How to get wrestling fans part 5
You guys will notice that I bounce from topic to topic because I cover several different sports at the same time, so if you read one blog about wrestling and don’t see anything for two or three blogs, don’t worry, I try to get back to it when I can.
This is an ongoing topic on what I might do if I was in charge of a local wrestling federation. Not some multi-million dollar federation where you have millions to throw around. I’m talking about a local wrestling show where you can provide people in a few towns some nice and decent talent. These are for the real wrestling fans, not those that watch only “Smackdown” or “Raw” on television. That’s fine if you are into that, but lots of times we ignore the people who try to bring us local entertainment right in our back yards.
So this is a blog of what I might do if I had a wrestling federation and what I would do to make it better. If you have read the other blogs on wrestling, you know we have covered a few topics, including Location, Sound Quality and Promotions/Advertisings.
So let’s continue with the next element: Video Quality and Post Production.
Back in the days of the 70’s and 80’s this would have been hard because the equipment used for video was expensive and pretty big. But today anybody can take videos…Youtube is an excellent example of this. For good or for bad, you can easily get videos of yourself or others to the faces of thousands, or millions.
But how can you utilize this when it comes to local wrestling? Well, many local wrestling businesses forget the power of the media. Any match that you have can be recorded for several uses. As a guy that has a degree in radio and television, I want to try to share some points on this.
First off, if you’re gonna do it, do it right. Don’t go buying cheap stuff because the end product needs to be good. Remember, this is your calling card to anyone who has not been to your events; give them a good impression. Now we’re not gonna get too involved in the actual names of cameras and editing suites, because for every one I say, there could be options. But the key here is this, get some decent cameras.
Now, here is a problem I think many people miss, recording a match is more than just setting a camera and “letting it roll”. Lots of federations use a single camera on a fixed location…no good.
Give the people angles of action, not just from one camera. You can get 2, maybe 3 digital cameras, and set positions around the ring and have three different angles. If you can’t do 3, then do two, but it is critical to have more than one angle to record these events.
Now, the problem with this is that most people have no experience in editing. This is where you have to combine multiple sources into one source for the best presentation. Say I have a “match of the year” one night, and I want to sell that match on DVD. I need to give the fans the best I can give them, because if it is done right, those fans may share it with others, and those people who see it might be my next set of fans. However, editing isn’t as easy as “point and shoot”.
This is what a lot of federations rely on, just shooting once and using the exact same footage. Not good. If I am going to get wrestling fans, I need to give them a product they can be proud of which will also help create interest in my events. It also creates a steady income of past events that can keep the money coming in.
Even nowdays with digital cameras and the like, you still need to learn HOW to use it. Some people think all you need to do is turn it on and start recording. But that’s the difference in amateurs and professionals…you DO want to be professional in what you do, right?
I would get a couple of people to learn how to record events, if that means hiring a couple of college students, fine, at least I know they are studying their craft while helping us. I would make sure we have a fixed angle (a camera set in one position, and never moved) and a roving camera (one that circles the ring). If I could get a third, that is fine, but if not, I can live without it. My aim is to get as much footage of the matches AND the fans if possible.
And while quality is a given, the post production adds a whole new angle, and even some elements some wrestling federations don’t apply…announcers. It just sounds too bland to watch a DVD of a wrestling match and all you hear is the sounds of the slams, grunts and occasional yells from the audience.
There needs to be filler in the post production, and this is where announcers come in. You’ve never watched a wrestling match on television without announcers, so why settle for less when you get a DVD?
Guys, the post production of the wrestling matches has to be as intense and professional as the matches themselves. If there was as much effort put into post production as there were in the matches, you could sell each DVD for $20 and nobody would complain. These are the tangible sales that can easily recoup any losses.
If I had a wrestling event in a town, this could be an example. If I had a facility that seated 300, and sold tickets for $9 each, I am hoping to make about $2700. But that is a high estimate because most times I don’t expect to sell out, even with concessions. Now if I recorded the event that night, I can make it available for sale, and in time, we might be able to recoup any losses of that event.
One reason this can happen is local fans want to buy the product that they participated in, because they might be seen in it. I mean, wouldn’t you like to get a DVD of a wrestling night where in a pan across the fans, there YOU are, sitting there yelling and screaming? Another reason is that it allows fans who don’t travel to keep up with the wrestling federation. I might have events in 4 towns, but many of my fans can’t travel to the other three. This way, I can offer the DVD of what happened in the other towns so they won’t feel left out. And it might just encourage them to travel the next time we are out of town.
There are numerous advantages of video quality and post production, but lots of times local wrestling federations don’t take advantage of it. It’s not gonna make them multi-millionaires but it certainly can help bring more revenue. And the video can be a great promotional tool on the internet or even local television. So you might want to think about that.
Anyway, got more stuff to write about, we’ll talk more about this again soon.
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
How to get wrestling fans, part 4
How to get wrestling fans, pt 4
I hope you are keeping up with my short series on how a local wrestling federation can get more wrestling fans for their events.
As you know, I am writing this based on the appreciation of the entertainment, as I am a wrestling fan. I am not as big a fan as I was when I was a kid, when I watched NWA and WWWF back in the day. My favorite programs around here was Florida Wrestling, IWF and other NWA-based wrestling shows in and around the south.
In my previous blogs I talked about what I would do if it was up to me to improve a local wrestling federation. Now this also implies that the federation is not raking in the money like the television shows (WWE and TNA). Many times the guys we see wrestling in local events are not paid much, or not at all (some wrestle for free). But to be honest and fair, I would want to pay every wrestler and crew member that was significantly involved in helping us get out there and filling the seats with fans.
All the parts have to work well before you can get the best result of having a strong fan base and being able to make money to pay your wrestlers and occasionally get a wrestling legend to come visit. This happens all the time across the country, but lots of times the investment is greater than the profits. Heck, I’d hate to promise a legend like Dusty Rhodes $1500 just to come visit and sign autographs and do a little something in the ring if we don’t sell out and make big concession dollars. It has to make sense all the way around so my wrestlers can get paid, or we won’t be in business long.
