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You. Me. Vegas. My Birthday.
Growing up, I never thought I would be the type of girl who goes to Las Vegas to celebrate her birthday. Fast forward to 2015, and guess what?
I’m still not. 
But, as fate would have it, that’s exactly what’s happening – I’ll be ringing in my third decade at an event I’m much more excited about than my birthday: the 43rd Annual RPM Workshops!
I’m honored to share that I’ll be joining short track promoters from across the country in Vegas this November at the annual RPM Workshops for the first time as a speaker. And, it’ll be my 30th birthday!
Talk about a wake-up call. And I’m hoping not just for me.
I’ve been collaborating with Stewart Doty, owner of the Racing Promoter’s Monthly Newsletter and RPM Workshops, over the past few months on how to help promoters utilize social media to their best advantage. I know – firsthand from working with over 20 tracks in the last year alone – that social media can bring phenomenal results for racing promoters who use it. And use it well.
That’s why, when Stewart approached me about taking the stage this year, I knew I had to do it.
Here’s what Stewart published in the RPM event preview:
“At all three Workshops, Kristin Swartzlander of DirtyMouth Communications will sum up the changes taking place on the Facebook platform and their impact on the way promoters commonly use the social media platform. Swartzlander who before establishing her motorsports marketing service worked with other pro sports franchises, works with race track promoters, drivers, and team owners, and racing entrepreneurs to help them learn how to use public relations, marketing and social media to achieve their goals. She’ll explain what promoters must do going forward to make the most of the social media tool promoters have become reliant on. Facebook is changing and the bottom has fallen out on the ‘old way’ of using it, and Swartzlander will explain how promoters can continue to increase engagement despite the changes, and how to use Facebook to build an audience that you own, so that the ever-evolving Facebook cannot continue to block you from the audience you have built.”
I’m excited to putting my social media know-how in front of some of racing’s best promoters, and not just in Vegas. We’re taking the DirtyMouth show on the road to Indianapolis on December 9th and Daytona on February 14th – 16th.
That’s a real testament to Stewart’s vision for the workshops and his company’s belief in the future of this sport. Outside looking in, RPM is not about just telling promoters what they want to hear. Or giving them theory and conjecture.
With this presentation, my goal is to give promoters the social media tools they need to succeed. And, with my rose-colored glasses on, I believe this is one way I can contribute to the growth of the sport.
And RPM is giving me that opportunity. So I will take it.
Even if that does mean birthday pie in Vegas.
xo.
Kristin
P.S. Will you be attending any of the sessions? Drop me a line at Kristin@DirtyMouthCommunications.com and let me know what you’re hoping to learn, or any questions or suggestions you might have, or just to say hi!
Sponsorship Success Community
Community. We – okay, maybe I – talk about the power of the racing community all the time. Whether it’s helping out a pit neighbor, supporting a sponsor’s business, or raising funds or awareness for a cause that’s important to one of our members, the racing community is more like a family than any other group I’ve been a part of.
For all of the ways that I see our community supporting each other, I haven’t found a place online that’s fun, positive and, frankly, ‘safe’ to talk with other teams and professionals about racing sponsorship. I’ve been looking for a community that I can bounce ideas off of, share what I’ve learned and what I’m working on, celebrate successes and ask for feedback, and haven’t found one.
That’s why I’m launching the DirtyMouth Sponsorship Success Community, a FREE private Facebook group designed to help racers connect with other racers as we pursue our dream of having a successful race team. 
The DirtyMouth Sponsorship Success Community is designed to surround you with people who ‘get’ you.
- People who get your dream: a successful racing program.
- People who want to learn, grow, adapt and improve.
- People who want to share this process with others, by asking and answering questions, providing encouragement and feedback, and giving support.
- And, most importantly, people who want to build the sport up instead of tearing it down.
Over the past few years of business, I’ve worked with a lot of racers, companies and tracks on their sponsorship programs. In fact, it’s one of the most popular topics on this blog. But the reality is that most racers can’t afford one-on-one sponsorship consulting when they need, well, sponsorship. I’ve considered offering group coaching calls, writing a guide, or designing a course so that more racers can have access to affordable sponsorship resources, and eventually some of that will likely happen.
In the meantime, this is my way of serving a large group of racers for free. I’ll be sharing applicable blog posts, encouraging discussion, and much more as the group grows.
