How do I become a Brand Ambassador or Sponsored Athlete?

We get messages from people who want to be Qore Performance® Brand Ambassadors or Sponsored Athletes every week, sometimes more. Unfortunately, most people who send these emails have no idea what it takes to be a great Brand Ambassador or Sponsored Athlete. Most are just fishing for ways to get "free" product. 

But if you happen to be one of the prospects pitching us who can bring real value, you may still not understand the finer points and nuance for which we are looking in a great Brand Ambassador/Sponsored Athlete. Here are some things we look at when evaluating what makes a great Brand Ambassador/Sponsored Athlete and how you can become one. Please note: we are only looking for Brand Ambassadors/Sponsored Athletes with a strong YouTube presence at this time, but all of the requirements below still apply.

1. Build an Audience and a Following

At the time of this writing, we have roughly 73k Instagram followers and just under 6000 YouTube subs. So, we are obviously not audience-building experts. To expand our reach we prefer to partner with Brand Ambassadors/Sponsored Athletes who have meaningful audiences. A large or rapidly growing follower base is a pre-requisite for being an effective Brand Ambassador/Sponsored Athlete. Here are the minimum audience metrics required to apply to become a Brand Ambassador/Sponsored Athlete for Qore Performance:

YouTube or Blog: 50k Subscribers w/at least 2,000,000 total channel/page views

NOTE: We are not accepting applications for any other platform. YouTube only.

2. Prove Value

There is no such thing as "free" in life. The business of social media is no different. You have to provide proof to the company/companies you'd like to represent that you can do good work that is valuable to them. If you don't meet the minimum requirements from #1, don't sweat it. Just buy the product first.

You ideally want the company to notice you and your efforts *before* you reach out directly. One of the best ways to do this is to buy the product and start posting high quality content that gets traction. If you do this 3-4 times before you pitch the company or companies you'd like to represent, your chances of getting a response and having a productive conversation go up exponentially because you took it upon yourself to reduce some of the risk the company needs to take on you right out of the gate. You've moved the needle a meaningful amount toward the consummation of a deal or at least a test run. You need to have something to offer of value, so if you don't have a large enough following, then you need to start by purchasing the product.

3. Be Precise and Professional

Pitches with poor grammar, spelling errors or any mistakes with the brand assets of the company are an instant disqualification for well-run companies with prestigious brands. They are prestigious brands partly because of their consistent attention to detail. Failure to follow the guidelines in this article is an instant disqualification for Qore Performance. Why should a company trust you with their brand if you can't even spell their name or product correctly when you email or DM them? The answer is they shouldn't and they won't. If you want a company to trust you with their brand, you need to show you are trustworthy, professional and competent. 

4. Show Insight

Part of the role of a Brand Ambassador/Sponsored Athlete is to educate consumers in ways that might be more difficult for the company. For example, a Band Ambassador might have figured out a way to modify a product that makes it better for consumers, but that modification might violate the warranty. The company may need the warranty to work this way for a reason (they have to write warranty policies that apply equally to all consumers), but the Brand Ambassador can communicate the utility of this modification in a way that is valuable to the consumers while not putting the company in a difficult or impossible position. 

Sponsored Athletes can show the world and individual consumers the true capability of a product in a way that would be difficult or even impossible for the company alone. 

Find creative ways to contact the company and make your communication memorable. Remember, this is a job interview so act like it!

5. Size Matters, but Engagement is King

Building a huge audience isn't the only thing you need be a great Brand Ambassador. You need an audience that is highly engaged with you and who listens to you. This is the whole point of being an "Influencer" so make sure you are actually influential, then prove it.

6. For Sponsored Athletes, Podiums are Mandatory

If you are pitching for competition or sport like Crossfit, Spartan Race, The Tactical Games or The Patriot Games, The Rock and Roll Marathon, an Ironman, or any other athletic/shooting/competition, you need to include your results. You need to give the company a reason why they should consider supporting you. The last thing a company or a brand want to do is sponsor an athlete who makes their product look bad. You can't be a reason the company looks bad. Why would anyone pay for that?

If you don't have results yet, you need to get them. Dues must be paid and accumulating podiums before you are sponsored is part of this time-honored tradition throughout sport and competition writ large. 

It is important to note that the mere presence of a product on an athlete in a competition is meaningless to a company. The only way the presence of that product on that athlete has any value to a company whatsoever is if the athlete is a win for the company. This is most easily done via podiums, but it can also be done by being a great story. 

Last, but not least, send in pictures and video of you competing. Show you are the real deal. If you don't send in pictures or video evidence of you competing, how does the company even know you are legit? How do they know they will get a return on their investment? How do they know you'd even be a good fit for their brand?

7. Pitch Professionally

Create a professional one-page pitch in PDF and send it in like a real proposal to demonstrate your professionalism and your creative capabilities. Simply sending us an informal email, LiveChat, DM, etc. will not work.

Hopefully these tips help you to build and acquire the tools you need to be a successful Brand Ambassador no matter what industry you choose. Should you find your talents are applicable to Military, Law Enforcement, Fire/EMS, Industrial Safety or Travel/EDC and you meet all of the criteria above, then reach out to us, especially if you are on YouTube!