Every year youth baseball tournaments are becoming more and more popular. For those of us who run tournaments for a living, this is bittersweet. For one, more tournaments means more teams participate in tournaments. And, if there are more teams participating in tournaments… well, you get the idea. On the other hand, though, the fact that youth baseball tournaments have become extremely popular in recent years means that all tournament directors, even those who run established tournaments, need to put more effort into signing up teams. Part of this team battle is putting on a well organized tournament year after year. But it’s hard to put together a well-organized tournament if all the teams in the area are playing in Joe Schmoe’s tournament up ahead. I’ve compiled this marketing guide to help both newcomers and veteran dogs in their own battle for teams and help even novice tournament directors build a successful, established tournament.
Step 1: Get started free and easy
One of the greatest resources available to tournament directors when promoting a tournament is the Internet. Yeah, I know this doesn’t surprise you: it’s 2012, not 1999. But just because we all know what Google is doesn’t mean every tournament director is successfully taking advantage of the free (or extremely cheap) online tournament. marketing Service. In fact, this aspect of tournament marketing often seems to get overlooked.
The first online resource you should check is the offers available from the sanctioning body through which you are running your tournament. Nearly every youth baseball sanctioning organization will help your marketing in some way. After all, they benefit from the success of your tournament. USSSA, which is quickly becoming the premier youth baseball organization in the country, will post your tournament on their website and link the post to their own website or registration form at no cost. From my experience organizing tournaments, I know that most participants find their tournaments on the website of the sanctioning organization. It’s a quick and easy way for coaches to find tournaments. And it’s an extremely effective and free way to promote your tournament to almost every coach in the state.
Another valuable marketing service for tournament directors is Active.com. For one reason or another, many tournament directors tend to underutilize Active.com. In this case, your loss is your gain. Active.com is a website that allows users to post sporting events that they are organizing. It’s simple and free to create an account and it only takes a couple of minutes to post a tournament. Additionally, Active.com has partnered with ETeamz.com, an online platform that most youth baseball teams use to create their own websites. This partnership has led a large number of coaches to use Active.com to search for baseball tournaments. And since Active.com is a national website, its services allow you to promote your tournament to teams in other states. In my experience, Active.com has been an essential tool in attracting teams from neighboring states and serves as a valuable resource that can turn your potential local tournament into a regional one.
Another free and easy online resource that is often overlooked by tournament directors are email marketing companies. Every tournament director in the country sends emails to coaches to “promote” their tournament. Every coach in the country receives hundreds of tournament emails a year. How do your emails stand out from others? A catchy subject line and well-written sales copy can only get you so far. Online email marketing services like MailChimp allow you to use HTML graphics, add images, link to your website, and track your email response. Most of these services are free with a small number of email contacts (usually less than 1000) and definitely help your email stand out from the rest.
Step 2: Strike early, strike often
This marketing step may seem a bit obvious, but it is nonetheless essential to building a strong tournament. The sooner you post your tournament online, the more likely teams are to sign up. The sooner you email your trainer contacts, the more likely you are to get signups. It’s all pretty simple, but I rarely see this marketing strategy being put to full use.
Your tournament competition may have a larger budget for promotion. They may have a more reputable name. And, they may have more connections with more trainers. But, no matter what the case, you can always get the upper hand when it comes to your marketing timeliness. Your tournament can be one of 20 state tournaments on the same weekend. But, if you post and promote early, the coaches will only see your tournament, not the other 19 that will eventually be posted.
I suggest putting together a promotion strategy early and following it to the letter until your tournament is full. My strategy? Publish your tournament online one year before the start date and send an initial email to the coaches once published. Six months before your tournament, send another email to the coaches and follow up with a personal phone call a week later. Then repeat this strategy every month until your tournament. You would be surprised at your marketing success if you diligently follow a promotion strategy.
Step 3: build relationships
Too many tournament directors are wary of asking coaches for help in marketing their tournament. They view the manager-coach relationship as nothing more than a business relationship and keep interactions short and sweet. This is a fatal error. You need to understand that as a tournament director, you are providing a desired and appreciated service to the coaches. Plus, coaches come into contact with more teams on a weekly basis than you could possibly contact.
By building relationships with youth coaches, you are gaining a marketing partner. Do not hesitate to become friends with the trainers. Call the coaches who register early for your tournament and thank them. Exchange friendly emails with them regularly. And, once you establish a decent rapport, just ask if they’ll mention your tournament to other teams in the area. It’s amazing how willing coaches are to help promote your tournament to other teams if you build a relationship with them. I know a tournament director who is in the habit of sending Christmas cards from his organization to the coaches who participate in his tournaments. The simple friendly gesture pays tenfold when you fill out tournaments year after year.
Step 4: go old school
Online marketing is fast, easy and cheap. And often online marketing is extremely effective. But, never underestimate the good old snail mail. All tournament directors in the country promote their tournaments via email. And, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good reasons to do this. But are you in the habit of opening and reading every mass email you receive? Or just hit the delete button? Even the most successful tournament marketing emails I send don’t receive much higher open rates than 15%. The average email in this industry is opened by approximately 6% of each contact it is sent to. If you email 100 trainers, you’ll be lucky if 15 of them read your email.
Postal mail, on the other hand, tends to be much more effective. After all, I personally open every letter I receive. It may seem outdated, but I suggest sending a personalized letter to each coach in your contact database and inviting them to participate in your next tournament. Your letter will surely be read and appreciated. Heck, if I were a coach, I would definitely sign up for a tournament that I was personally invited to.
Step 5: pound the pavement
When it comes to marketing your youth baseball tournament, other tournaments can become one of your biggest assets. Every spring and summer weekend in every city in the county there will surely be at least one tournament. Youth baseball tournaments are marked by high attendance and timeout tones for teams. Take advantage of these other tournaments when you market yours. Get in the habit of spending an hour or two at other local tournaments every weekend. Pass out flyers, mingle with the coaches, and promote your own tournament. First of all, by doing this you give your tournament a face and a name. Second, build relationships (see Step 3). You will quickly realize that you are going above and beyond almost every other tournament director; an action that will surely pay off. When marketing any product, what can be better than a large number of your target audience hanging out in one place? Use this opportunity to your advantage.
Failure is not our only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others. -Jules Renard
The tools for success in building an established youth baseball tournament are in your hands. You can use this guide in any way you want. But, if you follow these 5 easy steps and stick to them, your effort will surely be rewarded.