Here’s a taste of what you can expect:
- Tips and tools you can use to grow your program
- Wins and accountability: share a step you took each week to up your game
- Questions and answers from myself, yourself and others
- Opportunities to follow and connect with each other
- Weekend warrior photos: we work on the weekends! Share your ‘office’ for that day
- Inspiration to keep you motivated and moving forward
If you’re a race team or professional who wants to learn more from others – not just me! – on racing sponsorship, I encourage you to join the group and introduce yourself. I hope to see you there!
xo.
Kristin
P.S. Worried about someone ‘stealing’ your sponsors? This ain’t that kind of place, my friends. You won’t be asked to share anything you aren’t comfortable with, and anyone who isn’t kind, respectful or on the up-and-up will be removed from the group.
Breaking Down the Donald Trump Sprint Car Sponsorship
Y’all know I don’t talk about news very often. I’m more about the business of racing, less about the results and gossip. And I certainly don’t talk about politics. (Both stances are less stances than insurance policies against my safety and sanity. But I digress.)
But a news story out of the Knoxville Nationals caught my particular attention, and I shared it on my Twitter account. The headline reads:
Donald Trump getting his message out by sponsoring a car at the Knoxville Nationals
(You can click on the link to read the whole article, if you haven’t already, and it’ll open in a new window.)
Photo by M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO
I thought it might be fun to break this one down, the DirtyMouth way, because whether you’re looking for racing sponsorship or want to market to race fans, there are some interesting insights in this quick relationship.
So, here we go.
Messaging
Start with the headline: the whole point of the sponsorship is to ‘get Trump’s message out’. Not to help Roger Crockett and car owner Bruce Williams out of the goodness of his heart. Not to have a logo on a car that’ll bank $150,000 at the end of the weekend. And probably not to get nothing at all in return.
Trump’s campaign team chose this marketing vehicle to get his message out – a priority for political campaigns and companies alike.
So, every time you ask why a company would sponsor you over a car that wins more races, or your track over, say, a stadium that gets quite a few more fans, recognize that you might be buying into an excuse. If your platform gets a company’s messaging out to the right people, you’re worthy of pitching them.
The Right People
That leads me to my next point: getting a message to the right people.
Take this quote from the Washington Post: “He’s catching on with the average Americans who have had it with foreign wars, our trade policies and a stalled economy,” said Drew Ivers, Ron Paul’s 2012 Iowa campaign chairman.
Average Americans. If we assume that race fans are ‘average Americans’, Trump’s sprint car marketing is dead-on. Not that every race fan will like it or agree with it. But most of us are more aware of Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency. And, because of the cancer awareness and pro-military messages they combined with his ‘Making America Great Again’ slogan on the car, many of us are more aware of what his campaign wants to align him with.
The point? When sponsorship is about messaging, getting that message to the right kind of people is paramount.
How it Happened
The reason I picked Jeremy Elliot’s article over others that reported the story – if you want a lengthy look into Trump’s Iowa bid, read this one from Politico Magazine – is not just because of the racing accuracy, but also because crew member Jeff Morris mentions how the partnership came about.
“A friend of mine has a party bus, and he wrapped Donald Trump’s logo on it for Tana Goertz, who is his Iowa campaign manager,” Williams team member Jeff Morris said.
“They are going around to the Iowa State Fair and other places where there are a lot of people. So when they wrapped the bus, they asked if we would wrap our race car for this week’s Knoxville Nationals.”
Continued Morris, “We told them there is about 30,000 people down here, so they thought it was a good idea.”
Hmm. See anything interesting there? A personal connection to someone who can influence decisions is what opened the door. Selling the exposure to the number and types of people at the Knoxville Nationals clinched it for the team.
And the kicker? This line: “This deal took three weeks to come together.”
For those of us, myself included, who plays the long-term relationship building game, it just goes to show that quick timelines can work in circumstances like this. Political campaigns are quick, with rapid decision-making, constant pivoting and the need to react. You could see why this timeline would work for them.
But here’s what the Trump campaign was banking on – the short-term relationship with this team would reach fans who had long-term relationships with sprint car racing and the Knoxville Nationals.
We’ve all bought in. They’re buying access to that.
Sounds like a basic principle of sponsorship to me, whether or not you agree with the politics.
xo.
