Don’t just send us a one line email, treat it like applying for a job. Send a well-written, spell-checked, polite email when you apply and include:

• Some info about yourself
• Your plans for the year ahead
• Links to your social media accounts
• Links to show you can do what you say you can do (examples of videos, collabs with other brands etc)
• Tell us what you can offer that’s different to everyone else

Take it seriously, show us you’re going to be good to work with. Ask your mum to proof-read your email.

You wouldn’t punt an employer a one-line email asking for a job, so why would you do the same for sponsorship?  Treat it like a job application.

We might sponsor strangers, but it’s way more likely if we already know you. People rarely buy something they’ve never seen before.

If you send a very, very good CV and have a great offer we might jump on it – but – we’re way more likely to bite if we know you already, we know what you can do and we’ve seen your insta/met you/follow you already. So come say hi at an event or email to intro yourself!

What’s in it for us? Sponsorship is a transaction – the rider gets support and in return, they offer value to the brand. 

We’re looking for a few things from our sponsored riders. First, we want to put Starling in front of new people that don’t already know about us. Second, we want to show those people our bikes, teach them about why they rock and encourage them to be interested in what we’re doing. We also need help creating content for our website and social media channels – riders that can produce photos and videos to a decent standard are a huge asset.

When you apply, think first, what value are you offering Starling cycles?  How can you help us with those jobs above?

And why are you different? We have a few sponsored riders already. We have 30kish followers on Instagram. We have a mailing list. We’re on Pinkbike, Loamwolf, BikeRadar. 

What can you do that we can’t already do? Find out what that is, then use that to sell yourself to us. Hint – we love MTB guides, holiday business owners, event organisers, race organisers and youtubers.  We really love working with people in countries that aren’t the UK where we’re trying to grow. 

Make us feel special.  Send us something specific when you apply, show us you know the brand and you care about it. Show us why you care as much as we do about our brand. Don’t just copy and paste the same sentence into 50 emails and send it round 50 brands.  No ChatGPT please.