So I first talked about LOCATION, and how important it is to have the best facility that we can afford, not necessarily the best one that cost more than we can manage, or one that forces us to jack up the ticket prices.
After location, we talked about promotion and advertising, which is imperative to creating an interest in the event. Lots of local wrestlers forget how important the media can be to getting their product out to the public.
So now let’s talk about another element in getting more fans…sound quality.
This sounds like a petty idea (pardon the pun) but this means a lot to the actual experience of the fan. I think the 80’s wrestling era introduced the music intro, or at least brought it into mainstream. I have some old tapes of some old school matches and they used to play a radio with the song of the wrestler as he came to the ring. They would put the microphone to the speakers and let er rip. Some of the ones I can remember from the “old school” is Jimmy Valiant, coming to the ring with the song, “Boy From New York City”, I think done by Manhattan Transfer.
Then there were others like Leroy Brown, coming to the song “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”. And who could forget the music the Road Warriors came to….do I even have to say what classic song they came to? I mean, you ARE wrestling fans, aren’t you?
The point here is that music has become as much a part of the entertainment as the wrestler. And often times we forget that the music and sound starts long before the matches begin. It starts from the moment we as fans enter the building.
Remember, to entertain the fan, it does not start when the matches begin. You’ve got to build that excitement for the fans so that when the first match starts, we are ready to have a good time. All of this comes from the sound and the quality of that sound.
This means the sound system has to be good…not cheap and half working, half not working. Remember, the music is a reflection of how you carry your business. Many times local wrestling events allow fans in 30 minutes to an hour before the event starts. That means while we are sitting in those seats waiting for the action to begin, you’ve got to give us some high-energy music to get excited about.
And although this will vary from one federation to another, there has to be some guidelines on what you play as well. For example, because kids often go to these events, you don’t want to be playing music with profanity. IF you do, then at least edit those words out, if you can’t find the radio version of it. I mean, think about it, do you want your kids hearing that kinda profanity and then saying it?
All you have to do is look at the wrestling shows and see how the bigger groups do it. Sound is an important part of the event because it sets the mood. We know this because most wrestlers have “intro music”. Why? Because it sets the mood and is a representative of what that wrestler is about. Well, if so, how much more does it set the tone for a night of wrestling?
I would invest in a good sound system that can get the crowd excited while waiting for the event to begin, but I also want to have a good set of music that can help my wrestlers and not offend the fans. I’d also keep one person whose job it would be to manage the sound. Even if this guy is to help set up the ring or anything else, that is fine, but the moment the event starts, his or her job is to do nothing but manage the sound.
It’s a small part, I grant you, but the sound makes an important part of creating the mood for the event. If done right, you please the fans and give them a great show and can help lead to their return. Give the fans a great show, and they’ll be back. But to give them that show, every element has to click, which includes the sound.
Ok, we’ll pick this up again soon and continue the discussion. Until then…
I hope you are keeping up with my short series on how a local wrestling federation can get more wrestling fans for their events.
As you know, I am writing this based on the appreciation of the entertainment, as I am a wrestling fan. I am not as big a fan as I was when I was a kid, when I watched NWA and WWWF back in the day. My favorite programs around here was Florida Wrestling, IWF and other NWA-based wrestling shows in and around the south.
In my previous blogs I talked about what I would do if it was up to me to improve a local wrestling federation. Now this also implies that the federation is not raking in the money like the television shows (WWE and TNA). Many times the guys we see wrestling in local events are not paid much, or not at all (some wrestle for free). But to be honest and fair, I would want to pay every wrestler and crew member that was significantly involved in helping us get out there and filling the seats with fans.
All the parts have to work well before you can get the best result of having a strong fan base and being able to make money to pay your wrestlers and occasionally get a wrestling legend to come visit. This happens all the time across the country, but lots of times the investment is greater than the profits. Heck, I’d hate to promise a legend like Dusty Rhodes $1500 just to come visit and sign autographs and do a little something in the ring if we don’t sell out and make big concession dollars. It has to make sense all the way around so my wrestlers can get paid, or we won’t be in business long.
So I first talked about LOCATION, and how important it is to have the best facility that we can afford, not necessarily the best one that cost more than we can manage, or one that forces us to jack up the ticket prices.
After location, we talked about promotion and advertising, which is imperative to creating an interest in the event. Lots of local wrestlers forget how important the media can be to getting their product out to the public.
So now let’s talk about another element in getting more fans…sound quality.
This sounds like a petty idea (pardon the pun) but this means a lot to the actual experience of the fan. I think the 80’s wrestling era introduced the music intro, or at least brought it into mainstream. I have some old tapes of some old school matches and they used to play a radio with the song of the wrestler as he came to the ring. They would put the microphone to the speakers and let er rip. Some of the ones I can remember from the “old school” is Jimmy Valiant, coming to the ring with the song, “Boy From New York City”, I think done by Manhattan Transfer.
Then there were others like Leroy Brown, coming to the song “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”. And who could forget the music the Road Warriors came to….do I even have to say what classic song they came to? I mean, you ARE wrestling fans, aren’t you?
The point here is that music has become as much a part of the entertainment as the wrestler. And often times we forget that the music and sound starts long before the matches begin. It starts from the moment we as fans enter the building.
Remember, to entertain the fan, it does not start when the matches begin. You’ve got to build that excitement for the fans so that when the first match starts, we are ready to have a good time. All of this comes from the sound and the quality of that sound.
This means the sound system has to be good…not cheap and half working, half not working. Remember, the music is a reflection of how you carry your business. Many times local wrestling events allow fans in 30 minutes to an hour before the event starts. That means while we are sitting in those seats waiting for the action to begin, you’ve got to give us some high-energy music to get excited about.