Kristin
P.S. One thing we didn’t talk about? How Williams’ other sponsors felt about being associated with Trump’s campaign. Or if Tasker Phillips was able to get buy-in from his partners before taking on the Trump deal after Crockett was eliminated due to engine trouble. Partnerships are multi-dimensional, and each of them affect the others. When weighing short-term partnerships, this is an important risk element to consider.
P.P. S. Yes, if you know me, there was at least one beverage consumed while reading and writing about Donald Trump. Adulthood sure is interesting!
Why Social Media Matters to Your Race Team or Track
If you’re here, you’re probably already familiar with some of the reasons that social media can benefit your team. But, I still get tons of questions about the value of social media from drivers and team owners, tertiary team members – family, friends, crew and lurkers, marketing partners, and traditional media members who see it as fun and games at best or narcissistic and hurtful at worst.
If you take a look around, social media can be all of those things: valuable, harmful, self-absorbed, and fun.
But if you want to take the negative stand on it, here’s what I have to say:
It’s generally more harmful to let others talk about you than to do it yourself.
Detractors will argue that others will still talk about you. I agree. People will always gossip. It’s just a question of whether you want to chime in with your version of the story or not.
If you go down this path one more step, here’s a kicker for you: I argue that if all you care about is controlling the gossip, you only care about what your peers think. And if all you care about is what your peers think about you, you’re in the wrong business.
Because your competitors don’t pay your bills.
Social media doesn’t just put your message out to your gossiping peers. It allows you to connect with fans, marketing partners, media members and other influencers. You might change the talk in the pits, for better or for worse, with social media. But that’s a side benefit in the grand scheme of bettering your racing program.
At the end of the day, social media can:
- Introduce you to new sponsorship and marketing partner leads,
- Activate your current marketing partnerships to help your sponsors grow their businesses (i.e. what they’re paying you for),
- Increase your positive PR presence, which will help you, and your sponsors more press.
- Increase your fan base which, in turn, can*:
- *Attract marketing partners who want to reach those fans,
- *Help you sell merchandise, experiences and tickets,
- *Help you share your message, on and off the track.
Notice something beautiful in there? Having a public presence helps you grow, which helps you gain a bigger public presence, which helps you grow.
It’s the circle of (racing) life.
And that’s much more profitable than just changing a conversation.
xo.
Kristin
Need-Based vs. Value-Based Sponsorship
When I do a proposal review or coaching call, I’m often asked about how to explain the cost of sponsorship to a potential marketing partner through the lens of the cost of racing.
“If they see how much it costs to race, they’ll realize why my sponsorship packages start at $X. They’ll see how much I need.”
And I get it. You need to know how much it costs to race – or run a race track – and what your projected income will be. That’s a great starting point for determining how much marketing buy-in you need to accomplish your goals.
Unfortunately, need doesn’t equate to what sponsorship is worth to a prospective partner.
Think about it like this: if you walked into your local grocery store and they were charging $5,000 for carrots you would not buy carrots. Even if it was because they needed $5,000 to pay the utility bills…those carrots are likely not worth $5,000 to you. Karats are worth $5,000. (Help! PUNS!) Need doesn’t equal value.
I talk about one problem with pitching sponsorship based on need in “What to Learn From Drivers Who Cry Poor“, which is this: it only works if you’re not getting enough of what you need. When you get what you need, the help goes away. Feast or famine is not healthy.
The bigger problem is that when asking based on need, you’re not equating sponsorship with value.
No matter what you you call it – ‘sponsorship’ or a ‘marketing partnership’ – you’re entering into a relationship in which you provide value in exchange for value. Even if the value exchange is only implied.
Need-based sponsorship provides monetary value to you, but what about for the other party? Where is the value for them? For most, it’s the satisfaction of helping someone in need. Someone whose dream they believe in.
That might be fine for a crowdfunding campaign, but it’s not a sellable marketing asset.
If you want to be successful with your current and future marketing partners, it’s critical to know the difference. Equate your assets with value that means something to your marketing partners instead of asking for what you need.
xo,
Kristin
P.S. Want further resources on providing value to potential marketing partners? Here’s more info on value-based sponsorship, including using sponsorship analytics, sponsorship pricing, and sponsorship audience targeting.
