It’s the dream of most professional athletes to find sponsors. That’s because a sponsor will shoulder all your running costs. You get to take part in any sport, game, or event without caring about the fees. Also, you’ll get the privilege of getting free gear, shoes, and clothing needed in your athletic activities.
Who can get a Sponsorship?
Many talented athletes yearn to get sponsorships but do not know how to go about it. And most think that only elite athletes can get sponsorships. But you can land a sponsorship opportunity regardless of your level. Several sponsors are willing to support athletes/ sports players to live their dreams. For instance, DraftKings sponsors American football.
DraftKings is a gaming platform that has gained popularity over the years. It’s equipped with modern gaming features, not to mention that Draftkings odds are fairly respectable. Besides, it offers odds boosts markets regularly. Odds dictate how much you can win depending on your wager amount. Higher odds translate into a higher return on your winning bets.
We will dig more into the process of sponsorship and discuss how you can get such an opportunity. That way, you can be a sponsored runner and even start making some dollars doing what you love most.
Get to know the reasons companies sponsor runners
Some companies sponsor runners to market their products or services. In this case, they’ll go for elite runners or exceptionally attractive athletes to represent their brand. That way, they get the attention of the target audience. If you can help the company sell its services or products, you stand to attract sponsors. Also, keep searching for companies that offer sponsorship and express your interest in the sponsorship.
Build an audience
If you command a huge following, you are an excellent candidate for sponsorship. Company owners would willingly sponsor an athlete with a larger audience since they’ll market their brand to several people. That’s unlike someone who only has a dozen people supporting them. You can grow your audience drastically by winning a major event. (Take the case of Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan). These legends have no business building an audience as the media coverage serves the purpose perfectly.
Aside from that, you can consider other ways of building an audience. For example, you can start a blog. It’s easy and cost-effective. Develop an active online presence on a social network such as Twitter and Facebook. Gaining thousands of followers is the goal. Alternatively, you can utilize your other talents to gain attention if you have any. These are talents such as music, art and design, and so on.
Figure what you want from a sponsorship
Sponsorship terms differ. Some athletes are entitled to discounts on products, free products, free travel, race entries to getting paid. All this will depend on your popularity and number of followers. For example, you can’t expect so much from your sponsor if your blog only attracts less than 100 clicks in a day.
Know whom to contact
Based on the likes and interests of your audience, you’ll know the company to reach. Check which services or products would interest your followers. After that, create a list of companies that seem to be a good fit and get in touch with them. For the small companies, it’s a good idea to contact the owner. But for larger companies, you’ll have to send your sponsorship request through the marketing department.
author: Awais Dar
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