And although this will vary from one federation to another, there has to be some guidelines on what you play as well. For example, because kids often go to these events, you don’t want to be playing music with profanity. IF you do, then at least edit those words out, if you can’t find the radio version of it. I mean, think about it, do you want your kids hearing that kinda profanity and then saying it?
All you have to do is look at the wrestling shows and see how the bigger groups do it. Sound is an important part of the event because it sets the mood. We know this because most wrestlers have “intro music”. Why? Because it sets the mood and is a representative of what that wrestler is about. Well, if so, how much more does it set the tone for a night of wrestling?
I would invest in a good sound system that can get the crowd excited while waiting for the event to begin, but I also want to have a good set of music that can help my wrestlers and not offend the fans. I’d also keep one person whose job it would be to manage the sound. Even if this guy is to help set up the ring or anything else, that is fine, but the moment the event starts, his or her job is to do nothing but manage the sound.
It’s a small part, I grant you, but the sound makes an important part of creating the mood for the event. If done right, you please the fans and give them a great show and can help lead to their return. Give the fans a great show, and they’ll be back. But to give them that show, every element has to click, which includes the sound.
Ok, we’ll pick this up again soon and continue the discussion. Until then…
Sunday, October 26, 2008
How to get wrestling fans, part 3
How to get wrestling fans, pt 3
I started this I think Friday, and wanted to make a short series of this as we went along. If you follow my blogs on Blogspot, then you have not missed anything, this is indeed the third part of that series.
If you missed it, you might want to bounce there and find out about it. But in a nutshell, I am blogging on ways that local wrestling federations can bring more fans and thus revenue to their sport…although that word is debatable.
I heard that the owner of WWE wants to change the terminology of “sports entertainment” to just “entertainment”. Well, that’s his call with his wrestling, but on MY blog, I call it sports entertainment…because that’s what it is. It takes athletes to do what these guys do, and it is for entertainment.
Anyway, on my second blog on this issue, I talked about LOCATION, which is critical to a small wrestling federation. You see folks, not every wrestling group is like the big ones, where they can travel to Chicago this week, Pennsylvania the next week, North Carolina the next and so on. Many of the smaller ones have a small region, like a part of a state, some just have a single town or city. So location is important to establishing their business because it has to be a place where the fans can get to, but at the same time, the facility itself can’t be so high in rent that the tickets end up being $20 and a hot dog costing $2...without condiments!
So let’s talk about another element in getting wrestling fans…PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING.
This is HUGE when it comes to wrestling, and I think many times this is where most small wrestling federations lose a golden chance to rack up fans. I mean, think about it, when was the last time you went to a local wrestling show? How did you hear about it? If you’re like most people, it might be through word of mouth, or by some flyer stuck on the wall somewhere.
A few weeks ago I was told about a wrestling event in Robeson, NC. I was told that the event features some pretty unique names in the wrestling business, such as Terry Funk, CW Anderson and others. Now to ANY real wrestling fan, that is a ticket you don’t want to miss, if at all possible. I never got the chance to go because the distance was just not convenient and the ticket price was I think $25. I also heard Terry Funk didn’t make it, and instead Jake “The Snake” Roberts was there…
(many of you know the story of how some smaller wrestling federations don’t like Jake Roberts because he sometimes does not deliver on his performance, google on that and find out what I am talking about)
But my point is that the promotion and advertising was word of mouth. Now, that is fine to some of you, and to a lot of wrestling federations they rely on word of mouth, but be careful for what you wish for. Just as word of mouth can help your event, it can also hurt it as well. Just as somebody can say what might be good about your event, they can also say something bad. Advertising and promotions give you the chance to make your case as to why fans ought to come see your event.
It really is amazing how many people see advertising as a waste of money. You don’t see Coca-Cola crying about spending money on advertising. You don’t see McDonalds crying about spending money on advertising. It’s a part of your investment. If I was in charge of a wrestling federation, this would be a key part of bring in the fans.
The idea of advertising is to create the awareness of your product (wrestling) to the people in the area. If you are relying on a few pieces of paper stapled to some billboard or hoping that some of your fans tell others, you are shooting too low. The idea is to pack the house with fans, right? Then take an action to maximize your chances to pack that house.
For example, if I had a wrestling federation event coming up, I would first try to identify the electronic media sources of the town. That means radio stations and local television stations. This does not mean you can afford to advertise, it just means you need to find the info on it.
Lots of radio stations offer very cheap rates, and you can cut a spot (spoken by a guy who knows a bit about radio) very cheaply. Some stations offer rates as low as $5 a spot, or even less, if you know who to talk to. I don’t care how many flyers you put out, it won’t beat the numbers you can get from a few well placed radio spots. And heck, with the cost of printing, ink and gas to travel around town anyway, you might as well at least consider radio ads.
If I was running a wrestling federation, I’d tap into the thousands of people who listen to even small radio stations, and build a fan base from there. This is just one part of how advertising and promotions can work to build a wrestling fan base.
Let me give you an example:
I used to cut spots for local high school sports, so I know a lot about 30 second and 60 second spots. If you are going to use local radio to advertise, you need to make sure the listeners are well informed about your event, and to encourage them to act… not just to listen, but to act. I mean, it doesn’t matter if 10,000 people listened to your spot, if you didn’t give them a reason to come see you, then you still won’t fill the seats, right?
This means there is a difference in sharing info, and SELLING info. I mean, think about it, when you watch wrestling, and you see a guy take a punch, look to see if they SOLD the punch. What does that mean? That means they made it believable. One of the things didn’t like about wrestling is when the “star” stops selling punches. Two examples…Hulk Hogan and Undertaker. You punch them, and they act like they don’t feel it. That’s because they are not “selling” the move. This was one of the big problems a local wrestling federation had with Jake Roberts, and how he ruined their program.
