We've Moved!

If you've book marked the Riot Act blog, please update your favorites to my new URL:
http://www.riotsportsmarketing.com/blog/

Three Questions to Ask Yourself

We have expectations for our athletes, our volunteers, our employees and our assistants. We give them advice and coax them along. But who is coaching you? Do you have a mentor? I find that by stepping back, if just for a few minutes, and evaluating myself that I can be my own mentor (in addition to my real mentors). This is always the most valuable time that I spend all day. I save myself time and make more money because of it.
This time of year we talk about renewal and see the opportunity in front of us in the year ahead. I urge you to stop and sit for a few moments with a blank sheet of paper in front of you. Ask yourself 3 questions:

1. Where did I succeed in 2010?
2. Where did I miss the mark?
3. How will I implement those lessons in 2011?

Put pen to paper and start writing unedited. You'll see a flow of thoughts, ideas and action-plans begin to unfold in front of you.

Do this for yourself.
Do this for your community.

Good luck!
Let me know how it goes!

Happy New Year!

Jim Harshaw
Riot Marketing
More fans.  More media.  More money.  Less work.
www.riotsportsmarketing.com
(434) 409-0257

Innovation

Innovation...

• is scary
• is fun
• takes time and energy and commitment
  
• takes guts
• is exciting
• is risky
• is rewarding
• is dangerous
• takes collaboration
• requires an open mind

What is possible for you? Where can you go? How high can your organization reach? Through innovation, it may just be possible.

Call to Action

There's a buzz word in the marketing world called a "Call to Action." That means, just because you are offering something, that does not mean that people will buy it, register for it, click it, or otherwise take action. You must have a call to action. So, if you have a "Donate Now" button on your website or a "Become a Member" link and nobody is clicking on it, it's likely that you have either no call to action or a poor one.
If you want people to act, you must motivate them to do so. You have to talk to them, sell them, and then call upon them to take action. Tell people that you are running a fundraising campaign (or new member drive or whatever it is that you want) and that they should "click here" to help you raise money for your trip to Katmandu's for the annual toad licking conference.
Without a call to action, that button is just taking up space.
Click here to download the Four Steps to Creating a Call to Action

The Season of Giving

I have a lot of fun writing the Riot Act blog. I hope you have fun reading it but, more importantly, gain from reading it. I hope that you can serve your people better and serve more people as a result. I hope that my writing helps you make the world a better place through what you do.
If you this blog is a gift to you, I ask that you share this gift with your network and friends who may also benefit.

• If you're reading this from an email, click the Facebook or Twitter icons to "share" it or click "Forward to a Friend" at the bottom. 
• If you're reading it on Facebook, click "Share" below.
• If you're reading this from the blog, click one of the icons below. 

Thank you for helping me do what I love!

How Important are Your Fans*?

If your answer is "not important" then stop wasting your time reading this and do something more important, like picking your nose.
If your answer is "very important" then my next question is "how often do you touch them?" How often are you feeding them what they want? They are your pack. Your herd. Your tribe. And you are their leader. If there is no leader, there is no pack. If you're not feeding them what they crave, they will drift to another pack.
Your options are varied.

• Text message alerts
• Hand-written notes
• Facebook Page updates
• Twitter updates
• Direct mail
• Email newsletters
• Events that support events (like a social after a competition)

Riot clients understand the value of their fans. Do you?
*Remember, businesses have "fans" too. At least the good ones do. VW, Mac, Build-a-Bear, Grateful Dead

Your Own Sportscenter

If Sportscenter were just a listing of dates, times and locations of games, meetings and events, it wouldn't be very exciting or interesting. Teams would suffer because fans would be less educated, informed and engaged. Ticket sales would drop. Sponsors would leave. Licensing deals would lose value.

Instead, Sportscenter (and all of the other sources of news about a team) gives fans an inside look at the team, it's coaches, individuals and events. Fans get excited. They want more. They talk around the water cooler. They come to the game early. Buy gear (and concessions). They become the most important asset you have.

So... how are you educating and involving your fans?