When to Walk Away from a Big Sponsorship Deal with Paul Gilmartin | Ep 100

About this episode

Paul Gilmartin discusses the challenges and principles behind turning down a major sponsorship deal.

He turned down more than half his income on principle, and he'd do it again. Paul Gilmartin is the host and producer of the Mental Illness Happy Hour, one of the longest-running mental health podcasts in existence. Running since 2011 with roughly 70,000 monthly downloads, the show has been praised by Psychology Today, Esquire, and The New York Times as a vital, compassionate space where guests open up about their fears, addictions, and life experiences. Before podcasting, Paul was the host of TBS's Dinner and a Movie for 16 years. Today he shares the aftermath of having to walk away from his biggest sponsor. Paul shares: The BetterHelp sponsorship story, how he became their first podcast advertiser, why he walked away, and the financial fallout that followed Why consistency has been his #1 growth tactic after 15 years and 70,000+ monthly downloads, and what he did the one week he couldn't publish The stand-up comedian mindset that shaped his approach to hosting, and why he thinks most podcasters accidentally go into "presentation mode" How his Patreon went from an afterthought to 80% of his revenue, and the honest appeal to listeners that made it happen Why interviewing listeners…

People in this episode

Host: Mics to Millions

Guest: Paul Gilmartin

Topics covered

• sponsorship
• podcast growth
• mental health
• financial decisions
• audience engagement

Keywords

• sponsorship
• podcast monetization
• mental health podcast
• audience growth
• Patreon

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mental Illness Happy Hour, BetterHelp, Psychology Today, Esquire, The New York Times, TBS

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