How to bring more value to your Sponsors and Earn More in 6 Steps
How can you go from getting free product to getting paid for skating? Increasing the value of your contract in motorsport? Or growing your sponsorship endorsement opportunities in surfing?
This is a question that has no doubt crossed your mind.
It was always on my mind growing up skating, but my answer only came down to one idea. Skate better.
If I could skate better, I could ask for more from my sponsors, and go after newer, bigger, sponsors.
In theory it was easy. In practice…it was hard. I was finding it really hard to keep improving and get to the level I wanted in my mind. So what other options are there?
How can athletes increase their value to sponsors without increasing their performance?
Here are 6 ways:
Build Your Athlete Brand – I’ve got a more in-depth article on what an Athlete Brand is here, but your athlete brand is about sharing more of your process, sharing interests, struggles, motivations and more. It humanises you as an athlete and builds stronger connections with your fanbase. Your value to sponsors lies in your engaged audience. The more engaged your audience, the more you’re worth.
Post More to Social Media – The more you post the better your visibility. You want to uphold a certain level of quality, but you also can’t be a complete perfectionist. Use your training, travel, events, friends and warm ups to create content that is interesting. Interesting content is what you can post when you don’t have a new ‘best trick’ to post. Remember to tag sponsors, thank them when they send you gear, talk about it on your stories, and share the reasons you love that brand.
Network and Meet More People – Growing your network will increase your visibility and therefore your worth. Get out to new skateparks and locations and meet new people. Drop into the local scene shop, and say hi. It’s not about being arrogant but being friendly and meeting new communities.
Enter More Contests – The huge value in contests is networking and visibility. Especially in skating. There is a great camaraderie around contests which makes them a very easy way to meet new people at the top level and also get seen by a big crowd. Your name is read out multiple times during a contest, and you can even ask them to mention your sponsors. A fast way to increase your fan base.
Contact Media with Article Content – It’s hard to produce content. Especially a lot of it. So media outlets are always stoked when someone sends them a complete piece ready to post. Think about filming or photographing an article and writing a short title and introduction and sending the whole thing to magazines or media outlets. By creating the content and asking them to post it, you make their life easier, and increase your chances of being given exciting opportunities in the future. Delivering content shows your capability to deliver. Build this trust and you will be trusted to build in the future.
Film a Video Part – If your sponsors aren’t working on any media projects themselves then don’t wait and whinge. Go out and film your own content. Ask a friend, pay a filmer, or set up your phone on a tripod. There is always a way, so make content not excuses. Use whatever limitations you have to create a story around the content rather than an excuse not to be creating.
If you follow these 6 steps your sponsors will love you. The best way to get more product or budget from your sponsors is to create the value and then ask for remuneration. Don’t ask and promise to deliver later.
This is your profession, you need to work. So go out, work, make it happen.
You got this!