But in advertising it applies to. For example, which wrestling ad would you pay more attention to:
Spot #1: Coming this Thursday night to the Williams Assembly Building, it’s MWW (Mighty Wrestling World). Come see local wrestlers battle it out for the MWW Championship title. Tickets are only $10, and kids under 5 get in for free. Call us at 555-5555 and reserve your tickets now. That’s MWW wrestling at the Williams Assembly Building, this Thursday night. Be there.
Spot #2: Mighty Wrestling World is coming to YOUR area this Thursday night! Come see high-flying, drop-kicking old-school wrestling at it’s best at Williams Assembly Building! If you’ve ever wanted to see wrestling live and in person, this is your chance to enjoy great local wrestling talent! And tickets are only $10! Kids under 5 get in for free! Come see some great wrestling entertainment as the stars fight it out for the MWW Championship Title!. Call 555-5555 today and get your tickets NOW, before they are sold out! It’s MWW, Mighty Wrestling World!
Now I made that name up (yeah, kinda corny) but you get the idea. If you are going to advertise, you can’t just tell folks the info. You have to excite them to action, you want that phone ringing off the hook of people demanding tickets. The point of advertising is more than just telling people that you have a wrestling event, it’s INVITING them to come see it.
Now, promotion goes a step further in that it allows you to use your talent to help promote the event. In wrestling, it helps a lot to use the talent you have to help push your wrestling event. This can also work in your favor to help create local favorites even in small towns.
Remember folks, local wrestling federations can’t afford to employ the big names like AJ Styles, John Cena, Cactus Jack or Triple H. They just can’t, and if by any miracle they could acquire those kinda talents for one night, it would cost the fans an arm and a leg just to see them. So we have to think on a smaller scale, and build a fan base from what we have.
Let’s say I actually DO run MWW, and I have a face wrestler (a good guy) and a heel (bad guy) that I want to promote. Let’s call the face “Cory Saint” and the heel “Vengeance”. We might have been in business for a couple of years, but most of the people may not know of them or my other wrestlers. They might have even heard that there’s some wrestling going on in town, but never came to see it. I need to push the envelope a bit to encourage them to come see my talent, and root for Cory Saint. I need to build a fan base and create interest in my wrestlers.
To do this, I may need to identify a local radio station and cut a few spots that actually feature my wrestlers. Whereas the advertising spots give info, I can use promotion to get the listeners familiar with my wrestlers by having their voice on the spots. For example:
Spot #1: Hi, I’m Cory Saint, one of the many great wrestlers of Mighty Wrestling World, and I’ll be here in town this Thursday night at Williams Assembly Building to defend my title against “Vengeance”. I want your support as I lock up with this guy, because he’s known to break the rules. You come out and support me, and I’ll give you a victory for all my fans. Tickets are only $10 and kids under 5 get in for free. There’ll be giveaways and plenty of action, so you might wanna call 555-5555 and get ticket reservations. So come on out and check us out, and root me on to victory and I defend the MMW title. That’s this Thursday at the Williams Assembly Building. Hope to see you there.
Now, that’s a nice clean spot, even though I know it still lacks time of event and physical location, but you get the idea. The purpose of this promotion is to get the listeners familiar with the good guy. It also invites the fans to come support him, and it also tells you that a world title match is one of the many things you can expect. There is a call for action and you’re already familiar with one of the wrestlers.
But I can also use the bad guy to promote the event as well…
Spot #2 I’ve been hearing stories of Cory Saint talking on the air about how he’s begging his fans to support him when he faces ME, Vengeance. Well, he’s gonna need all the help he can get! You can come out to the Williams Assembly Building this Thursday all you want, but it won’t help him one bit! That Mighty Wrestling World Title is as good as mine and I’ll take great pleasure to see every one of Cory Saint’s fans cry like a baby when I pin him to the mat! So go ahead, get your tickets or call for reservations. You can even bring your snot-nosed kids, they get in for free if they are under 5 years old! So come on out to Williams Assembly Building this Thursday night and watch me, Vengeance, take the world title. Ha, it’s already mine!
See, if we play off these two wrestlers, we are slowly building a fan base for people who have not even seen the event yet. If given enough time to run over a week or so, we would have already brought entertainment by our ads and promotions, while hopefully creating a fan base to fill the stands.
We’ll talk more about this as we keep the series going, check out my continuing wrestling blog on blogspot.com.
I started this I think Friday, and wanted to make a short series of this as we went along. If you follow my blogs on Blogspot, then you have not missed anything, this is indeed the third part of that series.
If you missed it, you might want to bounce there and find out about it. But in a nutshell, I am blogging on ways that local wrestling federations can bring more fans and thus revenue to their sport…although that word is debatable.
I heard that the owner of WWE wants to change the terminology of “sports entertainment” to just “entertainment”. Well, that’s his call with his wrestling, but on MY blog, I call it sports entertainment…because that’s what it is. It takes athletes to do what these guys do, and it is for entertainment.
Anyway, on my second blog on this issue, I talked about LOCATION, which is critical to a small wrestling federation. You see folks, not every wrestling group is like the big ones, where they can travel to Chicago this week, Pennsylvania the next week, North Carolina the next and so on. Many of the smaller ones have a small region, like a part of a state, some just have a single town or city. So location is important to establishing their business because it has to be a place where the fans can get to, but at the same time, the facility itself can’t be so high in rent that the tickets end up being $20 and a hot dog costing $2...without condiments!
So let’s talk about another element in getting wrestling fans…PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING.
This is HUGE when it comes to wrestling, and I think many times this is where most small wrestling federations lose a golden chance to rack up fans. I mean, think about it, when was the last time you went to a local wrestling show? How did you hear about it? If you’re like most people, it might be through word of mouth, or by some flyer stuck on the wall somewhere.
