Sports Niche?

[Bearcorp]

Barstool Sports started by handing out newsletters in Boston about the local sports teams now its a 100 million dollar business. It can be done.

 

[Get Right]

Have you tried asking fans (market) what they want to see?

 

[minivanman]

I'm VERY hard to please but I just checked out Barstool Sports and that is one of the best sites I've seen (and I'm not even a sports fan). What gives it an upper-hand, I think, is the personal life articles and not just about everything on the field/court.

 

[HelpAndProsper]

Have you tried asking fans (market) what they want to see?

You mean ask them what kinds of products they want? I did in the past and it seemed they were most interested in ticket prices.

 

[Private Witt]

Could you build a blog and create amazing content, put a forum or other funnel to build a community and once you establish your expertise and traffic you can monetize properly.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Get Right]

You mean ask them what kinds of products they want? I did in the past and it seemed they were most interested in ticket prices.

Give them what they want, in your own special way.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[HelpAndProsper]

Great feedback. So yeah, I'd need to find an angle that differentiates me from the typical sports site.

 

[Niptuck MD]

going DOWN every season

Is your favorite team any good at Football? Football is the CASH Cow unfortunately. Those college ticket prices are just lunacy. I went to a LSU bama game 4 years ago and luckily my cousin was studying there but i could never fathom spending 200$ for a reputable college Football for just 1 ticket! Ridiculous! Just a thought.
If not, then you are basically trying to be an Expert on this super specific team that is good or Great in ONE particular sport. You would need to cover something that no one Else has covered about this team. You may also want to check out some major content channels for example (i know its not College Football) but Raider Nation is an effektive Brand name and is has been strong for decades. There are a number of superfans that have created content based on this affiliation. If your school has such an affiliation or title you may check into that or you could start something like them boys at duke (for basketball) etc etc. Think dogg pound (cleveland browns) raider nation, steeler nation, etc etc.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Niptuck MD]

Great info....Yeah, I agree, that I should write content that has a different angle than most content writers on this team. Now, I do like both their basketball and football team. Do you think I should focus a site on only one of those sports for the school?

Apart from Angle, you have to make sure you are creating something that either alumni or fans in general actually WANT for x y z purpose. If you have a personality or are entertaining enough on video etc, you can technically be a superfan and start your whole Brand around your perspective or that of other superfans of either sport.

 

[jakeG]

Looking for some feedback...

I'm a fanatical follower of a certain college sports team. I watch both football and basketball games. I don't live in that state anymore...

So I'd be willing to write about/create content around that specific team in both sports.

Quite a few years ago, I tried an affiliate site and made some affiliate commissions with StubHub, but I never made a huge income with that site.

Do you think it could be lucrative in that niche with an online presence? I'm just trying to think of ways that I could differentiate if I entered that market again?

How could I be different from other sports sites that tailor to teams?

It seems most fans go and talk to each other on big Forum sites like Rivals.com.

Keep in mind, I'm hearing that buying tickets for college games is going DOWN every season because people would just rather watch the games at home on huge TVs.

Any ideas?

thanks!

I'm in the process of building an app that surrounds around college football, specifically the Top 25. In todays sports entertainment industry, blogs and talking heads are a dime a dozen. Lucrative? Maybe. Highly unlikely unless you are in the game for the next 10+ years and sell direct (not programmatic) advertising. There are some teams that have sites not affiliated with Rivals, etc. (aufamily.com, pistolsfiringblog.com) but they have also been around for a while. If your fanbase is highly active on Rivals and other forums, then they could be looking for any additional outlets. There would need to be a cultural and foundational difference in your site though. For example, Auburn's Rivals board is super negative and very clique-y but their paid content is incredible. AU Family has no paid content, but the board is really upbeat and positive. Then the fans flock to what they like to read.

I've been a bystander in this realm (CFB forums and sites) for almost a decade and finally decided to make a move on it. I'd be happy to talk about it with you at any time!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[HelpAndProsper]

Looking for some feedback...

I'm a fanatical follower of a certain college sports team. I watch both football and basketball games. I don't live in that state anymore...

So I'd be willing to write about/create content around that specific team in both sports.

Quite a few years ago, I tried an affiliate site and made some affiliate commissions with StubHub, but I never made a huge income with that site.

Do you think it could be lucrative in that niche with an online presence? I'm just trying to think of ways that I could differentiate if I entered that market again?

How could I be different from other sports sites that tailor to teams?

It seems most fans go and talk to each other on big Forum sites like Rivals.com.

Keep in mind, I'm hearing that buying tickets for college games is going DOWN every season because people would just rather watch the games at home on huge TVs.

Any ideas?

thanks!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Private Witt]

Barstool Sports started by handing out newsletters in Boston about the local sports teams now its a 100 million dollar business. It can be done.

That is sick!

 

[HelpAndProsper]

Is your favorite team any good at Football? Football is the CASH Cow unfortunately. Those college ticket prices are just lunacy. I went to a LSU bama game 4 years ago and luckily my cousin was studying there but i could never fathom spending 200$ for a reputable college Football for just 1 ticket! Ridiculous! Just a thought.
If not, then you are basically trying to be an Expert on this super specific team that is good or Great in ONE particular sport. You would need to cover something that no one Else has covered about this team. You may also want to check out some major content channels for example (i know its not College Football) but Raider Nation is an effektive Brand name and is has been strong for decades. There are a number of superfans that have created content based on this affiliation. If your school has such an affiliation or title you may check into that or you could start something like them boys at duke (for basketball) etc etc. Think dogg pound (cleveland browns) raider nation, steeler nation, etc etc.

Great info....Yeah, I agree, that I should write content that has a different angle than most content writers on this team. Now, I do like both their basketball and football team. Do you think I should focus a site on only one of those sports for the school?