Final players registration event
Give yourself a pat on the back, because most of the work is now behind you. You have successfully created a web and social media presence. Your marketing and advertising campaigns are well underway. You have created excitement around your club, and the community knows the time, date, and location of your first practice. It’s time to “hit it home” with your final outreach efforts and your athletes registration event.
This final post will guide you through community outreach, in-person appearances, and suggestions for planning and hosting a fun event where newcomers will sign up for your team or club. Lets bring it all together!
This series of posts is designed to allow you to not only have an effective recruitment campaign for your sports club, but to show you how you can use marketing, advertising and social networks to your advantage.
6.1 Community Outreach
During the final week or two leading up to your registration event and/or the first practice, it is beneficial to tap into your entire community network via outreach and in-person appearances. This allows all potential newcomers and community stakeholders – athletes, parents, and teachers – to become familiar and comfortable with you and your club.
6.1.1 Schools
First on your list if you’re a youth sports club, or run a youth division, should be the local school systems. Make sure school leaders know about your club, and promote it as a healthy and fun after school activity. It is always best to visit with teachers and principals in person if possible, and you may also be granted the opportunity to speak to their classes at the end of the school day. Be sure you come prepared to send them home with a flyer that contains more information and registration instructions. This is a great way to achieve sign-ups!
6.1.2 Places of social gathering (i.e places of worship, community centres and so on)
If your club is located in a town or neighborhood that has vibrant community built around a place of worship, or other community centre, check out opportunities to be listed in their weekly bulletins, e-mails, or newsletters. Families often find out about events through community mailing lists, making it an opportunity for exposure that is worth checking out.
6.1.3 Other Sports Teams and Clubs
There are likely other coaches in your community that are trying to fill their teams as well. If you know of a coach or team whose season does not overlap with yours, offer to “swap” flyers to let their team know about your sport, and vice versa. Don’t forget about the local YMCA, YWCA, and other youth centers! These are excellent places to post flyers about your squad.
If you live in a large community, be sure to delegate these in-person appearances among your coaching staff. You can only be in one place at a time!
6.2 Registration Event
In these final weeks, mention your registration event as much as possible on social media, during in-person appearances, and in your print advertising. You should start planning this event as early as possible in order to market it to your target audience.
6.2.1 Timing
Depending on how you plan to fill your team, there are a couple of options for the timing of the registration event, and benefits to each.
You may choose to hold the event before the season begins in order to have your team full by the first practice. This way, all players can begin to familiarize themselves with each other and each player’s different style of play.
The second option is to hold the registration event a few weeks to one month following the first practice. Benefits to this option are that the kids have an opportunity to “try-out” the team and ensure it’s a good fit for them and for you. It also gives you an opportunity for one final push in the case that your team is not yet full.
6.2.2 Event Ideas
There are numerous ideas for the registration event itself. You may choose to hold it at a local restaurant, where families who register for your club receive a discount at the restaurant. This is a win-win for both your team and the restaurant!
Another option is to invite a local pro-athlete (active or retired), a college player of your sport, or a local sports hero to your event. Seeing this “showcase” is a great way to give the younger players a goal for the future.
Finally, you may choose to hold your registration event as the team’s first practice, where you can demonstrate the sport, safety measures taken, and highlight elite level play. This is a great way to make parents and kids feel comfortable with the sport, the coaches, and the location. You can think of this as your “interview” with the parents, who want to feel confident that your club structure, and coaches are trustworthy, knowledgeable, and reliable.
6.2.3 Payment Options
The final piece to consider when holding your registration event is to make sure that payment terms are clear, and offer incentives for early registration. No matter what your club charges to participate, be sure to make terms of payment clear whether you offer a 100% money back guarantee, or a no-refund policy. Being proactive on this issue will save you a lot of potential heartache and uncomfortable conversations.
Enforce a registration deadline and consider offering an early-bird discount, or charging an additional fee for those who register late.
Conclusion
You have reached the finish line of your Four Week Marketing Training Plan! Now you may reap the benefits of your hard work over the past month, but don’t forget the importance of keeping your community and team engaged via social media and updates to your team site. Occasional tweets, Facebook posts, and uploaded photos are a great way to keep your followers tuned in to your team’s activities.
We hope this has been a useful resource for you in your marketing process. Sportlyzer’s goal is to empower coaches and athletes with tools for success. To learn more, check out www.sportlyzer.com. Good luck in your upcoming season!
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Related posts in the series
1. Preparing for the recruitment campaign
2. Create and optimize club website
3. Effective advertising campaign
6. Final outreach + registration (current article)
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