AI for Software Engineers helps developers understand AI and put that knowledge into practice. The newsletter has:
Over 13,000 subscribers
30–40% open rate
2.5% click-through rate
Over 50 Substack recommendations
Articles that have reached #1 on Hacker News
Readers at Netflix, Google, OpenAI, Apple, Meta, and more
The readers are highly engaged and highly motivated. We partner with companies, educators, and builders whose products help readers experiment, learn, and build. We follow strict rules to ensure sponsorships are beneficial for everyone, with readers benefiting first. These rules ensure we waste no one’s time.
How sponsorships work
Sponsors get one placement in a newsletter article, right after the intro, sent to every subscriber within two weeks of approval. Each issue has only one sponsor, and the placement stays in the web post and archive after the email goes out.
Every sponsorship follows these rules:
Sponsors get no editorial control. A placement doesn’t buy coverage, reviews, approval of what we write, or endorsement. Sponsors don’t control the topic or content of the article their placement appears in.
We don’t do sponsored articles. The placement is the only thing we sell. We don’t write paid articles, reviews, or dedicated posts about a sponsor’s product, and sponsorships never touch the editorial side of the newsletter.
We reserve the right to turn down sponsors that aren’t a fit.
Sponsorships will go out with the next available article. Publishing can be irregular, but this usually means going out within two weeks.
Payment (if paying) and materials are due upfront and must be processed before the placement goes out.
Metric tracking happens via sponsor links. We don’t currently have metrics to provide from our side.
We do not include sponsorships for unrelated products or services. All sponsorships must be relevant to readers.
Every sponsorship is called out. Placements are marked as sponsored or as supporting the AI Dev Pass.
You must send your copy (75 words max), a call to action, a link, and one visual. Copy must be accurate, relevant, and in your own words. We may make light edits for length or clarity.
How to sponsor
1. Pay for the placement
The current rate is $300 per placement, paid upfront in full once you’re approved. We do not negotiate price, and payments are non-refundable.
2. Support readers directly (preferred)
You can get the same placement at no cost by giving readers something directly useful instead. Your benefit goes into the AI Dev Pass, our collection of resources and benefits for paid subscribers.
Rules for a benefit to qualify:
It must be something relevant to readers. This generally means a developer tool, productivity tool, learning resource, career-building tool, or something similar related to or using AI.
It must be useful. This usually means an extended free trial, a discount, or a similar benefit that isn’t widely available to the public.
It must be evergreen. It should run for at least six months, since disrupted Pass benefits are worse for readers.
You handle redemption and support and provide a direct link. Readers redeem directly with you, and you handle any problems with the offer. The link should take readers straight to where they redeem the offer.
The AI Dev Pass is managed via the Substack offers page. This means all offers are currently only available to paid newsletter subscribers. Readers who aren’t paid subscribers are sent to the Substack subscription page first. Paid subscribers redeem the offer on the Substack offers page on aiforswes.com.
A benefit in the AI Dev Pass earns one sponsored placement. After that, your product may be mentioned when we promote the AI Dev Pass or when it’s directly relevant to an article, but there’s no ongoing benefit beyond inclusion in the Pass.
Got an idea?
Send a short email with your company and product and how you want to proceed to logan@thorneloe.ai.