Influencers Reject NFT Sponsorship: Read 3 Real Pitches

• NFT projects offer deals to personal finance influencers on TikTok and YouTube.
• But some influencers reject them, even if they pay thousands of dollars.
• Take a look at real examples of pitches influencers have received below.

When the NFT (non-fungible token) space exploded last year, several projects turned to influencer marketing to promote their digital goods.

But as the market cools amid the “crypto winter” — in June, NFT sales hit a 12-month low, the Guardian reported, citing research from Chainalysis — some influencers aren’t embracing these deals.

It’s common for personal finance influencers to make money promoting products and services related to finance, whether it’s a credit card or a fintech platform. And a number of influencers have promoted NFTs in the past.

But Insider spoke with three creators and a talent manager who have grown skeptical of marketing these blockchain-enabled digital goods.

“While I have no problem investing a small amount of your money in speculative investments, I am completely unwilling to promote a new coin, crypto app or investment platform that can fold as quickly as it appeared and take my audience’s money with it it,” one personal finance influencer told Insider. “Ethically, regardless of how much money I’m offered, I’m not willing to pay for something that is completely unproven, unproven and probably a very bad investment for most people.”

That influencer has also turned down offers from investment platforms that specialize in cryptocurrency.

“Most of the platforms that reach out and offer crypto or NFT investments are very new and have no track record, no reviews and no customer service,” they said. “They’re also not insured.”

A talent manager, who works with several personal finance influencers, agreed, telling Insider that their clients avoid promoting all NFT and crypto projects to the public, adding that most projects are not worth the risk.

The risk to reputation – and to fans’ wallets – can be among the biggest. Last year, YouTuber Logan Paul promoted the meme coin Dink Doink. Shortly after sharing the project with his millions of fans, the price of Dink Doink dropped, and Paul faced online backlash for promoting the coin. He called Dink Doink “the project from hell” in an interview with the New York Times.

Several other celebrities have faced similar setbacks as crypto and NFT projects they have promoted have crashed in value, leaving trusting fans who bought them in the lurch.

Reese Witherspoon’s World of Women NFTs have fallen in value by more than 75% since the project was announced in February, for example, and the price of French Montana’s NFTs has fallen about 90% since the line debuted last September, according to Bloomberg.

And earlier this month, consumer watchdog Truth in Advertising wrote letters to 17 celebrities, including Gwenyth Paltrow and DJ Khaled, reminding them that promoting an NFT or cryptocurrency without disclosing a financial connection is against FTC rules.

“I have never accepted an NFT sponsorship on my YouTube channel,” another personal finance creator told Insider. “Most of the emails I receive don’t look legit…I’m not against NFTs, but my audience isn’t big on crypto or NFTs and I feel like I’d get a lot of backlash sponsoring them at this time.”

The emails often do not contain signatures or come from non-standard email addresses, they added.

Plus, the other influencer said, the prices they’ve been offered haven’t been great. One NFT project offered them $1,000 for a 30-second ad at the beginning of a YouTube video — half their typical price.

The first personal finance influencer shared that they were offered $2,000 to promote a cryptocurrency, which is lower than the standard they charge for a sponsorship.

Insider saw the exact deals some projects have presented to influencers this year. Check out some real examples, and how much they offered to pay, below.

Read the first example, sent to a personal finance influencer in June, and shared with Insider:

“We would like to offer you cooperation in advertising. We are willing to pay you $1800 for a 15 second video at the beginning of your video. We want to promote our AZUKI NFT project. If you are interested, we will send you a video materials , as you tell me whether you are ready to cooperate or not.”

Read the second example, sent to a personal finance influencer in June and shared with Insider:

“KillaBears NFT Project. We would like to offer you cooperation in advertising. We are willing to pay you $2200 for a promotional video on your YouTube channel. If you are interested, please let us know so we can discuss further.”

Read the third example, sent to a personal finance influencer in June and shared with Insider:

“We would like to offer you cooperation in advertising. We are willing to pay you $1000 for a 30-second video at the beginning of your video. If you think this is not enough, you can offer us another amount and we will decide if it suits us. We want to promote our CYPHER NFT project. If you are interested, we will send you a video material, to see which you tell me whether you are ready to cooperate or not.”