A few weeks ago I was told about a wrestling event in Robeson, NC. I was told that the event features some pretty unique names in the wrestling business, such as Terry Funk, CW Anderson and others. Now to ANY real wrestling fan, that is a ticket you don’t want to miss, if at all possible. I never got the chance to go because the distance was just not convenient and the ticket price was I think $25. I also heard Terry Funk didn’t make it, and instead Jake “The Snake” Roberts was there…
(many of you know the story of how some smaller wrestling federations don’t like Jake Roberts because he sometimes does not deliver on his performance, google on that and find out what I am talking about)
But my point is that the promotion and advertising was word of mouth. Now, that is fine to some of you, and to a lot of wrestling federations they rely on word of mouth, but be careful for what you wish for. Just as word of mouth can help your event, it can also hurt it as well. Just as somebody can say what might be good about your event, they can also say something bad. Advertising and promotions give you the chance to make your case as to why fans ought to come see your event.
It really is amazing how many people see advertising as a waste of money. You don’t see Coca-Cola crying about spending money on advertising. You don’t see McDonalds crying about spending money on advertising. It’s a part of your investment. If I was in charge of a wrestling federation, this would be a key part of bring in the fans.
The idea of advertising is to create the awareness of your product (wrestling) to the people in the area. If you are relying on a few pieces of paper stapled to some billboard or hoping that some of your fans tell others, you are shooting too low. The idea is to pack the house with fans, right? Then take an action to maximize your chances to pack that house.
For example, if I had a wrestling federation event coming up, I would first try to identify the electronic media sources of the town. That means radio stations and local television stations. This does not mean you can afford to advertise, it just means you need to find the info on it.
Lots of radio stations offer very cheap rates, and you can cut a spot (spoken by a guy who knows a bit about radio) very cheaply. Some stations offer rates as low as $5 a spot, or even less, if you know who to talk to. I don’t care how many flyers you put out, it won’t beat the numbers you can get from a few well placed radio spots. And heck, with the cost of printing, ink and gas to travel around town anyway, you might as well at least consider radio ads.
If I was running a wrestling federation, I’d tap into the thousands of people who listen to even small radio stations, and build a fan base from there. This is just one part of how advertising and promotions can work to build a wrestling fan base.
Let me give you an example:
I used to cut spots for local high school sports, so I know a lot about 30 second and 60 second spots. If you are going to use local radio to advertise, you need to make sure the listeners are well informed about your event, and to encourage them to act… not just to listen, but to act. I mean, it doesn’t matter if 10,000 people listened to your spot, if you didn’t give them a reason to come see you, then you still won’t fill the seats, right?
This means there is a difference in sharing info, and SELLING info. I mean, think about it, when you watch wrestling, and you see a guy take a punch, look to see if they SOLD the punch. What does that mean? That means they made it believable. One of the things didn’t like about wrestling is when the “star” stops selling punches. Two examples…Hulk Hogan and Undertaker. You punch them, and they act like they don’t feel it. That’s because they are not “selling” the move. This was one of the big problems a local wrestling federation had with Jake Roberts, and how he ruined their program.
But in advertising it applies to. For example, which wrestling ad would you pay more attention to:
Spot #1: Coming this Thursday night to the Williams Assembly Building, it’s MWW (Mighty Wrestling World). Come see local wrestlers battle it out for the MWW Championship title. Tickets are only $10, and kids under 5 get in for free. Call us at 555-5555 and reserve your tickets now. That’s MWW wrestling at the Williams Assembly Building, this Thursday night. Be there.
Spot #2: Mighty Wrestling World is coming to YOUR area this Thursday night! Come see high-flying, drop-kicking old-school wrestling at it’s best at Williams Assembly Building! If you’ve ever wanted to see wrestling live and in person, this is your chance to enjoy great local wrestling talent! And tickets are only $10! Kids under 5 get in for free! Come see some great wrestling entertainment as the stars fight it out for the MWW Championship Title!. Call 555-5555 today and get your tickets NOW, before they are sold out! It’s MWW, Mighty Wrestling World!
Now I made that name up (yeah, kinda corny) but you get the idea. If you are going to advertise, you can’t just tell folks the info. You have to excite them to action, you want that phone ringing off the hook of people demanding tickets. The point of advertising is more than just telling people that you have a wrestling event, it’s INVITING them to come see it.
Now, promotion goes a step further in that it allows you to use your talent to help promote the event. In wrestling, it helps a lot to use the talent you have to help push your wrestling event. This can also work in your favor to help create local favorites even in small towns.
Remember folks, local wrestling federations can’t afford to employ the big names like AJ Styles, John Cena, Cactus Jack or Triple H. They just can’t, and if by any miracle they could acquire those kinda talents for one night, it would cost the fans an arm and a leg just to see them. So we have to think on a smaller scale, and build a fan base from what we have.
Let’s say I actually DO run MWW, and I have a face wrestler (a good guy) and a heel (bad guy) that I want to promote. Let’s call the face “Cory Saint” and the heel “Vengeance”. We might have been in business for a couple of years, but most of the people may not know of them or my other wrestlers. They might have even heard that there’s some wrestling going on in town, but never came to see it. I need to push the envelope a bit to encourage them to come see my talent, and root for Cory Saint. I need to build a fan base and create interest in my wrestlers.
To do this, I may need to identify a local radio station and cut a few spots that actually feature my wrestlers. Whereas the advertising spots give info, I can use promotion to get the listeners familiar with my wrestlers by having their voice on the spots. For example:
Spot #1: Hi, I’m Cory Saint, one of the many great wrestlers of Mighty Wrestling World, and I’ll be here in town this Thursday night at Williams Assembly Building to defend my title against “Vengeance”. I want your support as I lock up with this guy, because he’s known to break the rules. You come out and support me, and I’ll give you a victory for all my fans. Tickets are only $10 and kids under 5 get in for free. There’ll be giveaways and plenty of action, so you might wanna call 555-5555 and get ticket reservations. So come on out and check us out, and root me on to victory and I defend the MMW title. That’s this Thursday at the Williams Assembly Building. Hope to see you there.