2015 Knoxville Nationals Driver Twitter Handles
If you’re a sprint car racing fan, there’s no doubt that you’re tuning in to the Knoxville Nationals this week. Below is the annual updated list of Knoxville Nationals Twitter handles.
This list includes drivers on Knoxville’s pre-entry list and their Twitter handles, broken into groups based on their qualifying night as of Tuesday, August 11th. New drivers or drivers that have joined twitter since the 2014 list have been noted in bold.
Wednesday Qualifiers (by car number):
0 Bud Kaeding – @bud_kaeding
1a Jacob Allen – @JacobAllen1a
1D Justin Henderson – @Henderson_racin
2KS Craig Dollansky – @dollanskyracing
2L Logan Forler – @forlerracing
4 Dakota Hendrickson – @dakota_joshua
4R Jon Agan – @Jon_Agan4
4s Danny Smith – @4DannySmith
o5 Brad Loyet – @LoyetMotorsport
5V Colby Copeland – @ColbyCopeland5v
7 David Gravel – @DavidGravel89G
7D Dustin Selvage – @sprntcar7
7s Jason Sides – @SidesMotorsport
7TAZ Tasker Phillips – @tazphillips7
7x Kaley Gharst – @KaleyGharst6x
9 Daryn Pittman – @darynpittman
11K Kraig Kinser – @kraigkinser11k
12 Lynton Jeffrey – @lyntonjeffrey
12x Wayne Johnson – none
15 Donny Schatz – @DonnySchatz
16 Shane Stewart – @ShaneStewart_2
17 Josh Baughman – @Josh_Baughman17
17A Austin McCarl – @austinmccarl17a
17B Bill Balog – @billbalog17
17M Todd Mickelson – none
17w Bryan Clauson – @BryanClauson
18 Ian Madsen – @IanMadsen
19 Bobby Weuve – none
19P Paige Polyak – @paigepolyak
20 AJ Moeller – none
21au Garry Brazier – none
22 Tony Shilling – none
23 Jimmy Light – @jimmylight23
23B Seth Bergman – @bergmanracing
24R Rico Abreu – @Rico_Abreu
27 Greg Hodnett – @GregHodnett
29c Willie Croft – @williecroft29
31c Justyn Cox – @justyncox_jc
35AU Jamie Veal – @jvr35
40 Caleb Helms – @HelmsRacing40
49J Josh Schneiderman – @jsracing49
51 Paul McMahan – @paulmcmahan
55W Logan Wagner – @loganwagner7w
56 Davey Heskin – @heskinmotorspor
60 Kory Crabtree – @KoryCrabtree60
67 Christopher Bell – @CBellRacing21
69 Mike Moore – none
71 TBA (Owner Bernie Stuebgen)
71x TBA (Owner – Bernie Stuebgen)
75 Glen Saville – @GlenSaville
81 Austin Johnson – @ajracing81
81x Lee Jacobs – @LeeJacobsRacing
83 Aaron Reutzel – @aaronreutzel
84 Scott Bogucki – none
89 Cody Darrah – @CodyDarrah4
93H Sheldon Haudenschild – @haud93
95 Matt Covington – @mattcovington95
96 Bronson Maeschen – @BronsonMaeschen
96AU Bruce White – none
99 Brady Bacon – @BradyBacon
Thursday Qualifiers (by car number):
1 Sammy Swindell – @1sam91
1B Dale Blaney – @DaleBlaney
1CB Jac Haudenschild – @Haudenschild_R
1P Curtis Evans – none
1S Logan Schuchart – @sharkattack1s
1ST Gary Taylor – @garytaylorGT
1x Don Droud Jr. – @dondroudjrracin
1z Lucas Wolfe – @lucaswolfe5w
2 Danny Lasoski – @DannyLasoski
2K Kevin Ingle – none
2LX Ed Lynch Jr. – none
3 Tim Kaeding – @tkaedingracing
3A Billy Alley – @billyalley3
3G James McFadden – @JamesMcFadden25
7H Jojo Helberg – @jojohelberg
9K Kevin Thomas Jr. – @kevinthomasjr
9P Parker Price-Miller – @parker_pm9
10 Matt Moro – none
10H Chad Kemenah – @CKR_63
11 Steve Kinser – @stevekinser
11N Randy Hannagan – @hurricanerhr
