Sponsorship Is Key To Success In Sport
The NFL minimum wage is $435,000. Which is approximately 43.5 times my track and field income. Frustrating, but it is on me to change it. Below are three actions you can take that will lead to more sponsorships. But first, we must:
Change the question
The big question with sponsorship isn’t “How can I get sponsored?” Complaining about track and “the difficulty to make it as a pro” won’t help either. The real question is how can we increase our value to potential sponsors. If you can arrive at this question, you are ahead of 90% of the top track athletes out there! What does a marketing department care about in the business world? If you get can get eyes onto their products, or even create sales, you can be of value to them!
1. Increase your reach
One of the most underutilized ways to create value is through an email list. Sure, Twitter and Facebook followers have value. But I would much sooner have 1,000 email addresses than 5,000 Facebook followers. When was the last time you went through and browsed every one of your friends’ walls? Your Facebook posts don’t reach everyone, so focus your time on building an email list.
2. Reach out to companies
You can’t create value for a company if they have never heard of you! Take some time and create a template for sending to companies. The more you contact (and the more you refine your technique), the more likely you will be to get sponsored. For example, Running Room decided to partner with me, when I was reaching out to many companies. Now they benefit from being prominently displayed on the blog and are featured at the top of every VIP newsletter I send.
3. Jump higher
Naturally, the best way to create value for a sponsor is to jump higher or perform better. If you break a world record, people are going to watch! Enough said. If you are cheating on your nutrition, letting Netflix interrupt your sleep, and not training in the best situation, you need to make track your top priority.
Go. Do it now. And while you are at it, sign up for my VIP list. You will increase the value of my brand, while receiving the best of the blog once a month.
If you have any other value-increase ideas, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