Now, that’s a nice clean spot, even though I know it still lacks time of event and physical location, but you get the idea. The purpose of this promotion is to get the listeners familiar with the good guy. It also invites the fans to come support him, and it also tells you that a world title match is one of the many things you can expect. There is a call for action and you’re already familiar with one of the wrestlers.
But I can also use the bad guy to promote the event as well…
Spot #2 I’ve been hearing stories of Cory Saint talking on the air about how he’s begging his fans to support him when he faces ME, Vengeance. Well, he’s gonna need all the help he can get! You can come out to the Williams Assembly Building this Thursday all you want, but it won’t help him one bit! That Mighty Wrestling World Title is as good as mine and I’ll take great pleasure to see every one of Cory Saint’s fans cry like a baby when I pin him to the mat! So go ahead, get your tickets or call for reservations. You can even bring your snot-nosed kids, they get in for free if they are under 5 years old! So come on out to Williams Assembly Building this Thursday night and watch me, Vengeance, take the world title. Ha, it’s already mine!
See, if we play off these two wrestlers, we are slowly building a fan base for people who have not even seen the event yet. If given enough time to run over a week or so, we would have already brought entertainment by our ads and promotions, while hopefully creating a fan base to fill the stands.
We’ll talk more about this as we keep the series going, check out my continuing wrestling blog on blogspot.com.
Friday, October 24, 2008
How to get wrestling fans
How to get wrestling fans, pt 2
In my haste to talk about the components that might help local wrestling federations, I forgot a few I am sure. One of those being LOCATION, and I will get to that in a moment.
This is my short series blog about how I might work to get wrestling fans in the average US city to come out and enjoy a night of wrestling. As I said before, most people think this is about WWE or TNA…this is not.
Most fans don’t get to go to those events, and if they do, the cost for tickets are pretty high. No disrespect to those that DO go, but let’s face it, most don’t and can’t. So there are many, many local wrestling federations across the US, most you don’t even know about. But nobody talks about them so much.
In our area I can think of 3 federations that I have see either in person or on local tv. One is called NWA-Anarchy and it comes on one of our cable stations every once and awhile….I mean that, it is really a crap shoot on when it really comes on.
We have see it on the menu for a certain time, but when we tune in it isn’t on, and sometimes when it wasn’t on the menu, it is on. And sometimes when it IS on, the hour-long program is suddenly cut off by some local program…what’s up with that?
Another wrestling federation I have heard of is LAW wrestling, and I don’t know much about that. It used to be on a nearby city’s local television station but for some reason, it disappeared. It also came on at some unholy hour, so unless you were working the graveyard shift, you weren’t gonna see it anyway.
That leaves UWC, or Universal Wrestling Council. As I mentioned in earlier blogs, I have gone to see this wrestling event at least 6 times. I like it a lot, and I am really pulling for these people because they provide an entertainment that we most times would not get.
But how would I improve one like it, not implying that UWC needs my help. Those guys know more about it than I do, so don’t mix my words to make it seem like they are not going a good job.
But often times when my friends and I sit in the living room after the wrestling event, we talk about what could be done to help a local wrestling federation. We have tons of ideas, but you know as well as I do that ideas are just that. Making it into something real is a whole different animal.
But it’s worth blogging, so let’s take a stab at it.
If you remember my first blog on this issue, I listed several key elements that must be refined in order to bring the wrestling fan to the event. Not just one time, but make them a regular. You know you’re doing something right when you see paying customers over and over again. But how do you increase that?
Let’s go over a couple of factors, starting with the one I left off. LOCATION.
Around here, there are indeed many places where you can hold a wrestling event. No different from any of your towns. But it’s not as easy as saying “we’re gonna have it here and we’re gonna sell tickets at $20 each”. It does not really work that way.
Every wrestling federation needs a good location, and a reliable one at that. But most people think that all you need to do is find the biggest place to hold your event and people will come….no, it does not work that way.
I’d like to think that if I rent out a facility that houses 1000 people, and I charge $10 a ticket, then I’ll make $10,000 if we sell out….
But what if you don’t?
What if you are being charged $1500.00 to rent that space, and you sell 100 tickets? Unless concessions is real good, you’re going to lose money. So sometimes having a big place isn’t the best way to go, especially if you are not sure of your audience. Sometimes you have to settle for a smaller place that is cheaper and build the audience into a following, THEN look for better places to perform.
Now this isn’t a problem for the big federations, but I ain’t talking about them anyway. We’re talking about the very small federations that are made of traveling wrestlers and local wrestlers who truly love the game.
I would hope that I could find a nice sized place that seats maybe 500 or so, and sell tickets at maybe $6-$9 dollars each. Hey, I’m not trying to break anybody, because if I do, those people may not come back.
Location is very key because it’s got to be a place where they can find you, and the rent of the place can’t be so outrageous that you have to charge an arm and a leg just to break even. You gotta be fair to your audience but you also have to make a profit.
There are lots of places in cities you can have an event, but just because you can have one there does not mean the place is open to you. For example, we have several schools where a gym could be an excellent place to have an event, but what if the schools are not interested in wrestling? I mean, we could set up in any of the high school gyms and sell lots of tickets at $5 each and maybe pack the place, but we don’t know how much the school will charge us.
This is where the numbers game comes in, and where a manager or owner needs to know his math. He also has to be realistic too, you might WANT to get that facility at $2000 that seats 1500 people, but if your federation is not well known, there is no guarantee that you’ll even sell half the tickets. If tickets were $10, you’d need to sell 200 tickets just to even out the rent. We have not even talked about salary for the performers and crew, and the cost for refreshments and travel and ALL that goes into making the wrestling event happen.
And this is where a lot of greedy managers miss it. A lot of them don’t figure on what happens if OTHERS can’t get paid…they are only interested in themselves. This is what happens a lot when people book events on the HOPE that they can clear, and don’t do their homework.