13 Mark Dobmeier – @dobmeierracing
13v Seth Brahmer – none
13x Kevin Swindell – @kevinswindell
15m Bobby Mincer – @bobbymincer15
19M Brent Marks – @Brent_Marks
19s Stevie Smith – @bbandit19
20N Hunter Schuerenberg – @hunterpercent
W20 Greg Wilson – @GregWilsonw20
21 Brian Brown – @brianbrown21
21c DJ Foos – @DJ_Foos
24 Terry McCarl – @terrymccarl24
25 Dylan Peterson – @dylanpeterson25
28 Jonathan Cornell – @teamtwentyeight
29 Kerry Madsen – @kmr29
29w Danny Dietrich III – @dannydietrich
31b Shane Golobic – @shanegolobic
35 Skylar Prochaska – @ProchaskaRacing
41 Jason Johnson – @JasonJohnsonRac
44 Chris Martin – @44_martin
44W Austen Wheatley – @austenwheatley
45 Tim Shaffer – @timshaffer83
45x Johnny Herrera – @racing45x
47 Jeff Swindell – @JeffSwindell
49 Brad Sweet – @BradSweet49
55 Brooke Tatnell – none
55XM Brandon Wimmer – @brandonwimmer
56B Ryan Bernal – @bernal_ryan
67H Sam Hafertepe Jr.- @samhafertepejr
70 Dean Jacobs – none
71A RJ Johnson – @rjjohnson71A
71M Joey Saldana – @joeysaldana
76 Davey Jones – none
82 Dusty Zomer – none
88N D.J. Netto – @DJ_Netto88
93 Glenndon Forsythe – @5forsythe
If I missed a Twitter account or a driver that registered late that needs to be added, please feel free to let me know in the comments section below. Want more information on racing social media? Check out the Racing Social Media category for more posts.
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Past Drivers not Registered in 2015:
0 Jonathan Allard – @allard0
01 Paul Morris – none
1B Robby Wolfgang – @RobbyWolfgang
1K Kyle Larson – @KyleLarsonRacin
1T Chris Shirek – @cjn1k
1x Cap Henry – @caphenry
02 Mike Reinke – none
2MF Brad Foster – none
2s Lee Sowell – @leesowellracing
4c Tyler Courtney – @TyCourtney23
4K Kody Kinser – @kodykinser4k
05 Bill Boles – none
4J Lee Grosz – @leegrosz
6BR Bill Rose – none
6N Greg Nikitenko – none
6R Ryan Bunton – none
7M Geoff Dodge – @GeoffDodge
7x Critter Malone – none
8 Casey Mack – none
9P Rager Phillips – none
10 Garrett Dollansky – @G_DRacing13G
11c Roger Crockett – @the_Rocket_11
12P TJ Peterson – none
16 Dustin Clark – none
17M Marty Perovich – @team_one7
17M Joey Moughan – @jracer2m
17W Cole Wood – @wood17w
18T Tony Bruce Jr – @tonybrucejr
19L Jason Tostenson – none
20K Thomas Kennedy – @tj_kennedy_20k
20PK Ron Krysl – none
23K Rob Kubli – none
24H Bryan Sebetto – @bryansebetto
28 Brian Paulus – @mpaulus28 (PR)
39c Travis Rilat – @TravisRilat29
47AU Trevor Reynolds – none
51 Fred Rahmer – none
140 Ricky Logan – none
5 Terri O’Connell – @goterrio
22x Geoff Ensign – @ensignmotorspts
24x Josh Higday – @jhigday24
35 Tyler Walker – @tylerwalkerms
65 Danny Heskin – none
71 Robert Bell – none
71AU Domain Ramsay – none
71R Ryan Anderson – none
80 Trey Gustin – @Gustin_Trey
82 Scott Winters – @The23w
88 Jarrod Schneiderman – @js_racing88
93 Dustin Morgan – @dmracing2
97g Jody Rosenboom – @JodyRosenboom
53 Andy Gregg – @andygregg53
74x Josh Hodges – @JoshHodgesRacin
26 Tayler Malsam – @TaylerMalsam
40 Clint Garner – none
53D Jack Dover – @JackDoverRacing
55x Trey Starks – @treystarks55
83x Jason Meyers – @jasonmeyers14
Connect!