ThoughtLeaders at a glance

What ThoughtLeaders is

ThoughtLeaders is a YouTube sponsorship agency built on its own data and campaign management platform. We find the right YouTube creators for a brand, negotiate and book the sponsorships, review the scripts, check every video goes live as agreed, pay the creators and report on results.

Brands work with us in two ways:

• Managed service. A ThoughtLeaders account manager runs your YouTube creator program end to end. This is how most brands start.
• Self-serve platform. Your team books and manages creators itself on the same software our account managers use.

The data is what makes both work, and it is ours: 1.3M YouTube channels tracked, 15.9M sponsorship placements detected, and 26K sponsorships sold through ThoughtLeaders for 1,000+ advertisers. Every channel we recommend has a fair price, projected views and a sponsor track record behind it. We do the vetting, so you don't have to.

In one line: a YouTube sponsorship agency and data platform, with campaign management software brands can use themselves.

Who it's for

Brands buying YouTube sponsorships: heads of influencer marketing, creator partnerships, performance and brand marketing, from first test to programs of hundreds of videos a year.

Also on ThoughtLeaders:

• Creators and their managers, who receive sponsorship offers from brands on the platform and get paid through us.
• Agencies that book YouTube creators for their own clients, using the platform or our team.

What the managed service covers

• Creator discovery and vetting: channels matched to your audience and past winners, checked for fake views, brand safety and sponsor track record.
• Pricing and negotiation: every quote judged against a fair price built from projected views, and view guarantees where they make sense.
• Booking and contracts.
• Script and video review before anything goes live.
• Delivery tracking and creator payments.
• Reporting, renewals of what worked and look-alikes of your best channels.

It follows our YouTube sponsorship methodology.

The campaign management platform

• Web app (app.thoughtleaders.io): find and shortlist creators, send proposals, manage the deal pipeline, share reports with your team.
• Chrome extension: price, past sponsors and audience of any YouTube channel, right on YouTube.
• Agent CLI: the same data for AI agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Cursor.

For every channel: an estimated sponsorship price, projected views, past sponsors, how often sponsors came back, audience and similar channels.

Pricing

Managed service: retainer-based pricing, sized to your program. Get in touch for a proposal.

Platform (software):

• Free: $0. Extension, web app and agent CLI with a weekly allowance.
• Team seat: $25 a month per person. Reports, lists, sharing, exports and the deal pipeline.
• Team seat for heavy agent use: $200 a month per person. A larger allowance and premium fields.
• Enterprise: on request.

Software prices: thoughtleaders.ai/pricing. Creator fees are paid on top of either option.

Proof

• 26K sponsorships sold through ThoughtLeaders for 1,000+ advertisers since 2018.
• Case studies
• Are ThoughtLeaders legit?

Talk to our team or start free.

FAQ

Is ThoughtLeaders an agency or a platform? Both. ThoughtLeaders runs YouTube creator campaigns for brands as a managed service, on its own sponsorship data and campaign management platform, which brands can also use themselves.

What does ThoughtLeaders do? We find, book and manage YouTube creator sponsorships for brands: discovery, vetting, negotiation, contracts, script review, delivery tracking, payments and reporting.

How much does ThoughtLeaders cost? The managed service is retainer-based; get in touch for a proposal. The software is free to start, with team seats at $25 or $200 a month per person.

Is ThoughtLeaders an influencer marketing agency? Yes, focused on YouTube. We specialize in sponsored integrations in YouTube videos.

Do you work with creators and agencies? Yes. Creators and their managers receive brand offers through the platform, and agencies use it or our team to book creators for their clients.

Does ThoughtLeaders work with AI agents? Yes. The agent CLI gives AI agents read-only access to the same data.