It’s key to remember how important the location of the event is, because it creates the foundation of what you charge your audience. You can try to go high-end and get a really nice and big facility, but the cost to rent it will have a serious impact on what you are going to charge the fans. It’s a delicate balance not to overcharge and tick off the fans or to make it very affordable and cut your profits. Sadly, many wrestling federations try to get all the money first, leaving the fans with a performance that may not have been worth the money.
To their credit, I really like the way UWC does their business here. Tickets at $6 are very affordable, and I am more likely to spend a few dollars on a drink or some chips anyway. And, if we feel that we got our money’s worth, we’ll tell friends and want them to come with us next time. That means more sales for the wrestling federation and more fans.
Again, location has a lot to do with that. If they were somewhere else, and charged $15 per ticket, we might not feel the same way, even if the performance was the same. So this would be a very important element I would try to deal with if I was to run a wrestling federation.
Well, that’s the first part, I will go through each of the elements as we go along, so keep checking with my blog. I am not saying I have the gospel truth on this, it’s just some thoughts on how to improve a local wrestling federation so they can make more revenue and end up giving more to their fans. We’ll chat more next time.
In my haste to talk about the components that might help local wrestling federations, I forgot a few I am sure. One of those being LOCATION, and I will get to that in a moment.
This is my short series blog about how I might work to get wrestling fans in the average US city to come out and enjoy a night of wrestling. As I said before, most people think this is about WWE or TNA…this is not.
Most fans don’t get to go to those events, and if they do, the cost for tickets are pretty high. No disrespect to those that DO go, but let’s face it, most don’t and can’t. So there are many, many local wrestling federations across the US, most you don’t even know about. But nobody talks about them so much.
In our area I can think of 3 federations that I have see either in person or on local tv. One is called NWA-Anarchy and it comes on one of our cable stations every once and awhile….I mean that, it is really a crap shoot on when it really comes on.
We have see it on the menu for a certain time, but when we tune in it isn’t on, and sometimes when it wasn’t on the menu, it is on. And sometimes when it IS on, the hour-long program is suddenly cut off by some local program…what’s up with that?
Another wrestling federation I have heard of is LAW wrestling, and I don’t know much about that. It used to be on a nearby city’s local television station but for some reason, it disappeared. It also came on at some unholy hour, so unless you were working the graveyard shift, you weren’t gonna see it anyway.
That leaves UWC, or Universal Wrestling Council. As I mentioned in earlier blogs, I have gone to see this wrestling event at least 6 times. I like it a lot, and I am really pulling for these people because they provide an entertainment that we most times would not get.
But how would I improve one like it, not implying that UWC needs my help. Those guys know more about it than I do, so don’t mix my words to make it seem like they are not going a good job.
But often times when my friends and I sit in the living room after the wrestling event, we talk about what could be done to help a local wrestling federation. We have tons of ideas, but you know as well as I do that ideas are just that. Making it into something real is a whole different animal.
But it’s worth blogging, so let’s take a stab at it.
If you remember my first blog on this issue, I listed several key elements that must be refined in order to bring the wrestling fan to the event. Not just one time, but make them a regular. You know you’re doing something right when you see paying customers over and over again. But how do you increase that?
Let’s go over a couple of factors, starting with the one I left off. LOCATION.
Around here, there are indeed many places where you can hold a wrestling event. No different from any of your towns. But it’s not as easy as saying “we’re gonna have it here and we’re gonna sell tickets at $20 each”. It does not really work that way.
Every wrestling federation needs a good location, and a reliable one at that. But most people think that all you need to do is find the biggest place to hold your event and people will come….no, it does not work that way.
I’d like to think that if I rent out a facility that houses 1000 people, and I charge $10 a ticket, then I’ll make $10,000 if we sell out….
But what if you don’t?
What if you are being charged $1500.00 to rent that space, and you sell 100 tickets? Unless concessions is real good, you’re going to lose money. So sometimes having a big place isn’t the best way to go, especially if you are not sure of your audience. Sometimes you have to settle for a smaller place that is cheaper and build the audience into a following, THEN look for better places to perform.
Now this isn’t a problem for the big federations, but I ain’t talking about them anyway. We’re talking about the very small federations that are made of traveling wrestlers and local wrestlers who truly love the game.
I would hope that I could find a nice sized place that seats maybe 500 or so, and sell tickets at maybe $6-$9 dollars each. Hey, I’m not trying to break anybody, because if I do, those people may not come back.
Location is very key because it’s got to be a place where they can find you, and the rent of the place can’t be so outrageous that you have to charge an arm and a leg just to break even. You gotta be fair to your audience but you also have to make a profit.
There are lots of places in cities you can have an event, but just because you can have one there does not mean the place is open to you. For example, we have several schools where a gym could be an excellent place to have an event, but what if the schools are not interested in wrestling? I mean, we could set up in any of the high school gyms and sell lots of tickets at $5 each and maybe pack the place, but we don’t know how much the school will charge us.
This is where the numbers game comes in, and where a manager or owner needs to know his math. He also has to be realistic too, you might WANT to get that facility at $2000 that seats 1500 people, but if your federation is not well known, there is no guarantee that you’ll even sell half the tickets. If tickets were $10, you’d need to sell 200 tickets just to even out the rent. We have not even talked about salary for the performers and crew, and the cost for refreshments and travel and ALL that goes into making the wrestling event happen.
And this is where a lot of greedy managers miss it. A lot of them don’t figure on what happens if OTHERS can’t get paid…they are only interested in themselves. This is what happens a lot when people book events on the HOPE that they can clear, and don’t do their homework.
It’s key to remember how important the location of the event is, because it creates the foundation of what you charge your audience. You can try to go high-end and get a really nice and big facility, but the cost to rent it will have a serious impact on what you are going to charge the fans. It’s a delicate balance not to overcharge and tick off the fans or to make it very affordable and cut your profits. Sadly, many wrestling federations try to get all the money first, leaving the fans with a performance that may not have been worth the money.
