by Kristin Swartzlander | Nov 15, 2013 | Racing Sponsorship
What if finding a sponsor was the like the process of dating? Specifically, online dating? It’s getting more and more common for couples to meet on sites like Match.com, eHarmony and – be still my heart – FarmersOnly.com. So online dating, and how it works, shouldn’t be a foreign concept. When you think about online dating, the first, and most daunting, part of the process that you’ll have to address is creating a profile. Or, rather, the right profile – the one that says every bit of what you want it to say, and none of what you don’t. You want the profile that gives them some details – successful career, great social life– but still leaves some mystery. You went to a good school and your hobbies include woodworking (he’s good with his hands!). You want the photo that says ‘I’m smart’ (glasses) but still sexy (two layers of eye liner). I’m young (purple hair feather!) but I know what I’m doing if you know what I mean (leopard print scarf). I’m in shape! (No full body shot.) See, there are lots of variables. And that seems like the hardest part of finding a lovah: You imagine the perfect lovah and then you imagine what they want in a lovah and then you craft a profile that matches it. But love, angel friends, is a two-way street. At least it is if you want to keep it legal. At some point, you’re going to have to actually talk to this person if you want to date them. You’ll have to meet up for an awkward coffee shop conversation or...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Nov 8, 2013 | Thoughts and Rants
If you’re in the racing business, especially if you’re a driver, you’ve probably run into quite a few critics in your day. The fans that boo you, the crew that gives you the stink-eye, the millionth guy that asked for ‘anyone else’ when you answer the phone because he wasn’t going to talk to a girl about racing, thankyouverymuch. (← Oh, just me? AWKWARD.) They’re everywhere. And they’re easy to brush off. Because we all know haters are gonna hate, my friends. We can easily choose to walk away, cut them out of our lives, even (gasp!) un-friend them on Facebook. But what happens when the person criticizing your choice of dreams is a relative or a friend? What happens when the criticism comes wrapped in a nice, well-meaning package? You can’t just tell them to shut it, and peace out. At least I can’t, anyway. I know what it’s like to tell the people you love that you want to do something they think is crazy. I moved to a ‘dangerous’ city where I didn’t know a soul for college. I hauled my butt across the country to another city I never visited before for a job at a major sports franchise, with no safety net and no guarantee of what are considered basics in most jobs. I left a really successful career in advertising to be un-ceremoniously un-welcomed by my own team as a young racetrack promoter. And to really brings things around in the risky and unstable department? I left that job, the last salary I ever collected, two years ago to start my own consulting...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Nov 2, 2013 | Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Racing Sponsorship
It’s the conclusion that everyone comes to at some point in their racing career, if not every single season – ‘we need more sponsors.’ We don’t just hit that wall in racing – it’s obviously a problem in business, too. In order to survive, we need more customers. Side note: It’s worth mentioning that for you to be able to thrive instead of just surviving, you also need to get deeper investments from your current or future sponsors. But that’s a discussion for another day. So, why don’t you have more sponsors? Chew on this: there are really only two ways for you to form a partnership with a sponsor. Even though there are a lot of variables, the general equation is pretty straightforward and can be boiled down to the following: They find you. This can happen in a variety of ways – through your fan network, social media, word-of-mouth, at the race track, through your personal connections. They’re your ideal customer and they sign on to your sponsorship program. (In the grand scheme of things, how they find you actually matters a lot but it’s not important for this discussion.) You find them. This can also happen in a variety of ways with the right content. You’ve reached the right audience, they’re your target customer, and they sign on to your sponsorship program. Most racers make the mistake of focusing on the beginning of the equation – how you find or get found by sponsors. Yes, that’s hard and requires time and dedication. But the bigger problem is identifying the potential sponsor as your ideal marketing partner....
by Kristin Swartzlander | Oct 25, 2013 | Media and Public Relations, Motorsports Marketing for Tracks, Teams and Businesses, Racing Social Media
Over the summer, Carl and I decided to make our way to the Craig Campbell concert at the Indiana County Fair for obvious food and entertainment-related reasons. I mean, who doesn’t love gawking at how redneck teenagers act right before they drop a pulled pork sandwich all over their own (white) shirt? Hypothetically speaking. (Also, see my screenshot of what popped up when I searched for Indiana County State Fair on my iPhone at right. Just for fun.) Partway through the concert, while the drunken teenagers were making a mosh pit, it hit me how different this set was than the first time we saw him play at a Hard Rock Café. Here, in front of thousands of people, he played mostly upbeat songs. He didn’t take a break in the middle of the set. There were no long pauses between songs. And when his radio hits came on, he did something that I’ve seen at every large-venue concert – he turned the mic around and had the audience sing the chorus. And then it hit me. He wouldn’t do that unless he felt 100% sure that they knew the words. He knew his audience and what they came there for. He wouldn’t have done that unless he knew they knew they’d sing it back. How awkward would it have been if it was just* crickets*? The crowd would have deflated. Instead, he knew what song would resonate with them and gave them the opportunity to feel like they were on stage with them by belting it out. He validated them. When he played at the Hard Rock, there were...
by Kristin Swartzlander | Oct 11, 2013 | Racing Social Media, Racing Sponsorship
Ever sent a cold email to a prospective sponsor? I have. And it’s not the crappiest feeling you can imagine – that’s a cold call – but you’re still interrupting someone’s day with a request. And often all you hear is crickets. But do you think someone would be more likely to open that email or take that phone call if they recognized your name first? Absolutely. There’s no doubt about it. Whether you’re trying to chat it up with a reporter at a newspaper or a prospective sponsor, warming that person up before reaching out can be what gets your email opened and, eventually, your opportunity considered. So how do you do it? Not with a Snuggie and a hot toddy. Unless it’s that kind of sponsor and, hey, I’m not judging. You can warm them up via social media. I recommend Twitter, specifically. Here are some key tips for doing it the right way (and not scaring them off in the process): 1. Know who you’re targeting (Hint: It’s not everyone with a wallet.) This is actually one specific example of a time why you need to know why you race. It matters. If you stand for a Christian message and you’re looking for press coverage, locate a reporter for a Christian publication. If you’re looking for a marketing partner, find a Christian organization that already does some advertising and could use a way to further their message. You can start really broadly and just identify groups of people – for example, publications in your local area or businesses that target dog lovers – and then narrow down...
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