The Secret to Killer Publicity for Your Sports Team

This article will help you create publicity on a continual basis for any sports team. There are action item you can do today to get started.

Let’s talk about why you would even want to bother with PR.

Every team needs PR or publicity. Children’s teams need PR so they can attract sponsors and visitors to the games. Even if the visitors do not have to pay, it’s more fun for everyone when there is a large involved crowd at the games. The PR can also be used to attract support before it’s needed. A team that is fully supported is less likely to be shut down when funds are tight in the schools, cities and counties.

Adult teams need publicity because it will bring in sponsors and paying customers who come to games. Paying customers tend to buy t-shirts and other things that support the team financially. Few teams can afford to survive with no money coming in.

Where do you start?

Start with your local media.  When you send the local radio stations and newspapers the stats and updates on the teams wins, along with some interesting fact about the team or a particular player, you give them something to talk about. This needs to be done each week or at least every other week. Publicity is not something you do one time and that’s it. You have to keep sending information. When a media outlet sees they can depend on you to send timely updates, they are more likely to include you.  A timely update is one that is well before the time they need to publish or be on the air.  If the local sports radio show comes on at 8 am, then this information should be sent the day before, not at 7 am when they are prepping for the show. This means you will have to find out the publish dates of the newspapers and magazines you send this information to. And send the information well before that dates. When you approach sponsors, you can show them the visibility your team already has. Everyone wants to be with winners.

Getting your press releases or media releases as I like to call them, written up and sent out is not an easy thing.  Some people can write professionally but not well. The bottom line is to stimulate the media to do a story on your team or at least mention your team.  You must keep sending them out; you can’t send out one and say it did not work. Rarely do people get written up on the first media release unless they are professional PR people and have connections to make it happen.

 

 

These strategies work for Semi-professional teams as well as children’s community teams. They are strategies the professional teams use.

Action Items:

1. Look at the team schedule and create a schedule to send out media releases

2. Get some interesting facts about the player or team to send to the media

3. Make a list of local radio, TV, magazines, newspapers and blogs that cover your local area and find out about their deadlines

4. Use the contact information to just send media release and updates

5. Send pictures as often as you can about the topic in the media release

6. Delegate one person to handle this so that when the media contacts you, they don’t get the run around as to who to talk to.

7. Always leave your contact information with media every time you connect with them.

Check out the personal media training at in the Instant Radio Star Program at http://wrightplacetv.com/instant-radio-star