To their credit, I really like the way UWC does their business here. Tickets at $6 are very affordable, and I am more likely to spend a few dollars on a drink or some chips anyway. And, if we feel that we got our money’s worth, we’ll tell friends and want them to come with us next time. That means more sales for the wrestling federation and more fans.
Again, location has a lot to do with that. If they were somewhere else, and charged $15 per ticket, we might not feel the same way, even if the performance was the same. So this would be a very important element I would try to deal with if I was to run a wrestling federation.
Well, that’s the first part, I will go through each of the elements as we go along, so keep checking with my blog. I am not saying I have the gospel truth on this, it’s just some thoughts on how to improve a local wrestling federation so they can make more revenue and end up giving more to their fans. We’ll chat more next time.
How to get wrestling fans
How to get wrestling fans
Has anybody every written a book on this?
Well, it’s worth thinking on. Today I wanted to write a blog on how I might get more fans to come to wrestling events. Now, I say this ONLY for local wrestling. We’re not talking about WWE or TNA because they have television contracts.
I’m talking about how to get locals to come out and watch local wrestling. I say this because I am a huge sports fan, but I also like wrestling too. I am not too big a fan of WWE anymore, and rarely watch it. But I am a big fan of the sport or wrestling. Around here, we get to watch a local group called UWC, or Universal Wrestling Council. I know they’re not like WWE in talent and superstars, but they give us every bit of entertainment we could ask for.
I think I have gone to about 6 or 7 of their events inside of a year, they come by every other month or so and I think I have only missed one performance. I can say as honestly as I am sitting here that I have enjoyed every performance they give us. We often go early enough to get a front row seat to ensure maximum enjoyment.
But each time we go, we sit and wonder how the UWC could be better. Don’t get me wrong folks, we WANT this to succeed because if they keep coming back, then we can keep coming to see them. Not everybody can afford to pay big bucks to see WWE when they come to Raleigh or Fayetteville or Charlotte.
And you don’t have to be from North Carolina to understand that. Anybody that is a wrestling fan in whatever state you live in probably has a few local wrestling federations around…but most of you won’t support them.
Why not?
How can you sit there and swear allegiance to major wrestling federations and totally ignore the talent in your own back yard? How about a little support for those guys too?
Now, I am probably going to make a short series of this on blogspot.com since that is my main sports log, but I wanted to take some time to go over things that I would do if I had the opportunity to either create or run a local wrestling federation. In short, what can small federations do to help draw more attention, more audience and thus create revenue for their business.
I say again, I enjoyed every event of Universal Wrestling Council, and I think the money spent is worth it. They don’t try to gouge you with overpriced snacks. I mean, why should I spend $1 for a bag of chips that cost only 25 cents? I can see spending 50 cents or so because I understand they need to make a profit. Remember, I WANT them to succeed, so they can keep coming back.
So what would I do if I was starting my own wrestling federation, or given management of one? I think you’d have to break it down into different categories:
Promotion and Advertising
Sound Quality
Video Quality and post production
Marketing products
Personnel
Concessions
Media Relations
Continuity
Pay scale
Community Involvement
I hope to blog more on these subjects in the upcoming days, and try to explain what I mean in each of those categories, and how I might try to make a local wrestling federation better. I think maybe easiest way to do it is to win a lottery, because most times it comes down to money, but if you don’t have that, you need a good plan. I’ll talk more about that in upcoming blogs on my sports blog on blogspot.com
Has anybody every written a book on this?
Well, it’s worth thinking on. Today I wanted to write a blog on how I might get more fans to come to wrestling events. Now, I say this ONLY for local wrestling. We’re not talking about WWE or TNA because they have television contracts.
I’m talking about how to get locals to come out and watch local wrestling. I say this because I am a huge sports fan, but I also like wrestling too. I am not too big a fan of WWE anymore, and rarely watch it. But I am a big fan of the sport or wrestling. Around here, we get to watch a local group called UWC, or Universal Wrestling Council. I know they’re not like WWE in talent and superstars, but they give us every bit of entertainment we could ask for.
I think I have gone to about 6 or 7 of their events inside of a year, they come by every other month or so and I think I have only missed one performance. I can say as honestly as I am sitting here that I have enjoyed every performance they give us. We often go early enough to get a front row seat to ensure maximum enjoyment.
But each time we go, we sit and wonder how the UWC could be better. Don’t get me wrong folks, we WANT this to succeed because if they keep coming back, then we can keep coming to see them. Not everybody can afford to pay big bucks to see WWE when they come to Raleigh or Fayetteville or Charlotte.
And you don’t have to be from North Carolina to understand that. Anybody that is a wrestling fan in whatever state you live in probably has a few local wrestling federations around…but most of you won’t support them.
Why not?
How can you sit there and swear allegiance to major wrestling federations and totally ignore the talent in your own back yard? How about a little support for those guys too?
Now, I am probably going to make a short series of this on blogspot.com since that is my main sports log, but I wanted to take some time to go over things that I would do if I had the opportunity to either create or run a local wrestling federation. In short, what can small federations do to help draw more attention, more audience and thus create revenue for their business.
I say again, I enjoyed every event of Universal Wrestling Council, and I think the money spent is worth it. They don’t try to gouge you with overpriced snacks. I mean, why should I spend $1 for a bag of chips that cost only 25 cents? I can see spending 50 cents or so because I understand they need to make a profit. Remember, I WANT them to succeed, so they can keep coming back.
So what would I do if I was starting my own wrestling federation, or given management of one? I think you’d have to break it down into different categories:
Promotion and Advertising
Sound Quality
Video Quality and post production
Marketing products
Personnel
Concessions
Media Relations
Continuity
Pay scale
Community Involvement
I hope to blog more on these subjects in the upcoming days, and try to explain what I mean in each of those categories, and how I might try to make a local wrestling federation better. I think maybe easiest way to do it is to win a lottery, because most times it comes down to money, but if you don’t have that, you need a good plan. I’ll talk more about that in upcoming blogs on my sports blog on blogspot.com
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