Year after year, youth baseball tournaments are becoming more and more popular. For those of us who host tournaments as a way of life, this is bittersweet. For one thing, more tournaments means that more teams are participating in tournaments. And, if more teams are participating in tournaments … well, you get the idea. However, on the other hand, the fact that youth baseball tournaments have become extremely popular in recent years means that all tournament directors, even those who run established tournaments, must fight harder to enter teams. Part of this team battle is putting together a well-organized tournament year after year. But it is difficult to organize a well organized tournament if all the teams in the area are playing in the Joe Schmoe tournament in the future. I have compiled this marketing guide to help both newcomers and old dogs in their own team battle and to help even novice tournament directors build a successful and established tournament.
Step 1: Get started free and easy
One of the greatest resources available to tournament directors when marketing a tournament is the Internet. Yes, I know this doesn’t surprise you – this is 2012, not 1999. But just because we all know what Google is doesn’t mean that all tournament directors are successfully taking advantage of the free (or extremely cheap) online tournament. marketing services. In fact, this aspect of tournament marketing seems to be often overlooked.
The first online resource to consider is the offers available from the sanctioning body through which you are running your tournament. Almost all youth baseball sanctioning organizations will help with your marketing in some way. After all, they benefit from the success of their tournament. USSSA, which is fast becoming the leading youth baseball organization in the country, will post its tournament on its website and link the post to its own website or registration form at no cost. From my experience running tournaments, I know that most participants find their tournaments on the sanctioning organization’s website. 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 underuse Active.com. In this case, your loss is your profit. Active.com is a website that allows users to post sporting events that they organize. 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 association has led a large number of coaches to use Active.com to search for baseball tournaments. And, since Active.com is a nationwide 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 tournament directors often ignore is email marketing companies. All tournament directors in the country send emails to coaches “promoting” 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, such as 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 1,000) and they definitely help your email stand out of the pack.
Step 2: Hit early, hit often
This marketing step may seem a bit obvious, but it is nonetheless essential to building a strong tournament. The earlier you post your tournament online, the more likely teams are to sign up. The sooner you send emails to your coach contacts, the more likely you are to make sign-ups. It’s all pretty simple, but I rarely see this marketing strategy being fully taken advantage of.
Your tournament competition may have a bigger budget for promotion. They may have a more respectable name. And they may have more connections with more coaches. But, no matter what the case is, 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 through until your tournament is complete. My strategy? Publish your tournament online one year before the start date and send an initial email to the coaches once it is 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 the success of your marketing if you diligently follow a promotional strategy.
Step 3: Build relationships
Too many tournament directors are wary of asking coaches for help promoting their tournament. They see the manager-coach relationship as nothing more than a business relationship and keep the interactions short and pleasant. This is a fatal mistake. You must understand that, as a tournament director, you are providing a desired and appreciated service to the coaches. And coaches contact more teams weekly than you could ever reach.
By establishing relationships with youth coaches, you are gaining a marketing partner. Feel free to befriend the coaches. Call the coaches who signed up early for your tournament and thank them. Exchange friendly emails with them on a regular basis. And, once you build a decent relationship, just ask if they’ll mention your tournament to other teams in the area. It’s amazing how willing the coaches are to help promote your tournament to other teams if you build a relationship with them. I know of a tournament director who has a habit of sending Christmas cards from his organization to the coaches who participate in his tournaments. The simple friendly gesture pays out ten times more when it fills up tournaments year after year.
Step 4: Go old school
Online marketing is fast, easy, and inexpensive. And online marketing is often extremely effective. But, never underestimate good traditional mail. All tournament directors in the nation promote their tournaments by email. And don’t get me wrong, there are many good reasons to do this. But are you in the habit of opening and reading all the bulk emails you receive? Or do you just hit the delete button? Even the most successful tournament marketing emails I send don’t get an open rate much higher than 15%. The average email in this industry is opened by about 6% of every contact it is sent to. If you email 100 coaches, you’re in luck 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 out of date, 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. Hell, if I was a coach I would definitely sign up for a tournament that I was personally invited to.
Step 5: Hit the pavement
When it comes to marketing your youth baseball tournament, other tournaments can become one of your greatest 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 tons of downtime 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. Hand out flyers, socialize with coaches, and promote your own tournament. First of all, by doing this you put a face and a name to your tournament. Second, build relationships (see Step 3). You will quickly discover that you are going beyond almost all other tournament directors; an action that will surely pay off. When marketing any product, what can be better than a large number of your target audience gathered in one place? Take advantage of this opportunity.
Failure is not our only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others. -Jules Renard
The tools to be successful 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 follow them, your effort is sure to pay off.