sold for $47, or a training you made for a launch two years ago that's still good.
A sponsored unlock gets you paid three ways from that one recording. The sponsor pays you for the week. Everyone who registers to watch joins your email list. And after the week is over, your follow-up emails sell those new subscribers the next thing.
It also works well for a small list, because the free workshop gets shared. People forward it to friends and post it in groups, so the sponsor's name ends up in front of people who weren't on your list yet.
Step 1: Pick the recording
Go through your old workshops and replays and look for one that checks these boxes.
- It's still accurate. If the tools or steps have changed, either re-record a short update or pick something else.
- It's between 30 and 90 minutes. People will sit through a workshop that length when it's free and only open for a week.
- It leads to your next offer. The workshop should leave people wanting help with the next step and that's what your follow-up emails will sell.
- It isn't your main offer. Unlock something that leads into your signature course or membership. Keep the signature offer itself paid.
Step 2: Find the right sponsor.
The easiest sponsor to land is a tool you actually use in the workshop. If you walk through a setup in Kit or build something in Canva on screen, those companies are already being shown to every person who watches.
After that, look at the brands your readers ask you about and the ones already sponsoring newsletters in your niche. When you reach out, tell them the workshop title, what people learn, how long it's free and where their name will show up. Then share your list size and how many people registered the last time you ran it, if you have that number.
Step 3: Decide what the sponsor gets
Keep this to a short, clear list so it's easy to sell and easy to deliver. Here's what I'd include.
- Their name on the registration page, something like "Free this week thanks to Kit."
- A 30-second mention at the start of the replay. Record a short intro clip and add it to the front of the video. You don't need to re-edit the whole workshop.
- A spot in every email about the workshop, from the announcement through the reminders and the last-day email.
- One link on the replay page to whatever the sponsor wants to send people to.
Step 4: Price it
I'd price a sponsored unlock as a flat fee for the week. Start with what you'd charge for your regular sponsor spot and multiply it by the number of emails the sponsor will be in, since a workshop week usually has three or four sends about it.
Say your regular sponsor spot is $150 and the workshop week has four emails about it. That's $600 and you can add a little on top for the replay intro and the registration page mention. Once you've run one and you know how many people register, you can price the next one on registrations instead.
Add it to your sponsorship page as its own placement, right next to your regular spots and your sponsored gift if you offer one.
Step 5: Set it up.
You need four things in place before you announce it.
- A registration page with a form that adds people to your email list and tags them with the workshop name and the sponsor.
- A replay page with the video, the sponsor's link and a short note about your next offer.
- A confirmation email that sends the replay link right after someone registers.
- An end date. Decide exactly when the free week ends and put that date on the registration page and in every email.
When the week is over, take the replay page down or point it to your sales page. People who show up late will see the paid version and the people who watched now have a real reason to buy.
Step 6: Send the emails
A simple week looks like this. Send the announcement on day one, a reminder in the middle of the week and a last-day email that says the workshop goes back behind the paywall tomorrow. Each one names the sponsor.
Then everyone who registered goes into a follow-up sequence that sells your next offer. That sequence is where most of the money comes from, so write it before the week starts.
Step 7: Report back to the sponsor.
After the week ends, send the sponsor a short report with how many people registered, how many watched if your video tool tracks it, how many clicked their link and any replies or comments that mentioned them. If you ran the before-and-after poll from the first post in this series, include those numbers too.
Call it something plain like "Sponsored Free Workshop Week." List the workshop, how long it's free, the four places the sponsor's name shows up and the price. If you have registration numbers from a past run, put those on the page too.
Where to go from here
Make a list of every recording you have and pick the one that best leads into your next offer. Then write the follow-up sequence, add the listing to your sponsorship page and reach out to the tools you use in that workshop.
The last post in this series covers teaming up with other newsletters to sell one sponsor a themed week. And if you want to see the whole sponsorship setup start to finish, I'm teaching it in my workshop Get Paid by Sponsors Even With a Small List at the AI Newsletter Summit, October 27 through 29. Registration is free.
Get Paid by Sponsors Even With a Small List
I'm teaching the whole sponsorship setup at the AI Newsletter Summit. It's one of 20+ workshops and registration is free.
Save your free seat →Frequently asked.
What is a sponsored unlock?
A sponsored unlock is when a brand pays you to make one of your paid workshops free for everyone for a set time, usually about a week. People register to watch and the sponsor gets credit for opening it up.
Which workshop should I unlock for a sponsor?
Pick a recording that's still accurate, runs 30 to 90 minutes and leads into your next offer. Keep your signature course or membership paid.
How should I price a sponsored workshop week?
Start with your regular sponsor spot price and multiply it by the number of emails the sponsor will appear in. Once you know how many people register, you can price future weeks on registrations.
What does the sponsor get in a sponsored unlock?
Their name on the registration page, a short mention at the start of the replay, a spot in every email about the workshop and one link on the replay page.
What happens when the free week ends?
Take the replay page down or point it to your sales page. Everyone who registered goes into a follow-up sequence that sells your next offer.
Dr. Destini Copp helps digital product creators build sustainable, systems-based businesses through the Creator Growth Flywheel framework. She's the founder of Creator's MBA and HobbyScool and has been teaching online business strategy for over a decade. Learn more →
