The Real Reason Creators Are Losing Out On Brand Deals

Why brands ghost you after perfect pitches—and the hidden scoring system determining which creators get paid

That brand you love ghosted you after three emails.
That finance brand never responded.
The platform demonetized you. 

You assumed it was your view count. Your engagement rate. Something fixable.

It is, you are probably just not aware of it.

Every brand that ghosted you ran your channel through some evaluation process. They scored you on criteria that nobody really explains - that is specific to their brand. And because of it you’re failing tests you did not know existed.

I am Elijah Pysyk. I have generated over one billion views across YouTube and beyond, worked on brand deals with Disney, Samsung, and more. I currently serve as Creator in Residence at the Brand Safety Institute. I have sat in the meetings where brands decide which creators get money and which get ghosted.

What I am about to share with you explains why creators with “worse” content get better sponsors. Why your CPM stays low while similar channels/creators print money. Why brands act interested, then vanish.

In the advertising world, there is a cryptic layer called brand safety. It is how brands score the risk of your content so they know whether it is safe and suitable for their ads. Once you understand how it works, you will never pitch sponsors the same way again.

The Real Reason Brands Ghost You

Right now, a sponsor, an algorithm, and a junior executive is reviewing your channel.

They may like your content.
Your audience matches their target demo.
Your rates are reasonable.

Then their brand safety evaluation process gives you a score of 47 out of 100.

The deal dies before you ever hear about it.

Here is an example of what people are measuring on average:

• Your last 20 videos
• The first 60 seconds of your top 10 videos
• Comments on your three most recent posts

One major marketer even said that their official policy is to review the past 10 years of posts where possible and that they typically go beyond that.

And they are looking at:

• Any controversial topics you have touched
• How you handled sensitive subjects
• Your language patterns
• Your editing choices
• Even the jokes you made six months ago that you forgot about

You can explore the exact framework that advertisers reference when reviewing your content here. 

This evaluation happens before anyone emails you. Before any negotiation. Before you even know the brand exists.

Most creators never learn they failed. They just notice the silence.

Nobody tells you this, but “brand safety & suitability” -  for creators is often the real difference between “we will be in touch” and actually getting paid.

Two Measurements That Control Your Income

Brands measure risk on two scales.

Brand safety asks:  “Could this creator trigger a PR crisis?”

Think hate speech, graphic content, harassment, illegal activity. If any advertiser would face backlash sitting next to your content, you fail this test.

Brand suitability asks: “Does this creator fit our specific brand?”

A family streaming service, an investment bank, and an energy drink company all have different comfort zones. You can pass brand safety but still be unsuitable for 90 percent of sponsors.

Here is the problem: most creators (don’t know how to) optimize for neither.

They are “kind of” safe. “Kind of” edgy. And perfectly suitable for nobody.

Brands do not hate these creators. But they cannot defend the partnership in a meeting. So they ghost you.

What The Marketing Director Actually Fears

Put yourself in their position for 30 seconds.

You manage 2 million dollars in creator partnerships. Your CEO just asked why the company sponsors creators. Legal wants documentation on every partnership. PR has a memo about protecting brand reputation.

Then a creator’s old video resurfaces. The one with the questionable joke. A screenshot and link go viral. Industry press picks it up. Your phone rings.

That scenario kills careers. The marketing director who approved that partnership now explains to executives why they did not catch the risk.

So when that same director reviews your channel, they aren’t just asking: “Will this get views?”

They are asking: “Can this get me and the brand in ‘hot water’?”

The creator who makes that fear disappear wins the deal. Every time.

This is why brands want to see your content strategy, your topic boundaries, how you handle sensitive subjects. They want evidence you understand what they are risking.

Show them that evidence and you transform from “random creator we like” to “reliable partner I can defend in any meeting.”

That transformation is worth six figures in annual sponsorships.

Your Brand Exists Whether You Manage It Or Not

Your audience is already forming opinions about you. So are other creators, platforms, algorithms, and every brand reviewing your channel.

They are noticing what topics you cover, what jokes you make, what you promote, and what you will do for money.

The question is not whether you have a brand position.
The question is whether you are choosing it intentionally.

You have three strategic options:

Option 1: Create clean, high trust content.
Maximize your addressable market. Qualify for the widest range of sponsors from banking to family brands.

Option 2: Stay edgy but maintain clear boundaries.
Appeal to specific sponsor categories like gaming, entertainment, and lifestyle brands, while staying unsuitable for more conservative advertisers.

Option 3: Go full goblin mode.
Build revenue through products, communities, and platforms that do not depend on brand sponsorships at all.

All three work. The mistake is not choosing.

When you operate without strategy, you accidentally close off sponsor categories without building compensating advantages. You are too edgy for conservative brands but too cautious for sponsors who want authentic edge. You trap yourself in the middle where nobody wins.

Know which topics, language, or visuals each sponsor category considers disqualifying. Know which categories you are targeting. Know how to respond when an old clip resurfaces during negotiations.

That is brand safety & suitability. That is the cost of your creative choices.

The Rulebook Nobody Gave You

You do not need to become a policy expert. You need a clear breakdown of what brands and platforms actually evaluate.

That is why we built the Creator Brand Safety Crash Course at the Brand Safety Institute.

It gives you:

• Brand safety and suitability broken down plain and simple
• Real examples where creators accidentally disqualified themselves from deals
• Practical guidelines for maintaining brand safety without compromising your voice
• A one page reference checklist for your setup
• And more

Take the free Creator Brand Safety Crash Course from BSI → https://learning.brandsafetyinstitute.com/product/brand-safety-and-suitability-for-creators-course 

For creators who want deeper positioning as a “safe investment” for premium sponsors, upgrade to the full certification. Use that credential in media kits and brand decks to show brands you understand the differences and differentiate yourself from the competition immediately. Learn more here.

You are already creating quality content.

Brand safety & suitability knowledge ensures the right partners feel confident betting on you.

Frequently Asked Questions